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NBC-Comcast deal comes under Justice Department, FCC scrutiny

admin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:30:06 +0000

We can’t say we didn’t warn you. Looks like the kids at Comcast have to answer some questions over at the Justice Department — and the FCC — before they get their hands on NBC. Both agencies have pledged to “examine the transaction closely,” says AP, being ever-vigilant as they are to protect consumers and competition in this free market society of ours. The review could last upwards of a year, but if that means that 2011 could see the debut of NBC-Universal’s “Comcastic!” theme parks, it will all have been worth it.

NBC-Comcast deal comes under Justice Department, FCC scrutiny originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Panasonic 3DTV review in, great blacks and the best 3D anywhere

admin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:30:07 +0000

While the rest of us wait to try out the latest 3DTVs that went on sale this week for ourselves, Gary Merson took a trip with his test equipment to Panasonic’s NJ headquarters. The good news is that the 2D picture quality was better than last year’s model and in fact the black level reading was one-half of the V10’s out of the box performance. So as if getting a better HD picture for less money wasn’t enough, Gary says the “the 3D image (is) outstanding with considerably more brightness and pop than the motion picture theater 3D movie experience.” So yeah it is the best 3D experience you can get anywhere.

First Panasonic 3DTV review in, great blacks and the best 3D anywhere originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Switched On: Thumbs up, thumbs down at TiVo Premiere

admin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:33:04 +0000

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

TiVo’s announcement of TiVo Premiere represents the most significant user interface overhaul for the device in years. Based on Adobe Flash and optimized for the high-definition screens that are likely to be paired with CableCARD programming, the new user interface blends together live, recorded, and broadband content. That presentation is more akin to what we’ve seen from Windows Media Center, and less like TiVo’s Series3 that segmented programming sources by type. TiVo has also beefed up its search capability, bringing it up to par with that of its only significant retail DVR competitor, Digeo’s Moxi.

The new interaction widens the user experience gap between TiVo and your average cable or satellite DVR, and TiVo has two other features that set it apart. First, no doubt reacting to the Moxi competition, TiVo long ago reinstated its lifetime service option that was so popular in the product’s early years. However, those who have opted for this plan through TiVo’s major platform upgrades over the years have endured more lifetime sentences than many a felon.

Continue reading Switched On: Thumbs up, thumbs down at TiVo Premiere

Switched On: Thumbs up, thumbs down at TiVo Premiere originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First look at our 3D TV lab tests

admin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:30:04 +0000

First tests of 3D TVs

When you test as many products as we do here at Consumer Reports, it's hard to get folks excited. Well, we managed to do just that with our 3D TV tests. As you'll see in the accompanying video, the engineers, editors, and other members of our staff had pretty strong reactions to the 3D TVs we're now testing.

Our preliminary test results speak for themselves. The 3D effect is realistic, to put it mildly. Our engineers, and the rest of us who put on the wraparound specs, were bobbing and weaving when the paddle-ball from Monsters vs. Aliens seemed about to fly off the screen and hit us.

Take a look inside our labs for yourself and see what all the excitement is about. We'll be posting lots more from our 3D TV tests, so check back often.

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HDTV Listings for March 11, 2010

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:32:57 +0000

What we’re watching tonight:

NBC (1080i) has Community at 8 p.m., Parks & Recreation at 8:30 p.m., The Office at 9 p.m. and 30 Rock at 9:30 p.m.
CBS (1080i) has Survivor 8 p.m., CSI at 9 p.m. and The Mentalist at 10 p.m.
ABC (720p) has Grey’s Anatomy at 9 p.m. and Private Practice at 10 p.m.
FX (720p) has Archer at 10 p.m.
WGN (1080i) has WWE Superstars at 8 p.m
Food (1080i) airs Ace of Cakes at 10 p.m.
TLC (1080i) has Police Women of Maricopa at 9 p.m. and L.A. Ink at 10 p.m.
Spike (1080i) has TNA: Impact! at 9 p.m.
TNT (1080i) has an NBA doubleheader with Bulls/Magic at 8 p.m. and Trail Blazers/Warriors at 10:30 p.m.
EPSN (720p) has a college basketball doubleheader with Notre Dame/Pittsburgh at 7 p.m. and Cincinnati/West Virginia at 9:30 p.m.
ESPN2 (720p) has a college basketball doubleheader with North Carolina/Georgia Tech at 7 p.m. and Texas/Baylor at 9:30 p.m.

