technology

While Apple is busy keeping their planning under wraps, the rest of us are busy trying to discover what they are up to, especially when it comes to their iTV.

What has been leaked through the grapevine is that Samsung Electronics in Korea has started producing chips for the iTVs since November 2011.  Sharp also is rumored to be producing the displays for the new TVs.  The screens will be relatively small for the initial introductory phase at between 32 and 37 inches and will be better suited for the small foot of the bed TV lift cabinets.

Sterne Agee Analyst Shaw Wu wrote, ““We continue to hear what AAPL would love to do is offer users the ability to choose their own customized programming, i.e., whichever channels/shows they want for a monthly subscription fee. This is obviously much more complicated from a licensing standpoint. And in our view, would change the game for television and give AAPL a big leg-up against the competition.”

Wu goes on to write about how the biggest obstacle right now for Apple to iron out its content partnerships and licensing terms.  Apple has content and licensing agreements in place for iTunes but only for movie rentals, not TV shows or live broadcast television.  Apple would like live television offered via the internet or IPTV instead of through cable providers.  That is the direction Apple would like to go in and is currently in discussions to make this happen.

LG has announced its newest and largest OLED TV – a 55” panel with some pretty amazing specs. OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) technology has, in the past, been limited by smaller screen sizes and expensive price tags. However, according to LG’s press release, their 55” panel has overcome these obstacles.

The diodes in OLED TVs self-generate light and send electric signals at a rate far faster than LCD. In turn, the TV has a clearer picture and a wider range of colors. LG uses white OLEDs overlaid with color diodes to produce an “ultra definition” picture. Concerned that all this great technology may lead to a bulkier end product? Think again. The TV is a remarkable 5mm thick – thinner than a pen! Not only will the TV impress techies, but environmentalists will also approve – the diodes in the screen can be turned on or off to account for lower power consumption than most mainstream TVs.  LG’s 55” OLED TV will be unveiled in January at CES 2012 in Las Vegas. There is no word yet on when the product will available for your TV lift cabinet.

Apple has made it no secret that they plan to enter into the television market.  In Steve Jobs’ biography titled “Steve Jobs”, Jobs mentions how he felt he had finally come up with the solution to enhance the standard HDTV.  It makes sense for Apple to use their existing technology for ipads and iphones and apply it towards the television.

The ultimate Smart TV would have features such as wireless streaming capabilities, voice and motion controls and the ability to share content across multiple devices.  Consumers would be able to stream content from their ipads directly onto their Smart TV inside their TV lift cabinet.  According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple is currently in discussions with media executives to discuss their progress on developing a Smart TV.  It will be interesting to see what features Apple creates for their new Smart TV and when this TV will be released to general public.

It seems lately many consumers are opting to stream videos to their TV lift cabinets instead of paying for the high priced cable plans.  It may be a sign of the times, with the economy in a current decline, but many see it as the way of the future.  Streaming videos allows consumers to watch what they are interested in watching on their own time schedule for a very affordable price.

This shift in consumer behavior has many communication giants wanting a piece of the pie.  One such communication company is Verizon.  Verizon Communications, the second-largest U.S. phone company, has recently announced in an investor conference, their plan to expand into the video market.  Verizon just this past week has been rumored to be discussing a bid to purchase Netflix Inc.

Netflix, a subscription-based company for video streaming and DVDs by mail, saw its shares rise 1.2 percent to $76.13 two days ago in New York trading. This was a direct result of the rumored talks that Verizon might buy them out.  In the last year Netflix shares took a nose dive after raising their customers streaming video price plans.  However, both companies deny these discussions for a bid have occurred.

What we do know is Verizon has had meetings with Redbox, the movie-rental kiosk operator, along with other potential video partners this past month.  It looks like Verizon, while trying to be discreet, is seriously considering their video options closely.

Add Xbox 360 to the wave of set top boxes and streaming apps for your TV lift cabinet. Microsoft has announced a long list of apps which are now available for download on the Xbox 360 console. Youtube, Verizon FiOS TV and MSNBC.com are a few of the U.S. available apps.  Beginning in early 2012, more apps are set to be rolled out, including Comcast Xfinity and MLB.tv.

The app selection is not the only exciting thing about Microsoft’s announcement. The technology itself sounds pretty impressive. With the help of Microsoft’s Bing search engine, users can simply say what they are searching for and Bing will pull up the results. Bing on Xbox voice search is already available in the US, Canada and UK.  Now whatever movie, TV show or game you are looking for is simply a voice command away – no need for a remote control!

