Category: TVs
LG has gone mental and made a TV out of gold
As if TVs weren’t expensive enough already. The new LG home theatre system is plastered with 24 carat gold, and is the most needless, pointless and overpriced innovation in home cinema since Blu-ray and HD-DVD came along.
The ludicrously OTT 71″ set, which uses PDP technology to display its HD pictures…
Half of UK homes now ready for digital switchover
Half of all UK households have switched all of their TV sets over to digital, according to new research from Ofcom and Digital UK.
Nearly nine out of ten respondents were aware of digital switchover – the highest number to date – while two out of three understood how to prepare for the switchover.
Humax launches two LCD TVs with Freeview Playback
Humax has announced the launch of their 32-inch (LP32-TDR1) and 40-inch (LP40-TDR1) LCD TVs, both of which feature built-in dual tuner digital recorders, and have achieved Freeview Playback status.
We covered the basics of Freeview Playback when we reported on Humax’s PVR-9200 series of DTRs attaining the certification.
Philips takes Ambilight a step further with Aurea
Philips is building on the successs of its Ambilight range of TVs, offering not only a glow from the screen, but the frame too with Aurea, which means an “entertainment experience that creates an emotional experience that goes far beyond normal viewing”, according to Phlips’ understated press release.
LG receives Group 2 Freeview Playback certification for LT75 and PT85 Time Machine TV ranges
Last week we reported that Humax has received Group 2 Freeview Playback certification for its DTRs, and now LG has also received certification, for its LCD and plasma Time Machine TV range.
LG claim that it’s the first company to receive such certification – presumably they mean for TVs otherwise Humax may have something to say about it.
Not that we really care who’s first – it simply means that more equipment has attained one of the latest digital TV standards, and so should improve consumers’ Freeview experience.
Study suggests educational DVDs and TV may not be so good for baby after all
A new study from researchers at the University of Washington suggests that using educational TV and DVD, such as the “Baby Einstein” and “Brainy Baby” series, or “Sesame Street”, may not be as beneficial for babies and young children as many hoped.
It’s hardly a crime for parents to let their children watch some TV, and if it’s teaching them something too, so much the better (at least, better than letting them watch Big Brother). Even so, the study suggests that for every hour per day that babies watch these DVDs and videos, they learn six to eight fewer new vocabulary words than babies who hadn’t watched them.
Now, parents being told what’s best for their kids by University boffins often leads to emotions running high. While these studies suggest that children who sit passively in front of TV shows don’t do as well educationally, child-raising is a helluva lot more complicated than that.
Built to last? Panasonic high definition plasma TVs will last at least 42 years
Panasonic has published a lifespan statistic for its “full” high definition (1080p) plasma TVs: on average they’ll last at least 42 years before the brightness of the display degrades to less than 50%.
That’s based on an average 6.5 hours viewing every single day – or 100,000 hours in total.
Even its 720p high definition plasma TVs will last for 60,000 hours (around 25 years).
It’s an interesting statistic to highlight, in a fast-paced, needed-to-be-replaced-last-week technology culture, and though I don’t know the exact statistic for people replacing their TVs is, I bet it’s closer to 5-10 years than 42.
Retailers need to improve advice on digital TV switchover, research suggests
According to recent research by Digital UK, the independent body implementing the UK’s switch to digital TV, there are too many electrical retailers giving poor information about the digital switchover.
Their research found that, while 69% of stores were using the ‘digital tick’ logo, only 32% could accurately explain it. 56% of stores couldn’t explain what would happen to analogue recorders at switchover, while only 27% ran a postcode check on their customers’ reception options.
Digital Divide? Over 50% of new TVs sold in UK last year analogue
According to the latest figures from GfK, over half of the 7.5 million TVs sold in the past year were analogue (4.4m).
Though the number of digital TVs sold in the year ending May 2007 had increased almost threefold over the previous year, at just over 3m compared to just over 1m, still more analogue TVs were sold, though the figure had dropped from around 5.6m in 2006 to 4.4m in 2007.
Nick Simon at GfK expressed some concern over the figures. “Unfortunately there were still more than 4 million analogue TVs sold in the last 52 weeks, suggesting that there is still a lot of work required to convert all 25 million plus UK households. This is especially an issue when GfK ConsumerScope research reveals an average of two and a half sets per household.”
