Wize Blog

AT&T Mobile TV Rolls Out on Sunday

AT&T mobile TV is here. By Sunday you'll be able to watch it on LG's touch-screen Vu and Samsung's Access. To watch it, you'll have to give up $13 a month.

You'll get 8 basic channels, which include (according to PC mag):

CBS,
Comedy Central,
ESPN,
FOX,
MTV,
NBC,
NBC News, and
Nickelodeon.

PC mag offers a schedule of what's on at AT&T mobile TV.
PC mag rates AT&T mobile TV "slightly lower" than Verizon V Cast Mobile TV.

Olevia 747i LCD HDTV Video Review

Tiger TV has a video review it recently added to YouTube. The Syntax Olevia 747i LCD HDTV (rated 97 at wize.com) looks like an interesting buy. You can check out the review below--

FiOS TV in NYC

New York's Department of Information and Telecommunications has given  the green light to FiOS TV as a cable franchise.

The service is delivered through a fiber optics network and will compete against cable TV.

Just what is FiOS TV? Well, below you'll find what the service might bring to you in the future.

100% fiber optic network
On Demand - Instant access to a library of the latest  movies, kids shows, sports programs
HD channels - More of a selection to watch  channels like ESPN, Discovery, TNT and others in high definition.
Picture and sound - Amazingly lifelike picture, hyper-real color and flawless sound.
Dual-tuner DVR - Gives you the freedom to pause and rewind live TV, record one show while watching another, and fast forward to your favorite part. 
Top premium channels - When you subscribe to a premium services like HBO or Cinemax, you can select from current favorites to original programming, 24 hours a day.
International channels - Stay connected to your homeland or the world with more than a dozen popular international premium channels including, RAI (Italian), TV5 (French), ART (Arabic), TV Japan (Japanese).

Apple TV Video Review

If you're considering an Apple TV (rated 89 at wize.com), there's an informal video about it out on youtube that goes over just about everything you want to know about the device.

Here's the video--

Sony OLED Digital TV Only Available at Sony Style

Sony's new OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode), which was announced last October, is now available, but only at Sony Style retail outlets.

According to Sony's Web site an OLED uses a carbon-based organic material technology in a process that converts electric energy into light. This light is used to illuminate the screen and produce the most astounding results ever seen on a television.

The set is ultra-thin because it doesn't require a backlight--realizing a new TV form of approximately 3mm at its thinnest point.

There are 56 Sony Style locations in the United States, including ones in the Beverly Center Mall in L.A., the Forum Shops in Las Vegas and the Sony Plaza in New York.
 

News of Set-Top Boxes and HD-DVD players

The news is filled with companies coming to terms with how movies are distributed.

Blockbuster is getting ready to announce (according to the Hollywood Reporter) that it will come out with a movie player to compete with Apple TV (rated 89 at wize.com). This is big news not because of how the movies will be delivered, but because Blockbuster has an enormous movie library.

Currently there is a small selection of set-tops. You can see how they measure up here.

Now that the HD-DVD format is dead (Blu-ray won the format war), retailers are giving rebates to those who chose the dinosaur player. Amazon's giving a coupon that's good for $50 worth of purchases at the company's Web site.

It's anybody's guess where the technology is going, but I'll bet you won't see high definition players on the market much longer. It's my guess that the set-top boxes will win out over Blu-ray players as the number one way to get movies delivered to your television set.

Download Adobe Media Player

Watch out Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, and  iTunes, Adobe Media Player has arrived. You can download the media player right now. The media player can be used in Windows and Mac OS X operating systems. I've posted the system requirements below.

Everything is "on demand" with the media player and there's no need to open your browser.

You can check out what the media player is all about by watching a video that Adobe has made available on their site.

System Requirements

Windows
Intel® Pentium® 4 2.33GHz or faster processor
Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service Pack 2 or Windows Vista® Home, Business, or Ultimate
1GB of RAM and 64MB of VRAM

Mac OS (PowerPC)
PowerPC® G5 1.8GHz or faster processor
Mac OS X v10.4.9–10.4.11 or 10.5.1–10.5.2
1GB of RAM and 64MB of VRAM

Mac OS (Intel)
Intel Core™ Duo 1.33GHz or faster processor
Mac OS X v10.4.9–10.4.11 or 10.5.1–10.5.2
1GB of RAM and 64MB of VRAM

Walt Mossberg Speaks

Walt Mossberg speaks. The Wall Street Journal writer's latest gig at the Finnish embassy in Washington tells of the Internet's current "broadband" not being adequate to compete with traditional TV.

Here are some of his conclusions about the state of technology in the U.S., including a hint that the Apple iPhone (rated 87 at wize.com) will be available in 3G in two months.

Web doesn't connect well to the television set
People are dying to get Internet content on their television sets, especially the big movie-like TVs that everyone seems to be buying.
It will happen, maybe with Apple TV (rated 89 at wize.com).
Someone has to be more creative with Internet video.
Download vs streaming--both are good.
Biggest obstacle in United States...we really su_k at broadband...768 kb/sec is not broadband in world standards. Government needs to not call it broadband.
The video resolution is not going to happen with "broadband."
iphone will be 3G (Internet access from anywhere) in 60 days.
We need a president to say that "this" is just as strategic as the Interstate highway system. Government needs to be involved.

Five Flat Panel TV Trends in 2008

Consumer Reports is reporting that for the first time, there's a good selection of LCD and plasma HDTVs with 40- to 42-inch screens for less than $1,000.

That's not all, either. In an article entitled, "Flat-panel HDTV prices still falling, but not as much as last year," the consumer magazine laid out the trends for the flat panel TV market in 2008.

Here's what they reported:

1. Prices for flat panel TVs are continuing to decline, but not as much as last year.

2. OLED, a technology that's already being used in cell phones and digital cameras, could be what's in store for the future.

3. More people are buying LCD TVs than plasma TVs.

4. 120Hz, a technology that reduces motion blur on LCD sets, will be seen more and more as part of flat panel TV specs.

5. Samsung is the number 1 brand in America, Sony is second, and Funai is third.

Wize.com rates flat panel televisions. For the latest ratings on the flat panel TVs out there go here. 

LG Vu Offers Mobile TV

I don't know about you, but the thought of watching TV on a tiny cell phone screen isn't exactly thrilling, but that's not stopping AT&T Mobile TV delivery.

LG Vu (pictured to the left) and Samsung Access are the two mobile phones that will offer what's called FLO TV, the service that provides the television programming.

The LG Vu has an interactive touch screen, a music player and a 2MP camera.

The service will begin in May.