TiVo has a new offer on their TiVo HD high definition DVR from now until February 17.

 

New subscribers to TiVo HD service receive three months of service free of charge and free shipping. TiVo HD monthly service fee of $12.95 for the remaining nine months of service plus $299 for the box. TiVo is not compatible with satellite service, so only cable subscribers need apply.

 

The TiVo HD will replace your cable tuner with the addition of a CableCARD from your cable provider. The TiVo HD will store 20 hours of high definition programming or 180 hours of standard definition programming, and will handle up to 1080i material.

Wireless HD is a new standard for streaming uncompressed audio and video, and may just end up replacing some of the nest of cables behind your equipment rack.

 

WiHD operates in the 60GHz band, and is capable of streaming uncompressed 1080p video and multichannel audio at an initial throughput rate of 4Gbps, with a theoretical maximum 25Gbps possible. The standard calls for transmission up to 10 meters, not line of site dependent. The technology is targeted at HD disc players, cable and satellite tuners, DVRs, camcorders, and videogame consoles.  The WiHD includes HD content protection. Early backers include LG, Matsushita (Panasonic), Sony, Toshiba, NEC and Samsung.  

 

I always cast a suspicious eye at wireless technology as I'm not convinced there isn't signal loss involved. When it comes to my audio and video I would much rather deal with an inconvenient cable than lose signal for convenience's sake. With an impressive theoretical bandwidth limit and so many CE companies on board, WiHD just may become the new standard for audio and video signal transmission. Hopefully it will not produce the unwanted side-effect of reanimating the newly dead, ultimately ending civilization as we know it.

 

Consumer electronics manufacturer Sony has announced that they have ceased production of rear projection televisions.

 

Sony will no longer produce their LCoS SXRD and 3 LCD rear projection series and supplies are limited to current inventories. Sony's announcement comes on the heels of similar statements issued by Philips, Hitachi and Toshiba. Sales of rear projection televisions were halved last year compared to the preceding year, and analysts forecast a similar outcome for the coming year.   

 

It's unanimous, rear projection is dead. Look for similar announcements from Samsung, Panasonic, JVC and Mitsubishi in the coming year.

In the December issue of Consumer Reports, brand reliability gets put under the microscope for both direct view and rear projection televisions. It is the first time that Consumer Reports has published such a study. The study was conducted over a three year period from 2004 to 2007, and was compiled from a pool of 93,000 submitted product reliability surveys.

 

Their findings indicate that direct view displays are less prone to failure than rear projection televisions. Their study indicates that their is no significant difference in reliability between LCD and plasma models, but repairs on plasma models were about a third more costly than on LCD. Dell and Hitachi LCDs and Philips plasmas enter the Hall of Shame as most likely to need service of the surveyed brands. Most reliable were Panasonic, on the LCD side. For plasma, took top honors for reliability. CR found that the majority of repair costs on rear projection models were incurred by failed lamps, which are a user-replaceable part, and they advise not to bother with an extended warranty if you purchase a rear projection set.

 

The study is slightly flawed, as it should have filtered out lamp replacements in rear projection sets. However, it's nice for buyers to have another tool for helping to choose a display. If you're in the market for a direct view television, Panasonic and Samsung scored well on both LCD and plasma reliability.