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New Bonus View Contest: I’m Gonna Git You, ‘Sucker Punch!'[teaser]That's right! The Bonus View is running another contest already! Did you miss Zack Snyder’s hot-chicks-with-samurai-swords-and-machine-guns action flick 'Sucker Punch' when it played in theaters earlier this year? If you’d like to check it out now, perhaps we can provide you with a free Blu-ray copy![/teaser] We’re going to do this as another of our ever-popular photo caption contests. All you need to do is go to the contest announcement on The Bonus View come up with a funny or clever caption for the image we have posted over there, then post your caption in the comments. The caption can either be a made-up line of dialogue or something that describes the image. The winner will be chosen at our own subjective discretion based on whichever response we enjoy the most. We have one copy of the Blu-ray to give away. Entries are limited to 10 captions per person. That should give you plenty of opportunity to craft a good submission, but will also help us to avoid any potential appearance of awarding prizes based on volume rather than quality. This contest is only open to entrants from the domestic United States. We will not ship internationally (whether you’re a U.S. citizen or not). Employees of High-Def Digest or Internet Brands and their families are not eligible. Standard contest rules and conditions apply. People who have won any of our previous contests within the past one year are also not eligible to win, but may get Honorable Mentions. The deadline for entry is this Friday, July 1st. The winner will be announced next week. Good luck, everyone! Now go check out that image and post your entry for the caption contest!Posted Tue Jun 28, 2011 at 01:30 PM PDT by: -
Netflix CEO Joins Facebook Board of Directors[teaser]Just what that means for the two companies is anyone's guess. [/teaser] What happens when the CEO of the biggest subscription streaming service gets together with the largest social networking site around? We're about to find out. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has officially joined the Board of Directors at Facebook, stating that "Facebook is propelling a fundamental change in how people connect with each other and share all kinds of content.' Of Hastings, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said "Reed is an entrepreneur and technologist who has led Netflix to transform the way people watch movies and TV," adding that "He has built a culture of continuous rapid innovation, something we share and work hard to build every day." What effect this news will have on the ideas Netflix has about integrating further with social networking sites is yet to be seen. You can bet that we'll see Netflix integrated into Facebook in some way soon though. Source: EngadgetPosted Tue Jun 28, 2011 at 11:00 AM PDT by: -
Yahoo's New Technology Allows for Specially Tailored Commercials[teaser]Yahoo hopes to combine the best points of TV and internet advertising with their new tech. [/teaser] The folks over at Yahoo have been working hard on a new tech that they hope will revolutionize the advertizing world. It's called Broadcast Interactivity and it actually seems like a pretty solid idea. The way Yahoo envisions things is that while a viewer is watching football, for example, they'll get targeted advertisements for team apparel, tickets and other football related goods. They say that content can be localized too, so instead of just seeing a Hungry Howie's ad, you'll see an ad for the Hungry Howies right down the street. Yahoo is working on more too. Device Control is a tech that allows smartphones and tablets to interact with your television. This could allow advertisers to send ads to your smartphone, allowing you to send it to the big screen if you so desire. Source: YahooPosted Tue Jun 28, 2011 at 09:00 AM PDT by: -
Hulu is Up For Sale After an Offer From Yahoo[teaser]Hulu is impressively set up, holds strong ties with broadcasters, and is available on an increasingly wide variety of devices. It's also not making as much money as it really should. The big question for a while now is where Hulu will end up. Who will buy it and when? [/teaser] Last week, completely out of the blue, Yahoo popped over to Hulu with a proposal. Hulu declined, but there must have been something about it they liked, because they've hired a team of investment bankers and it seems that they'll be putting themselves up for sale. It's anyone's guess which company will end up acquiring Hulu, but there are a few obvious contenders. Google and Amazon are obviously in the running, but they're prime suspects for the purchase of anything internet based. Another potential buyer - and one that could really change the face of internet streaming - is Netflix. Were Netflix to acquire Hulu, it would certainly cement the company's position for years to come. Source: LA Times BlogsPosted Tue Jun 28, 2011 at 07:00 AM PDT by: -
