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Comcast agrees to kill 10G branding after advertising watchdogs said it was misleading
Advertising watchdogs found that Comcast's "10G" branding could mislead consumers into thinking its internet was much faster than it actually is.
Comcast hit download speeds of 6Gbps over cable in a recent ‘10G’ test
It plans to start offering multi-gigabit symmetrical internet services to customers in 2023.
Comcast tests the first multigigabit cable modem
Comcast has tested the first cable modem that can offer multigigabit speeds, although it's not clear if you'll get to make full use of that performance.
Comcast takes another step toward '10G' with test of a multigigabit chip
If you can't get a fiber connection, DOCSIS 4.0 and '10G' could be your route to multigigabit speeds for uploads and downloads.
Comcast tests tech that enables gigabit upload speeds over cable
Just a few years ago Comcast started rolling out 1Gbps cable service and now it’s widely available in many areas across the country, but it still can’t match fiber for upload speed. Many fiber services offer gigabit speeds for customers on uploads and downloads, while the Xfinity package is limited to 35Mbps upload, at a time when people are creating more content and producing more video streams from home than ever before. This week however, Comcast ran a test that enabled 1.25Gbps speeds up and down on their live network at a home in Jacksonville.
Sharp to cut LCD production in Osaka plant by half
Remember that brand-spanking new production facility in Sakai City, Osaka that Sharp just christened a few years back? Japan's Nikkei business daily reports that Sharp will be cutting output at that factory by a whopping half for a month or maybe longer -- its second major reduction in a year. The Sakai factory typically makes 1.3 million 40-inch panels per month but was running at 80-90 percent capacity after being idled in April. Sharp continues to be impacted by the same cutthroat competition in the LCD market that has affected Japanese rivals like Hitachi and Sony as the high yen continues to push up pricing for domestically produced goods while dragging down overseas revenues. Sharp, which recently announced its 2012 lineup, is now thinking about reconfiguring the plant to make panels with higher resolutions and other features during the slowdown.
Inside Sharp's new LCD factory, we can see our next HDTV from here
The path back to LCD leadership for Sharp begins at its just opened Sakai City manufacturing facility. Being a 10th generation facility means it can roll out more and bigger displays, producing six 60-inch LCDs from each glass substrate, 60% more than older 8g facilities. Check out the pics for a peek at where 72,000 substrates per month will be made, delivering those slim LED backlit televisions getting so much love, along with solar panels (also being installed on the roofs for that extra green vibe that's in vogue these days) and a few of the more than 100,000 energy efficient LEDs lighting the factory itself. Whether your closest HDTV purchase is a turkey fueled memory from last weekend or yet to come, bargain hunters and AV fans alike can appreciate an eyeful of the robots and testing equipment slicing, dicing and stamping screens headed for shelves nearby, whether bearing an Aquos brand or any number of other nameplates.
Sharp combines its latest LCD improvements in LX series HDTVs
Coming straight out of a brand new 10G production facility in Sakai, Sharp's line of LX HDTVs (in 60-, 52-, 46- and 40-inch sizes) are all sporting the latest in LCD technology with UV²A panels and LED backlighting. Unfortunately, like Sony, these new screens abandon the higher quality RGB LED technology of the pricey XS1 series for cheaper white LEDs. Still, with a price of around $5,000 for a 52-inch compared to the $12,000 sticker shock of the XS1, it's easy to see why the switch was made. Other improvements include a light sensor for auto-calibration, a six speaker (5 speakers on the 40-inch) integrated 2.1 channel sound system with "Duo Bass" subwoofer and the usual assortment of VOD and AQUOS network support in store for Japanese buyers this November. While already available on a few U.S. models expect the new tech to spread across Sharp's U.S. lineup shortly, not to mention Sony and anyone other parties interested in a piece of the company's suddenly expanded manufacturing muscle. [Via AV Watch & Akihabara News]
Sony, Sharp 10G LCD production plant deal officially official
Economic difficulties made things more complicated than expected, but Sharp and Sony have finally inked an agreement on a billion dollar joint venture that will see Sony initially taking a 7% stake later this year, rising to 34% by the end of April 2011. The key here is for Sony to get access to the production, while Sharp sees this as just the first of several deals that will allow it to sell half of the 13 million 42-inch TVs produced annually to other manufacturers. The Nikkei says deals with Toshiba and European manufacturers are on the table, so despite what your next TV says on the front, there's a decent chance it originates at the Sakai plant scheduled to open in October.Read - AV Watch Read - Nikkei
How often should we do repeatable content?
