televisions

Combo TV-microwave to feed addiction

Talk about evolution. A decade ago the iconic appliance of digital age was the Internet toaster; now say hello to the microwave TV.

Thankfully, no one seems to be viewing this latest invention as the ultimate device in technological convergence--quite the opposite, actually. But that hasn't stopped Holland Electro Wave TV from debuting its Frankenstein creation at the IFA trade show in Berlin. The concept is rather silly, if you ask us: The "Wave," according to Gizmag, is basically a microwave oven with an LCD built into the door.

Not only does it cost about $680, which … Read more

The world's new largest TV?

Tucked away on the JVC stand at this year's IFA trade show in Berlin was a little surprise. A 110-inch LCD projection TV, using three D-ILA--or to use the more descriptive name, liquid crystal on silicon--chips, through which light is projected to create an image on screen.

Easily the most impressive thing about this telly is the fact that it uses very little power. Indeed, JVC claims it uses roughly the same amount as a 37-inch LCD screen. That means that it drinks less precious electricity, which puts less of a strain on our planet and the bunnies can … Read more

Flat-panels to kill off rear-projection TV sales by 2011

Will rear-projection TV sales plunge to near zero within the next 48 months? That's what a new study from IDC Group claims. With ever larger plasma and (especially) LCD flat-panel HDTVs becoming ever more affordable, IDC sees sales of RPTV sets--those utilizing DLP and LCoS microdisplays--dropping to under 30,000 units by 2011. That's a dramatic drop from the peak of 3.51 million sold in 2004 (according to the CEA).

None of this is shocking news, of course--the trend toward flat panels has been increasingly irreversible as large plasmas and LCD screens continue to break key price-point … Read more

RUNtv: Taking internet video and putting it on Cable Television

Are you a videoblogger, a You Tuber, filmmaker, or a video journalist? If so, check out RUNtv, a new television show on peralta.TV that I have been developing for the past few months. The two-hour weekly show features short form videos from all genres and provide an opportunity for you to get paid for your work.

Viewers and visitors each week will be invited to vote on their favorites, and we will be giving out cash grants to the top three videos every episode. First place gets $250, second $100 and the third place film will receive $50. Our … Read more

China won't let the CRT die

Though Japanese television manufacturers have mostly ditched tube TV manufacturing, their Chinese counterparts are just getting started exporting the sets.

In 2007, China's TV exports will for the first time surpass its domestic shipments, according to a new report from market research firm iSuppli. That's a direct result of Japan's TV makers' decision to focus on the more lucrative business of flat-panel sets, which bring in significantly higher margins, said Kathleen Zhang, iSuppli's China analyst. China will export 39.6 million TVs this year, and ship 38.3 million domestically, iSuppli said.

Though more U.S. … Read more

Minisodes: For those who find 30-minute sitcoms too deep and drawn out

The average half hour sitcom runs about 22 minutes, but for some people that's simply too long. Most successful web videos average between 2 and 5 minutes, and the folks at Sony Pictures Television have found a new way to deliver classic television to this shortened-attention-span set. As highlighted in a recent story by CNN, The The Minisode Network is presented on Myspace and offers a swath of retro television episodes that have been carefully edited down to five minutes in an effort to update the old shows for the post millennium web format.

The network offers a variety of programming from Dilbert to Diff'rent Strokes, but is something lost in translation as the video editors slice and dice everything from the original that is considered not essential? Are these mostly ancient sitcoms even worth watching today in either form? While I can't be certain whether it's a result of the hack jobs or the dated material, most of the mini-episodes I watched felt incomplete and not really worth watching. The editing was clean and seamless, but the stories lacked any real development (something that's already a problem with the sitcom genre). The jokes were still there and the punchlines were also kept intact, but the timing was wrong and the humor was all but lost on me.

… Read more

Current terms for Current.TV are new and improved

Before YouTube became ubiquitious, and long before they were snatched up by Google, Vice President Al Gore launched his own experiment to democratize television: Current TV. Initially introduced to the public with a series of gatherings at bars and colleges as INdTV, the moniker Current TV was announced with great fan-fare in April of 2005 prior to the station's premiere that August. Although initial reviews of the station were luke-warm at best, it was their initial submission terms that led many of us video creators to stick to other distribution avenues. The good news is that Current TV now … Read more

DietTelevision: The mother of all diet sites

A new diet site and social network is launching this week: DietTelevison. It looks like a good resource for people trying to lose weight. It has a ton of diet-related information, as well as a social network to give dieters a support group.

As an information source, it's very rich. You select your tolerance for various diet aspects (your affection for bread or for meat; your preference for affordable or restaurant-friendly plans, for example), and the site then gives you a list of diets that matches your wishes. While the site doesn't have arrangements with the people who … Read more

Reports: Thorny antipiracy treaty is dead for now

A divisive treaty that digital rights groups, consumer electronics companies and librarians have warned would gut the public's home and fair use rights to television signals appears to be on its deathbed.

For years, a United Nations committee has been attempting to craft a treaty designed to give TV and satellite broadcasters, cablecasters and, depending on whom you ask, Webcasters extra latitude to combat piracy of their signals.

But now we're hearing reports from the final day of a weeklong meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization panel in Geneva that those efforts have collapsed, at least for … Read more