Woot: $69.99 Refurbished Slingbox AV

Posted on Sunday, December 30, 2007 by MegaZone

Today’s Woot deal is a $69.99 Refurbished Slingbox AV, plus $5 for shipping. Like all Woot deals, it is for a very limited time, and when it is sold out the deal is gone. So don’t wait if you want one. Sure it is refurbished – but this is a 100% solid state device, no moving parts. Odds are that just means it was a return and they blew the dust off and cleaned it up. Picked up from Gizmodo.

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Buy A Sony HDTV, Get A Free PlayStation3

Posted on Saturday, December 29, 2007 by MegaZone

Of course, there is a catch, you need to sign up for a SonyCard Visa credit card. You sign up for the card online for instant approval. Once you have said approval, you buy one of 13 different Sony HDTVs in the BRAVIA or SXRD line, from a 40″ BRAVIA LCD to a 70″ SXRD XBR rear projection model, and you’ll receive a free PS3. It is listed as a $499 value, which would indicate the 80GB model. You must open the account by 12/31/07 – so just a couple of days left – and make your purchase by 3/31/08. And you get 12-months of no interest to pay it off.

Picked up from EngadgetHD.

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What’s In A Name? OCAP OpenCable Platform Tru2Way?

Posted on Friday, December 28, 2007 by MegaZone

This feels like something out of Idiocracy. I guess CableLabs has decided that their current names don’t have that Web 2.0 zing, or something like that. What started out as the OpenCable Applications Platform, or OCAP, was renamed as just the OpenCable Platform in July. I suppose they dropped the ‘Applications’ because it really refers to the whole platform, not just the applications and the interface that runs them. Most of the industry seems to have shrugged and gone on using ‘OCAP’ (since you can actually say that – Oh-Cap – and ‘OCP’ doesn’t roll off the tongue) or just ‘OpenCable’.

Well, I guess that’s not catchy enough as a brand, because CED Magazine is reporting that the name is going to change again. They expect CableLabs to announce later this week that OpenCable Platform is being bumped off in favor of Tru2Way. The emphasis is on the cable platforms two-way communications capability. While that is something they have over satellite, FiOS and U-Verse also utilize two-way communication. Heck, FiOS is using many cable standards directly.

Whether the rumor is true or not, I’m just going to keep calling it OCAP. Just like I don’t use ‘Bonus View‘ when talking about Blu-ray Profile 1.1. I won’t feel like a moron that way.

Picked up from MediaExperiences2Go.

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More Than 50% of US Homes Have A Digital Television

Posted on Friday, December 28, 2007 by MegaZone

According to a press release from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) today, most than 50% of US homes now own a digital television (DTV). Note that DTV doesn’t necessarily mean HDTV. There are standard definition digital televisions.

“I am proud to announce our nation has hit this digital milestone. With 50 percent of U.S. homes able to experience the reality of digital television, we have crossed a critical threshold,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of CEA. “2008 will continue to demonstrate the growth and success of DTV, with nearly 32 million units forecasted to ship. Consumers are particularly keen to add HDTV to their homes, with high definition expected to account for 79 percent of total DTV shipments in the U.S. in 2008.”

Since, except for some lingering stock, all televisions sold in the US must have digital tuners at this point, meaning nearly 100% of TVs sold are DTVs, that implies 79% of TVs sold in 2008 would be HDTVs. Which is pretty impressive, and shows the rapid turn in the market toward HDTV. I’m sure I’ll be seeing a lot more on DTV and HDTV at CES just over a week from now.

The full press release is below:
Continue reading →

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Amazon Sees Strong Sales On High-Def Players And Discs

Posted on Friday, December 28, 2007 by MegaZone

According to an Amazon press release:Amazon.com sold enough high-def DVD players to cover seven football fields. And I’d bet that doesn’t count the PS3s they sold. Their busiest day of holiday sales was December 10th, which saw 5.4 million items ordered – an average of 62.5 items per second. There are some other interesting trivia bits – apparently there is an anime fan in Barrow, Alaska for instance.

Even more interesting, due to their currently running Blu-ray and HD DVD sales, high-definition titles have been pushed to the top of their (poorly named) ‘Bestsellers in DVD’ list. I believe for the first time ever. The top four spots on the list are HD DVD editions of four Harry Potter films, certainly due to the current Buy One, Get One free sale. The Serenity HD DVD clocks in at #15, while Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End on Blu-ray hits #19 – likely due to the current deep discount sale. There are a number of BD and HD DVD titles fairly high up on the list, the BOGO sale is certainly a big boost to HD DVD sales this week. And I expect a lot of those $99 fire sale priced HD DVD players from the weeks before Christmas were just setup this week, so there are people looking to pick up some titles – and the BOGO sale is the best deal available right now.

Picked up from High-Def Digest.

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