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ZDNet Author Biography: Sean Portnoy started his tech writing career at ZDNet nearly a decade ago. He then spent several years as an editor at Computer Shopper magazine, most recently serving as online executive editor. He received a B.A. from Brown University and an M.A. from the University of Southern California.; more about Sean Portnoy »

ZDNet Resources

TiVo readying 802.11n Wi-Fi adapter?: It's been a tough slog for TiVo, whose once-innovative DVR ecosystem has been co-opted by cable companies' own DVR services. (Though some offer the TiVo interface for an additional charge.) The company and its devices still have their champions, but it's difficult to achieve mass success when buyers have to...; Tags: Adapter, IEEE 802.11n, TiVo Inc., Wi-Fi, Wireless And Mobility, Sean Portnoy; Blog posts 2009-11-07
Viewsonic introduces $100 VMP70 HD media player without network connectivity: Viewsonic is best known for its computer monitors, but it also offers HDTVs, mostly through online retailers. Now it hopes to expand its living room presence with its first media player, the VMP70. The good news is that it can handle 1080p HD, though that's...; Tags: ViewSonic Corp., Network, 1080p, Network Connectivity, Media Player, VMP70, Ethernet, Networking, Sean Portnoy; Blog posts 2009-11-05
Wal-mart preempts Black Friday with HDTV specials this Saturday: Every year, retailers' ads for Black Friday—the day after Thanksgiving and the unofficial starting of the holiday shopping season—manage to leak out a few weeks beforehand this year being no exception. And every year, said retailers freak out when the ads appear online, perhaps fearing that competitors could...; Tags: Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Retail Company, HDTV, 1080p, Retail, Sean Portnoy; Blog posts 2009-11-04
Holiday Gift Guide 2009: Top Five HDTVs: Whatever the size of your wallet, every living room should have a respectable television set. Good news: HDTVs are cheaper, bigger and better than ever. Here are my top five picks for this year. Splurge: Samsung UNB8500 Series ...; Tags: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., HDTV, Video, 1080p, TVs, Corporate Communications, Tv & Home Theater, Personal Technology, Home Entertainment, Marketing, Sean Portnoy; Blog posts 2009-11-01
Holiday Gift Guide 2009: Blu-ray Players/Home Theater Systems: With prices for both players and discs plunging, this may be the holiday season for Blu-ray. Already online movie streaming is making inroads—even on Blu-ray players themselves. Some of these picks are integrating on-demand video services into their feature sets, hoping to keep themselves relevant in...; Tags: NetFlix Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Disc, Blu-ray, Corporate Communications, Marketing, Sean Portnoy; Blog posts 2009-11-01

