March 16, 2006, 11:00 AM PST
Sony shows new LCD-based big-screens
Posted by: David Katzmaier

At today's Vegas line show, Sony debuted a trio of entry-level, LCD-powered big-screen rear-projection HDTVs. They include the 46-inch KDF-46E2000 ($2,200), which will ship midsummer, as well as the 50-inch KDF-50E2000 ($2,500) and the 55-inch KDF-55E2000 ($3,000), both of which will ship in early summer. The look and specs of these sets are hauntingly similar to those of last year's popular KDF-EA10 series, which included the compact, solid-performing KDF-E50A10.

If you're looking for official word on Sony's step-up 2006 line, which features SXRD technology, you're out of luck for now.

Permalink | 3 comments

• See product information for Sony KDF-50E2000
• Read also: television, home video
• Email to a friend | Print this post

March 16, 2006, 11:00 AM PST
Sony spotlights S2000 LCDs, proffers pro plasma
Posted by: David Katzmaier

Sony's new flat-panel LCD TVs, dubbed BRAVIA for best resolution audio visual integrated architecture, have started making their way onto Web sites and into stores. Since the company's 2006 line show also included mention of the new models--but no mention of SXRD rear-projection televisions--we'll talk about them here. First announced at CES, the new S2000 series includes the 26-inch KDL-26S2000 ($1,500), the 32-inch KDL-32S2000 ($1,900), and the 40-inch KDL-40S2000 ($3,000). Despite their different sizes and prices, the three share most of the same specs, including the following:

• 1,366x768 native resolution
• One HDMI input
• One PC input
• ATSC tuner
• Adjustable backlight control

In case you don't want the ATSC tuner--or any tuner at all--but would like to save $200, Sony also offers a pair of HD monitors: the 32-inch KLV-32U100M ($1,700) and the 40-inch KLV-40U100M ($2,800).

Since the company didn't include a CableCard slot or a second HDMI input in the S2000 models, we expect these features to be available in a step-up XBR line of flat-panel LCDs, which should be announced later. We hope to have a review of the KDL-32S2000, successor to the KLV-S32A10, by mid-April.

In one unexpected announcement at the line show, Sony proffered a new plasma panel. The company didn't announce any new plasmas in 2005, instead choosing to release exclusively LCDs into the flat-panel marketplace. The new plasma, model FWD-42PX2 ($2,400, April), is a "professional" panel, conjuring comparisons to Panasonic's professional plasmas such as the TH-PHD8UK series. The FWD-42PX2's specs will be familiar to people versed in Panasonic's line: no tuner of any sort, 1,024x768 resolution, DVI-HDCP input, two option/accessory input slots, and picture-in-picture. Sony also touted a network media card accessory to fill one of the slots, the BKM-FW50, which will enable the panel to be controlled via a network and display streaming video and media.

Permalink | 2 comments

• See product information for Sony KDL-26S2000
• Read also: television, home video
• Email to a friend | Print this post

March 16, 2006, 11:00 AM PST
Sony line show: new DVD recorders
Posted by: David Katzmaier

Sony's Vegas line show today didn't include mention of a successor to the company's most expensive and full-featured DVD recorder, the RDR-VX715, but it gave details on a couple of lower-end models. The basic, entry-level RDR-GX330 ($230, April) will replace the RDR-GX315, offering essentially the same feature set but adds chasing playback, a feature found on many other DVD decks that lets you watch the beginning of a show while the end is still recording.

Sony also announced a pair of DVD/VCR combo decks. The Sony RDR-VX530 ($350, June), successor to the RDR-VX515, can record VHS tapes to DVD, while the SLV-D570H ($170, July) is simply a DVD player and VCR in the same chassis. It features the increasingly ubiquitous HDMI output, however, for upscaling DVDs to higher resolutions.

Permalink | Post a comment

• Read also: home video
• Email to a friend | Print this post

March 06, 2006, 9:54 AM PST
Dish ViP622 first impressions
Posted by: David Katzmaier

The first HD satellite DVR that can record MPEG-4, Dish Network's ViP622, arrived at my in-home testing facility--er, living room--a week or so ago, so here's what I think so far:

The good: I've been living with its predecessor, the excellent Dish DVR 942, for the last year or so, and I haven't had any complaints. (Full disclosure: Both Dish and DirecTV, along with many, many other companies, provide CNET with free hardware for review purposes.) The two boxes have essentially the same functionality and features, but the ViP622 has the ability to receive Dish's new MPEG-4 HDTV broadcasts, which include seven new HDTV channels announced at CES in addition to four local HDTV stations via satellite. Both Dish and DirecTV have announced they're moving to MPEG-4--which is incompatible with current satellite receivers--for all future HDTV channels, and as of today, both providers broadcast HD locals to 12 cities, with more coming this year (more info: DirecTV cities and Dish cities).

