Entertainment Studios launches six HD web channels

The largest independent producer and distributor of first-run syndicated television programming for broadcast television stations (now that's one helluvah mouthful), Entertainment Studios, has launched six new HD channels, offering a whole host of 'interesting' content.

Brandishing the .tv suffix, which is now the main source of income for the Pacific Island of Tuvalu, the six HD web-and-TV- channels are as follows: Cars.TV, Pets.TV, Comedy.TV, MyDestination.TV, ES.TV and last but very not least Recipe.TV.

All fairly self-explanatory, the web pages offer myriad HD video content about their allocated genre, with Comedy.TV also streaming live performances from comedians.

Hi-def content

Speaking about the HD channel deluge, Terry Denson, vice president of FiOS TV content and programming, said: "Our goal and commitment is to make our networks the very best in their categories and our upcoming launch on the Verizon FiOS TV platform gives us a great start.

"All content will be originally produced in-house to insure the highest level of creative quality, as well as the ability to distribute our content globally on all platforms."

Although Blighty won't be receiving the channels on TV – they will only be shown in America – you can still log on to the web and view the content. So, if dog spas are your thing, go to Pets.TV…and so on.

After 1080p - everything you need to know about Ultra HD

Still trying to get your head around 1080p TVs? Watch out! the next big thing is coming... eventually.

Ultra HD Is being touted as the eventual successor to the high definition resolutions we have at home today – most commonly 720p and 1080p.

The BBC and Japanese broadcaster NHK teamed up earlier this week to run an experimental broadcast showing Ultra HD's potential. It could be the next big thing in TV.

What's the big idea?

Ultra HD increases the resolution of broadcast TV and movie video by an order of magnitude way over what we can see today with 1080p flat panel displays.

There are various different implementations known as 2K, 4K and 8K, which have increased resolution accordingly. The result is a potentially massive increase in picture quality.

2K, 4K, 8K - what?

In a nutshell, 2K Ultra HD video doubles the resolution to 2048 x 1920 pixels; 4K increases that to 4096 x 2160 pixels, or 16 times the resolution of 1080p.

Content that's 8K, which is what NHK and the BBC broadcast at IBC 2008, comes out at a staggering 7680 x 4320 pixels. It's this standard that NHK is ultimately aiming for when it starts proper testing in 2016.

Who's doing it?

Ultra HD has the biggest benefits right now for digital cinemas and other commercial applications where massive screen sizes are essential.

However, gadget makers like Samsung would ultimately like us to get our hands on it, which is arguably one of the reasons why Samsung showed off a 4K 82-inch TV during IFA 2008.

Toshiba also says it has the technologies in place to deliver 4K displays whenever the public demands them.

So, move over Sky HD?

Hold on. Although Ultra HD looks sexy, there simply isn't the infrastructure around to deliver it into our homes.

NHK's take on Ultra HD, dubbed Super Hi-Vision (SHV), originally required a bandwidth of 28Gbps to broadcast, but it's now cut that down to 120Mbps by developing suitable algorithms in conjunction with the BBC. But...

Compare that to the 17-19Mbps bit-rate of existing Sky and BBC HD broadcasts and you'll appreciate that it's going to be years – 20 years, in fact – before it makes its way down to your TV aerial.

The IBC 2008 broadcast used MPEG2 compression, according to a PDF press release on NHK's website. It's not yet clear whether the BBC and NHK are also toying with more efficient video codecs like H.264.

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Should You Buy A Plasma TV Or LCD TV?

Both plasma and LCD technology are the latest technology available in home entertainment. They are less bulky than the traditional cathode ray tube televisions and offer better resolution and high quality pictures.

So which one is better? Plasma TV or LCD TV? Since they are priced almost the same, it can be difficult to determine which is the better one.

The answer depends on what you plan to do with it. The technology behind these plasma and LCD is quite different.

For plasma tv, it is made up of thousands and thousands of small pixels with the color scheme RGB (Red, Green and Blue). These primary colors can combine to produce millions of variations of colors.

A plasma tv consists of two panels that are filled in between with neon gas or xenon. As electricity is passed through the gas, it becomes liquid and can generate light. The light in turns lights the pixels and together the pixels form a image. Now this happens quite quickly up to 50 frames per second.

I would recommend getting a plasma tv if you are watching movies etc. It has a higher colour resolution and clearer picture image than LCD TV.

LCD TV uses a panel of cells that are filled with liquid crystals. When the electricity is passed through these cells, the liquid crystals allows lights to pass through or be filtered. By blocking the different wavelengths of lights, the different colours are displayed. It works in a way like a prism.

I would recommend a LCD TV if you use it for digital photography or playing computer games. The response time are better for LCD TV compared to Plasma TV and can be used as a monitor for your computer.

Plasma TV and LCD TV each have their own applications and use with both advantages and disadvantages. The decision to buy which one will depend on your needs
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