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HDTV Listings for July 12, 2010

By Richard Lawler

posted Jul 12th 2010 at 7:32PM

What we're watching tonight:

NBC (1080i) has Persons Unknown at 8 p.m. and Last Comic Standing at 9 p.m.
TNT (1080i) has the season premiere of The Closer at 9 p.m. and the series premiere of Rizzoli & Isles at 10 p.m.
Fox (720p) has Lie to Me at 8 p.m. and The Good Guys at 9 p.m.
ABC (720p) has The Bachelorette at 8 p.m.
Travel (1080i) has the series premiere of Samantha Brown's Asia at 8 p.m. and Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations at 10 p.m.
Discovery (1080i) has Ultimate Car Build Off at 9 p.m. and Chasing Classic Cars at 10 p.m.
Food (1080i) has Kid in a Candy Store at 8 p.m.
HBO (1080i) presents A Small Act at 9 p.m.
TLC (1080i) has Cake Boss at 9 p.m. and Inedible to Incredible at 10 p.m
A&E (720p) has Intervention at 9 p.m. and Obsessed at 10 p.m.
MTV (1080i) airs The Hard Times of RJ Berger at 10 p.m. and Warren the Ape at 10:30 p.m.
TBS (1080i) has Neighbors from Hell at 10 p.m.
History (720p) has American Pickers at 9 p.m. and Pawn $tars at 10 & 10:30 p.m.
ESPN & ESPN3D (720p) has 2010 State Farm Home Run Derby at 8 p.m.

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LG's 3D bundle adds two pairs of glasses, $100 rebate and Under the Sea 3D disc

By Richard Lawler

posted Jul 12th 2010 at 3:03PM

We've already seen 3D bundles from Samsung, Panasonic and Sony, now LG is getting in on the action. Announced today, the "1-2-3D" bundle applies to all who purchase a LX9500 or LX6500 series Infinia LCD TV and LG Blu-ray 3D player, and includes two pairs of glasses, an instant $100 rebate and coupon for the IMAX Under the Sea 3D Blu-ray 3D disc. The bundle pricing is roughly equivalent to Samsung's offering, so it really comes down to which 3DTV or player one prefers, or possibly, a question of Monsters vs. Aliens or this IMAX flick (perhaps the Magic Motion remote can serve as a tiebreaker.) Check the press release after the break for more details, the choice is yours.

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Join the Engadget HD podcast live on Ustream at 5:30 PM

By Ben Drawbaugh

posted Jul 12th 2010 at 2:40PM

It's Monday, and we know that getting the week started can be tough. We're here to help by letting you peek into the recording booth when the Engadget HD podcast goes to tape at 5:30 pm. Think of it as a kind of time machine that will help you power through your day by reviewing what happened in the week HD-wise. Embedded Ustream tools and a list of topics after the break.

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Next Apple TV to offer 99 cent streaming episode rentals?

By Donald Melanson

posted Jul 12th 2010 at 1:19PM

We've already had some indication that the next Apple TV might boast a low, low $99 price tag, and it looks like Apple might be working to make TV shows cheaper as well. According NewTeeVee, Apple is now trying to convince networks to let it offer rentals of episodes of TV shows for 99 cents. Like movie rentals, you would have 30 days to watch an episode after you purchase it, but the shows would reportedly be streaming-only, and not actually downloaded to the Apple TV, which would certainly line up with the cloud storage model we've heard about. Not many more details than that, unfortunately, nor is there any word that the rentals would extend beyond the Apple TV.

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Echostar XV launches succesfully, even more HD on the way

By Richard Lawler

posted Jul 12th 2010 at 12:17PM

Looks like DISH Network's satellite program is officially back on a winning streak with this weekend's successful launch (video after the break) of Echostar XV. We don't have any more details on DISH's expansion plans for the additional capacity than we did when this bird was announced back in '08, but with two successful launches under its belt in 2010 we can all be happy the troubles of the ill-fated AMC-14 are a distant memory, right?

