Tag: research

UK electrical industry agrees to phase out analogue TV manufacture ahead of digital switchover

digital.jpgWith the recent news that over half of all TVs sold last year were analogue, set against imminent digital switchover, it’s no surprise that the UK’s electrical industry has announced that it’s to phase out the manufacture and sale of analogue TV equipment.

By the end of the year, the group (which includes well known high street retailers, independents, and manufacturers), has committed to:

* accelerate conversion of all TV product lines to digital, including small (16-inch and under) TVs,
* move to all-digital TV and recorder production lines at least 12 months before digital switchover in each UK region,
* provide clear consumer information in electrical stores,
* label all digital equipment with the “digital tick” mark to indicate it will work before, during, and after switchover,
* phase out the sale of all non-digital recorders, including analogue DVD recorders.

Andy Merrett TVs

High definition discs outsell VHS tapes: is it really a milestone?

dvd.jpgAccording to research from Video Business, the combined sales of Blu-ray and HD DVD high definition discs was greater than that of VHS cassettes sold in the first half of 2007.

Although standard definition DVD sales also slumped by around 5% in the same period, due mainly to a weak bunch of new releases, the dominant disc format is hardly challenged by these findings.

Sales of pre-recorded video tapes are all but non-existent now, with most consumers preferring the greater convenience, features, quality, and smaller form factor of DVDs.

Andy Merrett Blu-ray, HD DVD

Study suggests educational DVDs and TV may not be so good for baby after all

sesame_street_characters.jpgA 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.

Andy Merrett Science, TVs

BT Total Broadband don their detective caps and conclude that OMG MEN SHOP ONLINE!

menshopping.jpg BT don’t just churn out the nation’s broadband and phone services anymore, oh no, it appears they spend a heck of a lot of time doing HIGHLY IMPORTANT RESEARCH FOR THE NATION’S WELFARE. In other words, they’ve just completed a survey amongst men where the results are rather un-shocking. Turns out men like shopping after all, and that vast chasm of goods otherwise known as THE INTERNET is to blame. Is to blame for them no longer buying us women flowers, I mean.

BT Total Broadband has concluded that “the traditional stereotype of men being reluctantly dragged around the shops by their wives and girlfriends has been replaced by a new era dominated by men out-shopping their partners online from the comfort and secrecy of homes and offices across the nation”.

With 72% of men having their arms twisted behind their back and forced to decrease the alleged amount of time they spend on the net buying clothes, gadgets, and assorted other necessities, BT has dubbed this the ‘Me Moment’….

Katherine Hannaford Internet

High-value consumers want Net Neutrality: no two-tier Internet

broadbandmodem.jpgTim Berners-Lee has spoken out against it, now new research suggests that high-value Internet consumers in Europe want flat-rate pricing on their broadband service without Internet Service Providers (ISPs) placing restrictions on what they can access.

JupiterResearch, which carried out the Europe-wide study, is urging ISPs not to supply faster, prioritised Internet access only to a select group of web sites that pay for improved performance.

29% of consumers questioned said that they desired flat-rate, unlimited broadband, while 16% said they wanted no access restrictions.

Andy Merrett Broadband, Internet