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August 30, 2008 2:57:47 AM CDT

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Started by S Goldstein; Last updated Feb 28, 08 7:39 AM CST by D Lim | View history

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Couch Potato 2.0

Laziness gets a technological boost as TVs get bigger and flatter and cable services pile on the features

Stories

Stories 41 - 60 of 77

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  • January 2008

    • Building an HDTV Without Wires

      MIT Technology Review  |  Jan 18, 08 11:39 AM CST

      Building an HDTV Without Wires

      (Newser) - Sick of all those cables tangled behind your TV or entertainment center? So are two companies that demonstrated products to wirelessly beam high-definition video and audio to TVs at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. Pulse-Link is creating far-reaching signals, while SiBeam’s system can stream the highest quality HD video. The first products should hit the market by year’s end, reports Technology Review . More »

    • Toshiba Fights for HD DVD Market Share

      MarketWatch  |  Jan 14, 08 4:10 PM CST

      Toshiba Fights for HD DVD Market Share

      (Newser) - Toshiba is stepping up efforts to keep HD DVD a contender in the battle between high-def formats, the company said today. Toshiba will cut prices and increase advertising, reports MarketWatch. It's battling rival Sony’s Blu-ray technology, which doubled HD DVD's US sales last year and scored a major win recently when Warner Bros. said it would go exclusively Blu-ray. More »

    • NetFlix Tries to Pre-Empt Apple

      Associated Press  |  Jan 13, 08 10:59 PM CST

      NetFlix Tries to Pre-Empt Apple

      (Newser) - Netflix and Apple are preparing to go head-to-head in the burgeoning business of delivering movies over the Internet . AP reports Netflix is expanding its fledgling movie streaming service,  Watch Instantly, to give most subscribers unlimited access to 6,000 titles. The move comes just as Apple is about to launch its movie streaming service to iTunes users. More »

    • Cable Companies to Apple: OK, Let's Rumble

      BusinessWeek  |  Jan 11, 08 3:45 PM CST

      Cable Companies to Apple: OK, Let's Rumble

      (Newser) - Steve Jobs wants to take the world of video entertainment by storm, but Hollywood and the cable companies aren’t scared, reports BusinessWeek . Apple is planning an iTunes movie rental service and is well on its way to sealed deals with four major movie studios, but it’s not getting any special breaks. New releases will rent for $3.99, the same as Comcast on-demand video. More »

    • Daily Traffic Doubles for YouTube and Friends

      paidContent.org  |  Jan 10, 08 5:47 PM CST

      Daily Traffic Doubles for YouTube and Friends

      (Newser) - Daily traffic for online video sites such as YouTube has doubled over the past year, paidContent.org reports. A study from the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that 15% of their sample of adults said they had visited an online video sharing site “yesterday” or the day before; last year, 8% of responders answered "yes" to that question. More »

    • TV Content Stars at Vegas Show

      New York Times  |  Jan 10, 08 9:23 AM CST

      TV Content Stars at Vegas Show

      (Newser) - Televisions were all over the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, including some of the biggest, thinnest ones around, showing the crispest pictures ever, the New York Times reports. But exhibitors' focus was much more on what viewers will be seeing on those TVs, with several manufacturers unveiling deals with media and Internet outlets to put content on its sets.  More »

    • Comcast Launches Web Film, TV Trove

      Reuters  |  Jan 8, 08 7:41 AM CST

      Comcast Launches Web Film, TV Trove

      (Newser) - Comcast will offer more than 3,000 hours of film and television titles on a new online venture called Fancast. Users will also be able to use the hub to tap into the vast IMDB database, seek TV listings, and find their way to TV shows and theatrical releases available elsewhere. Agreements with several large content providers allow for comprehensive offerings. More »

    • Hackers Steal Porn Surfers' Contact Info

      Washington Post  |  Jan 4, 08 4:00 PM CST

      Hackers Steal Porn Surfers' Contact Info

      (Newser) - Bad news, porn lovers (you can admit it): Hackers have broken into a service used by hundreds of porn sites, stealing the personal info of potentially tens of thousands of porn enthusiasts, the Washington Post reports. It appears hackers wanted only e-mail addresses for spam use, but the leak could still hurt the industry if surfers become worried about their anonymity. More »

    • US Album Sales Plummet In '07

      Reuters  |  Jan 4, 08 11:25 AM CST

      US Album Sales Plummet In '07

      (Newser) - Album sales in the US fell 15% in 2007, to just 500.5 million units. The total represents both the lowest sales figure and sharpest decline since Nielsen began keeping track of music sales estimates in 1993. Total digital sales, including both albums and singles, were up 14% with 1.4 billion units sold, but still 19% short of last year’s figures. More »

    • Wireless Tech to Cut HDTV Cord

      Associated Press  |  Jan 3, 08 11:04 AM CST

      Wireless Tech to Cut HDTV Cord

      (Newser) - Electronics companies are finally going to get rid of that ugly cord running from your lovely HDTV to its cable box. At least three different wireless high-definition technologies will be duking it out beginning Monday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and manufacturers promise you’ll be able to buy them by next Christmas, the AP reports. More »

    • NetFlix Box Will Bring Web Movies to TV

      Reuters  |  Jan 3, 08 4:24 AM CST

      NetFlix Box Will Bring Web Movies to TV

      (Newser) - DVD rental company NetFlix is teaming up with LG Electronics to make a set-top box that will let customers stream movies from the web straight onto their TVs, Reuters reports. NetFlix hopes to have the device ready later this year. The deal looks set to make the crowded web video market even more competitive. More »

