NBC To Broadcast 5.1 Channels of Sweat

NBC seems to be making all the necessary investments so that come August's opening ceremonies in Beijing, it can provide a high-definition coverage bonanza on audio and video. The broadcaster has already divulged its intentions to fan out around the sporting venues with 1,000 HD cameras and 60 HD mobile units — this should make for a record breaking 756 hours of Olympic high-def footage.

Now, NBC is announcing its plans to upgrade audio as well. The network said Friday it will buy five Calrec Omega Bluefin consoles for mixing high-def, 5.1 surround sound audio for broadcast. Each console has the capacity for 160-channel processing paths packaged as 48 stereo and 64 mono channels, which means NBC can record up to 24 5.1 surround channels.

The Best Laid Blu-Ray Plans

Consumers have the best intentions when it comes to planning high-tech purchases. A Japanese survey of about 15,000 people indicates that consumers in that country really want to buy a Blu-ray Disc  recorder, they just don't know when they're going to get around to it.

The survey, conducted by MyVoice Communications, found that 81.4% of all respondents said they want to buy such a player, but only 2% of those people said they were willing to part with their cash within three months.

The Audiophile's iTunes Alternative

The music download revolution is passing audiophiles by. The quality of tracks offered by Apple's iTunes store leaves much to be desired for people who want to hear lossless music played over a high quality stereo system.

For years, this has meant supporting the less-than-high-tech CD format, and ripping files to a computer's hard drive in the FLAC format. Now, at last, there is another way. After three years of tinkering, Chesky Records launched an online store this month (in Beta mode, for now) that sells only audiophile-quality music downloads.

PS3 even more the Blu-ray player to own

Thanks to Sony, April 15 will be slightly less painful for 10 million people this year. Of course, I’m talking about the upcoming rollout of a new firmware that will allow PS3 owners to finally experience DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks. Up until now, the PS3 has only supported Dolby’s TrueHD, meaning that films like I, Robot, Independence Day, the Die Hard collection, Fantastic Four, and anything from Fox and New Line (who exclusively use the DTS-HD MA format on their Blu-ray releases), could only be heard in their far more lossy Dolby Digital versions.

FCC Slaps DTV Fines on Electronics Companies

Though it seems that every big box electronics retailer from Malibu to Manhattan is wall-papered in consumer advisories about the digital TV switch in 2009, those stores aren't playing by the rules when it comes to educating the masses — the FCC's rules, that is.

The Federal agency imposed fines Thursday on Sears ($1.1 million), Wal-Mart ($992,000), Circuit City ($712,000), Fry's Electronics ($384,000), Target ($296,000), Best Buy ($280,000), and CompUSA ($168,000).

PS3 Audio Update Guilts Gamers

More than ten million owners of Sony's PlayStation 3 will get a firmware update on April 15 that may make them feel ashamed of their home audio setup.

The new software includes a codec from DTS that delivers DTS-HD Master Audio, which supports 7.1 audio channels and 96k/24-bit sound —  identical to the original studio master's high variable rates (that's up to 24.5 Mbps for Blu-ray discs).

TBS Wakes Up to True HD

It happens every spring. Birds chirp, flowers bloom, and high-definition broadcasts of Major League Baseball games show up on TV — on TBS HD, to be precise. The season started a couple weeks ago, just about the same time that Sound & Vision published a story, which, among other things, lambasted channels like TBS HD for broadcasting only a small proportion of its programming (like baseball) in HD, while letting much of the rest languish in stretch-o-vision hell.

Would You Buy a Blockbuster Box?

Blockbuster is firing on all cylinders in an attempt to bring movies into your living room every possible way. The company is so eager to please that its backing all movie delivery strategies — even conflicting ones. Its latest effort? A Blockbuster-branded set-top box that downloads movies over the Internet and plays them on your television, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

New Toshiba LCDs Connect in Japan

LCD TVs , like many other electronics sold in Japan, are souped-up, highly-advanced machines that companies evidently think Americans aren't ready to handle. Take, for instance, Toshiba's new batch of ten Regza LCD TV models, which hit the Japanese market this month and next month.

Toshiba, the U.S. market is ready, promise. Americans can be resourceful. They'll figure out creative things to do with the 52-inches, four HDMI slots, three ethernet slots, two USB ports, Bluetooth connectivity, Firewire port, SD slot, built-in DVR and 300 gigabyte hard disk in the new ZH500 model. Please?

Philips Exits U.S. TV Business

Manufacturing and marketing LCD TVs, especially in the U.S., is a tough gig. The margins are thin and the competitors are fierce, which is why may companies are outsourcing everything but their brand name to Asian manufacturers. Royal Philips Electronics is the most recent example of this trend.

Starting in September, every Philips set (as well as those of subsidiary Magnavox) will be made, distributed, marketed, sold, and supported by Japan's Funai. While Funai isn't a well-known TV-maker in the U.S, it has been making them for companies like Sylvania in the U.S. for years, as well as in Asia, and also sells DVD players, computer peripherals and printers. Let's just say Funai has a few decades of experience under its belt.