GOOGLE LAUNCHES PC FOR YOUR TV

Google on Tuesday unveiled the latest device aimed at merging the Internet with television. Its Chromebox, manufactured by Samsung and using Google’s proprietary operating system, is expected to compete against Apple’s Mac Mini, which many consumers connect to their TV sets and use principally to record and play CDs and movies. (It can also be […]

VIEWERS FLEEING NETWORK TV

Every broadcast television network has lost a significant number of viewers this season — particularly among the 18-49 age group that most advertisers target, the New York Times reported on Sunday, citing figures from Nielsen Research. Fox, which airs American Idol, has lost an average of 709,000 viewers or 20 percent of its 18-49 demo. […]

STUDY: CONSUMERS LIKELY TO LINE UP FOR APPLE TV SETS

Widespread rumors that Apple will begin manufacturing a next-generation television set have hit home with U.S. consumers, with 25 percent telling a British research and marketing group that they would buy it when it becomes available; in Britain, the figure was even higher — 30 percent. For consumers who already own at least one Apple […]

IT’S THE YEAR OF THE SMART TV

Judging from the new gizmos and Internet programs being displayed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, it is becoming increasingly apparent that vendors are betting on 2012 becoming the year of the smart TV. Some of the hardware and software unveiled on Monday: Yahoo! Connected TV, which adds online content to shows being […]

NEW SAMSUNG DVD PLAYER MAKES DIGITAL COPIES

In the latest effort to marry the computer and the PC, Samsung plans to unveil several new home entertainment systems that will transfer DVDs and Blu-ray Discs to hard drives or other digital media. In a news release the company said that in order to use the conversion software, users will have to register ownership […]

CHEAP TV’S PROVING TO BE DISASTROUS FOR MANUFACTURERS, RETAILERS

A glut of big-screen TV sets has pushed prices of the sets down to bargain levels — a boon for consumers, a nightmare for manufacturers and retailers, the New York Times observed today (Tuesday). The newspaper attributed a 29 percent drop in Best Buy’s net income in the last quarter to its decision to slash […]

SAMSUNG INVESTS IN FIRM DEVELOPING 3D CELLPHONES, TABLETS

South Korea’s Samsung Electronics has agreed to invest $15 million in MasterImage 3D, a company that has been at the forefront of developing 3D technology for movie theaters and now plans to develop a system that will allow users of smartphones, tablets, and PCs to view 3D videos without glasses. The company said that it […]

CAMERON URGES TV PRODUCERS TO SWITCH TO 3D

Director James Cameron has predicted that 3D television will be adopted by U.S. audiences the way they did 3D movies like his Avatar. Speaking at a technology conference in Seoul, Korea, Cameron urged TV entertainment companies to set aside their concerns over the additional costs of shooting in 3D. As reported by Reuters, Cameron told […]

SAMSUNG SAYS IT FIXED NON-PLAYING BLU-RAY PLAYERS

Samsung has released two new firmware updates for its Blu-ray disc players that it says address the problem of Avatar not playing on two of its models. Although several other Blu-ray manufacturers had received similar complaints about the compatibility of the Avatar Blu-ray disc, most had been directed at Samsung’s BD-UP5000 and the BD-P1400 models. […]

SAMSUNG ISSUES HEALTH WARNING ABOUT ITS 3D TV SETS

Electronics manufacturer Samsung has issued a health warning about its new 3D television sets two months before they are due to go on sale. On its website, the company warned that pregnant women, the elderly, children, and persons with serious medical conditions may be at risk for such conditions as “confusion, nausea, convulsions, altered vision, […]