tvs

Google TV is 'un-Sony-like'

Sony embracing an open platform like Google TV for its home electronics business is a pretty big change for the company.

And Sony's Chairman and CEO tends to agree. "It seems very un-Sony-like," Sir Howard Stringer allowed at a press conference Thursday afternoon following the introduction of Sony Internet TV, the first TV with the Google TV platform. Sony's TV will run Android OS and use Google search to allow users to browse and watch programming from the Web and from a channel service provider.

In the official announcement Thursday was this quote from Google CEO Eric Schmidt: "We believe that open systems lead to more innovation, value, and choice for consumers, which is why we are so proud to work with Sony to bring the power of the Android platform to more consumers around the world."

Longtime followers of Sony would likely do a double-take when they see the words "open" and "Sony" linked together. But it could be the beginning of something new for the Japanese electronics giant. It's actually made baby steps lately toward being more open, finally agreeing to sell gadgets compatible with SD cards instead of Sony's proprietary Memory Stick format, and Sony Ericsson delivering an Android phone. Now it's embracing the concept of open with TVs.

And that's good for Sony, because the company needs something to change with TVs. They've fallen behind to third in TV sales overall, and in general have had trouble getting all of the company's moving parts from all over the world to work together to match up the company's trove of content with its significant brand recognition. But this Google TV could be a sign of the better things to come. … Read more

Panasonic flips switch on Skype for TVs

As of Tuesday, owners of Panasonic VieraCast HDTVs can make Skype video calls directly from their TV.

There is one catch, however: you need the Panasonic Skype-enabled camera, which is sold separately for $170. But calls will be mostly free.

If you use the VoIP telephone service from your TV to call other Skype accounts, there is no charge. Calling from a Skype-enabled TV to a landline does cost a few cents per minute. There's also Skype voice mail, which can be set up via the TV with the remote, and the ability to teleconference with up to 24 … Read more

More people buying Wi-Fi-enabled devices

As more electronic devices become networked, consumers are flocking to gadgets with built-in wireless access, according to a report released Monday by In-Stat.

Worldwide shipments of TVs with Wi-Fi are expected to jump from less than 5 million last year to around 65 million in 2014. Wi-Fi-enabled Blu-ray players will also be up there, with more than 61 million units expected to ship in another four years.

Collectively, shipments of all stationary electronic devices with built-in Wi-Fi, such as TVs, Blu-ray players, gamee consoles, set-top boxes, and photo frames, are likely to surpass 200 million units in another four … Read more

Report: Samsung interested in Android-based TVs

Samsung makes more TVs than anyone in the world, and the company is apparently interested in putting Google's Android operating system on some of them.

The Korea Herald reported Monday that a Samsung executive, who was not named, said the company is considering making "Google TVs" with Android on them.

"We are considering (developing) Google TVs. We are examining the business feasibility of Google TVs," the executive told the Herald.

Having Android on a TV is another way to enable Web-connected sets to download widgets like YouTube, weather, stocks, and anything else on the Android … Read more

Operation Lindsey's living room

Update: I've posted the below images and added some requested images to the below slideshow. Check the comments section for my answers to some of your questions.

Those of you who listened to last week's Gadgettes know the deal: Come up with an entertainment-system design for my living room that can accommodate a modern, flat-screen TV--one that Molly will deign to watch--and you could win the prize of the century: a custom Molly Nerd Voice ringtone.

Consider yourself a design geek? Look over the following drawings, photos, and guidelines. Whip up your suggestions, then send us your design … Read more

Prysm preps super-efficient laser phosphor TVs

How can an outsider possibly crack into the television industry, which is dominated by incumbents with a lead built on billions of dollars and years of investment?

For Silicon Valley start-up Prysm, the route to TVs is technology that promises dramatic energy savings, uses no toxic materials, and offers competitive image quality.

By the end of the second quarter, the company plans to introduce its first laser phosphor TV, part of a line of displays that use up to 75 percent less energy than existing flat-panel displays, according to company executives.

The company is initially targeting commercial customers who can … Read more

ESPN 3D coming to DirecTV in June

DirecTV said Monday that starting in June, it will have four channels dedicated to 3D content.

The channels will include ESPN 3D, a 3D-only channel called N3D, one 3D pay-per view channel, and one 3D DirecTV on Demand.

ESPN 3D is arriving just in time for the 2010 World Cup, which will be the first time a major sporting event is broadcast in 3D. DirecTV says there will be 25 World Cup matches available in 3D. For those not into soccer, ESPN says there will be "a minimum" of 85 live sports events filmed in 3D for the … Read more

Nintendo 3DS puts pressure on TV makers

Just as TV makers and film studios are working hard assuring movie watchers that wearing 3D glasses isn't that bad, Nintendo just applied some extra pressure.

Out of nowhere, the game hardware maker announced Monday that it is planning on selling an updated version of its popular handheld with a 3D screen that will not require any special eyewear. This is a big deal, and means there will likely be more where this came from in the next year in the form of other devices.

We don't know exactly how the Nintendo 3DS will work. Nintendo is being tight-lipped about details for now, but has said it plans to reveal more at E3, the gaming conference to be held in Los Angeles in June.

Still, we can connect some of the dots. It appears there will be two 4-inch 3D-capable displays, and they might be using something called parallax barrier technology, according to Jennifer Coleman, director of display technology at DisplaySearch. A parallax barrier display uses one liquid-crystal display layered under another. Each has tiny stripes that will hide certain pixels so that some are only visible to your left eye, while others will only be seen by your right eye. In that way, each eye gets its own image, producing the illusion of 3D without the need for glasses.

Both Hitachi and Sharp have been using parallax barrier displays in cell phones and laptops in Japan and Korea for several years, so one of them could be the supplier for Nintendo's phone, Coleman guessed.

It's good timing. The 3D market is heating up, with 3D films raking in money at the box office, TV makers pushing the format, new 3D channels set to debut, and the first 3D digital cameras already on sale.… Read more

Next-gen Web TV apps focus on the browser

PALM DESERT, Calif.--Companies have been trying to shoehorn the Web onto consumer TV sets for the past 15 years. However very few have been able to turn it into a profitable business, or, at the very least, something that finds a balance between being powerful and easy to use from the couch.

Still, some of those early missteps have led to hardware makers now putting Web services like Netflix, Twitter, and Facebook into their latest TV sets and Blu-ray players. There's also a growing group of companies that are trying to bring the entirety of the Web to the living room instead.

Three of these are launching new product iterations this week at the DemoSpring conference: GlideTV, Hillcrest Labs' Kylo Browser, and Viaclix. All three attempt to bring a full Web-browsing experience to TV sets.

Hillcrest Labs has actually been kicking around since 2001, and introduced its "Loop" remote control in early 2007. This is a special circular mouse that has had its buttons and ergonomics optimized for use on the couch. The tech inside it was also the source of a patent dispute with Nintendo over its Wii remote controller.

What the company introduced at Demo was a new browser called Kylo that works on both PCs and Macs, and makes use of the company's Loop hardware to make it easy to hop around the Web, and Web video sites. While users are able to download Kylo free of charge, and without buying a $99 Loop remote, the company is hoping it will spur sales of the remote.

Also offering special mouse hardware was GlideTV, which introduced a revamped version of its couch-friendly browser. Unlike Hillcrest's Loop, GlideTV makes use of a touch pad. Though it too is about finding Web video content to watch in a nontraditional Web browser. Its big new feature is that it scours the Web for new content, then separates it into channels. The new version also adds predictive text input so users aren't pecking out too many characters in a text search. … Read more