One of LCD's key weapons in its competition against plasma is LED backlighting, which provides superior black level reproduction compared to old-school CCFL (fluorescent) backlighting. But don't count CCFL out just yet. A new type may enable it to hold onto the lower end of the LCD market.
Sony's new BDP-S470 and BDP-S570 Blu-ray players "will be fully capable of 3D playback of Full HD 1080p for each eye," company spokesperson Greg Belloni has told Engadget HD. And yet these players are nominally HDMI 1.3 compatible, as opposed to 1.4, which is supposed to be the 3D version.
<A href="http://www.cepro.com/article/say_goodbye_to_analog_ports_on_blu_ray_play... Pro reported yesterday</A> that Blu-ray players made after December 31, 2010, will be required to downconvert high-def content to 480i or 576i for their component-video outputs. Who has the authority to require this? The <A href="http://www.aacsla.com/home">AACS Licensing Administrator</A>, that's who. This industry-wide organization develops and maintains the Advanced Access Content System, a critical element in the effort to combat piracy by managing how content can be viewed and copied.
Analysts who predict mass defections from cable and satellite service call it "cord cutting." But fewer people are interested in cutting the cord than has been widely reported.
OLED displays may well be the next wave in flat panels after LED-backlit LCDs. But making them in home theater worthy sizes has been a stretch up till now. Well, Mitsubishi has broken the size barrier by demonstrating a 149-inch OLED display at trade shows in Japan and Amsterdam.
Netflix regards streaming as a major component of its future survival when online delivery eventually takes over from disc rentals. But until now, Netflix streaming has been limited to 720p resolution. That's high-def but not the highest-def. And so Netflix streamers' hearts were glad when a report slipped out that Netflix was about to go 1080p. Unfortunately that report has since been retracted.
SlingMedia's SlingPlayer is a popular way to place-shift your local TV programming to any broadband-connected computer in the world. Now you can do it with an AT&T smartphone too.
Is it against copyright law to host a Super Bowl party in your home? The law does indeed kick in for screens above 55 inches and more than six loudspeakers. But further clauses may give party-loving homeowners some wiggle room.