The bad: The first review sample of the ViP622 that I received had some issues, none of which endeared it to my girlfriend. While we were watching live TV, the box would freeze, not responding to remote commands, sometimes as often as twice or three times in an evening. Restarting the unit by holding down the power button for 10 seconds solved the problem, but it would be a good 5 to 10 minutes before the box activated and we were able to resume watching--and if we were recording something, there'd be a 10-minute gap in the program. I experienced freezes so often that I asked Dish for a new review unit, which I installed this weekend and will have activated tonight. In the interests of avoiding domestic strife and finishing my review, I hope this new one works better.

The pre-bottom line I expect the ViP622 to score well in the review, providing it functions properly, mainly because of its excellent features (see the DVR 942 review for a rundown). In short, it's the most fully featured HD receiver/DVR on the market, and it sets the bar pretty high for DirecTV's own MPEG-4 HD DVR, successor to the venerable DirecTV HD TiVo and dubbed the HR20, which is scheduled for release this summer. Not to mention that Dish has more HD channels than DirecTV if you count the 15 wacky Voom channels--they're even at 7 each if you ignore Voom. BTW, after living with those Voom channels for a while, I can tell you that the programming is generally less interesting than that of most channels and is quirky at best, but there are a few gems, especially among movies and sports. Among the 15, there's usually something interesting to watch on any given day. And they're all HD, all the time, although image quality varies widely.

More random observations:

• Like DirecTV, Dish says it will limit local HD broadcasts to the "big four" for now: ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC. Those channels on Dish in New York are 6300 to 6303, and they look pretty good so far.
• There's an annoying new interstitial page on the ViP622 that appears whenever you access the DVR menu of recorded programs, called Dish on Demand, that I suppose is designed to drum up more PPV biz. Hey Dish: can you make this disable-able?
• According to its diagnostic tests, the ViP622 recognized my Vonage phone connection without a problem, although I haven't tried ordering a PPV flick yet.
• The ViP622 has a higher capacity than the DVR 942: 30 hours of HD content vs. 25.
• Other differences on the ViP622 include an S-Video output for TV1 (finally!); slightly different key coloration on the remote (still one of the best DVR-centric clickers ever, IMO); the slightly different appearance of the box (I like the old DVR 942 better but not by much); and a much-needed firmware tweak that automatically reschedules timer conflicts to the next available rerun.
• Sorry SlingBox geeks and custom-IR-control heads: the 622's remote codes for the TV2 output are still RF-only. TV2 does work great with my RF Link AVS-5811, though.

We'll have a full review of the ViP622, including a comparison of the image quality of MPEG-4 locals vs. OTA locals in New York, in the next week or two. In the meantime, feel free to enjoy this coverage, and if you have any review requests drop 'em into the TalkBack.

• Dish DVR-942 review (2005)
• CES 2006 Dish Network announcement
• A comparison of Dish and DirecTV's current satellite HDTV packages and hardware
• PocketDish first impressions
• Editors' top DVRs
• Beginner's guide to choosing a DVR
• News.com: DirecTV | Echostar (Dish Network)

Permalink | 5 comments

• See product information for ViP622 Satellite DVR
• Read also: Home video, Televisions
• Email to a friend | Print this post

February 09, 2006, 10:02 AM PST
Bush signs DTV bill; analog cutoff February 17, 2009
Posted by: David Katzmaier

In the final step required to make the phase-out of analog TV broadcasts official, President Bush yesterday signed the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, which contains legislation stating that on February 17, 2009, all TV broadcasters nationwide must switch off their analog broadcasts. After that date, televisions that rely solely on analog over-the-air television--typically delivered via rabbit-ear antennas--will go dark.

Anticipating mass hysteria that would arise from millions of Americans losing their free TV, the Act allocates $1.5 billion toward a subsidy for new DTV converter boxes. A converter box would allow televisions that lack a DTV tuner--still the majority of those sold in the United States--to display the new digital broadcasts. When the amount set aside for the subsidy was debated in Congress, many Democrats raised concerns that it wasn't enough to account for the estimated 45 million televisions among 20 million households that rely on analog broadcasts. Details regarding the subsidy still remain vague, such as who would be eligible and how much of the estimated $50 cost for the boxes it would actually cover.

The analog cutoff will likely not affect televisions that rely on cable or satellite programming. All satellite transmissions from DirecTV and Dish Network are digital to begin with and require a set-top box anyway, and cable operators Comcast and Time Warner have announced that they will continue to carry analog and digital feeds of the major networks. According to Multichannel News, cable providers will likely negotiate further measures that will allow customers to continue using their analog TVs after the deadline.

