Just over a year ago, we heard that AT&T would be sinking hundreds of millions of dollars into the Carolinas in an attempt to "upgrade its fiber network, further broadband deployment, and deliver internet-based technologies to customers in North Carolina and South Carolina." Now, we're beginning to see signs of life. According to this nondescript job posting on Craigslist, AT&T is scouting residential field agents specifically for U-verse in the Raleigh / Durham, NC region. Sure, this could very well be a hoax of some strange kind, but we can't possibly be more hopeful that it's not. Hey TWC -- is this enough to get you to add a few HD channels to your absolutely abysmal selection in the Triangle?

[Thanks, Jonathan]

Welp, at least we now know one company that helped Singulus beat its Blu-ray duplicator sales estimates. Germany's CDA, which was still producing 3X DVDs as of mid-February, has finally realized that Blu-ray is the victor and the sole remaining high-def format that anyone cares about. Thus, it's finally investing in a production line for Blu-ray Discs that will boast capacities of 17,000 single-layer and 12,000 dual-layer units per day. In somewhat related news, the outfit is also expanding its DVD capacity to meet "growing demand." Clearly CDA hasn't been listening to the analysts, or else it has a darn good phase in / phase out plan for 2012.

Oh noes! Merely months after Freeview execs were celebrating the surprising uptick in Freeview HD users, in flies word that bandwidth is already becoming an issue. You see, Freeview was initially launched as a "satellite only service using MPEG-2 video compression software," while the HD terrestrial component uses MPEG-4. Transponder space on the Optus D1 satellite is "rapidly being used up, and any further expansion of data bandwidth would require Freeview broadcasters to purchase more space from Optus." If the old MPEG-2 system was suddenly canned and replaced with MPEG-4, every last satellite Freeview user would be forced to buy a new set-top-box. We shouldn't have to explain the glaringly obvious problem with that scenario. Thus, the only stop-gap solution is to simulcast the signals, which obviously requires oodles of bandwidth. Unfortunately, broadcasters are gun-shy about dropping even more cash to expand the available space without assurance of a good return on their original investment, so as of now, expansion plans wait while bigwigs figure out where to get more funding.

We're not sure who let Yahoo! into Intel's party in San Francisco, but the two sure are getting along great. Much to the chagrin of Mark Cuban, these two actually believe that there's a future in internet TV, particularly if you force it down people's throats. Intel spent the bulk of its time talking up the Media Processor CE 3100 (formerly known as Canmore), which would theoretically be installed within HDTVs and enable users to access internet-based content without the need for an additional set-top-box ('course, the STB is still optional). That's where Yahoo! comes in -- it's hoping that its Widget Channel will encourage users to utilize its services when watching re-runs or other lackluster material in order to get news, weather and other related information right on the living room set. Not that this is a totally new concept, but these two surely have the power to push it one step further. Lots more information and pictures in the links below.

Update: It's official... surprise!

Read - Intel / Yahoo preview plans for Widget Channel
Read - Images of the tech in action
Read - Gigabyte Intel box (first product to use the CE 3100)

Hey, Futuresource Consulting -- tell us something we didn't already know, why don'tcha? All jesting aside, said firm has become the second this year to find that Blu-ray Disc sales will likely outpace DVD sales in around four years. Granted, the report also asserts that a $250 BD player will be on shelves by the end of this year, so we can't help but drink whatever Kool-Aid it's sippin'. If you're interested in boring yourself with the same assumptions we've already heard, check out the PDF in the read link below.

[Via US News]

We're obviously biased, but we'd argue that HDTV was game-changing long before 2008. Nevertheless, we have all ideas the technology will happily accept any and all praise bestowed upon it, including the most recent pat on the rump from Knowledge Networks. Said outfit has just named HDTV the game-changing media technology of 2008 after it noticed that HDTV set ownership has doubled every two years since 2000. According to its figures, 28% of households are now equipped with at least one HDTV, and it's predicting that number to rise to 39% in 2009. HDTV will be hanging at your local big box retailer taking requests and signing autographs for the foreseeable future.

[Image courtesy of NASA]

Even with all the partnerships and plant expansions, Sony and Toshiba still think they can't meet demand and keep price down for their LCD HDTVs. Word from Japan's Nikkei over the weekend indicates Sony is upping the share of LCD TV production subcontracted out to Taiwan, Mexico and China-based manufacturers from less than 5% last year to 20% in fiscal '08, adding up to 3 million screens. Toshiba's cut a deal with a manufacturer in China to make 20% of its TVs this year, as it and Sony load up to do battle in the 30- to 40-inch size range. Of course, Sharp and Panasonic claim keeping things in-house give them an important tech edge, but the Vizios of the world would beg to differ and it looks like Sony and Toshiba have decided if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

[Via Trading Markets]

Since launching in 2002, the High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) has become the de facto standard for high-def connectivity on Blu-ray players, HDTVs and pretty much any other set-top-box capable of outputting 720p or greater content. Six years in, the spec still has its fair share of issues, and Steve Venuti, President of HDMI Licensing, was recently kind enough to sit down and speak about them. Somewhat surprisingly, Steve mentioned that the biggest issue he hears about from installers is the inability to "lock" into gadgets. Granted, there are some third-party solutions to this problem, but the fact remains that the vast majority of HDMI cables won't have any sort of locking mechanism. The interview continues on down the paths of "handshake" problems related to HDCP authentication, protocol confusion (HDMI 1.3a/b/c) and the future of HDMI. If that sounds like just the thing you're interested in reading up on, you know where to find it.

