Audio News for November 17, 2009

by | Nov 17, 2009 | Audio News | 0 comments

YouTube Starts Supporting 1080p HD Videos – Starting next week YouTube will begin offering 1080p hi-res videos at their site. Previously the highest resolution they supported was 780p. File sizes have been increased to 1GB but there is still a ten-minute limit on video length. More than half of YouTube’s videos have already been re-encoded for the new 1080p format. Of course the higher-res files will huge in size and demand more storage space, but experts believe YouTube’s owner Google has the capacity to foot the increased costs associated with displaying videos in full HD, and may even offer premium content at a later stage. Mobile users now constitute a major number of YouTube contributors, with the site experiencing a 2000% increase in mobile uploads this year.

Livio Radio Also Offers Pandora Service
– The new Livio Radio, available thru major retailers (and which we will review shortly), offers not only access to over 16,000 internet radio stations but also the fully customizable Pandora Music Experience. There is no monthly fee for either the netcast stations, nor the Pandora service as long as listening is limited to 40 hours per week. Pandora allows users to customize the programming they receive across any genre, from anywhere in the world, using the Music Genome Project which makes each user their own DJ.  With built-in “thumbs up” and “thumbs down” buttons, the Livio Radio creates completely personalized stations. In addition, the radio – operating separately from a computer off the wi-fi signal of home networks – provides a huge selection of validated Internet radio stations thru the UK’s Reciva, a global leader in Internet radio technology. It is available at J&R, Amazon, NewEgg and Buy.com.

Pioneer and Sony AV Receivers Selected
– by the San Jose Mecury News in a survey of entry-level AV receivers from major makers. The Pioneer VSX-1019AH-K was their first choice, with the Sony STR-DN1000 coming in No. 2 at a lower price.  They liked the four HDMI inputs of the Pioneer, its iPod/iPhone connection, analog video upscaling to 1080p, onboard DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD decoding, and outstanding sound quality for the price.

Panasonic to Acquire Sanyo – Panasonic has confirmed that they will proceed with acquisition of Sanyo Electric for about $4.5 billion. Sanyo is the world’s largest supplier of rechageable batteries for laptops, cameras, mobile phone and other portables. Panasonic’s purchase will create a powerhouse in batteries for hybrid gas-electric cars, and together the two companies might expand into sectors such as electric vehicles and green-grid technologies.  The deal was actually announced a year ago, but Panasonic waited for Japanese and other antitrust authorities to give their approval before proceeding.

LED Display Panel Prices to Fall – In 2010 the price of the new LED TV display flat screens is set to fall by more than 20% as new technology is launched and manufacturers increase their production.  The gap with the cost of CCFL-backlit large LCD panels will continue to narrow, according to DigitTimes – the difference in the 40-inch size reducing from 35.8% for the third quarter of this year to 29.8% for the first quarter 2010. The LED-backlit TV market is expected to reach over 30 million units in 2010.

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