German pay TV operator Premiere has had to agree to swap out the boxes of more than two million subscribers, following the loss of broadcast rights to Bundesliga soccer to cable operator Arena.
The Premiere new boxes will include an ethernet port that will enable subscribers to view the Bundesliga games. The broadcaster says it will swap 800,000 set-top boxes this year, with the remainder shipping next year.
Hang on the wall screens may seem like the next big thing to most consumers, but Philips is already celebrating ten years of flatscreen technology.
The Dutch giant says that this year is the 10th anniversary of its first ever public demonstration of the original branded ‘FlatTV’.
Philips unveiled its prototype 42-inch (107cm) gas plasma FlatTV on 27 August 1996 at the German trade show CeBIT Home, heralding “the world’s first TV you can hang on the wall like a painting.”
The prototype, which was shown 70 years after John Logie Baird’s first TV demonstration in 1926, created a predictable media storm.
The mainstream press marvelled at the idea of a TV which, for the first time ever, didn’t have to be located in a corner of the living room. Without a bulky cathode ray picture tube, the FlatTV only needed to be four inches (10cm) thick. Flat plasma display panel technology also enabled the set to have a widescreen viewing angle of 160 degrees.
The first 42-inch Philips FlatTV to go on sale arrived in stores in the spring of 1997 and was priced at the 1997 equivalent of Eur 15,000. Today virtually all TVs sold by big name brands in Europe are either LCD or plasma; the company says that this year flat panel TV sets will account for almost half of all TVs sold in Europe
Over the last ten years Philips has continued to push the technology envelope with technologies such as Ambilight, Pixel Plus and ClearLCD.
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Germany pay TV operator Premiere says it is aiming to have 500,000 HDTV subscribers by mid-2008, up from its current level of 40,000. Michael Börnicke, chief financial officer and chief technical officer at Premiere admits the figure “doesn’t just seem low, it is low.”
However take-up has been limited by restrictions in chipsets and set-top boxes.
News from Witsview: Philips Electronics faces back orders on LCD TVs due to low production yields with display panels from LG.Philips LCD. The shortages affect Philips’ top LCD models in the 9830 series that come in 32-, 37- and 42-inch sizes. The supply is expected to meet demand in April 07…
Sharp will unveil six new LCD TV products in anticipation of the year-end Christmas season. The new range of products will cover the 52 inch, 46 inch and 42 inch segment…
Based on Optimax’a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange, an additional investment of US$10.91 million will be made for its plant located in the Chinese city of Suzhou. Inventory levels have also begun to drop, according to the company…
Sony Electronics has added a TV/PC Combo into its product lineup. The VAIO LS1 combines the functions of a LCD TV and PC into one single entertainment system…
Sony is expected to launch nine new LCD TV models into the Japanese market this autumn, led by a flagship 52-inch screen. Booming sales of Bravia sets boosted Sony’s operating profit to $232.5 million for the first quarter of this year.
Sharp Corporation’s 8th generation TFT-LCD plant, located in its Kameyama, began operations in August, two month earlier than originally anticipated. Shipments of Gen 8 panels will start in September.
The Corporation enjoyed a 14 percent increase in its profit for the second quarter, thanks to strong sales from its Aquos LCD TV range and a growing mobile phone business
