What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision - Televisions

Hands-on in Harrods with the new Sony 3D TV

Clare Newsome — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:15:00 GMT

As we wrote last week, Harrods – along with Currys and Sony Centres – is now taking pre-orders for Sony's 3D TV range. Finding myself near Knightsbridge today with some time to kill (but sadly without the shopping budget to indulge myself), I popped into the Sound and Vision department of Harrods to experience the Sony 3D TV and how it's being sold.

Obviously, we've had a play with the forthcoming Sony sets at trade shows and industry events, but it's always good to see the products in store – and gauge both retailer and consumer reaction to these premium TVs.

First impressions on the third floor
The first thing I noticed on strolling through the Sound and Vision department was a big 'LG 3D' sign; sadly, this screen was switched off, with no sign of glasses or what was available for demonstration. Not a great start.

Initially things didn't improve in the Sony section; two quick tours and I could see no mention of 3D. However, a friendly assistant – Saqib – then approached and I mentioned having read about the Sony 3D sets they were selling – could I see one in action?

Saqib was quick to usher me over to a comfortable sofa and one of Sony's new 60in screens, before disappearing off for some carefully locked-up 3D glasses. In the meantime, my enquiry had caught the attention of a couple who'd also been lured in hoping for a 3D demo; three sets of specs later, we were ready for a look.

Sports, games and nature
The Harrods team has a choice of 3D content to show – including some nature footage of zoo animals, 3D gaming and some sports coverage. Each was incredibly impressive, with a solid three-dimensionality, rather than gimmicky feel.

Saqib demonstrated how the footage was shot with two cameras, switching from 2D to 3D to demonstrate the change in picture experience.

My fellow shoppers were truly taken with their first 3D TV experience, declaring it better than 3D films they'd seen at the cinema. Certainly, sitting relatively close to a 60in TV made for suitably immersive viewing; I wonder if the 40- or even 52in version would have the same impact in-store.

Goggle-boxes
So far so good, but then – as ever with 3D – the talk turned to the facial hardware required.

A glasses-wearer grumbled about having to double up on specs – even if the Sony active-shutter designs are easily large enough to fit over most standard frames.

I deliberately asked about the price of the glasses, and how many pairs you get as standard. When Saqib mentioned the £100-per-pair price-tag, the reaction was suitably horrified (though, to be fair, that must happen a lot with products in Harrods).

However, with the stunning footage continuing, talk soon returned to sizes of set and availability (early June), as well as Sky's move into 3D and the PlayStation 3's 3D-ready status.

3D on the QT
So, for such a must-see new technology, why no signs advertising the 3D demo? Saqib explained concerns that crowds would gather, causing security issues. I was sceptical until I turned to leave and found a huddle of curious customers had assembled, all eager to flex the 3D specs for themselves.

Credit to Saqib for knowing his stuff – and for coolly asking if i'd like to pre-order a set today. I sadly had to disappoint him at that point, but am sure that the more well-heeled Harrods clientele will be more eager.

Want to know more about 3D?
For full details of Sony's 3D and 2D line-up, see our overview blog here. And for a behind-the-scenes look at how 3D content is being created, check out this blog.

We've got a review of the UK's first 3D TV - from Samsung - in our current, April issue. We'll have further updates on all the year's new sets in our May issue - on sale April 9th - which will feature a dedicated, 36-page supplement on 2010 TV technology.

I remember when... we all adored teletext (February 1980)

Charlie Ghagan — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:23:00 GMT

Comedian Jack Dee once aptly compared it to asking your gran to look up something in the Radio Times – 'Hold on, dear, I'm just trying to find the page...' – but the demise of teletext will strike a chord with anyone who grew up with the cumbersome TV info service.

Finally put out of its misery on ITV, Channel 4 and Five over Christmas, teletext was to become a uniquely British institution during the 1980s and '90s, attracting weekly audiences of up to 20 million.

Its 1976 roll out, however, was far from auspicious – understandable seeing as it required a separate decoder and few TVs came with a remote control.

But TV tech soon caught up, with Ferguson and Philips leading the way with teletext at the turn of the decade. At £799, the 26in Ferguson 3789 was almost two months' salary for the average Brit, but thanks to Radio Rentals, the nation embraced 'the ultimate newspaper' for just a few pounds a month.

An early teletext model from Bang & Olufsen. The data is broadcast during a TV signal's 'blanking interval' – the gap between individual frames when the electron beam returns to the top-left of the screen. This interval is just long enough to decode the 24 lines of text needed for a 1kB teletext page.

Although we developed an affection for the garish cyan blocks displayed by BBC's Ceefax and Oracle's commercial service (later taken over by Teletext Ltd), the endless page carousel only ever exasperated.

But being a broadcast, it never faltered in busy periods and became invaluable to many during the Falklands War – and indeed in more recent times such as when 9/11 caused the internet to buckle.

But eventually everybody – even dear old gran – joined the digital age. Despite being easier to use, digital text lacked the charm of its analogue forebear and was swallowed up within the flood of new channels.

Although Ceefax remains in a mirrored form of the BBC website, teletext's time in the sun is surely over. Yes, it looked rubbish, but we'll miss Bamboozle, we'll miss Planet Sound, and we'll miss the torture of 'watching' a football match on page 402 through a shop window.

Teletext, may you rest in pixels.

Pleasingly, you don't see magazine covers like this anymore. With the £1 coin not yet in circulation, we resort to stacking 50 pence pieces to illustrate the price-points for our turntable cartridge test. The price of the magazine itself is the princely sum of 55p.

