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The thinner the better for new HDTV sets

Rocky Wire Reports

Published January 9, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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HDTV manufacturers are trying to make the task of buying an HDTV set much more difficult than just choosing between LCD and plasma, 42 or 46 inches.

To stand out amid fierce competition, they're adding exotic features and even a little bit of color to the plain black bezels that have been de rigueur.

They're also chasing each other to zero - zero thickness, that is. Apparently, you can't be too thin if you're a TV.

All the major Asian brands revealed new sets at the International Consumer Electronics Show, which is under way this week in Las Vegas. Most of the innovation comes from the prestigious names, such as Sony, Pioneer, Panasonic and Toshiba, which are trying to keep HDTVs from becoming a commodity product.

"The goal is to break away from the commoditized market," said Ken Shioda, general manager of display products for Pioneer.

Pioneer Corp. is one of the companies working to put its sets on a diet: It demonstrated a plasma TV with a thickness of only 9 millimeters, or three-eighths of an inch, claiming it is the thinnest 50-inch set ever. It's just a prototype, however.

Scrolling the radio

A new technology unveiled Tuesday would show what's being said on the radio using a receiver with a screen that would scroll text much like closed captions roll by on TV.

No manufacturer has yet committed to bring the technology to market. It is backed by National Public Radio and Harris Corp., a major supplier of broadcasting equipment, as well as a new research center at Towson University near Baltimore.

NPR and its partners displayed a prototype text radio Tuesday at the International Consumer Electronics Show. Mike Starling, NPR's chief technology officer, said by phone that the group hoped to bring in commercial broadcasters, radio makers and other industry players.

Starling said he hoped text-based broadcasts would become a new standard in radio, just as digital broadcasting - known as HD Radio - did several years ago.

TV-on-PC

Sling Media, the company behind Slingbox's TV-on-PC service, is showing its new software that lets you watch shows on Research In Motion's products.

The interface is similar to what you'd see when watching recorded programs on TiVo or a DVR, with the ability to change channels, pause, rewind and fast-forward.

The service follows similar offerings for other mobile devices, such as Palm's Treo and Centro, and those running the mobile version of Windows.