    • Feds Ease TV Switch With Coupons

      Associated Press  |  Jan 2, 08 3:13 PM CST

      Feds Ease TV Switch With Coupons

      (Newser) - For the estimated 14.3 million households still getting their TV via antenna, there’s hope: The federal government yesterday began handing out $40 coupons to help buy converters ahead of the 2009 digital cutoff, the AP reports. The problem, Congress says, is that few know about the $1.5 billion coupon program—or the digital upgrade it’s supposed to facilitate. More »

  • December 2007

    • Half of US Owns a Digital TV

      Engadget  |  Dec 29, 07 4:56 PM CST

      Half of US Owns a Digital TV

      (Newser) - Digital TVs now grace 57 million US households—more than half the country—according to the Consumer Electronics Association. For glass-half-empty types, that means much of the country still isn’t ready for 2009, when TV will be digital only, Engadget reports. But the optimistic CEA is predicting big sales in 2008. More »

    • Online TV Ads More Effective

      Ars Technica  |  Dec 27, 07 3:33 PM CST

      Online TV Ads More Effective

      (Newser) - Online video advertising is dramatically more effective than conventional TV commercials, a new study finds. Individuals viewing television shows online were found to be 47% more engaged by advertising than other viewers were by commercials during traditional broadcasts, and 25% more engaged by the programming itself, Ars Technica reports. More »

    • Apple Seals Online DVD Rental Deal With Fox

      Financial Times (UK)  |  Dec 27, 07 5:40 AM CST

      Apple Seals Online DVD Rental Deal With Fox

      (Newser) - In a groundbreaking deal 20th Century Fox will offer its new DVD releases as downloadable rentals on Apple's iTunes Store, the Financial Times reports. New Fox DVD releases will also come with special iTunes-compatible versions of the film that can be easily ripped from the disc. Fox will join Disney as the only other studio offering new releases on iTunes. More »

    • TV Run for Web-Dud 'Quarterlife'

      New York Times  |  Dec 24, 07 9:47 AM CST

      TV Run for Web-Dud 'Quarterlife'

      (Newser) - YouTube buzz is tough to manufacture, and so far NBC’s “Quarterlife,” the network's experiment in TV-quality production for the web, hasn’t managed. The last dozen episodes have each drawn around 100,000 views between MySpace and YouTube combined, which isn’t many eyeballs in the TV world. Regardless, NBC will complete its web-to-TV play by broadcasting the series in February, the New York Times reports. More »

    • India and China Drive Mobile Growth

      Reuters  |  Dec 12, 07 12:20 PM CST

      India and China Drive Mobile Growth

      (Newser) - Telecom companies must be brushing up on their Hindi. India doubled its cell phone user population in 2006, adding more subscribers than Britain had total, according to a new international communications report. The 150 million Indian phone-toters represent just 14% of the population. China meanwhile sent 429 billion text messages, roughly 967 per user, the most of any country. More »

    • Vudu to Match DVD HD Releases

      Associated Press  |  Dec 10, 07 10:37 PM CST

      Vudu to Match DVD HD Releases

      (Newser) - The Bourne Ultimatum , the Matt Damon action movie, will be available online Tuesday - the same day as the DVD reaches video stores. AP reports it's the first of many high-definition movies to be released by Vudu, the on-demand video service. Vudu, which sells its set-top box for $399, will offer HD movies like the Bourne series for $24.99. More »

    • TiVo Changes Tune, Plays Nice with Media

      New York Times  |  Dec 10, 07 1:13 PM CST

      TiVo Changes Tune, Plays Nice with Media

      (Newser) - TiVo isn’t a media pariah anymore, the New York Times reports, thanks to a series of moves to buddy up with networks it once scared. TiVo recently signed a deal to provide NBC with second-by-second ratings of programs, showing exactly which ads people are watching. It has also developed technology to help out jilted advertisers, displaying banner messages while viewers zip past commercials. More »

  • November 2007

    • NBC Looks to TiVo to Help Sell Clients

      Wall Street Journal  |  Nov 27, 07 12:22 PM CST

      NBC Looks to TiVo to Help Sell Clients

      (Newser) - NBC Universal will begin using viewership data gleaned from TiVo digital video recorders beginning in January, making it the first of the major networks to have access to second-by-second ratings of programming and commercials from TiVo, reports the Wall Street Journal . The network hopes TiVo will help it develop effective ways to target viewers who use DVRs to skip commercials. More »

Stories 41 - 60 of 77

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A Panasonic Plasma HDTV is shown at a press preview Thursday, March 29, 2007 in New York. Panasonic has ten new plasma TV's for 2007, including 42, 50, 58 and 103-inch models. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)   (Associated Press)
Netflix has 5% of its fare available online, but is competing with the likes of Amazon to make all movies downloadable.   (Getty Images)
Tom Rogers, CEO of TiVo, attends the opening bell at the Nasdaq stock market in New York on July 25, 2007. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)   (Associated Press)
  (Index Open (http://www.indexopen.com))
  (Index Open (http://www.indexopen.com))
DirecTV dishes adorn the wall of an apartment building in Los Angeles, in this Feb. 7, 2007 file photo. DirecTV Group Inc., the nation's largest satellite TV operator, said Wednesday, May 8, 2007, its...   (Associated Press)
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