As more users get faster broadband service, entertainment companies are putting more material online so that viewers can download the TV show they want on their schedule, without needing a PVR or DVD-R recorder. Some things need to be straightened out before this can become widespread. It’s still not possible to deliver hi-def video features to large-screen displays, and TV sets don’t have the powerful computers need to process big video streams. Yet Apple, Microsoft and TiVo are trying their best to connect the PC to the TV. One spokesman called the Internet the “new ether” – after broadcasting over the air, then cable, then satellite. The networks are finding that the Internet creates many new opportunities for new audiences and interactive advertising. Users can even go around their local station affiliates to watch shows they want online.
Sony Cuts Greenhouse Gas Emissions – Sony Corp. has announced that it has reduced greenhouse gas emissions in its products by 9% to date, exceeding their original target of 7% reduction by 2010. Sony is one of a dozen companies who have joined the World Wide Fund for Nature’s Climate Savers; others include Nike, Novo Nordisk, Hewlett-Packard and Nokia. Sony expects the operating power of electronics products in general to be reduced to half of their existing levels in a few years. A major concern is the power consumed continuously by devices that are in standby mode, since the number electronic devices in that category has increased so greatly. The energy use of IT equipment is also growing rapidly; a recent report found that about 10% of the energy consumption in the UK was due to IT equipment – that’s the equivalent of the output of four nuclear power stations.
World’s Biggest Tube Amp and Subwoofer – The NAT Audio Magma was designed to be the most powerful Class A tube amp ever built. It puts out 160 watts of pure power at 4 & 8 ohms with noise 105 dB below rated output. Its power and output transformers are rated for 1000 watts, the monoblocks weigh 88 lbs. each and cost $55,000 for a stereo pair. The Matterhorn is the world’s largest subwoofer, designed for the military as some sort of weapon. It uses 40 drivers, each one powered by a separate 1000-watt amp, mounted in a 20’ x 8’ x 8’ steel cargo container. The drivers radiate from both sides, doubling their output. Its output is flat down to 15 Hz and it will do 105 dB at 250 meters away.
