Nielsen finds strong TV-Internet usage Overlap

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By Steve Gorman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Nearly a third of all U.S. household Internet activity takes place while the user watches television, suggesting new and old media often share rather than compete for attention, the Nielsen Company said in a report on Friday.
In fact, the study found that heavy Internet users are among the most dedicated of TV viewers, spending more than 250 minutes a day in front of the tube, compared with the 220 minutes of television watched by people who never go online.
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Posted on Mon, 3 Nov 2008 10:46:01 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Best Buy Qualifies All Insignia LCD TVs for Energy Star 3.0

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Best Buy has announced that it has qualified its complete line of Insignia LCD TVs for the Energy Star 3.0 specification. All sets manufactured after November 1, 2008 will meet the requirements for the specification. Six of the TVs exceed the new specification by 15% or more.

Best Buy says that the certification of its TVs is a response to customers wanting more energy efficient electronic devices. Best Buy says that it worked with its TV manufacturers to make the sets 30% more efficient than competing products. All Insignia TVs available at Best Buy stores across the US will be Energy Star 3.0 rated by December 31, 2008. Read more

Posted on Mon, 3 Nov 2008 08:31:00 CST | by Shane McGlaun

MySpace, MTV test Piracy-profit Plan

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By Andrew Wallenstein
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - A new technology that essentially allows content owners to profit from piracy will get a high-profile test this month from MySpace and MTV Networks.
Instead of triggering the usual take-down notices, copyright-infringing footage of select MTV Networks programing uploaded by MySpace subscribers would be automatically redistributed with advertisements that would generate revenue for the companies. MTV Networks is the parent company of such channels as MTV, BET, Comedy Central, Spike and Nickelodeon.
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Posted on Mon, 3 Nov 2008 00:52:48 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

French TNT HD first to adopt Dolby Digital Plus for HD Terrestrial TV

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Dolby announced that Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby Digital have been chosen by France’s new national high-definition terrestrial broadcasters for the Télévision Numérique Terrestre HD (TNT HD) platform, which was launched this week.
TNT HD includes currently channels TF1 HD, France 2 HD, ARTE HD, Canal+ HD, and M6 HD. Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby Digital audio will allow viewers to enjoy broadcasts in 5.1 surround sound as well as stereo. Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby Digital audio are designed specifically to adapt to the changing demands of future entertainment delivery while retaining backward compatibility with the existing Dolby Digital 5.1-channel home theater systems in use today. Read more

Posted on Fri, 31 Oct 2008 04:52:18 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Disney Hannah Montana LCD TV on Sale for $249.99

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The 15 inch Disney Hannah Montana LCD TV is definitely a hot item for Hannah Montana fans. The tricked out Hannah TV features a 15 inch LCD display with 1024x768px resolution, NTSC/ATSC Tuner Built-In, Sleep Timer, VGA with Audio Input for Computer, and Stereo Speakers.

The Disney 15" Hannah Montana LCD TV sells right now for $249.99 on Amazon.com. Read more

Posted on Wed, 29 Oct 2008 07:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Mitsubishi LaserVue Laser TV officially on Sale

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Mitsubishi announced that their first Laser TV LaserVue 65 inch HDTV is available at retailers now. The Mitsubishi LaserVue L65-A90 is now being sold for $6,999 at select specialty retailers nationwide.
Apparently sales of the Laser TV started earlier as Mitsubishi says in the announcement that many consumers nationally have already purchased LaserVue.

Quote: "The consumer demand for LaserVue has simply exceeded our expectations and the product is a terrific example of Mitsubishi's technology leadership within the home entertainment market. Bringing laser TV to market is a significant industry accomplishment and we're very proud to be the only TV manufacturer to date that has delivered on the promise of a laser-driven TV," said Frank DeMartin, vice president, marketing, at Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America. Read more

Posted on Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:28:15 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Samsung LN52A630 52-Inch LCD HDTV Review

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As reported Samsung TVs dominate the sales charts. To see if they earned it read for instance this Samsung LN52A630 52-Inch LCD HDTV review.
Quote from the review: "As the market gets more competitive, it can become increasingly difficult to choose just the right TV. After all, if you’re going to invest a couple thousand dollars in a large LCD TV, you want to be sure that you’re getting the right one. I had the opportunity to stimulate my senses with the latest series of LCD televisions from Samsung. Read more

Posted on Tue, 28 Oct 2008 04:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

New Sharp Aquos W64SH TV Phone hits Japanese Carrier KDDI

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Sharp unveiled new Aquos branded mobile phones in Japan with the Sharp Aquos W64SH featuring a neat 3.5 inch screen.
Japanese KDDI customers can watch DMB TV on a new Sharp screen featuring Mobile ASV, high color rendering backlight, 2,000:1 contrast ratio, SV engine + and smooth mode.
Stereo speakers are placed on the sides of the screen like on a big TV.
Other features of the new Sharp TV phone W64SH include 5.2MP camera, FM Transmitter, Bluetooth, and Dictionary. Read more