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Early DirecTV 3D reviews take the good with plenty of the bad

By Richard Lawler

posted Jul 12th 2010 at 10:54AM

Now that n3D is live on DirecTV, there's an opportunity to see whether or not the 3D revolution is actually ready for takeoff. Judging by early impressions from CNET's David Katzmeier and HDGuru Gary Merson, like the early days of HD and Blu-ray before it, quality 3D experiences are unfortunately mixed in with mediocre to awful ones. CNET had mixed impressions of the Guitar Sessions segments featured on n3D, while the effect seemed forced at times, though enjoyable at others. Unfortunately both reviewers cited African Adventure: Safari in the Okavango for its terrible presentation, with Merson going so far as to request it be taken off the air until the 3D issues are corrected. It wasn't all bad, as he gave Encounter in the Third Dimension and S.O.S. Planet much higher ratings, along with an overall favorable impression of this past weekend's Mariners/Yankees broadcast despite a few camera tracking issues. If you have a 3DTV experience of your own let us know in the comments, or check out these reviews to know what to watch (or avoid) until there's a bit more to choose from.

CNET, HDGuru - n3D, HDGuru - MLB

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Intel's smart TV remote will recognize you, tailor content to your wishes

By Vlad Savov

posted Jul 12th 2010 at 7:36AM

It's all about how you hold it, apparently. Intel's Labs have churned out a proposal for a new user-identifying system to be embedded into remote controls. Given a bit of time to familiarize itself with particular users, this new motion sensor-equipped channel switcher is capable of correctly recognizing its holder just by the way he operates it. Taking accelerometer readings every 100 nanoseconds, the researchers were able to build a data set of idiosyncrasies about each person, which would then be applied the next time he picked up the remote. Alas, accuracy rates are still well short of 100 percent, but there's always hope for improving things and for now it's being suggested that the system could be employed to help with targeted advertising -- which is annoying anyway, whoever it may think you are.

New Scientist

Branislav Kveton [PDF]

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HDTV Listings for July 11, 2010

By Richard Lawler

posted Jul 11th 2010 at 7:47PM

What we're watching tonight:

ABC (720p) has Scoundrels at 9 p.m. and The Gates at 10 p.m.
TNT (1080i) has Leverage at 9 p.m.
TLC (1080i) has Kate Plus 8 at 9 & 9:30 p.m. and The Bakery Bunch at 10 p.m.
History (720p) has Ice Road Truckers at 9 p.m. and Top Shot at 10 p.m.
HBO (1080i) has True Blood at 9 p.m., Hung at 10 p.m. and Entourage at 10:30 p.m.
A&E (720p) has the series premiere of The Glades at 10 p.m.
Showtime (1080i) has The Real L Word at 10 p.m.
Food (1080i) has The Next Food Network Star at 9 p.m. and the series premiere of Kid in a Candy Store at 10:30 p.m.
VH1 (1080i) has the series premiere of Ocho Cinco at 9 p.m. and the season premiere of The T.O. Show at 10:30 p.m.
Comedy Central (1080i) airs the series premiere of Russell Simmons Presents: Stand-Up at the El-Rey at 11 p.m.
Cartoon Network (1080i) has the series premiere of Children's Hospital at 10:30 p.m. and The Boondocks at 11:30 p.m.
ESPN (720p) has Cubs/Dodgers baseball at 8 p.m.
ESPN2 (720p) has World Cup Primetime at 9 p.m.

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Poll: Are you going to get / already set up with a multiroom DVR?

By Richard Lawler

posted Jul 11th 2010 at 12:15PM

It seems like every provider is finally rolling out multiroom technology, even though it's been around for years from outsiders like TiVo and Windows Media Center. For this week's poll, as suggested by @rothgar, we're wondering how many are either already playing their recordings on another display or are even thinking about it, or if you're pure old school and think programs remain in the room where the set-top box is. If you have one, let us know what you're using and how well it's working in the comments.

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Onkyo's HT-S7300 and HT-S6300 HTIB bundles are totally ready for 3D, man

By Darren Murph

posted Jul 11th 2010 at 10:32AM

Shocker of shockers -- Onkyo has outed a pair of home-theater-in-box bundles, and both of 'em are 3D ready. Crazy, ain't it? The HT-S6300 and HT-S7300 both have 3D-ready HDMI-1.4a inputs, 1080p video upscaling, lossless Dolby and DTS high definition audio, Dolby height processing, Audyssey automatic room equalization and seven total loudspeakers (plus a subwoofer). The primary difference between the two is the pair of 41-inch tall floorstanders that come with the S7300, as both systems ship with a 7 x 130W amplifier and a 290W subbie. As expected, there's also an outboard dock for iPod and iPhone, and the Faroudja DCDi Cinema processor should keep upscaled content looking its very best. The duo is available now for $749 and $899, respectively, and the full presser awaits just past the break should you find yourself interested.

