Samsung edged out Sony for the lead in North American LCD shipments during Q1 of this year with 12.8 percent. However, the lead is precarious at best as Sony had 12.7 percent of LCD shipments and Vizio had 12.5 percent.

On the plasma front, Panasonic had the top spot at 33 percent which is down from 38 percent during Q4 of last year. Following Panasonic is LG with a little over 19.2 percent and Samsung with 18.4 percent.

Samsung continued to lead the overall flat panel market (plasma + LCD TVs) with 13.5 percent of the market. Vizio is the surprising runner up with 12.2 percent, edging out Sony who had 11.3 percent.

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Technorati Tags: Samsung, Sony, LG, Vizio, DisplaySearch, Q1 2008

Sony has announced a new line of BRAVIA HDTV sets called the V4500 series. The sets are available in sizes of 26 inches, 32 inches, and 37 inches and feature the new BRAVIA ENGINE 2 technology. Other features include:

• Deep Piano Black Finish
• 720p resolution (1366 x 768)
• Dynamic contrast ratio of 33,000:1 for the 26 inch and 32 inch models
• 24p True Cinema technology
• Picture Frame Mode allows you to display still images off of USB memory devices
• Sony XMB user interface
• Support for Sony BRAVIA Sync
• Three HDMI connectors

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Technorati Tags: Sony V4500, HDTV

If you’re a PS3 owner, then you might be interested in reading this blog posting by Peter Dille who is the Senior VP of Market & PLAYSTATION Network. As you might expect, the posting is about the PLAYSTATION Network and the many new features in or coming to the network. More importantly, the posting mentions a couple of interesting tidbits - notably:

• Sony will be offering a video service for the PS3 that will distinguish it from other video services out there. The ultimate goal will be to "break through the overwhelming clutter of digital media to give you the TV, movies and gaming content you want."
• Sony will be bringing in-game access to XMB features this year
• Community based services will be designed to allow more community development and collaborative gameplay
• Sony will be launching PlayStation Home in 2008
• Sony is rolling out PlayStation Cards to retailers across the country in denominations of $20 and $50 dollars this spring

Find out more details by checking out the blog posting here.

[Check it out via Ubergizmo]

Technorati Tags: Sony, PlayStation 3, PS3, PlayStation Network, Peter Dille

Sony is taking high definition camcorders to new heights.. or rather.. to new (and smaller) sizes with the Sony High Definition Handycam Camcorder HDR-TG1. The HDR-TG1 comes in a ultra compact titanium-bodied chassis and is capable of recording in full HD (1920 x 1080). You can also capture 4 megapixel digital stills with all data stored on a Memory Stick PRO Duo card. The sheer small size of this camcorder means you’ll be able to take the HDR-TG1 to nearly any occasion.

Key features of the Sony HDR-TG1 include:

• Weight of 8 oz without the battery
• Chassis made out of pure titanium with premium hard coating applied on the surface (except for hinge and lens ring area)
• BIONZ image processing engine provides face detection technology. Recognizes up to 8 faces
• 2.3 megapixel (effective) ClearVid CMOS sensor
• 1920 x 1080 Full HD recording
• 4 megapixel stills
• 2.7 inch 16:9 Hybrid Touch Panel Clear Photo LCD Plus Display
• Super SteadyShot Image Stabilization System
• Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens
• 10x optical/20x digital zoom lens
• Built-in zoom microphone with 5.1 channel recording - features Dolby Digital 5.1 Creator
• Smooth Slow Recording
• x.v.Color technology
• Dual recording mode - capture video and capture still images
• Quick On feature
• HDMI output
• Face Index indexes video footage according to the faces detected
• Film Roll Index
• Supplied Handycam Station
• Built-in Intelligent Flash
• USB 2.0
• Manual Focus
• Fader and Picture Effects
• Scene Selection Modes
• Records in MPEG4 AVC/H.264 for HD and MPEG2 for SD

You can preorder the Sony HDR-TG1 on the SonyStyle website here for $899.99. The camcorder will be available around May 17th.

[Check it out via AVING]

Technorati Tags: Sony, High Definition Handycam Camcorder, HDR-TG1

Sony has updated their VAIO CR series with the new VGN-CR4000 notebook which is available in six different colors. Standard features include:

• Intel Core 2 Duo processor (speeds start at 2 GHz and go up to 2.6GHz)
• Windows Vista Home Premium
• 2GB of RAM
• 14.1 inch LCD with XBRITE-ECO technology
• Bluetooth wireless support
• CD/DVD burner
• Integrated 1.3 megapixel camera
• Available 250GB HDD (starts at 120GB)

Colors include Indigo Blue, Sangria Red, Cosmopolitan Pink, Champagne Gold, Dove White, Crocodile Brown. Prices for the new Sony VGN-CR4000 start at $1079.99.