Aiwa has seen the future – sitting on the moon listening to a micro system. This 'sci-fi hi-fi' advert promotes its revolutionary four-tier set-up, measuring just 11 1/4in high, 9 1/2in wide and 9in deep.

Channel 4 in 3D: through a pair of glasses, darkly

Andrew Everard — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:13:00 GMT

The whole Channel 4 3D hoopla had kind of passed me by, until I was exchanging a faulty DVD at customer services in Sainsburys last weekend and spotted a huge dump-bin full of chequerboard-printed cardboard 3D specs.

Grabbed a fistful for self, friends and family, and settled down to watch the old Royal Festival footage on Monday and Tuesday nights, along with a less-than-convinced Mrs E, who had a pair of the cardboard specs perched over her own glasses.

Have to say I found the whole thing rather fun: the Coronation footage was almost ridiculously 3D, with a very distinct cardboard cut-out look in the long-shots, a bit like one of those children's theatres where you moved characters around on the end of pipe-cleaners or bits of wire.

Close-ups were much more effective, just as explained in their narration, and this was demonstrated both by the vintage stuff and the new stereo footage shot by the winningly jolly Arthur Wooster and Bob Angell, makers of the original 3D newsreel. Wielding an exceptionally unwieldy modern camera, they filmed Her Maj at the recent swan-upping on the Thames, and at a garden party at Buck House, and the results were truly striking.

Mind you, some of the old stuff shown in the second chunk of the two-parter was equally amusing: steam shovels looming toward the camera, kid on a swing looming toward the camera, man with a ball on a string looming – well, you get the idea.

And the 3D duo, now both in their 80s, were clearly having a whale of a time, Angell grinning broadly as they sat in a screening theatre announcing 'Please put on your 3D glasses'.

Our esteemed uber-Editor reports that the effect worked well on her projector and screen, as it did on my 50in plasma. Interesting, given that Panasonic will have you believe that plasmas, not projectors, are the way forward for its next-gen 3D system...

Only trouble is, through the Channel 4/Sainsburys glasses, the picture was pretty dark: both Clare and I found ourselves cranking the brightness on our respective displays, and I turned off all the room lights, finding the 2D world around the screen distracted from the 3D effect on it.

And I have to say that even with the relatively short bursts of 3D shown, I was getting a feeling of tension around the eyes by the end of each episode, which Clare also says was becoming noticeable.

Whether that was an inherent problem, or just the result of constant switching from 3D to 2D, and from a relatively dark picture to a very bright one, I'm not sure: it'll be interesting to see how I get on with a full-length movie using the system.

Friday the 13th Part III is being shown in 3D on Friday the 20th – I'm sure I'll be watching.

But Derren Brown and JLS in 3D? There's devotion to duty, and then there's...

JAPAN: Rising panel prices create tough times in the LCD TV business

Andrew Everard — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:12:00 GMT

The price of LCD TV panels is on the up, and that's bad news for those companies who buy in their displays from other manufacturers, and good for those still making screens in-house.

The main problems are the huge demand from the emerging flatscreen TV market in China, and a shortage of the glass substrates on which LCD and plasma TV displays are made, according to a report in Japan's Nikkei business newspaper.

£300–£135=not much
In fact, prices have risen around 20% in the past, way ahead of the industry's worst-case predictions at the beginning of the year. The mid-August ex-factory price for a 32in LCD panel hit $215, or about £135, up $35 from the mid-june price.

And with entry-level 32in LCDs now selling for as little as £300, that puts a lot of pressure on manufacturers who have to buy in screens from outside suppliers.

After all, while prices of TVs seem to have stabilised a little, there's no scope for manufacturers to increase prices to take account of these rises further down the supply chain. Take £135 away from £300, factor in shipping, plus distributor and retailer profit margins, and the maker of the TVs doesn't have a lot of budget to play with for the rest of the set.

Sony has a joint venture with Samsung, making LCD display panels

Even companies making screens in joint ventures with other firms are thought to be feeling the pressure: Sony makes screens with Samsung in Korea, and also buys them in from Taiwanese suppliers.

Its Chief Financial Officer Nobuyuki Oneda, is on record as saying "We will not be able to avoid a worsening of TV operation losses in the July-September period compared with the April-June period."

And remember that's worsening from the figures it recently posted for the second quarter of this year, during which the company's LCD business lost Y8bn, or around £51m.

Sharp buoyed by price-rises
By contrast, Sharp, currently carrying an LCD division operating loss of Y14.7bn (almost £95m) for the same period, is hopeful these price increases will help it recover. After all, Sharp makes its own LCD screens, and has been widely discussed as a future joint venture partner for Sony in the LCD business.

There's a glimmer of light on the horizon, in that the shortage of glass is expected to ease soon. But industry analysts merely expect that to signal a peaking of prices next month, and for the price of panels then to stay at that elevated level.

Who'd be a TV manufacturer, eh?

Dish of the day leaves a slightly bitter taste

Andrew Everard — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:17:00 GMT

Ever had one of those moments when you're doing something very routine, and you get a sudden inkling something's not quite right?

I had one while being very domestic and hanging out the washing yesterday. Something just felt wrong, and when I looked round, back at the house, I saw what it was.

The people next door have had a new satellite dish fitted – their second, actually – in the past week or two, and while the mast is fixed to the wall of their property, the whole of the dish/LNB assembly is above the flat roof of our living room.

Now there's a good neighbour conundrum: what do you do?

Insist on having it removed or resited? Live with it, on the grounds that it's not actually attached to your own house so what harm's it doing? Or just get a bit indignant that it was put there without anyone asking if you'd mind?