Blessing of Kings asks an excellent question: how often should we be running repeatable content? Certainly Blizzard has considered this issue before -- they've gone with daily quests in the first expansion, and recently they've been rethinking just how often we'll be rerunning dungeons, too. But both of those time periods are fairly arbitrary to us: is it possible that we should start running things twice a week (once during and once on the weekend), or maybe do weekly quests instead of daily?BoK says: possibly. Rohan suggests a weekly quest that rewarded 70g instead of the daily 10g reward we usually get (not including the XP bonus which kicks it up to 13g). Players who don't have time to run every day, but do have the weekly availability (like me -- I play mostly on the weekends), would be able to still pick up the reward. I'll go one step further, in fact: what if we had an option? What if we could choose to run a quest daily (and get a bigger reward overall), or run it once per week, using up all of our daily chances for that week, and getting a smaller total reward? That seems to be the best way -- those who could log in every day would get a larger reward, while those who couldn't could still get more than just the single daily.Rohan also says that Heroic and BG quests should remain daily, and on that we agree: those quests are perfect for creating variety every day, and getting people to run those instances. In fact, those would be fun to see expanded -- maybe Blizzard could create weekly series of daily quests that followed a small storyline across dungeons or BGs. Blizzard has done a pretty good job balancing out repeatable content periods, but it's always nicer to have more options.
On again / off again Sony & Sharp LCD plant is still on, just delayed
It seems that the details of Sony and Sharp's LCD joint venture are still being worked out, but, by the end of the month Sony is expected to agree on investing around $1 billion to take a 34% share in the plant by next spring, though Sharp will be operating it on its own beginning in October. In case the 10-figure investment hadn't tipped you off, the first 10G plan is kind of like a big deal, which will certainly lead to plenty of progressively cheaper and larger flat screens headed our way in the coming years, whether they'll have the picture quality to satisfy vs. plasma is another question.[Via Reuters]
Sharp's 10th generation LCD plant opening ahead of schedule this fall
Make a little more space on the wall, Sharp announced that its new 10G plant, will open in October. Originally scheduled to open next year, the new process can produce 6 60-inch LCDs in one substrate, 60% larger than the old 8G plant. When it open it will be capable of manufacturing 36,000 substrates per month, and go up to 72,000 later, which should mean nothing but bigger and cheaper HDTVs on store shelves.
Sony's goal for '08: Outpace LCD market growth
Sony's got every other LCD manufacturer in its sights this year (we know, we've got the roadmap), taking the stage of Finetech Japan 2008 predicting sales of 108 million units globally, and, through investments and "technological differences", being in position to take the lion's share of them. Sure in the U.S. upstarts like Vizio have grabbed a chunk of the market, and things are just as cutthroat in Japan, but beyond its partnerships with Samsung and Sharp, Sony's focused on growing partnerships with Best Buy, Costco and Wal-Mart to reach 15-20 million LCDs this year. Other than lower costs as production increases, and advanced technology, 2009 plans call for a 32-inch HDTV that needs less than half the power of a current model, and even more super-slim OLEDs.
Sony and Samsung may expand LCD partnership
Despite Samsung's solo expansion plans and Sony's alliance with Sharp, the two are not only maintaining their current 8th-generation LCD line, but may build another one, and a new plant after that. A source within Samsung told Reuters of the almost-final plans for a second 8G line from S-LCD, and the possibility that Samsung will cut Sony in on its 10th-generation facility, much like the one its already partnering with Sharp on. Like Sharp, Samsung likely wants to be sure someone will buy all those flat panels once the line is running, and Sony can make sure its got a cheap source to stay competitive on prices when competition will be even higher in 2010. The only thing we can be sure of is it will be nearly impossible to tell who really made that flat panel hanging on your wall, no matter what brand name it says.
Samsung considering 11G LCD line
The contest to wear the "biggest LCD display" crown (even if only for a short while) is a high stakes game indeed. LCD market leader Samsung announced plans for their 11th generation LCD production line, with the caveat that "the timing of the investment will be decided depending on the market situation." This production line is expected to meet demand for 70-inch displays (at reasonable prices), and will crank out sheets measuring 3,200 x 3,600-mm (126 x 142-inches). Only a month ago, the company announced plans to upgrade to 10G (sheets a mere 118 x 126-inches). To us, all of this sounds like the company is considering skipping 10G and going straight to 11G. Perhaps not coincidentally, a re-investment decision on the current 8G line shared with Sony has still not been reached.
Sharp predicts LCD prices will fall 25% this year, plans new 10G production facility
LCD prices have dropped sharply over the last few years, and Sharp sees no reason that trend won't continue. The company sees LCD as a the clear winner over plasma in Japan, with with a U.S. victory in sight as 1080p HDTVs gain market share. Along with a prediction of LCDs in the 40-inch+ range for less than $2,000 by the end of this year, inventory clearing fire sales and already value priced brands notwithstanding. Of course, as prices drop, bigger and better HDTVs are coming right behind, to that end Sharp also announced plans for the worlds first tenth-generation LCD plant. By producing glass substrates 60% bigger than its current 8G plant, expect 60-inch class LCDs to be as common as 40-inchers when the plant opens in 2010. Read - Sharp to build complex with 10G LCD and solar cell facilities Read - Sharp Sees LCD TV Industry Prices Falling About 25% This Year