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HDTV Listings for July 10, 2010

By Richard Lawler

posted Jul 10th 2010 at 4:35PM

What we're watching tonight:

Fox (720p) has Cops at 8 p.m.
BBC America (1080i) has Doctor Who at 9 p.m.
ESPN (720p) has World Cup Primetime at 7 p.m.
ESPN2 (720p) has NHRA Northwest Nationals Qualifying at 10 p.m.
Showtime (1080i) has Championship Boxing at 9 p.m.

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Ok that's it, providers should stop simulcasting SD to HD set-tops

By Ben Drawbaugh

posted Jul 10th 2010 at 12:53PM

We've seen it over and over again at bars, waiting rooms and the homes of our friends and families and it needs to stop. You know; they have an HDTV, an HD set-top box that is properly connected, and they're watching HD shows in SD. Why? Because it is the channel number they know and the HD channels are in BFE. It was one thing for providers to do this in 2002, but now? What providers should do is to just replace the SD channel with the HD version. Sure there are some times when an SD show is on an HD channel and you'd rather record it on the SD channel to save space on the DVR, but that is hardly a good enough reason to confuse the rest of the world. Don't believe it? Well Centris Research found that 30 percent of HDTV owners don't watch HD and the reason is assumed to be because they don't know its there. We get that the SD channels need to be simulcast for those without HD boxes, but we refuse to accept that modern HD set-tops can't make this whole thing simpler -- especially considering that DirecTV HD boxes have this feature, what is baffling is though is that it isn't on by default.

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Japan just barely beats MLB to first 3D broadcast

By Richard Lawler

posted Jul 9th 2010 at 11:56PM

The first 3D baseball in the US goes on the air this weekend, but Panasonic already participated in Hikari TV's 3D production of Yakult Swallows/Hanshin Tigers game on Thursday. As seen above, Panasonic's 3D camera played a key role, while some angles were filled by 2D cameras being converted to 3D, there were two 3D cameras, behind first and third base. Check out the machine translated Japanese for the rest of the info, we'll wait to see what YES and FSN can do tomorrow.

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HDTV Listings for July 9, 2010

By Richard Lawler

posted Jul 9th 2010 at 7:32PM

What we're watching tonight:

Syfy (1080i) has the season premiere of Eureka at 9 p.m. and series premiere of Haven at 10 p.m.
NBC (1080i) has Friday Night Lights at 8 p.m.
MyNetworkTV (720p) has WWE Smackdown at 8 p.m.
CBS (1080i) has Flashpoint at 9 & 10 p.m.
TLC (1080i) has Say Yes to the Dress at 9 & 9:30 p.m. and the season finale of Battle of the Wedding Designers at 10 p.m.
History (720p) has Gangland at 10 p.m.
Discovery (1080i) airs Dual Survival at 10 p.m.
Animal Planet (1080i) has Whale Wars at 9 p.m.
ESPN (720p) has NASCAR Nationwide Series @ Chicago at 8 p.m.

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YouTube moves solidly into the future by supporting 4K content

By Darren Murph

posted Jul 9th 2010 at 6:04PM

It's funny -- we remember the day that YouTube began supporting plain ole HD like it was yesterday, and we're guessing today will hang in our memory banks for quite awhile, too. Over at the VidCon 2010 conference, YouTube officially announced support for videos shot in 4K (a reference resolution of 4096 x 3072), which means that the famed online clip portal now supports "resolutions from 360p to 4,096p" (their words, not ours). Granted, only a handful of humans even have access to a 4K camcorder, and 4K projectors aren't exactly simple to find (or afford), but we couldn't be happier to see YT staying way ahead of the curve here. If you're up for putting a severe strain on your broadband connection (and just pretend that your monitor can actually support a legit 4K feed), feel free to hit that first source link and attempt to watch any of those videos at their "Original" resolution. Godspeed.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

YouTube, YouTube Blog

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Comcast files for DVR2Go trademark, is the portable DVR on the way?