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Technorati Tags: Sony VAIO CR, VGN-CR4000

Some good news for those of you who use the PS3 as a Blu-ray player. Sony will be releasing an update allowing the Playstation 3 to finally decode DTS-HD Master Audio (MA) audio tracks on some Blu-ray titles. "DTS-HD MA has the ability to deliver audio at a variable rate of 24.5 Mbps on a Blu-ray disc".

One important thing to note. Those of you with receivers capable of decoding DTS-HD MA will be disappointed to hear that the PS3 cannot pass the signal directly to the receiver. The PS3 can only decode the signal and pass the resulting signals as multi-channel PCM. Bummer for those who like their decoding to take place on the receiver end.

You can expect to find the new update on Tax Day (boo) - April 15th.

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Technorati Tags: Sony, Playstation 3, DTS-HD Master Audio, decoding

Now that Sony’s won the Blu-ray vs. HD DVD battle, it’s time for Sony to solidify it’s position in the Blu-ray hardware space. To that end, the company has announced a new line of Blu-ray recorders for Japan called the BDZ series. Models in this new lineup include the A70 which comes with a 320 GB HDD and the high end T90 model which comes with a 500 GB HDD. Both models are capable of receiving unencrypted HDTV signals and can record video in AVC (H.264) format - either straight to the hard drive or to a Blu-ray disc. The systems are also capable of converting videos into other media formats for devices such as the Sony PSP. Other features include analog/digital tuners, Sony’s Room Link, HDMI output, S-Video output (why?), and RCA jacks. Expect systems to show up in Japan around April 30th for at least $1664. Above is the A70 and below is the T90.

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Technorati Tags: Sony, BDZ, Blu-ray recorder, A70, T90

Looking to attract the female audience to Bluetooth headsets, Sony Ericsson is now offering the fashionable HBH-PV712-Style Edition Headset. The HBH-PV712 comes with three different “style-up” covers to choose from as well as a matching case and matching necklace. Features and specs include the following:

• Bluetooth 2.0 support with 10 foot range
• Auto-pairing feature - drops the pin code without compromising security
• Adaptive Frequency Hopping (AFH) technology
• Last Number Re-dial support
• Enhanced Data Rate
• Measures 2.4 x 0.7 inches and weighs 0.5 oz
• Comes in Red, Black, or Purple
• Ear Hook

The matching case (shown here) is designed to protect both your mobile phone and the headset. Cute…

[Check it out via Chip Chick]

Technorati Tags: Sony Ericsson HBH-PV712-Style Edition, Bluetooth Headsets

While it’s certainly “cool” to have your video collection on an iPod touch or a Microsoft Zune, there’s still something cool about having a portable DVD player. Perhaps it’s because you get a larger display than watching a movie on an iPod.. or perhaps it’s simply because it’s easier to pop a DVD into a portable DVD player than it is to connect to the net and purchase a movie rental via iTunes (or ripping and converting a DVD into an MP4 file). With that said, it’s nice to see companies continue to develop and manufacture portable players such as the new Sony DVP-FX720. This clamshell system comes with a nice large 7 inch display featuring a true 16:9 aspect ratio. Features include:

• USB port for JPEG and MP3 file playback
• 5 hour rechargeable battery
• Supports audio CDs and CD-R/RW with audio, MP3, or JPEG files
• Supports DVD-R/-RW/-R DL/+R/+RW and CD-R/-RW with DivX
• 12 bit/108 MHz video and 96kHZ/24 bit audio DAC
• Dual headphone jacks with volume control
• Integrated speakers
• Remote control and car adapter
• Available in glamour pink, blazing red, indigo blue, and white finish

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Sony, DVP-FX720 Portable DVD player

For those curious about what Microsoft’s next steps will be for the Xbox 360, check out this article over at the Financial Times from late last week. A senior executive at Sony Electronics US mentioned that Sony and Microsoft were in talks about the possibility of offering a Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360 game console.

While the PlayStation 3 has a competitive advantage over the Xbox 360 in offering a Blu-ray drive, it’s also in Sony’s best interest to have the 360 support Blu-ray since that would benefit Sony’s electronics business as well. A Blu-ray drive could come in the form of a new Xbox 360 Elite system or as an add-on drive similar to the Xbox 360 HD DVD drive which connected to the 360 via a USB connection.

Stan Glasgow, President of Sony Electronics US, also mentioned that the company was in talks with Apple about offering Blu-ray drives in their computer systems. Apple is a supporter of the Blu-ray media format but has yet to offer the drive in any of its product offerings thus far.

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Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Sony, Blu-ray, Xbox 360