I'm tending towards option three at the moment, on the basis of a quiet life, however much Mrs E is fulminating about writing to the agent handling the letting of the house next door, the owners, the local planning department and anyone else she can think of.

She's really got very Margot Leadbetter – "Jerry, do something!" – about the situation, while I just think the whole thing leaves a slightly nasty taste in the mouth.

But one question I have to ask: what kind of satellite installer is so stupid, or so blasé, as to think that such an installation is in any way acceptable?

USA: Sharp's new LED-lit LCD TVs offer online set-up help. We're just not quite sure how...

Andrew Everard — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:15:00 GMT

Launched in the past couple of days in the States, Sharp's new LE700 Aquos LED TVs – that's LED-backlit LCDs to you and me – not only claim excellent picture quality, but some novel facilities, too.

Yes, I know: every new TV range claims unsurpassed picture quality, and in Sharp's case this is down to what the company calls 'UltraBrilliant LED backlight technology'.

It's "a full array of LEDs dispersed evenly behind the diffuser", as opposed to around the edges of the screen. But it's an always-on system, with not a sign of local dimming capability.

This works with the Spectral Contrast Engine MC to give a Dynamic Contrast Ratio of more than 2,000,000:1, and also helps keep the power consumption down. For example. the 32in model is rated at just 55W, and even the big 52in model consumes just 105W.

Oh, and Sharp reckons they'll last longer: 100,000 hours, which is over 60% longer than conventional LCD TVs, the company says. Or about 54 years at five hours' viewing a day.

But the intriguing thing is right down the bottom of the announcement. Sharp says that, using the Aquos Net internet connectivity, "consumers also have access to unparalleled customer support for their television.

"[This includes] the ability to have dedicated AQUOS Advantage advisors connect remotely to their TV to assist in adjusting the TV's settings and optimizing picture quality for the best viewing experience.

"This interactive tool, known as AQUOS Advantage Live, is easily accessible from the AQUOS Net home page."

Sounds fascinating – an end to all that hit and miss set-up, or the time and/or expense of calibrating the set or having someone do it for you.

Mentioned it in the office, and Technical Editor Ketan Bharadia, freshly returned from a two-day ISF training session, deadpanned "But how do they know what the ambient lighting is like? Or what contrast settings you prefer? Or what the colour looks like in your room? Or –"

And it was all going so well...

KOREA: No slowdown for LG as demand for LCD panels outstrips supply

Andrew Everard — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:35:00 GMT

With all the talk about the Global Economic Situation, you might expect that things are a bit slow for the world's TV makers.

Not so – massive demand for the latest eighth-generation LCD screens means that the world's biggest manufacturers are struggling to supply enough screens, even though they're working at full tilt.

The demand is largely coming from China, driven by government measures to boost sales of consumer electronics.

And it's meant LG has rushed to open a new LCD production line at its plant in Paju, S. Korea (below) – six months ahead of schedule.

The new line, which can make 20,000 display panels a month, lifts production to well over 80,000 panels a month when operating at full capacity.

Which is just what it's doing now as the demand from China just keeps on growing.

LG is the second-largest manufacturer of LCD TV panels in the world. Market-leader Samsung is also hurrying to ramp up output of the eighth-generation screens, and last month opened a second line at its joint venture with Sony, S-LCD.

The 2.2x2.5m eighth-generation glass substrates (below) are particularly suited to the manufacture of larger LCD screens, each one able to yield six 52in panels or eight 46in screens.

Lean forward, lean back: online vs broadcast TV

Andy Clough — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:58:00 GMT

How much TV do you watch online? I ask the question because the BBC iPlayer has been a huge success, and today The MediaGuardian reports that the US catchup TV portal Hulu is heading for the UK.

Never heard of Hulu? Nor had I. But what I do know is that I increasingly use online catchup services to watch my favourite progarmmes. Take last night for example: lovely sunny evening, no desire to be inside, so I missed Top Gear. No problem, I'll catch it on iPlayer later tonight. Didn't even have to set the PVR.

Competition for web TV is hotting up, with YouTube in talks with ITV and C4 with a view to showing their archived programmes online, and Channel 4 due to relaunch its 4oD service later this month.

And now it seems the decision by the Competition Commission to reject plans for Project Kangaroo, the proposed online video-on-demand service from BBC Worldwide, ITV and C4, has left the door wide open for the Americans.

Hulu is planning an autumn launch in the UK, according to MediaGuardian, with a mix of British and American programmes. It launched in the US 18 months ago, offering streaming of new and old TV shows from Fox, NBC and ABC – among others – and has been a huge success. It even shows C4 series such as Peep Show and Green Wing.

Get this: Hulu served nearly 370 million video streams and more than 40 million unique viewers during April, making it the third most popular video streaming site in the US after YouTube and MySpace.

Now I'm beginning to understand why so many TV manufacturers are tripping over themselves to add web connectivity to their latest models. I'm a subscriber to Virgin Media at home, and can already watch the BBC iPlayer and 4oD via my set-top box. More will surely follow.

Which brings me to my next point: the 'lean forward, lean back' argument. Yes, I can watch HD programmes on my Apple Mac. But I don't want to. When I'm watching the telly, I can kick back on the sofa and relax, which is the way it should be. I don't want to be sitting bolt upright at my desk.

So it seems to me that more and more of us will welcome the convenience of catch-up TV via broadband, but will want to view that content on a TV, not a computer. It appears the BBC agrees, as its much-vaunted Project Canvas is designed to allow broadband catchup services to be watched on TV.

Erik Huggers, the BBC's Director of Future Media & Technology, describes Canvas as "a subscription-free television experience that converges broadcast with broadband and democratises access to TV".

