TV

Sony's mystery revealed: first OLED TV

If Sony wants to be effective in this mystery marketing game, it's going to have to be more patient. Unlike B&O's "Serenata" campaign, which made us wait weeks before letting the secret out, Sony's latest product went live only days after its teaser site began to circulate in earnest.

But no matter. It turns out that the box under wraps was what it called the world's first OLED TV, referring to its ultra-thin and flexible screen technology that uses organic light-emitting diodes. The energy-efficient TV is just 3 millimeters thick and will … Read more

Are there too many social networks out there?

Last week, I had the honor of being a guest on G4's Attack of the Show with Forbes deputy editor David Ewalt, as host Kevin Pereira grilled us on whether we're reaching a tipping point when it comes to online social networking. I think the general answer was "yes and no"--yes, we're reaching a point where most new entries into general-interest social networking sector (hello, Pownce, Flux, and Mash) have a rather uphill climb ahead, but no, this stuff's not going to go away altogether.

P.S.: Do I look like I'm … Read more

Is the Apple TV officially a flop? (Or: How to fix Apple TV)

It's been online for a few days now, but I just spotted (via PaidContent) Forbes' article titled The iFlop (subhead: "Steve Jobs tried to design--and dictate--the future of television. Here's how he failed.") Author Scott Woolley calls the Apple TV "a flat-out" failure, claiming that it's sold less than 250,000 units in six months. Among the supposed sins of the product: the lack of a built-in DVR and a "parochial and proprietary approach" to online video content. He also highlights a variety of on-demand video competitors, including Vudu, TiVo (via Amazon Unbox), and Xbox 360 (which offers rentals and sales of TV shows via the Xbox Live Marketplace)--while glossing over many of their shortcomings. Still, is he right? Is the Apple TV dead in the water? … Read more

Moto unveils V Cast TV phone

Though there was much ado about Verizon Wireless' V Cast Mobile TV service when the carrier launched the service earlier this year, it's been eerily quiet since then. In particular, we've been waiting for new handsets beyond the original LG VX9400 and the Samsung SCH-U620.

Fortunately, our wait came to an end this morning when Verizon and Motorola announced the new Moto Rizr Z6tv. Sporting the familiar, and may we add quite attractive, Rizr slider design, the Z6tv offers a solid feature set beyond the Mobile TV support (which is quite enough by itself). You'll find Bluetooth, … Read more

D-Link DSM-750 combines Media Center Extender, online video service

Networking companies are beginning to deliver the new Vista-friendly Media Center Extenders that Microsoft outlined earlier this month. D-Link's entry in the race is the DSM-750. Like competing models, the DSM-750 attaches to a TV (standard or high-def) and streams live and recorded TV, video, music, and photos from networked Media Center PCs located elsewhere in the home. An update of the older DSM-520, the 2007 model adds dual-band 802.11n wireless (which has the speed and bandwidth for optimal streaming of HD video) as well as compatibility with the popular DivX and XviD video file formats. Unlike similarly … Read more

Despite Apple's threat, iTunes sells new NBC shows

UPDATE: Apple said this wouldn't happen, but iTunes is selling NBC's shows for the upcoming season.

Listed at iTunes on Wednesday were episodes of Chuck and Journeyman, two shows that premiered earlier this week.

NBC Universal touched off a public relations war when it announced that it would not renew its contract to sell digital downloads of its TV shows via iTunes. Apple responded by saying it would refuse to offer NBC's shows for the upcoming season.

But don't look for a full rollout of NBC's fall season. The reason that Journeyman and Chuck are … Read more

Say what? Mark Cuban threatens to popularize 'the motorboat' on 'Dancing with the Stars'

Have you set your DVR yet? I sure have. On Tuesday night we'll see the ballroom dancing debut of Dallas Mavericks owner and tech entrepreneur extraordinaire Mark Cuban as he leaps onto the stage of the corny ABC reality show Dancing with the Stars, which pairs celebrities of various calibers with professional dance partners and then pits the couples against one another.

Cuban, always the subtle one, is encouraging his blog readers to dial in and vote for him and his curvy blond dance partner, Kym. "I'm up against all the pretty boys, athletes and entertainers tonight,&… Read more

TV viewing to be plagued by a rising tide of snipes and bugs

Monday's New York Times highlights one of my growing pet peeves: increasingly invasive on-screen ads and information that are invading all manner of TV programs. The article ("As the Fall Season Arrives, TV Screens Get More Cluttered") explores some of the supposed reasons behind the trend, which runs the gamut from "bugs" (channel logos) and on-screen data dumps (news and financial market tickers, scoreboards), to--in my opinion, the top annoyance--"snipes" (animated ads, for either upcoming programs or sponsored products).

On news, financial, and sports programming, I'm a lot more forgiving of … Read more

Fox strikes deal for free shows on iTunes

With NBC and ABC both making free downloads of their shows available this week, Fox jumped on the trend with free downloads of new shows available on iTunes.

The Los Angeles Times reported Friday that Fox and Apple have reached an agreement to offer free downloads of the shows Fox is trying to promote this sweeps season: that is, the ones people aren't watching as much as they'd like. No Simpsons or Family Guy clips are among the five shows currently available for free on the iTunes Store. But episodes of shows sure to be forgotten in the … Read more