Posted on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:28:46 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Best Buy Sony PS3 and Sony Bravia HDTV Bundle actually great Value

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This week Best Buy offers a special PS3 bundle featuring the 40 inch Sony Bravia KDL-40V4100 HDTV and the Sony Bravia HTCT100 3.1ch sound bar.
All three items together would cost $2,099.97 at Best Buy. The TV has a $150 rebate and when you buy the PS3 and the soundbar on top you get another $350 savings resulting in a $1,599.97 Package Price. Read more

Posted on Sun, 26 Oct 2008 11:54:01 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Haier HLT71 7-inch LCD TV is I4U Top 100 Gift Tip #67

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A massive 60-inch HDTV is all fine and well for the living room, but there are times when a much smaller TV is more desirable. For times like that, the 7-inch LCD TV from Haier is perfect. The little TV is great to take on trips to the lake or beach to keep kids entertained. It would also work very well for road trips in a car or camping trips.

The little TV has a built-in digital tuner so it will continue to work after the digital transition early next year. The screen ratio is selectable between 16:9 and 4:3. Inputs on the back are available for connecting DVD players and game consoles. The set also ships with an AC adapter, car adapter, and remote control. Read more

Posted on Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

ABI Research says Fewer Terrestrial TV Viewers After Conversion to DTV

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ABI Research says that after the digital conversion terrestrial viewers of free TV signals will be left. According to the survey, 70% of analog TV viewers will get a converter, 10% will move to cable or satellite and 20% will simply not watch TV.

The study also claims that while HD satellite programming choices are growing and more and more subscribers are signing up, the new subscribers aren’t coming from cable defectors. Rather according to the study, the new HD satellite subscribers are coming from terrestrial viewers and teleco subscribers. Read more

Posted on Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:05:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Reuters: Take That to perform at MTV Europe Awards

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LONDON (Reuters) - British band Take That will perform at MTV's Europe Music Awards in Liverpool next month, 14 years after they appeared at the first edition of the annual show when it was held at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.
The band will join the likes of Beyonce, P!nk, Duffy, The Killers and Kid Rock on stage at the awards ceremony on November 6, following their comeback in 2006 and sellout tour in 2007.

"After having performed at the first ever MTV Europe Music Awards in 1994 and having such fond memories of the event in Berlin, it is a great honor to be asked back 14 years later," Take That said in a statement.
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Posted on Wed, 22 Oct 2008 13:53:36 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

How cool is Motorstorm: Pacific Rift for the PS3? Very Cool according to TV Ad

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The new Motorstorm: Pacific Rift is starting to ship on October 28th. Sony produced a very cool TV ad to promote Motorstrom: Pacific Rift featuring some real daring stunts.
Real-life crazy stuntmen who strapped into ATVs, Bikes, Buggies and Trucks jumped from a C-130 Hercules at 10,000 feet to enter the remote island Pacific Rift. See the ad below. Read more

Posted on Tue, 21 Oct 2008 05:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Wrist TV from NHJ available again for only $49.97

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I just stumbled over the Wrist TV from NHJ on Amazon.com. A 3rd party retailer named ShopTronics offers the tiny TV for only $49.97. I have no idea where the company found stock of this well aged gadget. I reviewed the NHJ Wrist TV back in 2004. Four years ago the NHJ Watch TV sold for close to $200. NHJ actually went bankrupt in 2005.
With a screen size of 1.5 inch the NHJ Wrist TV is still the smallest TV on the market as far as I know. Read more

Posted on Sun, 19 Oct 2008 09:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Samsung TVs absolutely dominate Amazon.com Bestseller List

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This is pretty impressive: There are 11 Samsung TVs in the top 12 bestselling TVs on Amazon.com. Only a cheapo 7 inch portable TV from Haier disturbs the Samsung dominance at the rank 8. If I were a Sony, Toshiba, LG, or Panasonic executive, I would not be able to sleep.
It looks like Samsung hit the sweet spot with feature set, image quality and pricing for consumers. The user reviews on the listed Samsung TVs are rather positive. Additionally Amazon heavily supports the Samsung HDTV with product descriptions and purchase guidance, which sure helps. Read more

Posted on Sun, 19 Oct 2008 07:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Weekly Top 10: New MacBooks, Eee Top, Krave, Blu-ray TV

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As rumors indicated Apple introduced new Apple MacBook and MacBook Pro notebooks this week. Apple highlights the new unibody aluminum design, making the new MacBooks more robust and thinner at the same time. The Apple notebooks stay expensive, only an updated white plastic MacBook is now available at under $1,000.
Elmo Live started to ship this week and got reviewed. The new Elmo is already hard to find for the normal retail price over two month before the Christmas Holidays.
The new Sony PSP-3000 also started to ship this week - the Holiday Shopping Season slowly draws nearer.

Our I4U Top 100 Holiday Tech-Gift Guide already feature over 60 tips.

See also our latest Tech Video Reports.
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