Consumer confusion still reigns regarding the transition to digital. According to a survey of 500 people conducted in December 2005 by Points North Group and Horowitz Associates, just 13 percent of respondents knew that U.S. analog broadcasts would end in three years, and just 23 percent of those surveyed knew that analog TVs would go dark unless connected to a converter box. It's also worth noting that the segment of the population likely to be most affected by the cutoff--the poor and the elderly who don't subscribe to pay TV services--will be the least informed about it. If the government doesn't start educating Americans about the impending switch to digital, it may face serious backlash, and everyone knows that elections are won and lost on TV.

Source: Multichannel News, UPI, EE Times via Mark Schubin

Permalink | 52 comments

• Read also: TVs
• Email to a friend | Print this post

February 09, 2006, 8:50 AM PST
NBC's HD winter Olympics go live
Posted by: David Katzmaier

The people over at the Peacock got the cold shoulder from many observers for not airing the HD version of their Summer Olympics 2004 coverage until 24 hours after the events took place. I remember having to decide on more than one evening whether to watch the live, standard-definition telecast--with its real-time updates, first-string announcers such as Bob Costas, and universal coverage of different venues--or the high-def version, with its tape delay, amateurish graphics, no-name announcers, and seemingly endless coverage of gymnastics. More often than not, I would choose SD, reserving the HD version for times when I just wanted to fill the screen with a nice-looking picture.

For the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, the network is simulcasting its coverage in HD, meaning that the HD broadcasts are as live as the standard-def broadcasts and will use the same cameras, graphics, and announcers (the SD coverage will actually be downconverted from HD cameras). NBC specified that it plans a total of 416 hours of coverage, much of which will be available in HD, including hockey, figure skating, and speed skating, as well as most skiing events, such as ski jumping. Events that won't receive the HD treatment, due to lack of HD cameras and production equipment at the event facilities, include some skiing events, curling, and luge (too bad--the luge helmet cam in HD would be sweet).

According to the Los Angeles Times, the east coast will receive most of the coverage live, while the west coast will have to deal with the standard three-hour time delay for NBC's prime-time coverage. Per a release on broadcastbuyer.tv by way of Phil Swann's new blog, the HD broadcasts will be available in Dolby Digital 5.1 on NBC's local high-def affiliate stations and also on UniversalHD, NBC's sister network that's available from satcasters DirecTV and Dish Network as well as from select cable providers. The opening ceremony will be broadcast in high-def on NBC at 8 p.m., Friday, February 10.

Permalink | 3 comments

• Read also: TVs
• Email to a friend | Print this post

January 20, 2006, 2:23 PM PST
Blu-ray and HD-DVD: crippled HD analog output option
Posted by: David Katzmaier

Thanks to an overzealous copy-protection scheme enforced by content holders (read: movie studios), forthcoming next-generation optical disc players, including Blu-ray and HD-DVD models, will give studios the option to hobble the resolution of the players' analog outputs. In a decision reached earlier this week, the eight-company consortium behind AACS (Advanced Access Content System), the mandatory copy-protection system used by both formats, has decided to let each studio choose whether to "downconvert" the output of the players' component-video outputs to 960x540 resolution--exactly one quarter of the potential 1,920x1,080 resolution of true high-def.

"Huh?" you ask. The effect of the downconversion is that HDTVs whose only HD-compatible inputs are component video or analog RGB, including thousands of HDTVs sold before digital DVI and HDMI inputs were available, will not be able to display the full resolution that next-gen players offer. People who bought those HDTVs won't see nearly the full picture detail that they would otherwise.

Under the finalized version of AACS, studios can elect whether to engage a "flag" in the disc that tells the player to allow or disallow full-resolution analog signals. According to an excellent summary of the decision from Video Business (via Dark Horizons), no studio has yet stated whether it plans to take advantage of the downconversion option. According to unnamed sources in the article, Warner Brothers has been the strongest proponent of the system, and Disney, NBC Universal, and Paramount are also likely to take advantage of it. Other sources said that it's unclear whether Sony Pictures would take advantage, while Fox has been an opponent of the system. Studios will be required to state on the disc's packing material whether downconversion will be forced for that particular title.

Other interesting notes from the Video Business story:

• Proponents of downconversion argue that people have a hard time telling the difference between downconverted and true HD resolutions in the first place.
• They also say that since many HDTVs have limited native resolution anyway, the downconverted resolution isn't that bad. For example, if you own an EDTV plasma, you won't miss the lost resolution.
• Players will still have the capability to upconvert the downconverted output to 720p or 1080i. There's no way to reclaim the lost picture detail, however.

