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Sony Ericsson laying off 450 employees in Research Triangle Park, NC
"Planned" and "executed" are two very different things, and while we knew Sony Ericsson was mulling the idea of hacking 2,000 jobs, the hammer has finally fallen in Research Triangle Park, NC. The company will soon be axing 450 employees at its North American headquarters as part of a large reorganization, with most everyone knowing by the week's end whether they'll stay or go. According to Aldo Ligouri, Sony Ericsson's head of global communications and public relations, the RTP cuts are "part of company-wide changes that Sony Ericsson announced in July," and in whatever context, he added that "this is our map of how we see things moving forward." Just to put things in perspective, the outfit only has about 750 workers in the North Carolina-based facility, which is primarily seen as an R&D hub. Tough news to hear, no matter how you spin it.[Image courtesy of Flickr]
Big Ten Network coming to TWC in the Carolinas, Raleigh / Durham included
It's with a heart full of enthusiasm and a mind full of frustration that we share with you Time Warner Cable's latest addition to its Carolinas lineup. After landing a deal with Big Ten Network late last month, the carrier has announced that it will soon be launching BTN in Raleigh / Durham, Greensboro, Charlotte, Statesville / Iredell, Wilmington and South Carolina. The station will be available in both SD and HD flavors on different slots based on location (details are in the read link), and we're told to expect it on the air this Thursday. Sure, we'll take any high-def station we can get here in the Tar Heel Wolfpack state, but we still feel the operator owes us a few more given the absurd prices it feels fine with charging. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Thanks, Justin]
AT&T U-Verse cabinets pop up in Winston-Salem, NC
It's the case of the mysteriously appearing U-verse cabinets all over again, and this time it's taking the Triad by storm. The images you see above are of an AT&T utility cabinet at the corner of Peace Haven Road and Mountain View Road in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Our tipster (and photographer) dug a little deeper and asked a local AT&T store manager to "explain" the in-store U-verse display, only to find that the manager was expecting AT&T to launch U-verse services in the area by "early next year." We knew AT&T was spending some serious dough in the Carolinas, and truthfully, we'll be stoked to see said investment finally lead to something tangible. Now, how soon before the company strings U-verse on down to the Triangle?[Thanks, Prime]
Western North Carolina's WLOS takes local news to high-def
The Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville-Anderson DMA just netted itself another local station with HD news: WLOS (ABC). Starting this week, the station -- which serves the western parts of both North and South Carolina -- will be broadcasting from its new set and studio, which features a "rotating desk with two different back drops, more than two dozen HD monitors, new HD studio cameras, HD graphics, and the advanced HD 'Sky Watch' Weather Center." The station is just about a year late on being numero uno in the market, as rival WSPA-TV (the local CBS affiliate) took its local news HD in September of last year. Nothing wrong with choices, though.[Thanks, PopWeaverHDTV]
TWC adding ESPNU HD / Planet Green HD in Greensboro, NC
One word Time Warner Cable: pathetic. Look, we're as stoked as we can be for our pals up in the Triad area of North Carolina -- after all, ESPNU HD and Planet Green HD are coming just months after a trio of others arrived -- but the lack of attention in the Triangle is sickening. While the Raleigh area limps along with an absolutely anemic HD lineup, Greensboro is being promised two more on Friday. The stations will be available on slots 570 and 559, respectively, and at least the former should provide plenty of entertainment as the football season really gets going. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]
Wilmington, NC kills analog dead as broadcasters go all-digital
Wilmington, NC had the pleasure of being the nation's first DTV transition test market, and now it has officially become the first market in the nation to flip the kill switch on analog. As of noon ET today, the Wilmington area entered the digital frontier, and initial reports suggest that things are going fairly swimmingly. Granted, "a few" viewers were still "struggling" to see the signal (read: not at all prepared for the change), but at least the world didn't completely implode or anything. Not like we can really avoid that scenario come Wednesday, but hey, an extra 24 or so hours to live it up ain't half bad.
