PopularMechanics
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Hearst and Apple come to terms on subscriptions
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Hearst and Apple have come to an agreement over iPad magazine subscriptions. According to the WSJ, Hearst will begin selling a range of its magazines through iTunes for US$1.99 an issue or $19.99 for an annual subscription. Three magazines will kick off the new subscription deal this July; Esquire, Popular Mechanics and O, The Oprah Magazine. Hearst also stated that it will begin selling newspaper subscriptions through the iPad later this year. I've written about magazines on the iPad several times in the past, and I, like many of our readers, have been baffled at the high prices magazine publishers have (until now) chosen to charge. With the Hearst announcement representing some of the best magazine deals on the iPad yet, hopefully other publishers will soon fall in line. But while I do think the Hearst subscription deal is a good thing for both publishers and consumers, I'm still holding on to the belief that there needs to be a unified iNewstand store before newspaper and magazine sales really take off on the iPad. Price-wise, however, today's news is a good start.
Hearst Corp. signs on to sell its magazines through iTunes, bringing more O to the iPad
Esquire, Popular Mechanics, and O are not just for your local bookstore's magazine rack any more -- assuming you still have a local bookstore and that it is still large enough to own a rack. Hearst Corporation, the force behind those printed 'zines, has become the first major publisher to terms with Apple, so those very publications will soon be on iTunes. Starting with their July editions you can subscribe for a seemingly quite reasonable $1.99 monthly, though the annual option of $19.99 seems like less of a bargain. (You can get a year of Popular Mechanics on pulp for $12.) This is just a small sampling from Heart's back catalog, but the company is promising more are coming soon, leaving us wondering just how we're supposed to fill out our Cosmo quizzes without a pen.
Popular Mechanics gets wise to HD compression
Around Engadget, we're all too familiar with the evil bit starving ways of some content providers and local affiliates in the name of the bottom line. But it's always good to see the more mainstream press get wise as Popular Mechanics has a good article on the why and why not, our HD signal is over compressed. The most interesting new piece of information is something we've heard of in the past, but it's good to get additional details, which is HBO's requirements in regards to what a provider can do with its signal. We assumed the requirements would specify a minimum bit rate, but in reality it is a limitation of what other content can be carried on the same QAM channel. So that means no sports, animated content, or any other bit hungry content for that matter. Ultimately, all this talk just makes us enjoy our Blu-ray Discs that much more.
Popular Mechanics cranks out another ten HDTV myths
Truthfully, it's quite sad that these top ten lists of HDTV myths keep popping up, as it just reinforces the sad truth that many folks are still mystified by the prospect of HDTV. Nevertheless, Popular Mechanics has doled out its own version of the woefully popular rundown, and making the cut are the ever popular tall-tales that an HD set-top-box is somehow required to receive any HD programming, a 1080p TV is unquestionably superior to a 720p counterpart, and that an HDTV will magically convert all programming to stunning high-definition. Additionally, we shed a tear just thinking of those who still believed that all flat-panels are indeed HD-ready and that pristine video quality is only channeled through stupendously overpriced cabling. A few newcomers to the list involved 1080p panels that actually can't accept 1080p signals from a scaling player, and the unbelief that HD video can't be recorded onto standard DVD-Rs. Of course, there's no shame in being duped by a unintelligible big box employee or just not being up to speed on the HDTV minutia, so take a few and hit the read link if you're looking to clear up any lingering HD haze.[Photo courtesy of Chris Eckert/Studio D, thanks Matt]
Popular Mechanics: Fix your HDTV picture
High-def can give you one of two things. One - an amazing breathtaking image or two - a really poppy picture. HDTV's can be harder to get a good picture from a normal TV if you deviate from the factory presets. many people will turn up the brightness and sharpness to give them a picture that really 'pops' but in turn killing their picture. Most image problems can be diagnosed back to a bad source like basic cable or the TV's setting are just plain off. Popular Mechanics has the best layout of common HDTV image issues we have ever seen. They took an image of Jack Bauer from 24, picked at all the problematic spots and tell you how to fix 'em.Even if you are the best calibrator in town, you might want to check out this PM article. [via Digg]
