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Sony HD movie channel may launch soon

by Jeff Chabot on July 7, 2010

A new movie channel dubbed Sony Pictures Movies HD will possibly launch Oct. 1, tapping into Sony’s extensive library of films which includes blockbuster titles such as Angels & Demons and Spider-Man 3. This news comes via the Los Angeles Times which reports Sony Television plans to launch two new channels in the United States. The Sony movie channel may launch along with Fearnet, a joint venture between Sony, Lionsgate and Comcast Corp which already offers horror genre films on demand and online. Sony has already launched television channels abroad but has yet to do so in U.S. markets. Full Story

TV Everywhere Leaves VOD Nowhere

by Christian Hokenson on May 18, 2010

With Comcast and Time-Warner now moving forward with video paywalls, are the cable companies doing what Hollywood and the music industry couldn’t do?  Profit from the Internet… by forcing viewers to keep their cable subscriptions?  That reality is coming sooner than you think.

Full Story

Anger of the Amazonians: LOTR BD Gets Poor Reviews

by Christian Hokenson on April 22, 2010

Bad hobbits habits die hard for big media companies, no matter how consumer tastes may change in regards to distribution of content or how savvy they might become to the more arcane practices of the industry.  A case in point is the consumer and fan reaction to the recent Blu-ray release of the Lord of the Rings trilogy released by Warner Home Video/New Line.  Full Story

More TV viewers opting to watch online and over-the-air

by Jeff Chabot on April 15, 2010

TechCrunch wrote an article today which reports 600,000 television viewers pulled-the-plug on paid subscriptions in 2009 (adding up to about 800,000 over the last two years). The article, (citing a report from Convergence Consulting Group), estimates 1.6 million people will use other methods of watching television shows and movies (including over-the-internet and over-the-air) by the end of 2011. The studies from Convergence attribute much of the decline in paid subscribers to the growth of online viewing, using websites such as Hulu and Netflix. Full Story

Categories: DTV, Industry, Internet HD Comments: No Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

In Brief: The Politics of Broadband

by Christian Hokenson on April 15, 2010

Last week Comcast won a big victory in the U.S. Court of Appeals that threatens the F.C.C.’s ability to regulate the Internet (in this case, keeping it wide open via the guiding principal of network neutrality).  Full Story

HD/Video-On-Demand Investment Shows Growth

by Christian Hokenson on April 14, 2010

The future for video-on-demand looks particularly bright this week.  A recent study published by Infonetics Research has shown that spending for video-on-demand and content servers as well as other VOD infrastructure components and devices by cable and IPTV service providers to be steady at $625 million in 4Q09, though overall video infrastructure spending was down for 2009 due to the recession in North America and Europe.  Full Story

Categories: 3D, Cable HD, HD DVRs, HD News, IPTV, Industry, Satellite HD, Set-top Boxes, VOD Comments: No Comments Tags: , , , , , , ,

More Directors Slamming 3D?

by Christian Hokenson on March 30, 2010

First, understandably, there was Cameron railing against misuse of 3D for a quick buck, then there was Bay coming out against the 2D-to-3D conversion process that studios cannot wait to foist on an naive public.  That’s Michael Bay of all people slamming something that would make his big boom movies even boomier, for Pete’s sake!  Full Story

Redbox to carry Blu-rays mid-year

by Jeff Chabot on February 18, 2010

redbox-logo-camera-picCoinstar CEO Paul Davis said Redbox will most likely begin offering Blu-ray Disc rentals from its over 22,000 rental kiosks throughout the U.S. by the middle of 2010, that according to Home Media Magazine. Although a rental fee was yet to be determined, the CEO said the fee will “for sure be higher” than standard DVDs. Full Story

Categories: Blu-ray Disc, HD News, Industry Comments: No Comments Tags: , , ,

Dish Network celebrates 14 million subscribers

by Jeff Chabot on December 10, 2009

dish networkDish Network says they have reached a milestone, now providing satellite TV service to 14 million customers in the U.S. The company added over 150,000 subscribers in the present quarter, and says they lead the nation in international channels, offering 175 channels in 28 languages. Full Story

Categories: DISH Network, HD News, Industry Comments: 2 Comments Tags: , , ,

BigBox DVD movie rental now in Twin Cities, offers DVDs and Blu-rays by the hour

by Jeff Chabot on December 8, 2009

big-box-dvd-kioskBigBox DVD rental kiosks offer something different than other movie rental services, renting by the hour. According to the company, you can rent a new DVD release for as little as 6 cents per hour, older than one year DVDs for 4 cents per hour, and Blu-ray Discs for 9 cents per hour. A little math…24x.09=$2.16. Not bad. Renting a hi-def disc for 24 hours will cost you $2.16. Full Story

Categories: Blu-ray Disc, Industry Comments: No Comments Tags: , ,

High definition ‘NASA missions’ sneak previews

by Jeff Chabot on June 6, 2008

Here are 4 sneak previews of the upcoming Discovery Channel special “When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions”. The special series includes historical NASA footage restored to high-definition (HD) quality. The three-part series will start this coming Sunday, June 8, and continue on June 15 and June 22.



Full Story

Categories: Gaming, HD News, HD Programming, Industry, Science Comments: No Comments Tags: ,

Comcast now offering 500 HD choices

by Mike Allen on May 19, 2008

Comcast announced today it reached 500 choices in high-definition (HD) on its network and is adding more video-on-demand (VOD) and over 150 hours of HD television shows from Showtime, Encore, MoviePlex and Starz. Full Story

Categories: Comcast, HD Programming, Industry Comments: No Comments Tags: ,

Broadcom provides HD set-top chips to China

by Mike Allen on March 21, 2008

broadcomIn anticipation of the next Olympics to be held in Beijing, Broadcom and Coship Electronics have partnered on providing the first commercially available high definition set-top box for China. The set-top box (STB) will support 1080p and interactive services such as VOD. Full Story

Categories: Industry, World HD News Comments: No Comments Tags:

DirecTV HD still leader of the pack

by Jeff Chabot on March 21, 2008

directvDirecTV is set to deliver even more high definition (HD) channels with the successful launch of their DIRECTV 11 satellite yesterday. Once the satellite is put into service this coming Fall, it will enable the company to provide up to 150 HD channels nationwide. DirecTV will also be expanding its services to more than 100 markets. Full Story

Categories: DirecTV, HD News, Industry, Satellite HD Comments: No Comments Tags: ,

HD in 47 million homes by 2009

by Jeffrey Nukom on March 14, 2008

hdtvStudy predicts more than than 47 million American households will be subscribing to some type of high-definition TV service by the end of 2008. Full Story

Categories: HD News, Industry Comments: No Comments Tags: ,

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