HDTV

Even though Trademork came across an interesting trademark extension filed by Apple that says the company may be planning on releasing a product that could push it into the gaming industry, I just don't think it's even possible.

According to the extension, Apple's trademark extension included, "toys, games, and playthings, namely, handheld units for playing electronic games; handheld units for playing videogames; stand alone videogame machines; electronic games other than those adapted for use with television receivers only; LCD game machines; electronic educational game machines; and toys, namely battery-powered computer games."

And while this may look like the company is planning to release some sort of gaming platform, why would it? To be quite honest, I don't see any reason why Apple would even attempt to release a gaming system, even though it has enjoyed some success in the handheld market.

After all, with three companies currently vying for control over a multi-billion dollar industry offering a wide array of features, where does Apple fit into the equation? If you ask me, it doesn't.… Read more

Over the past few years, Blockbuster has been a victim to a changing environment in the movie rental industry that has seen a mass of people leave brick-and-mortars in favor of online services like Netflix.

No better evidence of this is shown than the comparison between the net income Netflix enjoyed in 2006 ($49 million) and the net loss Blockbuster incurred -- $588 million. Just one year later, Blockbuster was able to turn things around slightly and enjoyed a net income of $54 million, but in 2007, the company didn't have such great luck. According to its most recent filing (September 2007), Blockbuster incurred a loss of $35 million in just one quarter.

So what's really going on at this company? Unfortunately, it doesn't look like anything good. After examining Blockbuster's 10-Q filed in September and evaluating prior year annual reports to estimate the impact on its upcoming annual report sometime next month, it not only looks like this company is in dire straits, I would venture to say that all of its brick-and-mortars will soon be closed. In fact, I give it about five years.… Read more

I won't tell you what I paid for my Westinghouse LTV-46w1 when I bought it a little over a year ago, but I will tell you I love it. (I frequently refer to it as my "third child," much to Mrs. Cheapskate's chagrin.) I'll also tell you that you can now scoop one up for the extremely less-than-I-paid price of $869.

This is a 46-inch LCD with a built-in HD tuner, Clear QAM support, and output resolutions of up to 1080i. It pairs beautifully with my media-center PC, but I've also used it with … Read more

Over the past few months, I decided to go back in time and relive the days of old. Instead of wasting my day doing things that just weren't productive, I decided to get all of my old consoles out (NES, Genesis, SNES, 3DO, 32X, Sega CD, Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast, Playstation 1 and 2 and the Nintendo 64) to finally make the decision on which console is truly the best of all-time (so far).

And while the decision was a difficult one -- it's tough to beat Duck Hunt and Super Mario Bros. -- it seemed almost too simple to declare the SNES the greatest console of all-time.… Read more

According to a recent report from the Associated Press, the Motion Picture Association of America--Hollywood's antipiracy wing--admitted to releasing data that was not only factually incorrect, it grossly overstated the impact college students have on the movie industry's losses.

The MPAA claims its original figure citing a 44 percent loss due to college piracy was inflated by a whopping 29 percent. In fact, the MPAA admitted that the actual impact college students have on the industry's revenue loss is just 15 percent.

"The 44 percent figure was used to show that if college campuses could somehow solve this problem on this campus, then it would make a tremendous difference in the business of the motion picture industry," an expert covering the case said. The new figures prove "any solution on campus will have only a small impact on the industry itself."

So why do the MPAA and the Recording Industry Association of America focus so much of their time on college students? Is there something that these disgusting organizations aren't telling us? Are college students really that bad? Sadly, it's just another example of these organizations trying to vilify the easy target when the real violators are left to roam free.… Read more

A new study conducted by Japanese site Kakaku.com asked respondents what their top concern was when they headed to the store looking for their next console.

49.2 percent of the 3,422 gamers polled indicated that their top reason for picking a console was "because it's compatible with the games they absolutely want to play." Forty-three percent of respondents said they buy the console that's most talked about, and only 6.1 percent care about price.

When asked which console they would choose next, an astounding 28 percent said they would choose the Wii, while 27 percent would choose the PlayStation 3.

Am I missing something here? Almost 50 percent of respondents to a survey, which could or could not have any real meaning, have purchased a console because of its software? If that's true, then why is the Wii such a popular device?

Of course, comparing Japanese buying preferences to North American preferences is extremely difficult. That said, there is one thing that we can derive from this study that easily applies to the U.S. market--very few people are buying the Wii in this country for its library of games.

Let's face it--unless you're a Nintendo zealot who can't keep your hands off everything your savior makes, there's not much to like in the Wii's library.… Read more

A story in The New York Times yesterday reports that the video game industry has finally woken up and realized that in order to stay strong going forward, it can't rely on 13-year-old pimple-faced kids to promote its agenda.

According to the report, Michael D. Gallagher, chief executive of the Entertainment Software Association, the industry's lobbying arm in Washington, told the Times that its political action committee (PAC) will be up and running by the end of March and will represent Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo, among others.

We will be writing checks to campaigns by the end of this quarter," Mr. Gallagher said. "This is an important step in the political maturation process of the industry that we are ready to take now. This is about identifying and supporting champions for the game industry on Capitol Hill so that they support us."

Am I the only person who thinks it's about time this industry has woken up and realize that political payoffs are the only way to get somewhere in this country? If you want to finally destroy these idiots who think we should kill creativity in video games, look no further than your friendly congressman from the 10th district with his hat in hand.… Read more

With services like Movielink, Netflix, and Vudu, the opportunities seem endless for companies that endeavor to turn the corner in the movie rental business. And while all of these companies positioned themselves in the market, Apple was quietly lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce on January 15, 2008.

After showing their hands to arguably the world's most capable CEO, every other movie rental service created an environment where Steve Jobs could pick and choose what features he liked and create a more robust offering.

After all, with rentals ranging in price from $2.99-$4.99 depending on release date and quality, and a 30-second buffering much like we've seen with the Vudu box, why would anyone even consider buying rentals from any other service besides iTunes (with the one exception perhaps being Netflix)?

Simply put, Jobs is poised to conquer yet another industry.… Read more

Welcome to the HD DVD Deathwatch, Day One. TigerDirect has the Toshiba HD-A3 player with 2 movies in the box (300 and The Bourne Identity) and 5 more by mail, all for just $129.99. That's practically a Black Friday price, which begs the question: Could this be the beginning of the end for HD DVD?

As you've no doubt heard by now, Warner Bros. Entertainment has decided to put its high-def eggs in Blu-ray's basket. It remains to be seen whether HD DVD can survive this move--the format's not much good if there are no … Read more