But first, he argues, there must be a standard IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) standard, before the number of different platforms mushrooms out of control.

Whether our broadband infrastructure can cope with this explosion of online TV is another matter. At last week's Intellect Consumer Electronics Conference, it emerged that the BBC iPlayer already uses 60 per cent of the UK's web capacity. And YouTube's hosting costs outstrip its revenue, with bandwidth costs apparently running at an eye-watering $1m a day. Ouch.

So Gordon Brown's talk of a "broadband revolution" and an upgrade to the UK's broadband infrastructure can't come soon enough. Me? I just love the fact that I'm no longer at the mercy of the broadcasters' schedules and can watch my favourite TV when it suits me, not them. Bring on the revolution.

KOREA: LG shows superthin LCD screens, and brighter 3D displays

Andrew Everard — Wed, 27 May 2009 11:23:00 GMT

They may be spending more time than usual keeping a nervous eye on what's going on just north of their Paju display factory at the moment, but that hasn't stopped LG's TV engineers coming up with a couple of serious technological breakthroughs of late.

Not only has the company developed the world's thinnest LCD TV panel – the 42in and 47in screens are just 5.9mm thick – but it's also been showing an enhanced 3D display, claiming twice the brightness of existing screens.

The new super-thin panels (above) are made possible by the company's LED edge-lighting system, along with propietary Light Guide Sheet technology.

This enables the Light Guide Plate in the screens to be halved in thickness, and of course means that the screens are much thinner than conventional LCDs lit by cold cathode fluorescent lamps.

A further benefit is that the display panels are around half the weight of conventional CCFL-backlight devices: the 42in weighs 6.1kg, and the 47in 7.3kg.

Meanwhile on the 3D front, LG has developed a Full HD LCD panel with twice the brightness of devices to date – in fact, it's said to be the world's brightest.

It's a 23in model, and gets over many of the existing problems with 3D displays. Usually, the time-sequential processing required to deliver alternate images for left and right eyes, thus creating the 3D effect, is either in an external processing box or special viewing glasses with LCD shutters.

However LG has embedded most of the 3D technology directly in the panel, which makes 3D viewing both brighter, and possible with low-priced polarised glasses.

The Week in HD - Friday 22nd May

Joe Cox — Fri, 22 May 2009 15:31:00 GMT

Welcome to The Week in HD.

This week, you're in for a treat. Tom is currently easing himself in to his lederhosen and no doubt sampling some sausage on a romantic weekend away with his good lady in Munich - he assures us that the clash with the Munich High-End Show was entirely coincidental - so I've been let loose in the worn, and slightly musty, hot seat.

Having had the good chaps at Sky install my HD box just this morning, I guess the hat fits. So, without further ado, here are some selected HD highlights for the forthcoming week...

Friday 22nd May

UFC 2009: Undisputed (Xbox 360)

While I would never normally recommend you spend your bank holiday beating the living daylights out of people, in UFC 2009: Undisputed that sort of behaviour is very much encouraged. The graphics are scarily realistic and gameplay worryingly addictive, but hey, perhaps I've just had a long week. Head over to our friends at The Leisure Lab to see a review.

Damnation (Xbox 360)

The equally cheery-sounding Damnation sees you guide Rourke through an incessant modern-day civil war, helped by a cache of stupendously damaging weaponry. The usual first-person style romp through death, destruction and I guess, damnation, follows, helped no end by some rather splendid visuals and a heart-stopping soundtrack.

Hay-On-Sky - Sky Arts 1 HD - 7pm

When you've finished beating people up and/or blowing them in to tiny pieces, why not unwind with coverage from the 2009 Guardian Hay Festival. Mariella Frostrup is joined by various other luvvies from the arts world for one of the world's foremost festivals of writing, comedy and music. Yep, I do high-brow, too...

Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer - Sky Action HD - 7.20pm

...but I also realise it's Friday night. So feel free to remove your brain, settle back on the sofa and doze your way through this Fantastic Four escapade. Of course you'll find it pretty hard, what with the arresting HD images and stirring soundtrack - this is one to blow the cobwebs out of your AV system.

Shaft - Channel 4 HD - 10pm

Samuel L. Jackson stars as Shaft in this remake, with Christian Bale finding himself on the wrong side of the tracks here as the bad guy trying to avoid a murder rap. Very strong language/violence, I might add.

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross – BBC HD – 10.35pm

Isn't Wossy naughty? So naughty they'll be pre-recording his radio show from now on. He still does his best to push the decency boundaries on his TV show but it's usually with rather amusing results, so I'll let him off. Martin Sheen and Yvette Fielding will be doing their best to get a word in edgeways, while Grace Jones will probably manage just fine.

Saturday 23rd May

Gillingham v Shrewsbury - Live - Sky Sports HD1 - 2.30pm

Gillingham take on Shrewsbury Town in the Coca-Cola League Two play-off final at Wembley. If you're looking to have a flutter, I'll point out that Shrewsbury beat Gillingham 7-0 in the league game at Prostar Stadium... Or you could just bet on when the first player gets cramp. I'll go for 78 minutes.

The Lost Tribe Of Palau - National Geographic HD - 8pm

Follow a geographical expedition to the middle of the Pacific Ocean as scientists unearth a collection of human remains which are believed to be a new species. This is arguably one of those programmes that is just as jaw-dropping when watching on mute, but I didn't say that...

Dead Man Walking - Sky Drama HD - 8pm

Susan Sarandon won an Oscar for her role in this 1995 classic, which also stars Sean Penn and was directed by Tim Roth. Look out for an appearance by the real Sister Helen, upon who's life this film was set, outside the prison during the candlelight vigil scene.