Oh Toshiba, has it really come to this? After a humiliating loss to Blu-ray, Tosh just unveiled its new $150 XD-E500 DVD player. It's no run o' the mill DVD player mind you, this unit touts Toshiba's new eXtended Detail Enhancement (XDE) technology -- that super-duper resolution upconverting tech meant to fill the void between ubiquitous upconverting players and Blu-ray. Unfortunately, the player demonstrated offered just "subtle but noticeable sharpening of the image" when compared side-by-side (in a controlled demonstration) with an unnamed $70 upscaler -- to its credit, Tosh did not try to compare its new player with an HD-capable Blu-ray machine. Still, more than twice the price for "subtle" hardly sounds like a compelling purchase to us.

Update: Official press release is now out which, oddly enough, helped us upconvert our 480i/p cynicism to full-blown 1080p/24fps skepticism.

Given that Sharp will obviously be needing a few high-power laser diodes to go into its forthcoming 8x Blu-ray burners, it's good to see Mitsubishi Chemical hopping in the fabrication game in order to lower costs and keep consumers smiling. A new report asserts that the previously mentioned company will be dedicating at least some of its efforts to producing high-power (200 to 300mW) laser diodes, which are currently in short supply and used in the pick-up heads of BD writers. As it stands, just Sony, Nichia and Sharp are producing these things in volume, though a fourth wheel will certainly be welcome. There's no word on when exactly Mitsu Chemical plans to ramp up production, but the sooner the better, we say.

Crazy, right? But let's think about it -- the market for standalone HTPCs is clearly narrowing, while Media Center Extenders are still far too pricey for many (and far too complicated for some) to be taken seriously. Meanwhile, just about everyone can find a reason to own a notebook, and the newer rigs are tossing in gratuitous amounts of RAM and CPU power alongside Blu-ray drives, HDMI sockets and enough wireless protocols to warrant a tin-foil hat. Granted, there are some limitations, but if someone were to pump out an AV dock (of sorts) to house a few OTA TV tuners and a digital audio output, one could essentially dock their laptop, step back and have a full-fledged HTPC. Chances are your gears are already turning, so tune into Ross Rubin's writeup in the read link for even more food for thought.

We're not going to get back into the Xbox 360 + Blu-ray debate, but Sony's HD format is clearly on Microsoft's collective mind, as it's begun prepping a new Windows add-on dubbed Feature Pack for Storage. The kit's set to contain modules for portable drive recognition and restriction, ICCD and CCID Smartcard drivers, but most notably an image mastering API for Blu-ray that enables "master style optical burning on Blu-Ray [sic] media." Expect it soon on Windows Vista, XP SP2+, Server 2008, and Server 2003 SP1+ -- or really soon if you get in on the beta.

[Via ZDnet]

Despite the weakening economy here in the US and elsewhere, people are -- as predicted -- still showing interest in HDTV. Shortly after seeing what a nice Q2 the plasma sector had, DisplaySearch has revealed that TV shipments in general were way, way up in said quarter. In fact, North America saw the biggest year-over-year increase (28%) since the outfit started tracking TV shipments in 2004; then there's the 26% quarter-over-quarter growth, which is equally impressive. LCD TV shipments rose 52% compared to last year while PDP shipments shot up 34% in the same period, and it's safe to say that Samsung has the most to gloat about. It was the leading overall brand with shipments of its sets surging to a record 19.1% of all shipments in North America during Q2. Anxious to see who took the proverbial silver / bronze? Check out all of the stats in the read link below.

Technology never stops moving forward -- even as LED lighting begins to enjoy a rollout across various product sectors, new eco-friendly lighting competitors emerge. Sure enough, we're talking OLED technology. Konica Minolta has entered a licensing agreement for some of Universal Display's UniversalPHOLED (phosphorescent OLED) technology. PHOLED lighting may not be as sexy as, say, full motion colorific OLED displays, but knowing how many applications there are for static white light, there's lots of moolah to be made in this technology. And between Konica Minolta's partnerships with Universal Display and General Electric, there could be some exciting developments in the not-too-distant future. And we're not thinking lightbulbs; try ultra-thin, energy efficient PHOLED backlighting as an interim technology while full-fledged OLED displays get mainstreamed.

[Images courtesy InternationalLightTech and CityPages]

Even though DISH Network might be hustling backwards, the cable industry as a whole has hit an 18-year low, with the Television Bureau of Advertising finding wired cable penetration reaches just 60.9% of households. Alternative delivery systems (i.e. satellite, fiber, DSL, 2nd-day air) now grab 28.4% (28.2 of which is satellite), and nearly a third of all subscription subscribers. A few months ago when numbers hit mere 17-year lows, cable advertising execs found comfort in increased viewing time, but from here it looks like SDV and tru2way can't come soon enough.