HDTV Listings for March 11, 2010 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Daily Dispatch: Blippy gets new privacy features; Check local inventory with Google

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:14:00 +0000

Combing through hundreds of blog posts and news articles daily, Dirk Klingner, our technology-trend watcher, sifts through the noise to bring you the tech news most important to consumers. If you have a tip on a story you want to share, leave a comment below.

Blippy Gets A Facebook-Inspired Redesign And An Important New Privacy Feature (TechCrunch)

…Starting today, you can manually review each purchase before it’s displayed on Blippy. This is an important step in the direction of better privacy controls.

In stock nearby? Look for the blue dots. (Google Mobile Blog)

…We're happy to announce that as of today, if you're searching for a product that is sold by participating retailers, including Best Buy, Sears, Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, or West Elm, you can just look for the blue dots in the search results to see if it's available in a local store. If you see a blue dot, you can tap on the adjacent "In stock nearby" link, and you'll be taken to the seller's page where you'll see whether the item is "In Stock" or has "Limited Availability" near you.

Google Reader Play (Google Operating System)

Google Reader Play is a new way to read popular articles and an interesting interface for browsing web pages. "In Google Reader Play, items are presented one at a time, and each item is big and full-screen.

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DirecTV to launch three high-def 3D channels in June

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:30:05 +0000

Are you thinking about buying a 3D TV, but are worried you'll have little or nothing to watch? Amidst the fanfare at Panasonic's 3D launch at Best Buy yesterday was an announcement by DirecTV that it would start offering high-def 3D channels beginning in June.

At the event in New York City, which drew executives from Panasonic, Best Buy, DirecTV, and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, DirecTV said it will offer, in partnership with Panasonic, three dedicated high-def 3D channels to its subscribers starting in June. Current DirecTV customers will be able to update their satellite receivers via a software download that will make their existing receiver 3D-capable.

ESPN has also said it will launch a 3D channel this summer, and Discovery has said it will partner with Sony and IMAX to launch a 3D network sometime next year.

News about 3D Blu-ray movie titles is also starting to trickle out. Twentieth Century Fox, for example, was on hand to announce that its firstŃD Blu-Ray title, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, will be available starting in April.

Of course, 3D TVs work just like a regular set when you're watching normal 2D content, sans glasses, so it's not as if you can use the TV only with 3D fare. And the amount of 3D content is certain to grow, so there'll be plenty of opportunities to don the glasses and enter the third dimension as time goes on.

—Michael Rosato

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TiVo returning to the UK thanks to partnership with Virgin Media

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:01:00 +0000

It looks like TiVo’s freshly minted Premiere hardware will soon be setting sail eastwards as The Daily Telegraph is reporting Virgin Media’s next generation set-top box will be built around it. Loyal readers of Engadget HD will already be aware that TiVo and Virgin hooked up last November and this latest news relates to the first hardware to be spawned from that relationship. According to TiVo CEO Tom Rogers, the Premiere will “heavily inspire the development work” going into Virgin’s next TV appendage, which may or may not mean that the cable company will simply rebadge the well-received new boxes. What’s assured though is much greater integration with online content, with search linking you out to Amazon, BBC’s iPlayer, YouTube or good old standard broadcast channels. The whole thing’s about unlimited choice, apparently, and should be showing up on the Queen’s isles by the end of this year. We can wait, but we’d rather we didn’t have to.

TiVo returning to the UK thanks to partnership with Virgin Media originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The price of a 3D TV setup: $3,300 for a family of four

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:30:07 +0000

Now that Panasonic and Samsung have announced prices for their 3D TV lineups, we’re happy to report that 3D models start as low as $1,700, though bigger sets loaded with bells and whistles could run as high as $6,000 or $7,000.