Sub $1,000 47-inch 3DTV From Westinghouse Announced[teaser]3D displays aren't for everyone. Some people don't care about 3D; some people hate 3D; heck, some people can't even see 3D. But for the rest of us daring to jump into those wild dimensional waters, there's the issue of pricing.[/teaser] From its earliest days, the Blu-ray Disc Association has wanted 3D in the home to be a high-quality affair, which is why they required the 3DBD spec to be capable of full 1080p HD for both the right and left eyes. In order to meet that spec, current general 3D HDTVs require the usage of active-shutter glasses, which are expensive (generally, $75 or more), often exclusive (can only be used with one brand of television), and more prone to eye strain. This added cost, along with the high prices of early 3D models, has been a burden to some 3D fans, who most likely purchased a new 2D HDTV within the last few years. Enter Westinghouse, who this week announced a sub-$1000 (it MSRPs for $1,200, but will street for less) 3DTV that uses polarized, passive glasses. In fact, each of the 47-inch W47S2TCDs will ship with four pairs of passive glasses, and if you want more, just keep the ones you get when you see a 3D movie at your local cinema, because those should work as well. What's the catch? Well, as we mentioned briefly above, active shutter glasses are the only way to get full HD 1080p for both eyes in stereo 3D. Passive technologies display both frames at the very same time (rather than rapidly alternating them when using active technology), so there is a resolution reduction over all. On the other side of the coin, passive glasses technologies should allow for better pans and movement on screen, without jarring, jittery feeling that can accompany active shutter worlds. So how does it look? We haven't seen it in person just yet, but Zach Honig over at Engadget did. He was "actually somewhat impressed with its performance, especially from a distance of more than six feet." Not exactly the best review, but at this price point, maybe more people will be able to afford 3D. What do you think? Will a sub-$1K price tag and cheaper glasses be enough to make you take the 3D plunge? Sources: Engadget, AVRevPosted Fri Jun 24, 2011 at 10:00 AM PDT by: -
Audyssey Debuts Lower East Side Media Speakers[teaser]When the Audyssey brand comes to mind, most home theater fans will immediately think of the company's surround formats and the calibration software that is built into many mid to high-level AV Receivers, but that may change as the company releases more and more consumer products like the Lower East Side Media Speakers.[/teaser] Aimed at the computer and gamer market, the Lower East Side Media Speakers are constructed with dual .75" silk-dome tweeters, 3.5" woofers, and 4" passive bass radiators. What makes them particularly unique is the inclusion of a digital optical audio input, in addition to the standard 3.5 mm stereo line in, for increased compatibility with HDTVs, streaming devices like AppleTV, gaming consoles like the PS3, Blu-ray players, and cable boxes. Also included, as one would assume with any Audyssey product, is a host of proprietary sound-enhancement software, including Audyssey Smart Speaker Technology. Together, both speakers weight around 7 lbs, and will cost you just under $200 when they ship later this year. Source: AudysseyPosted Fri Jun 24, 2011 at 06:00 AM PDT by: -
VIZIO Outsells LCD HDTV Competition By 30 Percent[teaser]Retaining its title as champ of the LCD HDTV manufacturers, VIZIO announced today that the company has sold more LCD HDTVs than any other manufacturer for the second straight quarter. [/teaser] Besting their nearest competitor by 30 percent, VIZIO's sales are up 32 percent versus last year. Also, they moved 21.4 percent of all LCD HDTVS sold in the US (and 29.0 percent of LED LCDs). How have they been doing so well? VIZIO was happy to say it was 3D: "Meeting VIZIO's brand promise of providing 'Entertainment Freedom For All' is the driving force behind all of our sales successes. The spread of our Theater 3D models now goes well beyond early adopters and has made 3D a feature that friends and family can finally enjoy watching together," stated Randy Waynick, Chief Sales Officer, VIZIO. "And it's not only Theater 3D TVs that are flying off the shelves, it's our connected TVs with VIZIO Internet Apps and our lineup of Sound Bars and Blu-ray players. Consumers want connectivity, energy efficiency, value, and the best technology -- VIZIO delivers on every single one of these." Source: PR Newswire.Posted Thu Jun 23, 2011 at 11:00 AM PDT by: -
