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NHK lays out Olympic broadcast plans, Super Hi-Vision test viewing locations in Japan
We've already run down Olympic broadcast plans in the US and UK, and now Japanese broadcaster NHK has unveiled some information. Similar to the others there is not only the TV production including data about ongoing competition, but also an online component complete with live video access on mobile devices, but also support for the acTVila video on-demand portal. The other notable information is that it's locked down locations and details for those trial Super Hi-Vision broadcasts, listing four spots where people can get their eyes on some sweet 8K UHDTV action. While most of them will be displayed by projectors, including a 520-inch screen in Shibuya, while Akihabara's Studio Park will feature a 360-inch LCD. The details for UK and US are a bit more vague, but if we have to track where in Washington D.C. NBC is letting the 33MP resolution video and 22.2ch sound out for a trial just by its scent, then that's what we'll have to do.
Panasonic's DMR-BF200 stuffs hard drive and Blu-ray burner into one tiny, magical box
And this, friends, is why Japan is a marvelous place. Panasonic has just removed the wraps from its new DIGA DMR-BF200, which is being hailed as the planet's smallest Blu-ray recorder. For all intents and purposes, this is simply an external hard drive with a slot-loading Blu-ray burner baked in, but there's plenty more on the inside to pay attention to. It'll stream DLNA content, interface with your other VIERA Link equipment, output content via HDMI and even access acTVila (a Japanese video-on-demand service). Users can also toss in an SD card for watching flicks stored on more portable media, and most anything housed on the 320GB internal hard drive can be toasted on BD-R/RE for playback elsewhere. It should be noted, however, that neither BDXL nor Blu-ray 3D are supported, but those still keenly interested can find it on November 15th for ¥70,000 ($861) in black or white.
Three for 3D: ESPN 3D adds Home Run Derby, Sky 3D launches 4/3, AcTVila makes the jump this summer
Three continents, three more milestone announcements for 3D. First up is Sky TV, which, with or without 15,000 or so flat screens from LG, is officially launching its Sky 3D channel around the Man. U/Chelsea game on April 3. Already have a 3DTV and Sky's "top channels and HD pack?" Call the company with details for activation, while everyone else checks to see if their local pub is among the thousand plus already signed up to receive the six live 3D matches slated for this season (plus the Coca Cola league playoff finals) and demo reel for all non-footy hours of the day. Bringing the focus back home, ESPN 3D has scheduled the first event it will produce and air itself, the MLB Home Run Derby on July 12, a day after launching with the SA/Mexico World Cup game. Other events officially on deck (the plan for the first year is still about 85) include several college basketball tournaments and the ACC Championship football game in December. Last but not least is Japan, already home to at least one 3D network, which will soon have access to even more over the cross-manufacturer AcTVila video on-demand service. Clearly, the only logical thing to do is to keep that "3D will never take off" comment macro keyed up, it will be getting a lot of use over the next few months.
Latest Hitachi LCDs & plasmas take all the thrill out of the Wooo
Look here Hitachi, according to our extensive community college experience "Wooo" is always an indicator of a good time to be had by all, new experiences, possible overnight police station stays and most recently, UWB wireless shenanigans, super slim HDTVs or other examples of display imagination. Following that trend from your Japanese arm, these 5 spec bumped models of XP035 series plasmas (42-, 46- and 50-inch, pictured) and XP35 LCDs (42- and 47-inch) don't quite live up to the name, while spec bumps over last year's edition with thorough DLNA and DTCP-IP support and 500GB hard drives with iVDR slots to add even more space might impress some, we've come to expect more. Come 2010, we're looking for super resolution or something else you haven't done before, don't let us down this time. Click through for even more detailed prices and specs, we'll be in the corner checking our CES reservations one more time.Read - Hitachi, 500GB HDD built-in full HD plasma / LCD TV - High-definition recording eight times / DLNA support "Wooo" 5 modelsRead - Hitachi Announces Several PDPs and LCD TVs with Both a 500GB HDD and DLNA Support
Sony's BDZ-A950 / BDZ-A750 Blu-ray recorders do the network thing
By and large, one Blu-ray recorder is just the same as the another. Not so with Sony's latest duo, which both come ready to toast material to blank BD-R media and tap into the wide world of internet video. Both the BDZ-A750 (320GB) and the BDZ-A950 (500GB) are able to stream and download video from Tsutaya TV and acTVila VOD services in Japan, and moreover, they can forward that material to a PSP or other compatible DAP via USB. In case that's not enough, the duo is also DLNA compatible, and the HDMI output ensures crisp, clean 1080p output. So, ready to change your mind on that whole "would you buy a Blu-ray recorder?" question?[Via Akihabara News]
Sony takes the wraps off 240Hz, RFID enabled BRAVIA LCDs in Japan
If the trouble of typing in a credit card number was the thing keeping you from renting acTVila video on-demand movies in Japan, Sony's fixed that right up by including FeliCa reading capability in the remote for its latest BRAVIA LCDs. No longer tied to an ugly outboard box, now you need only to press your credit card, cellphone or other RFID enabled device against the remote to authorize payment. The Japanese edition W5 and F5 line of LCDs mostly feature 240Hz MotionFlow and the latest BRAVIA Engine 3 display processing, and top out around ¥450,000 ($4,614) for a 52-inch. Check out video of the RFID remote on Akihabara News or embedded after the break and imagine living in a Blade Runner-type world of the future where overpriced rentals downloaded via fiber directly onto an HDTV screen are billed to whatever card desired with a mere flick of the wrist, as opposed to overpriced, overcompressed rentals that shamefully expand ones cable bill each month.[Via Akihabara News & AV Watch]
Tsutaya TV download HD to Blu-ray service tested
In the next step for the download-to-own movement, Tsutaya TV offers Japanese viewers the opportunity to download high definition (1080i) videos from Paramount, Warner, NBC Universal or Disney and burn them to a Blu-ray disc to keep permanently. In a trial run, AV Watch downloaded a full length 8.8Gb movie (No Country for Old Men) in 28 minutes over a fiber connection, compared to 120 minutes via ADSL. The magic of Google Translate reveals video quality that was only slightly outpaced by Blu-ray standards, unfortunately accompanied by only a stereo audio soundtrack. The biggest handicap? Equipment incompatibilities, with a burned disc that wouldn't play in a PlayStation 3, we're not sure if the acTVila-based service is ready for prime time, but at the moment we're at loss for a better option that serves both our need for instant gratification and packrat mentality at the same time.