Craigslist ad hints at U-verse in Raleigh / Durham, NC
Just over a year ago, we heard that AT&T would be sinking hundreds of millions of dollars into the Carolinas in an attempt to "upgrade its fiber network, further broadband deployment, and deliver internet-based technologies to customers in North Carolina and South Carolina." Now, we're beginning to see signs of life. According to this nondescript job posting on Craigslist, AT&T is scouting residential field agents specifically for U-verse in the Raleigh / Durham, NC region. Sure, this could very well be a hoax of some strange kind, but we can't possibly be more hopeful that it's not. Hey TWC -- is this enough to get you to add a few HD channels to your absolutely abysmal selection in the Triangle?[Thanks, Jonathan]
Charter ruffling feathers in Reno, NV / McDowell, NC
Why does it seem that Charter, out of all the cable carriers in the world, finds itself intertwined with so much mischief? The latest forehead-pounding episode is actually a two-fer, with gripes arising from Reno, Nevada and a rural section of North Carolina. In the Silver State, Charter is apparently looking to pull four public access channels to retrieve bandwidth for the launch of 12 new digital channels. The company's George Jostlin proclaims that the "majority of consumers are calling it on a daily basis and asking for more HD / digital programming," but the City of Reno has announced its intentions to sue the provider if an agreement can't be reached on the matter by next Wednesday. Across the country in McDowell County, NC, Charter is catching flack for wanting to strip Marion of its information channel (and combine it with the county's government channel) in order to add three HD stations. We like the intentions here, but seriously, you folks should work on the execution. [Thanks PopWeaverHDTV, image courtesy of TSLPL]Read - Issues in RenoRead - Stirring the pot in rural NC
Wilmington, NC plans one minute analog TV shutoff next week
In an effort to reduce the ZOMG surely to be experienced by whatever percentage of Wilmington, NC residents are unprepared for their early entry into a digital television-only world September 8, the city will perform a one minute Las Vegas-style "soft test" August 19 at 7:30 p.m., prompting customers with analog to upgrade their equipment to receive digital broadcasts. Readers have already reported seeing ads mentioning the upcoming early analog-shutoff, and it looks like the regions main broadcasters (WWAY, WECT, WILM and WSFX) appear to be doing all they can to get the word out, so everybody tell a friend, okay?
First picture of the Greensboro, NC Apple Store under construction
North Carolinians can start to polish up their credit cards, as the long-awaited Greensboro Apple Store (to be located at The Shops at Friendly Center, a heck of a nice place to spend your money) is now underway. The Iconfactory's Ged Maheux was kind enough to send us this parking-lot snapshot of the site -- looks like a big one.ifoAppleStore had a mid-summer target for the Greensboro store to open, which seems optimistic bordering on impossible at this point. A commenter on Ged's blog hinted that the delay in construction may have been the result of a proximity dispute; Apple is a bit picky about which stores can cohabit with the glass wonderlands, and now that the neighborhood is up to snuff the project is underway.By the way, if you've ever wondered what the offices (and the denizens) of the Iconfactory really look like, you can catch a glimpse via this local news report on the company.
Raleigh, NC's WRAL testing MPH mobile DTV system
Although Raleigh, North Carolina is set to become one of the first DVB-SH test markets in America, WRAL is already testing out yet another standard. The station known nationwide for taking its local newscasts to the world of HD while everyone else sat and moped in their SD control rooms is currently teaming with CBC in order to test out the ATSC-compatible MPH mobile television transmission system. As we've seen before, the system enables "local broadcasters to deliver digital television to mobile devices including cellphones, laptops and personal media players," all while moving quickly in vehicles, hoverboards, rocket-powered scooters -- you name it. There's no word on what exactly will happen once the trials conclude, but we'll be keeping an ear to the ground just in case it's something big.[Via BroadcastingCable]
Charter cops to 5 new HD channels in Asheville, NC
Those mysterious new high-def channels we mentioned for Asheville, NC residents last week? Yeah, we now know exactly what you can expect. As of August 13th, Charter will make room for The Weather Channel HD (712), Discovery HD (713), TLC HD (714), Animal Planet HD (715) and TBS HD (716). A few SD channels will be re-situated in the change, but it's not like you're too at all concerned about those.[Thanks, PopWeaverHDTV]
ATMC Cable throws in CNBC HD / Bravo HD, makes the big guys look bad
Seriously, this is out of control. If a local telco serving just a (comparative) handful of residents in North Carolina can deliver thirty-flippin'-four high-def channels, why are the big name cable carriers having such difficulty? With the addition of CNBC HD and Bravo HD, the grand total on said provider sits at 34, and considering the frequency in which it has been adding newcomers, we wouldn't be surprised to see that figure grow to 50 in the next year. Comcast, Charter, Cablevision, TWC, et al. -- take note, please.
