Sony Dumps OLED Display Technology – Though originally hailed as a breakthru in TV technology, Sony’s OLED TV panels have been experiencing production problems in 4 out of 10 displays and the company has said they will not be delivering a new OLED TV this year. The technology uses organic light-emitting diodes and can be made into ultrathin displays, but the only model they have so offered is an 11-inch OLED which sells for about $2000 more than a 55-inch HDTV. Sony also admitted they have never made a profit selling their Bravia LCD TVs. Both LG and Samsung now promise larger-screen OLEDs soon – LG with a 15-inch model and Samsung has a 31-inch display.
Battery-Powered DAC and Headphone Amp – Red Wine Audio of Connecticut, who specialize in battery-powered audio gear, had announced the Isabellina HPA integrated headphone amp and D-to-A converter. The unit takes the headphone stage originally developed for their award-winning Isabella tube preamp and combines it with their standalone DAC which was introduced last year. The warmth, tone and high detail of the headphone stage are engineered for music lovers. The HPS supports USB, optical Toslink, or coaxial digital inputs and can easily switch between them, allowing use of the Isabellina as a perfectionist two-channel preamp. The unit also has a remote control. SRP is $2500.
Plasma TV Growth – According to Quixel Research, Panasonic, Samsung and LG are seeing the benefits of their staying with the supposedly obsolescent plasma display technology – their sales value for the first quarter of this year was up 35% over the same period of 2008. In fact plasmas were the only large screen TV category to show significant growth quarter-to-quarter during the second quarter. There has been a big surge in sales of 52-inch 720p plasma TVs – up 40% – while 40-inch+ LCD displays were down 7%. However, large-sized LCD sales were up 17% year-to-year and this type accounted for nearly 75% of both volume and value in the second quarter of 2009.
Toshiba Joins Blu-ray Disc Association – That says it all: The former introducer and heavy promoter of the competing HD DVD format, and later the promoter of upconverting DVD players (to replace Blu-ray), has now applied for membership in the Blu-ray Disc Association and will be soon producing a range of digital products supporting the Blu-ray format.
Speakercraft Enters AV Receiver Market – SpeakerCraft, known for its custom-installed speaker systems, will launch two new AV receivers in a bid to expand their offerings. First is an 80-watt stereo receiver with a high current output stage. The second model is a 7.1-channel AV receiver with 130 watts-per-channel, AV source switching and upconversion functions for video. It will handle all the various surround sound codecs. SRPs for the two receivers, when available in the fourth quarter, will be $425 and $1250 respectively.
Samsung/Rovi Deal for New PVR – Samsung has signed a licensing deal with Rovi to provide content on a brand new personal video recorder which they will introduce at the January CES in Las Vegas. The PVR will be slim but have over one terabyte of storage and be 100% Internet-enabled so users can access exclusive sports and entertainment via online sites. The PVR will also include a Blu-ray player. The deal is similar to those of Foxtel and TiVo, giving users movies from Blockbuster when they link the PVR with a Samsung-provided widget.