Sunday 24th May

Live Ford Survival Sunday - Sky Sports HD1 - 3pm

Sky's Sports department could generate excitement about literally anything. And give the event an alliterated title. And give over hour after hour for live coverage. So we have 'Survival Sunday' as neutrals around the country cross everything within sight in the hope that Shearer takes Newcastle down. Or is that just me?

The Shining - Sky Sci-Fi/Horror HD - 8pm (pictured, above)

Now this is what I call a film. Jack Nicholson goes from mad, to madder, to just plain ol' scary in one of Kubrick's finest works. If you've seen the Blu-ray you'll know this scrubs up nicely, with special mention to the brilliantly atmospheric soundtrack.

Come Dine With Me - Channel 4 HD - 8.30pm

Well I never, they film Come Dine With Me in HD? Who'd have thunk it. It's worrying how often I can't find anything better to do than watching Come Dine With Me, but now at least I can nose in to other people's homes, and indeed their pots and pans, in glorious high definition. Yay.

Monday 25th May

Battle Of Britain - Blu-ray

An exclusive to play.com, this is 'a spectacular retelling of a true story that shows courage at its inspiring best. Few defining moments can change the outcome of war; but when the outnumbered Royal Air Force defied unsurmountable odds in engaging the German Luftwaffe, they may well have altered the course of history!' So there you have it. Stars Harry Andrews, Michael Caine and Trevor Howard.

Iron Maiden: Flight 666 - The Film - Blu-ray

What happens when you take a legendary British metal band, a customised Boeing 757, 12 tons of music and stage equipment, a film crew and fly them to 13 countries in 45 days? You get Flight 666 - a full length documentary charting Iron Maiden's ambitious 2008 "Somewhere Back In Time World Tour". And with Bruce behind the controls - yes, really - it's a wonder they're still with us.

The Spirit - Blu-ray

A second appearance for Samuel L. Jackson, this time in a film adaptation of the legendary comic strip. Directed by Frank Miller, of Sin City fame, it should make for an interesting visual spectacle, not least in HD.

Tuesday 26th May

The Chase - BBC HD - 6.30pm

A new series for BBC HD - we'll look over the fact it was on 'normal' BBC yonks ago - comes in the form of this drama set around a veterinary practice. I can't help thinking this is one of the last places you want to be sticking in a HD camera but there you go.

Live Super League - Sky Sports HD1 - 8pm

Leeds and Hull meet to tug at each others shorts and leg it about a muddy pitch for 80 minutes or so. Two of the biggest names in the game's history should provide a spectacle and you can always marvel at the way the HD picture shows the players' breath in the air if you're not engaged by the rugby league action.

Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End - Sky Screen 1HD - 8pm

Capatin Jack returns in what Sky's TV Guide calls 'a pounding sequel'. Reviews may have been mixed but Depp is pretty dependable when it comes to putting a good turn, not least in his role as the Keith Richards of the sea.

Wednesday 27th May

Champions League Final - Live - Sky Sports HD1 - 6pm

There is really the only event to be thinking about this week. The mighty Manchester United, champions of England, champions of Europe and champions of the world, look to add another big shiny cup to their bulging trophy cabinet and pile on yet more misery for those scousers and cockneys watching at home and cheering on Barcelona. Forza United. (Not that I am in any way biased on this one...)

Thursday 28th May

Changeling - SBO HD1 - 8pm

Angeline Jolie stars in this period thriller directed by Clint Eastwood, the man who's done the unthinkable and topped his acting career after his move behind the camera.

Spider-Man 3 - Sky Family HD - 8pm

Webslinging smash starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, though as ever J.K. Simmons steals any scene he appears in, here playing the no nonsense publisher of The Daily Bugle newspaper. No nonsense publishing editors? What's one of them?

The Alpine Chronicles - Rush HD - 9pm

This channel shouldn't be over-looked - not only does it pump out plenty of high definition content, it always seems to make a pretty impressive job of it in to the bargain. This look at American skiers aiming to get on the US ski team should provide plenty of opportunitites for your TV to show-off.

Tom Parsons is away. Having fun.

The Week in HD - Friday 15th May

Tom Parsons — Fri, 15 May 2009 13:26:00 GMT

Ok, so it’s magazine deadline week and all those exclusive reviews aren’t going to write themselves, so this Week in HD is going to have to be a quick one. So yes, I’ve cheated, and there are some things listed here without any explanation, and some with a synopsis taken straight from the Sky TV Guide. Needless to say I've listed them because I think they're worth checking out, though!

Friday 15th May

Games
Battlestations Pacific – a solid WWII game for the Xbox 360 that sees you flying planes and commanding ships and subs in key battles between the U.S. and Japan. Try before you buy by downloading the demo from Xbox Live Marketplace.

Cricket: England v. West Indies – Sky Sports HD1 – 10.30am

Good Morning Vietnam – Sky Premiere HD – 8pm
Robin Williams classic.

Dexter – FX HD – 10pm
All in the Family: Dexter’s gone from someone petrified of commitment to trying desperately to persuade Rita to marry him. Don’t worry; the killing’s not over.

Vantage Point – Sky Premiere HD – 10.15pm
Fairly solid thriller that looks great in HD.

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross – BBC HD – 10.35pm
Big night, as Jonathan interviews Ben Stiller, Ewan McGregor, Eminem, and someone I’ve never heard of called Charlotte Uhlenbroek.

Generation Kill – FX HD – 11.10pm
Combat Jack: brilliant episode in this brilliant series.

Later with Jools Holland – BBC HD – 11.35pm
Good show tonight: New York Dolls, Morrissey, Little Boots and Annie Lennox.