Tsutaya online video portal to allow HD-to-optical disc burning
For all the digital download pundits who are quick to harp on the "limited viewing window" of downloadable material, chew on this. In a move that can only be described as "miraculous progress," Japan's own Tsutaya has somehow twisted the arms of four US film companies in order to allow HD content to be recorded to Blu-ray Discs or other optical media (up to two times) for later viewing. Initially, the Tsutaya TV on acTVila will have around half of its library (412 titles and growing) available for burning, and while details are somewhat fuzzy, we are told that HDTV video can be exported "without down-conversion" to BD-Rs, DVD-Rs and iVDR-S media. Of course, AACS protection will be applied, but this is infinitely more convenient than that whole Qflix disaster. Better still, we're told that future improvements will include down-converting HD content for use on portable devices (think Digital Copy), and it's anticipated that the downloadable films will be available day-and-date with hard copy releases. The rub? Each film will cost around ¥3,675 ($40), so for now, you're still better off heading to the store. Still -- focus on the progress, people, progress.
Panasonic's biggest plasma HDTVs get a fall makeover
Panasonic's finally shipping the larger editions of its latest plasmas, from the updated and suddenly more famous 103-inch model to the 65- and 58-inch PZ800 series that have been leaking into U.S. stores recently. Japan also gets the top of the line PZR900 series that takes the YouTube access available in the latest PZ850 series and throws in a 1 TB DVR to go along with the 30,000:1 contrast ratio and acTVila HD video on-demand support, packed into 42-, 50-, and 58-inch panels. Of course, for those with 5.1 million yen ($48,314 U.S.) laying around and a large amount of wall space, the king sized TH-103PZ800 is nearly entry-level priced compared to its $70,000 predecessor, so why not treat yourself? You deserve it.Read - TH-103PZ800Read - TH-65PZ800, TH-58PZ800Read - TH-50PZR900, TH-46PZR900, TH-42PZR900
Japan's top rental chain launches Tsutaya TV HD download-on-demand video service
Thanks to the fiber optic connections that connect nearly 12 million of Japan's 48 million households, video rental giant Tsutaya is probably laughing at Netflix's silly set-top box as it launches its Tsutaya TV HD download-on-demand rental service. Based on the acTVila service (a joint venture supported by Sony, Matsushita (Panasonic), Sharp, Toshiba and Hitachi, movies can download directly to connected HDTVs. Transformers, Heroes, Lost and Desperate Housewives will be among the first titles available in a library expected to grow to 2,000 titles by year-end, targeting older customers between their 40s and 50s, as opposed to the company's main in-store customers in their 20s. Full-length flicks run 735 yen (about $7), with a 48-hour rental period. Sure would be nice to have a standard feature set for digital downloads on this side of the Pacific, our jealousy threat level is: high.Read - Japan's top film rental chain offers high-definition downloadsRead - Tsutaya To Offer 2,000 Video Titles On Demand Via Internet TV
NHK offers old shows on HD VOD
NHK on Demand is prepping for a December launch in Japan, offering viewer a chance to check out older programming at their leisure. Available via PC, the acTVila service or J:COM On-Demand, there should be about 1,000 programs available at launch, with 1,000 more added every year afterwards, in high definition where applicable. Beyond just old catalog stuff, morning television, nightly news and prime time programming from the past week will be available, for a fee. NHK expects the VOD biz to operate at a loss for the first few years but sees profits far off once things are all set up. Remember the old days when you just had to watch what was on TV right then?
Japanese companies ally to create acTVila.com
Last week, there was more to come out of the recent CEATEC expo than just droolworthy gadgets. Half a dozen major Japanese television manufacturers -- Matsushita (Panasonic), Sony, Sony Communication Network, Toshiba, Sharp, and Hitachi -- have banded together to form a company called "TV Portal Service Corporation," which we're hoping sounds a little less like a mafia front in Japanese. The new partnership seeks to launch a website on February 1, 2007 called acTVila.com, which would be accessible through each company's net-enabled TV. The site aims to provide "basic information services" at first, and later will move to video-on-demand, "content downloading services" and "payment transactions" by 2008. Business talk aside, we hope that Apple doesn't mind that acTVila's logo looks very inspired by the Picasso-esque MacOS smiley face logo.[Via EETimes]