I think this decision makes no sense from a copy-protection point of view, and I hope the smart studios realize how important it is to allow full-resolution component-video output and set the flags on their discs to Off. First, large-scale copying will take place regardless of whether the analog outputs are crippled--professional pirates will undoubtedly find a way that doesn't involve recording an analog signal in real time. Second, enthusiasts who bought an HDTV two or three years ago are among the few people likely to want one of the early next-gen players (PS3 notwithstanding), and alienating them is never a good idea. Finally, HD-DVD and Blu-ray face enough hurdles already: two warring incompatible formats, high prices, competition from standard DVD and future downloadable options, and customer confusion, to name a few. They don't need another red flag.

Permalink | 32 comments

• Read also: Home video
• Email to a friend | Print this post

December 19, 2005, 10:53 AM PST
HD-DVD launch delayed in Japan
Posted by: David Katzmaier

Today Toshiba announced it would be delaying the Japan introduction of its HD-DVD hardware, which was originally scheduled to launch late in 2005 (just 11 days left!). The units, including stand-alone HD-DVD players and notebook PCs with HD-DVD drives, will now hit store shelves in Japan early in 2006. According to Toshiba's HD-DVD spokesman Mark Knox, quoted in TWICE (free registration required), the delay was caused by the fact that the Advanced Access Content System (AACS) copy-protection scheme used for both next-generation DVD formats, HD-DVD and Blu-ray, is still unfinalized. "They just have to take the final votes so they can issue keys," Knox said. "There are some points still under discussion, but I think they are going to reach consensus now on a few items, such as not doing region code, for example." HD-DVD's anticipated March 2006 U.S. launch will be unaffected, according to the company. The first products to employ the competing Blu-ray format, including Sony's PlayStation 3, are expected to launch in the United States in the second quarter of 2006.

Permalink | 6 comments

• Read also: Home video
• Email to a friend | Print this post

November 14, 2005, 11:56 AM PST
TiVo's giving away the box
Posted by: David Katzmaier

It took only eight years, but TiVo is finally offering its DVR boxes for free. According to the offer at the company's Web site, you can score a free 40-hour box if you sign up for a year's worth of monthly subscriptions at $16.95 each. That works out to $203.40 for a year of DVR joy. But wait: you can buy the same DVR for $50 after rebate and pay the standard $12.95 for 12 months, which works out to $205.39--a savings of $1.99. Regardless, those yearly totals are still roughly twice what it would cost to rent either a high-def or a standard DVR from your cable company; Time Warner NYC, for example, charges $8.95 per month. Also, remember that while TiVo's interface is better than that of most cable or satellite DVRs, and it can do lots of tricks, it can't record high-def or record two programs at once. That's probably why just about every CNET reader answered yes when we asked the question "Is your cable company's DVR better than TiVo?" While TiVo's offer is a step in the right direction since it brings its prices more in line with the competition's, it's still not enough to really compete with other free DVRs. To do that, TiVo needs a new dual-tuner Digital Cable Ready high-def box that maintains the same pricing structure, and I don't see that happening any time soon.

Permalink | 8 comments

• Read also: Home video
• Email to a friend | Print this post

October 13, 2005, 11:39 AM PDT
PocketDish first impressions
Posted by: David Katzmaier

I've been playing with the PocketDish AV700E portable video player that Dish Network announced a couple weeks ago, and it has its strengths and weaknesses. The $599 list device is basically an Archos AV700 (40GB) with the added ability to download and play back TV programs from Dish satellite DVRs. That part works fine: I loved being able to fill the device with a bunch of shows from my Dish Player-DVR 942. The AV700E's hard disk can store a massive amount of programming--40 hours--and during my couple of weeks with the unit, I've used it primarily to watch Dish TV. The convenience of being able to hook the device directly to my satellite receiver and record shows faster than real time (with the standard Archos, you have to record video in real time or download it from a PC) can't be overstated.

On the other hand, I wasn't thrilled with transfer speed via USB 2.0: it took 6 minutes, 24 seconds to transfer an hour-long show. Transferring the same file from my PC to the Archos took 1 minute, 12 seconds. Dish's rep blamed the slow transfer on the 942's processor speed compared to a PC's. Video quality was fine, about as good as real-time analog recordings, but the AV700E's screen appeared soft and somewhat washed out (the Archos review had similar complaints). I expect the screen on the smaller AV500E to look better. Look for the full review of the PocketDish in the next few days.

Permalink | 6 comments

• Read also: TVs
• Email to a friend | Print this post