Saturday 16th May

Cricket: England v. West Indies – Sky Sports HD2 – 10.30am

Football: Manchester Utd v. Arsenal – Sky Sports HD1 – 12pm
Man U need just 1 point to win the Premier League.

Natural World – BBC HD – 6pm
Snow Monkeys.

Wanted – Sky Premiere HD – 10pm
Silly action film with brilliant effects.

Sunday 17th May

Planet Earth – BBC HD – 6pm
Deserts.

Lost – Sky1 HD – 9pm
The Incident: it’s double-episode season finale time!

Cricket: England v. West Indies – Sky Sports HD2 – 10.30am

Football: West Brom v. Liverpool – Sky Sports HD1 – 1pm

Football: Chelsea v. Blackburn – Sky Sports HD1 – 3.30pm

Monday 18th May

Blu-rays
Solid week – pick from the excellent Frost/Nixon, solid and thrilling Defiance, or silly Underworld: Rise of the Lycans.

24 – Sky1 HD – 9pm
Day 7: 5am to 6am.

Tuesday 19th May

Sunshine – Sky Screen 2HD – 7.10pm
Great sci-fi from Danny Boyle.

Wednesday 20th May

Blade Runner: The Final Cut – Sky Screen 2HD – 6.55pm

Thursday 21st May

Cricket: England v. West Indies – Sky Sports HD1
The first one-dayer at Headingley.

Platoon – Sky Drama HD – 12am
Vietnam war classic.

NEC's 'glasses-free' 3D TV: double the pixels, double the fun

Andrew Everard — Tue, 12 May 2009 10:13:00 GMT

OK, OK, so the press image is more than a bit fanciful – never was the disclaimer more relevant – but NEC's engineers think they're on to something when it comes to the one thing likely to crack 3D TV in the home: the ability to get dimensional effects without having to wear silly glasses.

The company has come up with an LCD TV with SVGA resolution, using the company's Horizontal Double-Density Pixel structure. Unlike conventional 'naked eye' screens, which rely on the existing vertically-striped pixel structure to deliver 3D, and thus present images in greatly reduced resolution, HDDP uses a horizontally-striped configuration.

In this, each pixel is made up from three sub-pixels, each split in half lengthwise, as illustrated in the 'science bit' above, allowing data for left and right eyes to be shown alternately with no loss of resolution, leaving persistence of vision to do the rest.

The system can also display conventional 2D images, by using pairs of adjacent pixels, and indeed can mix 2D and 3D content on the same screen without viewer-fatigue, according to NEC.

At the moment the screen is a 12.1in (31cm) diagonal monitor, developed from a 2.5in HDDP LCD module originally developed by NEC's Central Research Laboratories for portable devices.

It's thought the initial applications will be in the industrial market, since this is now NEC's main area of interest. Typical applications are thought to be amusement arcades, digital signage and computer-aided design, and medical image analysis.

Then again, Japan already has 3D TV broadcasting, and has since the end of 2007...

The Week in HD - Friday 8th May

Tom Parsons — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:11:00 GMT

This week's another fairly quiet one for games and Blu-rays, but the TV line-up includes plenty of cricket, football and some cracking shows.

Oh, and remember, if you're a Sky user you can set recordings from sky.com, but you need to have set up Remote Record from within your HD Box's menus first. Believe me, it's absolutely worth it!

Games

It’s another quiet week on the games front, with no releases for the PS3 and only Velvet Assassin hitting Xbox 360. Despite a fairly intriguing plot and unique presentation, the game itself is a rather generic sneak-em-up.

Friday 8^th May

Cricket: England v. West Indies – Sky Sports HD1 – 10.30am

Who’d’ve thought it? We’re actually giving the Windies a bit of a pasting! Fingers crossed the weather remains dry for the rest of the day and we can continue in that vein.

Dexter – FX HD – 10pm

The Lion Sleeps Tonight: Dexter’s still trying to slow down his colleagues in the police, while trying to work out what to do about Freebo and whether he can really trust Miguel Prado.

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross – BBC HD – 10.35pm

Old Wossy’s got another rather dull line-up tonight. The Loose Women? Seriously?! Tom Hanks is admittedly much higher profile, but how many times have we seen him interviewed over the years. Think I’ll just record this one and skip to Dizzee Rascal’s appearance and performance.

Generation Kill – FX HD – 11.05pm

Another sobering, exciting, hilarious and frightening episode in this series about American troops in Iraq. This really is telly at its very best.

Later with Jools Holland – 11.35pm

Does anyone still listen to Manic Street Preachers? If you do, this week’s Later... may well be of interest, but to be honest, I’m not that bothered about them or the other guests, which include Paolo Nutini, Booker T and Taylor Swift.

Saturday 9^th May

Cricket: England v. West Indies – Sky Sports HD2 – 10.30am

It’s day four of the first test, and judging by the way we were running away with it at the time of writing, it may all be over by now. I rather hope not, though; I’m supposed to be watching it at Lords!

Sunday 10^th May

Cricket: England v. West Indies – Sky Sports HD2 – 10.30am

It’s looking unlikely that the first test will continue into the fifth day, but if it does, this is where you’ll find it.

Football: Manchester Utd v. Manchester City – Sky Sports HD1 – 1pm

This should be an especially tasty Manchester derby, as United push to seal Premiership victory, while City fight for the final spot in Europe.

Football: Arsenal v. Chelsea – Sky Sports HD1 – 3.30pm

The sorest of sore losers travel to the Emirates and attempt to keep their Premiership title hopes alive. Arsenal, also keen to put their Champions League exit behind them, aren’t going to make it easy.