Men watch more high-def than women--and other things about HDTV you probably already know: There was a time not too long ago when a lot of people bought an HDTV, brought it home, and started watched TV, all the while thinking they were watching in HD when they hadn't bothered to upgrade their cable or satellite package to make high-def programming available. Now viewers...; Tags: Men, Women, HDTV, HD, HD Drama, Gender And Diversity, Cable, TVs, Network Technology, Tv & Home Theater, Human Resources, Telecommunications, Personal Technology, Home Entertainment, Networking, Sean Portnoy; Blog posts 2009-10-31
Is HDTV turning Americans into hockey fans?: Hockey, the national pastime of our neighbors up north, has always been the number-four sport in the U.S., save for pockets of the country with a puck pedigree (the Northeast, the northern Midwest). While the league expanded south and west during the 1990s, and managed to have Fox broadcast Stanley...; Tags: Network, HDTV, NHL, Sport, Games, Cable, Tv & Home Theater, Networking, Personal Technology, Telecommunications, Sean Portnoy; Blog posts 2009-10-27
Would you let Wal-mart do your home-theater installation?: Above all else, Wal-mart is about offering the lowest prices possible seemingly at all costs, but when it comes to electronics products like HDTVs, being the cheapest only gets you so far. Best Buy has remained strong during the recession in thanks to its service offerings, most notably its Geek...; Tags: Best Buy Co. Inc., Home Theater, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Home Entertainment, Tv & Home Theater, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Sean Portnoy; Blog posts 2009-10-25
New Roku XR will add 802.11n Wi-Fi upgrade to cheap media streamer: It may not be the ultimate media streaming solution, but for $99.99 the Roku Digital Video Player already does quite a bit, including offering Netflix and Amazon Video On Demand and Major League Baseball games. Unlike many of its competitors, Roku even offers built-in Wi-Fi to go along with its...; Tags: IEEE 802.11n, Roku Inc., Wireless LANs, Wi-Fi, Video On Demand (VoD), Wireless And Mobility, Personal Technology, Home Entertainment, Sean Portnoy; Blog posts 2009-10-22
Asus' wireless HDMI streamer coming next month?: An anonymous tipster provided Engadget with a juicy scoop yesterday regarding the latest attempt to produce a commercially viable wireless HDMI streaming device. Asus is apparently nearly ready to introduce the BR-HD3, a $650 box that can transmit the signal (up to 1080p) from one device...; Tags: ASUS, HDMI, Wireless, Gefen, Wi-Fi, Wireless And Mobility, Sean Portnoy; Blog posts 2009-10-20
3D HDTV without glasses? Hitachi has a prototype display for that.: If we're going to have to put up with 3D being the next big thing in HDTVs, the least we can hope for is that we're not stuck wearing those plastic glasses on our sofas for the next 50 years. While that's exactly what Panasonic and other 3D proponents are...; Tags: 3D, Hitachi Ltd., Resolution, Sean Portnoy; Blog posts 2009-10-18
Western Digital adds networking capability to WD TV Live HD Media Player: It was nearly a year ago when storage giant Western Digital rolled out its WD TV HD Media Player, which consisted of mostly a tiny box with a USB port and HDMI and composite-video output and a remote control. The idea was to attach your external hard drive to the...; Tags: Network, Online Media, Video, Western Digital Corp., Corporate Communications, Web Site Development, Web Technology, Digital Video, Networking, Marketing, Internet, Personal Technology, Sean Portnoy; Blog posts 2009-10-13
"HDTV" experiment proves believing is seeing: The result isn't really that surprising, but it's still an interesting finding. According to a recent Dutch experiment, it turns out that the power of suggestion once again can make unsuspecting test subjects talk themselves into seeing something that isn't there—literally, in this case. The study used...; Tags: HDTV, Video Clip, Programming, TVs, Corporate Communications, Tv & Home Theater, Cable, Network Technology, Personal Technology, Home Entertainment, Marketing, Telecommunications, Networking, Sean Portnoy; Blog posts 2009-10-11
TechCrunch throws down on cable boxes: Who can argue?: The TechCrunch blog usually covers start-up culture, but a post today takes a diversion into the limited, primitive realm of cable boxes. You know 'em, you hate 'em. As post author MG Siegler points out, the interfaces are archaic, the horsepower anemic, and the remotes unappealing. He rightly suggests that...; Tags: TechCrunch, Cable Box, TV, CableCard, Siegler, Cable, Network Technology, Telecommunications, Personal Technology, Networking, Sean Portnoy; Blog posts 2009-10-08
Toshiba Cell Regza 55X1: The HDTV of the future?: Let's set aside 3D TVs for a moment—they seem to be coming whether we want them or not—and look at another futuristic set concept that's of course coming to Japan by year's end. Toshiba's "Cell" project, which powers an LCD HDTV with the Cell processor—best known as the brains behind...; Tags: HDTV, Toshiba Corp., Cell, 55X1, Processors, Semiconductors, Hardware, Components, Sean Portnoy; Blog posts 2009-10-06
Consumers only want 3D HDTVs, Blu-ray players if they don't cost extra: Market research firm In-Stat has just conducted a survey that should prove sobering to the TV manufacturers and movie studios that are in a hurry to put 3D HDTVs into our homes. Not only are consumers lukewarm to the idea of 3D content, but they're also unwilling to pay much...; Tags: 3D, Blu-ray, Sean Portnoy; Blog posts 2009-10-04
Asus, QNAP release new 1080p HD media streamers: Home theaters are still waiting for the killer device that will run away with the market for streaming media to your HDTV. How do we know? More and more companies are jumping into the "network media player" game—a dominant device (whether a networked TV or super...; Tags: ASUS, Network, Video, 1080p, QNAP, Corporate Communications, Network-Attached Storage (NAS), Ethernet, Networking, Marketing, Storage, Hardware, Sean Portnoy; Blog posts 2009-10-01
HDTVs sales back on the rise, but smaller, cheaper sets may dominate: Though they never completely tanked like some other goods, HDTVs certainly hit a bump in the road during the economic downturn. But as the economy begins to rebound, it appears that TV sales are starting to grow again as well—though a new era of frugality may be on the way....; Tags: HDTV, Retrevo, TVs, Sales Strategy, Tv & Home Theater, Personal Technology, Home Entertainment, Sales, Sean Portnoy; Blog posts 2009-09-29
Westinghouse releases 120Hz 42-inch LCD HDTV for $750: Not so long ago, it was a premium feature for top-of-the-line LCDs, but seemingly within a matter of months TVs with 120Hz refresh rates have hit mainstream prices. Now it looks like the technology to compensate for image blurring in fast-moving action will reach bargain sets this holiday season. ...; Tags: HDTV, LCD, 1080p, Westinghouse, 120Hz, TVs, Tv & Home Theater, Monitors & Displays, Personal Technology, Home Entertainment, Hardware, Components, Sean Portnoy; Blog posts 2009-09-27
Best Buy previews its 32-inch LCD HDTV/Blu-ray player combo on its Web site: TVs with built-in DVD players have mostly been the domain of bargain brands, but given the far-improved quality of the Blu-ray format, these combo units could attract more mainstream attention. Sharp has already announced a pair of LCD TV/Blu-ray combos, and now Best Buy is undercutting Sharp's pricing strategy with...; Tags: Web, Best Buy Co. Inc., Web Site, LCD, Blu-ray, Web Site Development, Monitors & Displays, Ethernet, Branding, Web Technology, Internet, Hardware, Components, Networking, Marketing, Sean Portnoy; Blog posts 2009-09-23