Charter shows signs of life, aims to add some HD in Asheville, NC
While the DTV transition is in full swing on the eastern part of North Carolina, things have been stuck in park on the west side. Asheville, NC hasn't seen an HD addition from Charter since October of 2007, which is patently absurd in our view. Nevertheless, a short message recently popped up on set-top-boxes in the area informing users that Reelz Channel will be relocated to slot 173 on August 13st, while "new HD channels" will be arriving sometime during the same month. There's no mention of what stations will be arriving, but they'd better be good (and plentiful).[Thanks, PopWeaverHDTV]
ATMC Cable acquires Tele-Media, 1,100 subscribers to be switched over
North Carolina-based ATMC Cable has just acquired another local cable company, Tele-Media. The agreement will see "the majority of Tele-Media's cable television assets in Brunswick County" becomes ATMC's, and all areas currently served by Tele-Media (save for Bald Head Island) will soon be served by a new master. That means that just over 1,100 customers in the Bricklanding, Shell Point, Holden Beach / Seashore Road and Sunset Harbor / River Run areas will be affected, but judging by the way ATMC has been rolling high-def options out of late, we don't suspect anyone will complain. As it stands, the deal should close in early July, with another 75 - 90 days before the conversion is complete.
TWC adds three more HD channels in Winston-Salem / Greensboro, NC
Hey, Time Warner Cable. We've been holding back on asking this for awhile, but we just can't button our lips anymore: Ever heard of a little place called Raleigh? You know, that huge, sprawling area also referred to as the Triangle? Evidently not, as the past two updates in North Carolina have been aimed directly at the Greensboro region without nary a pat on the bottom for us folks parked just an hour so down I-40. Nevertheless, we can begrudgingly say that we're very excited that our pals up in Winston-Salem / Forsyth County (and the greater Triad area, from what we can tell) have gained a succulent trio of HD channels: ESPNews HD (565), Disney HD (566) and ABC Family HD (567). No, TWC isn't saying when (if ever) these will filter down to the Triangle, but seriously, our patience is growing exceptionally thin. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Thanks, Prime]
Wilmington, NC to become first test market for 2009 analog shutoff
Although a Las Vegas station just wrapped a simple analog shutoff drill, the FCC is planning to use Wilmington, North Carolina as the official test bed for the 2009 digital TV transition. Starting on September 8th, all four of the major networks in the greater Wilmington area (around 400,000 residents) will turn off their analog signals and broadcast digital only. As expected, a flurry of advertising will go down beforehand to get residents prepared, but given that they'll be out on the beaches all summer, who knows how many folks will actually pay attention. Interestingly, this trial is just as much about testing to see how many folks get prepared as it is about the technological changes, but broadcasters may still use the trial to move their antennas based on the need for coverage. So yeah, if the world implodes on September 8th, you'll know something went awry on the coast of NC.[Image courtesy of usdol, thanks Robert]
TWC gets official with Navigator rollout in Raleigh, NC: hands-on
Our hopes fears are true: Time Warner Cable is indeed initiating a rollout of its new Navigator interface -- at least in the greater Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina region, anyway. According to a note sent out to select subscribers in the area, it's only a matter of time before their set-top-box also becomes overcome with the Navigator. As beautiful as it may look, however, the UI is quite dreadful in actual use. Screen changes are noticeably slower, unmodifiable fade effects are utterly annoying and the black flash that occurs each time you activate / deactivate the menu screen could certainly stand to be omitted. Of course, there are a few additional Parental Control features, but really, we're finding a lot more negatives than positives in the upgrade. How do you see things, dear TWC customers? Are you digging the new Navigator? Do you despise it? Chime in below! [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Thanks, krithren] %Gallery-21917%
Raleigh's ABC11 Eyewitness News goes HD... eight years too late
Seeing a couple of news stations make the leap to HD within one week was pretty cute at first, but this is becoming downright scary. The Triangle's own ABC11 has become the fifth network within the past seven days to transition its local newscasts to high-def. Comically enough, the station is diving in extraordinarily late, as cross-town rival WRAL-TV has been airing its news in HD since 2000 -- yeah, eight years ago. Raleigh residents won't hesitate to boast of having the nation's first HD news station, and at this point, we're wondering if ABC11 can pry the critical eyes of residents away from the station they've been viewing for so long. But hey, we won't kvetch about added competition.
TWC adds Discovery suite to Piedmont Triad region of NC
In a move sure to make those in the neighboring Triangle exceedingly envious, Time Warner Cable has seen fit to add in the Discovery suite to its HD lineup just down I-40 in Greensboro / High Point / Winston-Salem. As of today, subscribers in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina can turn their attention to TLC HD (546), Animal Planet HD (547), Science Channel HD (548) and Discovery Channel HD (549). Here in Raleigh, we're still doing without, but hopefully TWC will string the newcomers down sooner rather than later. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Thanks, Prime and Mike]