Planet Earth – BBC HD – 4pm

Caves: Another edition of the Beeb’s excellent nature documentary, this time all about the world’s deepest, darkest nooks and crannies.

Lost – Sky HD – 9pm

Follow the Leader: After last week’s revelations and drama concerning Daniel, this week the focus turns to the apparently immortal Richard Alpert. Meanwhile, Sawyer and Juliet find themselves in a spot of hot water at the Dharma camp. Honestly, if you gave up on Lost during the slow and confusing second season, you’re really missing out now.

Fringe – Sky HD – 10pm

Midnight: Blimey, this one really is a creepy episode, which features a serial killer who drains his victim’s spinal fluid. Could this be related to the experiments conducted on Agent Dunham?

Monday 11^th May

Blu-rays

Not a lot again this week, but Role Models is certainly worth checking out if you appreciate the odd bit of silly, immature comedy.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly – Sky Screen 2HD – 5pm

I actually missed this hugely well-regarded film at the cinema and on DVD, so I’ll be recording it today. It’s an adaptation of Elle editor Jean Dominique Bauby’s memoir, which he dictated by blinking his left eye after being paralysed by a severe stroke. Apparently it’s an astonishing watch.

24 – Sky 1 HD – 9pm

Ok, the last couple of episodes have been better, and even the music’s less rubbish, but seriously, how many times are they going to arrest a terrorist leader, only for them to say, ‘oh, I’m just a cog in a big machine – now you’re gonna have to deal with my boss, and he’s even scarier and more powerful! Mwa ha ha!’? I think that’s happened three or four times in this season already!

Tuesday 12^th May

Beverly Hills Cop – Sky Modern Greats HD – 6.10pm

Yeah, I know this is on all the time, but it’s a quiet night for telly, so why not sit back and enjoy one of the greatest action-comedies of all-time, and the film that made Eddie Murphy a star.

Beverly Hills Cop II – Sky Modern Greats HD – 8pm

Well, you have just watched the first one...

Wednesday 13^th May

Football: Wigan Athletic v. Manchester Utd – Sky Sports HD1 – 7.30pm

Could this be the game that confirms United’s Premier League victory? Wigan will hope not, but it’s hard to see them getting the win.

Napoleon – BBC HD – 10pm

This drama-documentary tells the story of Napoleon Bonaparte’s rise from the rank-and-file to military legend. It forms part of the BBC’s Heroes and Villains season, which in my opinion could do with a little less dramatisation, but has been very interesting all the same.

Thursday 14^th May

Cricket: England v. West Indies – Sky Sports HD1 – 10.30pm

Action switches to The Riverside for the second test.

One to Avoid

Quantum of Solace

007’s latest outing hits Sky Box Office this week. It’ll cost £3.91 to watch in HD, and it’s really not worth it, with the badly directed and edited action combining with a weak baddy, ill-conceived story, occasionally ropey special effects and a charmless Bond to create a film that serves only to undo all the hard work done with Casino Royale.

In a couple of year’s time, those of us who’ve seen the film will be trying desperately to forget it so that we can get excited about the next one. If you can, save yourself the effort by not watching QoS at all.

The Week in HD - Friday 1st May

Tom Parsons — Fri, 01 May 2009 17:14:00 GMT

That’s right, the greatest blog-feature in the history of the internet* is back! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, this is my regular look at the best HD content coming over the next week. It doesn’t matter if it’s a game, Blu-ray or TV show – if it’s hi-def and good, it makes the list. If you disagree with my picks or think I’ve missed something good, post in the comments section below.

Friday 1st May

Games
The only notable game release of the week is X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which bucks the movie-game tie-in tradition by actually being half-decent. It’s available today on Xbox 360, PS3, and just about every other format you can think of.

X-Men – Sky Screen 1HD – 8pm
Decided not to put yourself through the astronomical prices, sticky floors and badly calibrated surround sound of your local cinema in order to catch Wolverine? How about curling-up with his first (and best) movie outing at home, for free, instead?

Lake Placid – Sky1 HD – 10pm
Ok, so it’s silly and a bit old now, but this comedy-horror about a giant killer croc is lots of fun, and fairly family-friendly.

Dexter – FX HD – 10pm
Finding Freebo: after a bit of a rough patch during last season, Dexter is absolutely back on form. In this episode everyone’s favourite blood-spatter expert / vigilante serial killer tries desperately to track down Freebo before the rest of the cops do.

Generation Kill – FX HD – 11.05pm
The Cradle of Civilization: this short series focuses on the American soldiers of Bravo Company during the early stages of the Iraq war. It’s from the creators of The Wire and, as you might expect given that pedigree, is complicated, morally ambiguous, and totally, utterly brilliant. It looks and sounds superb, too.

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross – BBC HD – 10.35pm
Frankly, I couldn’t give two hoots about what musical-director-turned-reality-TV-sellout Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber has to say, nor our Eurovision ‘hope’, Jade Ewen, but Rob Brydon’s also on and he’s absolute class. Plus, The Enemy are playing live, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Later with Jools Holland – BBC HD – 11.35pm
Tonight’s guests include Depeche Mode, Sonic Youth and the lovely Lily Allen.

Saturday 2nd May

Live Ford Football Special – Sky Sports HD1 – 12.30pm
Middlesborough v. Manchester United: Premier League victory’s tantalisingly close for Man U – can Borough become a stumbling block?

Turner & Hooch – Sky Screen 1HD – 3.55pm
This early Tom Hanks vehicle about a cop and his dog is a certified family classic – perfect for a lazy Saturday afternoon.

