Engadget HD

• WestTel bringing FTTP to Grand Cayman
  

  Filed under: Industry, Fiber

  
  
  While we here at Engadget HQ ponder a week-long excursion to the splendorous island of Grand Cayman, we can't help but be swayed even closer to pulling the trigger after reading this news. WestTel, along with suits from WestStar TV and ABC Trenching, has just broke ground on a $15 million, seven-year initiative to bring fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) to the only Cayman island with an international airport. The first phase will focus simply on establishing a fiber infrastructure amongst corporations, initially from Television Centre to Camana Bay, then up West Bay Road to Governors Square. Phase two will see the deployment of HDTV and high-speed internet / voice...
  



• NXE creating HDMI headaches for UK Xbox 360 owners?
  

  Filed under: Other hardware

  
  
  The path to Netflix-enhanced glory hasn't been entirely trouble free for everyone, this time it's posters on AVForum noticing a distinct lack of audio on Xbox 360s connected to their HDTV by HDMI. So far suggested solutions for the afflicted include plugging in the hard drive while the system is on, or waiting several minutes before switching the monitor to HDMI, and repeating them every time the system is started. It's not the first time we've heard of UK-centric HDMI weirdness, any of you hearing a whole lot of nothing while gaming (that's not attributable to hard drive installs)?
  
  [Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

  Industry, Other formats, Internet

  
  
  We hate to laugh at a situation like this, but it's just too easy. While Disney (and everyone else) fights to keep fraudulent Blu-ray Discs out of the Chinese market, said studio is also fighting another outlet of piracy: a website in which it holds a stake. In an admittedly bizarre twist of fate, Disney has discovered that several full-length, high-quality bootlegs of Wall-E were posted up at 56.com, a site which Disney's venture-capital affiliate, Steamboat Ventures, invested in just two years ago. We always heard that expecting someone to play by the rules when the only rule was lawlessness was...
  



• Research shows HDMI climbing, DVI slipping
  

  Filed under: Industry, Ports

  
  
  It was already made clear that both HDMI and DVI have a struggle on their hands with DisplayPort entering the picture, but new research from In-Stat asserts that HDMI is still on the up and up while DVI is slowing fading away. The report found that HDMI sockets were included on a staggering 95% of all digital televisions shipped worldwide in 2008, which unsurprisingly goes down as "the greatest volume for HDMI in any product." It also found that the "vast majority" of DVI shipments occurred in PC and PC peripheral markets, noting that DVI-enabled product shipments would decline at an annual rate of 30%...
  



• Marantz's IS301 wireless iPod dock elegantly cuts the cord
  

  Filed under: Media streamers, Other hardware, Apple

  
  
  Wireless iPod docks were all the rage back in 2006 (seriously, we remember nerds camping out for them), but the trend sort of petered out as 2007 emerged and focus turned to more important matters. Now, Marantz is looking to bring it all back in style with the IS301, a Lucullan wireless iPod dock that transmits both audio and video sans cabling and includes a port-filled receiver for tight-knit home theater integration. Practically every dock-connecting iPod (no iPhones allowed, at least not officially) will work fine here, and there's also Bluetooth 2.1 support for receiving and beaming tunes from...
  



• DVD sales also feeling the pinch, down 4% on the year
  

  Filed under: Industry, Other formats

  
  
  Coming at you straight from Shockville is this tidbit: a report claiming that DVD sales are also hitting the skids, along with practically everything in the world save for milk, bread and diamond-clad cellphones. In fact, DVD sales on the whole are down 4% for the year, with the biggest drop occurring in October; it's also noted that Blu-ray sales, according to Warner, will "miss sales projections for the year by 25%." Interestingly, we're told that the slumping economy isn't the only aspect to blame, as media companies are purportedly "dumping more obscure titles on the market, leading to downward pricing pressure," according...
  



• Comcast adds FX HD / FOX News HD in New Hampshire and Massachusetts
  

  Filed under: Cable, New content

  While Boston and Brookline already had access to these two, surrounding areas (which are obviously less privy to upgrades) have finally been blessed with FX HD and FOX News HD. Two separate tipsters have chimed in to inform us that both channels are live in the Andover, MA / Nashua, New Hampshire areas, which should provide for some solid extra weekend entertainment. If you can keep your eyes off of college football, that is.
  
  [Thanks, Joe and David]

  Comcast adds FX HD / FOX News HD in New Hampshire and Massachusetts originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:20:00...
  




• HDTV Listings for November 21, 2008
  

  Filed under: CBS, The CW, Discovery-HD, ESPN-HD, MyNetworkTV, NBC, Listings

  What we're watching tonight:
  
  • CW (1080i) has Everybody Hates Chris at 8 p.m. and The Game at 8:30 p.m.
  • MyNetworkTV (720p) drops in WWE SmackDown at 8 p.m.
  • CBS (1080i) lines up Ghost Whisperer at 8 p.m. with Numb3rs at 10 p.m.
  • Discovery (1080i) has the season finale of Toughest Race on Earth: Iditarod at 8 p.m. followed by Survivorman
  • Cartoon Network (1080i) has Star Wars: The Clone...
    
  
  
  
  • Sony says non-discounted goods make life easier for you
    

    Filed under: Industry, Displays, Other hardware, Sony

    Oh Sony, will you ever learn? After kvetching during the holiday season two years ago about how rampant price drops were wrecking the industry, the still-insane Jay Vandenbree, president of consumer sales for Sony Electronics, has opened his mouth once again this year. Why? To say that by "having the price for these products [HDTVs, for one] be the same at all retailers, Sony had eliminated stress for buyers." In case you weren't aware, Sony has forbid retailers from discounting select high-end HDTVs and cameras, but it's doing so for you, the buyer (honest!). In fact, he stated...
    
  
  
  
  • Sharp and Nichia link up for LED patent cross-licensing deal
    

    Filed under: Industry, Blu-ray, Recorders, Others, Sharp

    
    
    While RPTVs teeter on a bellbottom-styled return to the mainstream, Sharp and Nichia are focused squarely on the future. The two have just entered into a LED patent cross-licensing agreement covering both LEDs and laser diodes; the deal grants each company the right to use "inventions related to LEDs and laser diodes covered by the vast number of patents owned by the respective companies in Japan and in major countries." The release gets interesting when touching on Sharp's intentions -- it states that the company is hoping to "create unique, one-of-a-kind products in the future that...