By Richard Lawler

posted Jul 9th 2010 at 4:47PM

A trademark filing certainly doesn't have to lead to a product, but here's hoping Comcast's request for "DVR2Go" means something new is in the works. Light Reading reports the request was made on March 29, and should be registered soon unless someone else challenges it. The company showed off a sweet Panasonic-built portable DVR at CES a couple of years ago that we'd like to see offered, but other potential products like a mobile video serve (streaming from our home DVR? we're into that) are tantalizing as well. Check after the break for a demo from 2008 courtesy of Veronica Belmont, we'll be posted outside the USPTO for the duration.

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PlayStation Blu-ray 3D update arrives in September; 3D photo, PlayTV and YouTube support to follow

By Richard Lawler

posted Jul 9th 2010 at 4:26PM

Just in case you weren't really sure how deep into this 3DTV thing Sony is, senior director of Sony Europe Mick Hocking announced the PS3's update for Blu-ray 3D movie playback will be released in September -- but it won't stop there. Expect future firmware upgrades that give the PS3 3D rendering for photos (.mpo files), any broadcasts it can pick up on PlayTV, and even YouTube videos. Not running out the door to buy one yet? CVG reports the rest of the presentation was devoted to extolling the virtues of 3D to hardcore gamers in racing games, God of War, or LittleBigPlanet. Demos so far haven't completely convinced us the PS3 is capable of rendering games in high enough resolution to satisfy, but if Fat Princess 2 features a good 3D implementation, someone hide our credit cards, please.

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Big cable companies considering packages with, wait for it, less channels

By Richard Lawler

posted Jul 9th 2010 at 2:24PM

At one end, we've had the race to add more channels, more VOD and higher speed internet, but according to report by Reuters the next step for cable companies -- in the face of growing over the top competition -- could be smaller basic cable packages. It's not that we don't all want to spend $100 a month to subsidize Jon & Kate's divorce... wait, that's exactly it. Of course, even if this trend does take off, we're sure it will be hard to get exactly the right channels for exactly the right price. Until then, let us know what channels are in the dream basic cable lineup, or do you prefer your Cable Television World of Hell package of six hundred and sixty six channels?

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Sony selling 3D bundle deals for a limited time

By Ben Bowers

posted Jul 9th 2010 at 12:35PM

In a rare move, Sony has deviated from their pricey reputation to offer two special 3D bundle promotions until July 17th -- or while supplies still last -- with the clear intention of enticing wavering adopters to veer whole-hog into 3D. The options boil down to either a 46-inch or 54.6-inch Bravia HX8000 for $270 / $340 off their retail prices, respectively, and as a bonus, buyers will receive a variety of 3D accessories valued at $899 for free. Rolled into that $899 goody basket are two pairs of 3D glasses, a 3D sync transmitter, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and IMAX Deep Sea 3D, as well as four 3D games for the PS3 (two are demos); and finally the BDV-E570 3D home theater in-a-box.

Depending on how you define "savings," this deal amounts to around $1,200 greenbacks you won't have to shell out for a complete 3D-ready package. At $2,429 for the 46-inch and $3,059 for the 54.6-inch package though, you'll still be required to dig deep into your wallet to bring either of these promotions couch-side.

Electronic House, Crunch Gear

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Toy Story 3 in 4K 3D: does higher-res equal higher enjoyment?

By Vlad Savov

posted Jul 9th 2010 at 6:54AM

Hands-On

We'll be straight with you, the Engadget staff is somewhat ambivalent about 3D: some of us believe it to be a gimmick, while others see it as a legitimate advance in film technology that takes our movie enjoyment up to its next logical station. What you won't find us disagreeing on, however, is that everything looks better when it's taken to a 4K resolution. Sony has been busy rolling out its new 4K projectors across the US and Europe, and invited us yesterday to see Toy Story 3 in some ultra-advanced 4K 3D. Because of it having four times the resolution of the more conventional 2K stuff -- which Avatar, the big 3D (and 4D) flagship, was delivered in -- Sony's projector is able to deliver both the left- and right-eye frame on the screen at the same time, rather than having to alternate them in hummingbird fashion. That should ideally provide a more pleasurable overall experience for the viewer and ultimately pay off for the company in more people ponying up more cash for the extra goodness. So, we moseyed along to an Apollo Cinema in central London -- the chain has already installed Sony's hero 4K projectors in 11 of its venues -- and all you'll need to do is click past the break to see what we thought.

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by Paul Miller Posted Dec 3rd 2009