Deep Blue Sea – Sky Screen 2HD – 7pm
Yeah, ok, this ultra-stupid film about genetically-modified super sharks is far from high-brow, but it’s still tense fun, and the underwater action looks great in HD.

I Am Legend – Sky Screen 2HD – 7.15pm
Much like the film’s star, Will Smith, I Am Legend divides opinion. I’m quite keen on it myself, and the frequent dark scenes make it a great system tester.

Sunday 3rd May

Live Ford Super Sunday – Sky Sports HD1 – 3.45pm
Sunderland v. Everton: Sunderland are desperately trying to stay out of the relegation zone, but a visiting Everton side will prove dangerous opposition.

Planet Earth – BBC HD – 5.30pm
Freshwater: Planet Earth always looks stunning in HD, and this edition, which follows the trail of our greatest rivers from mountain to sea, promises to be no exception.

The Terminator – Sky Screen 1HD – 8pm
The release of the very promising-looking Terminator Salvation draws ever-nearer, so why not remind yourself what all the fuss is about by watching the first movie in the series in HD. I don’t care what anyone says; it’s definitely better than Terminator 2.

Lost – Sky1 HD – 9pm
The Variable: Lost’s 100th episode sees the return of my favourite character, the secretive Daniel Faraday. It’s time for some answers.

Fringe – Sky1 HD – 10pm
Bad Dreams: this excellent X-Files-like series continues with Agent Dunham experiencing some rather nasty visions.

Monday 4th May

Blu-rays
It’s far from a massive week for HD discs, with no brand new films hitting shelves. However, modern classics Sin City, Silence of the Lambs, There’s Something About Mary and the superb Fargo all get the Blu-ray treatment.

Live Ford Football Special – Sky Sports HD1 – 7.30pm
Aston Villa v. Hull City: Villa may have messed-up on getting fourth place, but they’re still playing for a spot in Europe, while Hull are desperately fighting for Premier League survival.

Natural World – BBC HD – 7.40pm
Great White Shark – A Living Legend: nothing scares the hell out of me like sharks do (I blame Spielberg), but they’re also fascinating, so I’ll be checking out this BBC documentary.

24 – Sky1 HD – 9pm
I’m still in two minds about this latest series of 24: it’s peculiarly paced, riddled with plot-holes, and boasts some of the most jarringly rubbish and inappropriate music I’ve ever heard accompanying a TV show, but it’s also occasionally thrilling and action-packed, so I may well stick with it to the end of the series.

Tuesday 5th May

Mad Men – BBC HD – 10pm
Meditations in an Emergency: the final episode in the current series of this excellent drama series promises to be a thriller.

Wednesday 6th May

England v. West Indies – Sky Sports HD1 – 10am
Day one of the first test at Lord’s. Here’s hoping for good weather and a decent English performance.

Chelsea v. Barcelona – Sky Sports HD2 – 7pm
It’s the second-leg of Chelsea’s Champions League semi-final. Fingers crossed they’ll actually try to score a goal this time.

Thursday 7th May

England v. West Indies – Sky Sports HD1 – 10am
Day two of the first test.

One to Avoid – Meet the Spartans
Clogging up valuable airtime on Sky Premiere HD all week is this truly repulsive film from the team that brought you Scary Movie. Not only is the film offensive, it’s offensively rubbish, with zero laughs and an abundance of homophobia and racism. Avoid like Swine Flu.

* blog-feature may not actually be the greatest in the history of the internet.

How US TV companies are racing to fill the 'Pioneer gap', and get the high-end TV market humming again

Andrew Everard — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 11:11:00 GMT

It seems Pioneer's decision to pull out of the TV market, depriving consumers and retailers of reassuringly expensive flat-panel models, is providing an opportunity for other companies.

And clearly some of them believe that, even in These Difficult Economic Times™, there's a market for high-end tellies, set apart from the mass-market.

Already Panasonic is reported to have been targeting US AV specialist retailers hit by the Pioneer decision, and facing shrinking margins created by the still-intense competition in the flatscreen market.

Now it seems Samsung is going after the same upmarket approach, rolling out a $65m (£44m) advertising campaign, and implementing a new Minimum Advertised Pricing policy Stateside.

It's a bold move, tied in with a desire to reposition the brand as an elite one, and aided by the new styling and technologies being offered in the company's 2009 models. Samsung already has market-leading status in the USA, and is building on that by reducing the number of online retailers offering deep discounts, and potentially cutting by a third the number of authorised 'e-tailers' carrying its products.

The company isn't enforcing its pricing strictly, and says that retailers will still be free to set their own pricing levels, but those wishing to take advantage of the company's major promotional push, and get involved in co-operative ads, will be expected to stick to the prices carried in those adverts.

The company is setting out its stall with a focus on its new models combining LCD panels with LED backlighting and 240Hz frame rate (200Hz here in the UK), which will be its main focus this year. In addition, it clearly thinks its plasma range, which is both ultra-thin and able to deliver high-contrast, is a tempting prospect for those former Kuro dealers.

Tim Baxter, president of Samsung's US consumer electronics division, told trade magazine TWICE that, “Our over-arching strategy in TV has been to continue to move up stream, and we have done that quite effectively over the past few years.”

The LED TV technology is, Baxter said, "about bringing in the best picture quality with its mega-contrast ratio.

“It is about leveraging the design technology around its edge-based lighting system that allows for a panel thinness of about an inch and it gives us the ability to offer a truly environmentally friendly solution that is lead-free, mercury-free and requires 40 percent less power to operate.”

It'll be interesting to see how this policy pans out in the States, and whether Samsung can succeed where Pioneer clearly felt it was destined to fail.