Don't Count Plasma Out Just Yet[teaser]Plasma HDTVs sure did get off to a rocky start. Early models created (and exacerbated) worries of higher weight, cost, and energy usage versus similar sized LCDs. And let's not forget the pesky problem of "burn in," a technical flaw which hasn't been a problem for years, yet still plagues customer awareness.[/teaser] But the truth is Plasmas have always offered better black-levels than LCDs, as well as a better ability to display fast motion imagery without the need, as LCD did, to add awkward technology that makes movies and television look and feel off. Perhaps consumers are starting to be less afraid of perceived issues, and more aware of the improved picture quality available in the current generation of plasmas, which include 3DTVs. The Plasma Display Coalition, which includes manufacturers like Panasonic and LG, announced yesterday that over 1 Million plasma HDTVs were sold between January and May of 2011. For those lacking photographic memories, that's a 25 percent growth rate over the same period in 2010, as well as a 12 percent revenue gain (it seems margins are thinner). LCD sales for the same period, it seems, are only up 2 percent. Source: Market WatchPosted Thu Jun 23, 2011 at 09:00 AM PDT by: -
Apple to Build HDTVs?[teaser]File this one under Interesting Rumors for now…[/teaser] While Apple has been selling their own displays for years, Daily Tech writer, Jason Mick, reported yesterday that Apple may be teaming up with a "major supplier" of HDTVs to enter the consumer display retail market. According to Mick, an anonymous former Apple Executive revealed, "Apple plans to 'blow Netflix and all those other guys away' by bundling AppleTV + iTunes inside physical televisions sets." Mick's source went on to say, "You'll go into an Apple retail store and be able to walk out with a TV. It's perfect." If this "iOS TV" does materialize, Mick says it could happen as soon as this fall, or even sometime next year, due to "Apple's high standards." Given that many TVs already have various streaming apps, as well as the lackluster sales of GoogleTV or Apple's own AppleTV, will Apple Fans be clamoring to get an Apple HDTV? With this finally be the system that takes Internet TV to the mainstream? Will any of you hold off on getting AppleTV or a new HDTV to see if you can get an all-in-one Apple HDTV? Source Daily Tech.Posted Thu Jun 23, 2011 at 07:00 AM PDT by: -
Available Now! Denon's New IN-Comand Series of AVRs[teaser]What a fun morning it was to get a newsletter from D&M Holdings, the parent company for both Denon and Marantz, detailing Denon's new IN-Command Series of AV Receivers. We heard about these last April when they were first announced, but they are officially available now everywhere Denon products are sold.[/teaser] So what' s this IN-Command Series all about? "IN" stands for "Integrated Network." Meaning, all three models -- the AVR-2112CI, AVR-2312CI, and the AVR-3312CI -- feature built-in networking capabilities, which will allow connection to the Internet (via Pandora, Flickr, Rhapsody, Napster, etc) as well as Apple and Windows-based devices and media servers on your home network. Every IN-Command Series AVR featuresAirPlay connectivity for wireless streaming music from iOS devices like iPhones, iPods, and iPads, or any computer (MAC or PC) running iTunes. They are also DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) 1.5 / Windows 7 Certified. High resolution audio fans will be pleased to hear about FLAC decoding (and addition to MP3, AAC, and WMA files). Plus, the AVR can be controlled anywhere in the how via Denon's free App. Is that all they do? Of course not. The IN-Command Series are all feature-laden, 3D-ready AVRs . The $649.99 2112CI features six HDMI 1.4a inputs (and one out), and will putting out 90 watts per channel for over 7.1 channels. The $849.99 2313CI bumps you up to seven 1.4a HDMI inputs and 105 watts per channel via a 7.2 channel AVR. And the $1,099.99 3312CI adds a second 1.4a HDMI output (seven in; two out), and features 125 watts per channel over 7.2 channels. [The subwoofer channels are pre-outs; they are not powered.] This sounds so freakin' sweet. Is there a catch? A minor one, but possibly. Examining the press releases left me wondering how all the wonderful wireless network connectivity would be taking place because, as Josh Zyber and I learned last year at Blu-Con 2010, Denon isn't really a fan of WiFi integration into their equipment because it's not as reliable as a wired Ethernet connection (and because of potential firmware update disasters caused by said lack of reliability). So, I was confused about all this "AirPlay-enabled", "stream from anywhere in your house" talk on Denon's website. But digging in a little deeper, it's clear that the IN-Comand Series AVR require a hard-wired connection to your home network. Once connected, any wireless AirPlay or iOS device can access your AVR. Is that a deal-breaker for you? Do you even care about streaming to your AVR? That's up to you. I know I personally went out earlier this year to purchase an Apple Airport Express to compliment my Aiport Extreme, so that I could use AirPlay on my Denon AVR-2308ci (and use On Demand on my DirecTV HD-DVR), and I've really enjoyed the ease of firing up iTunes on my Laptop, or Pandora on my wife's iPad from anywhere in our apartment. Read the Newsletter yourself, or proceed directly to Denon for more details.Posted Wed Jun 22, 2011 at 07:00 AM PDT by:
