~Tech Angel~

Full HD AQUOS LCD TVs

Sharp is releasing four new televisions that are FULL HD, meaning 1920x1080p.  How much will they set you back?  The 37" set will retail for 4000EUR ($4,861 USD) and the 65" will retail for 12500EUR ($15,189).

via| Akihabara News

NASA Shuttle Launch broadcasting live in HD

Next Wednesday, the NASA Shuttle Launch will be the first ever live coverage of a shuttle launch in HD.  At 3:51 pm ET on July 13th, two airplanes mounted with HD cameras will circle the Shuttle above the launch pad, capturing the event in HD.  The Discovery Channel will be broadcasting a live one hour special, Discovery: Return to Flight, beginning at 3:30 pm ET.

Tags: HD, HDTV, Nasa Shuttle Launch, NASA, shuttle, Discovery Channel, television, space travel

Marriott hotels adopting HD

Marriott hotels now have the option of installing flat-panel HDTVs in their rooms and lounges.  The hotel chain has a four year plan that will roll out over 50,000 LG Electronic televisions at their full-service JW Marriott, Marriott, and Renaissance hotels.  The Baltimore Marriott Waterfront and Cleveland Marriott Downtown at the Key Center will be the first to offer the HDTVs.

"Unique to Marriott brands will be the addition of a connectivity panel with the television.  A desk-level panel offers ample power outlets to enable guests to connect laptops, PDAs and personal entertainment devices, including DVD players, MP3 players, camcorders and video games into the television.  Guests just plug in their devices and the system does the setup automatically.  The connectivity panel is great not only for business travelers, but also families, who can enjoy their digitally recorded images and videos while still on vacation."

Full press release.

Tags: HDTV, HD, high-definition, Marriott, hotels, travel, technology, entertainment

Good Morning America in High-Def

Morning program, Good Morning America, will be launched in HD in September beating its competition to the high-def format.  NBC's Today show most likely won't make the transition to HD until early next year while CBS doesn't currently plan on offering its Early Show in high-definition at all.

"GMA ’s embrace of HD is an important milestone for the still-fledgling broadcast medium. Weekday network programming in HDTV has been nonexistent, with the exception of CBS’ HD broadcasts of The Young and the Restless . The costs associated with HD production, typically adding an average 15% to a program’s production budget, and the belief that the heavily female daytime audience is not clamoring for HD (most HD programming centers on sports and movies, both which have strong appeal to male viewers) have made weekdays a virtually HD-free zone. But ABC says it has detected a burgeoning interest among daytime viewers in the broadcasts."

source: Hoover's Online

Tags: Good Morning America, GMA, HD, HDTV, high-definition, television, entertainment, technology