Those prices seems reasonable for a set with the latest technology, likely about what many of us spent for a new flat-panel TV a year or two ago.

But unlike those earlier sets, you’ll have to buy some additional gear, such as a 3D Blu-ray player and 3D LCD shutter glasses, if you want to enjoy the 3D experience. Right now you can expect to pay about $400 for a 3D-enabled Blu-ray player, and around $150 for each set of additional glasses beyond the one or two pairs that may come with your TV.

So whatâ€�s the real cost of getting set up for 3D in the home? Let’s do the math: Right now, Samsung’s least expensive model now on sale is a $2,600 46-inch LCD model with an LED backlight and 240Hz technology (UN46򥒈). If you also buy the company’s new $400 3D Blu-ray player (model BD-C6900) in conjunction with the TV, you’ll get a free pair of 3D shutter glasses as part of a promotional bundle. That brings the total to $3,000. But a family of four will have to buy two more sets of 3D glasses at $149 a pop, raising the total system price to $3,300. The least expensive Samsung models announced are a conventionally backlit 46-inch LCD with
240Hz technology for $1,700, and a
50-inch $1,800 3D plasma set, but they don't arrive until May.

Panasonic is offering a $2,900 bundle at Best Buy’s Magnolia stores that combines its 50-inch 3D 1080p plasma TV (TC-P50VT20), which comes with one pair of active 3D shutter glasses, with its $400 3D Blu-ray player (model DMP-BDT300). But the TV is listed separately for $2,500, so there’s really no savings for purchasing the bundle now (except for the lucky first customer who got a year of free DirecTV as part of a first-sale promotion). If you add on the additional $450 for the three extra 3D glasses needed for a family of four, the total price is $3,350.

So, is $3,300 too much to pay for an in-home 3D experience? I guess it’s all relative. I paid $3,500 for the 50-inch Pioneer plasma in my living room just a few years ago, and it�™s a 720p set. Still, $3,000 in this economy is a lot of money for most of us. If I was in the market for a new TV right now, I would definitely consider getting a 3D model—the premium isn’t outrageous, and it would be a way of future-proofing my purchase for the day when 3D content was more readily available and I was willing to spring for a 3D Blu-ray player. Let us know what you think about 3D TV pricing, and how it will affect what you buy this year.

—James K. Willcox

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Daily Dispatch: Jet pack can be yours for $86k; Biking directions added to Google Maps

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:30:06 +0000

It's 2010 - finally my jet pack is here! (Gizmag)

Only $86,000 will get you the first commercially available jet pack (right).

Kyte Now Offering Broadcast-Quality Live Video Streaming Backpack (TechCrunch)

…LivePro is a computer in a backpack connected to six data cards all uploading live video at the same time, balancing the load across three different carriers (Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon).

Biking directions added to Google Maps (Official Google Blog)

…Today we've added biking directions and extensive bike trail data to Google Maps for the U.S. My team has been keeping close tabs on all the public support for biking directions that’s been steadily coming in, but we knew that when we added the feature, we wanted to do it right: we wanted to include as much bike trail data as possible, provide efficient routes, allow riders to customize their trip, make use of bike lanes, calculate rider-friendly routes that avoid big hills and customize the look of the map for cycling to encourage folks to hop on their bikes. So that's exactly what we've done.

How Ars Technica’s “experiment” with ad-blocking readers built on its community’s affection for the site (Nieman Journalism Lab)

…On Friday evening, Ars tried an experiment: Readers running ad blockers got a blank page instead of the story they intended to read. The move was a technical success, but caused an uproar (and confusion) among users. In hindsight, Fisher told me, the site’s experiment in retribution was the “wrong approach,â€ causing confusion among many readers.

Lighter side: THE NEW DORK - Entrepreneur State of Mind [Jay-Z ft Alicia Keys Spoof] (PantlessKnights)

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