Some of the other apps listed on the Microsoft press release include:

-          ESPN on Xbox Live

-          Vudu

-          HBO Go

-          Hulu Plus

-          Netflix

-          Crackle (Sony Pictures)

Are you a “Do-it-Yourself” person?  Then perhaps building your own TV Lift Cabinet and installing our lift mechanism is the best solution for you.

One of our customers, who purchased our Uplift 3700 Lift mechanism, recently shared his project results with us.   He was able to convert a birch dresser cabinet into his own TV Lift Cabinet.  He removed the dresser drawers and installed a center compartment for his speakers.  In the back of the cabinet he installed our Uplift lift Mechanism directly behind the speaker compartment.  The end result is one impressive home-made TV Lift Cabinet!

This customer did, however, have a question regarding our 12-Volt Trigger feature.

Customer Question:

How does one use the 12-volt power outlet located on the lift mechanism?  I am trying to devise a way to get IR commands into the cabinet to activate a receiver, the lift mechanism and a 42-inch plasma TV.

Our Answer:

To use the 12 volt trigger you will need a 1/8” stereo jack.  Simply apply 12 volts for the lift to move up and remove 12 volts for the lift to move down.

Since you are also trying to activate a receiver and your TV, a better option may be to purchase our infrared relay system. The infrared system has a receiver eye that must be installed in the front of the unit to receive commands from your remote control. You would need to drill a hole in the front of the cabinet and screw in the receiver eye. The rest of the components are installed on the inside of the cabinet. The IR system (receiver eye, hub, power cord and 4 emitters) sells for $200.

Built-In Infrared Relay System

Once you have the IR system installed, you can plug your TV into the “IR Current Sensing” outlet on the lift. When you turn your TV on, the lift will automatically raise. When you turn your TV off, the lift will automatically lower. Please feel free to call or write with any questions.

In the wake of Netflix’s steady demise, competitors are reaping the rewards. Dish Network is among the group of Netflix competitors who took advantage of the opportunity to profit off of Netflix’s missteps.

While Dish Network has not struck back in terms of numbers of subscribers, their revenue has jumped substantially. Since this time last year, Dish Network’s revenue has grown by 12.3%, or $3.6 billion. This increase is largely contributed to Dish’s acquisition of Blockbuster earlier this year. Blockbuster was long struggling in the wake of internet movie giants like Netflix. Dish Network’s acquisition allowed Blockbuster to transition to the future of movie renting and streaming. Blockbuster Movie Pass allows subscribers to stream movies and TV shows to their TV lift cabinet as well as receive DVD by-mail service. The program is only available to Dish Network subscribers. Dish had hoped that Blockbuster Movie Pass would increase revenue and also draw in new subscribers who were looking for an alternative to Netflix.

Although the revenue numbers are promising, subscriber numbers are down. Dish Network lost approximately 111,000 subscribers over the past year. Based on their recent Financial Report, Dish is placing a lot of weight behind their Blockbuster venture. The report is very optimistic about the subscriber potential in the Movie Pass program and company executives have their sights set on continuing to build momentum.

The recently published biography of Steve Jobs, simply titled “Steve Jobs”, has brought to light many facets of the Apple creator’s personal and business life. One such revelation was that Jobs felt he had finally come up with the solution to create Apple’s answer to the standard HDTV.

Apple had been rumored to be developing an integrated TV system for quite some time. Like all Apple products, it was envisioned to be simplistic and user-friendly. In an article for tech site AllThingsD, a comparison was drawn to the Bose VideoWave integrated TV system by Global Equities Research analyst, Trip Chowdhry. So, how would an Apple TV compare with other systems available today? According to Chowdhry, the set would likely have a single cord. The Apple TV would be very thin, a fraction of the comparable Bose system. There would also be a built-in surround sound system negating the use of external speakers.

Keep in mind the whole idea put forth is purely hypothetical based on Apple’s typical designs and interfaces. There is no mention of price point or whether several different sized models would be available – although, it is likely Apple would present a variety of set sizes. It is also not known whether the design would allow for use with TV lift cabinets. However, with the extent that Apple has revolutionized the personal computer, cell phone and MP3 player, it will be interesting to see how Apple’s version of HDTV plays out – if it is, in fact, in development.

Amazon’s Kindle Fire Tablets are selling better than expected.  With over 20,000 sold per day Amazon is grabbing a nice piece of the Tablet game industry.  Tablets became a big hit when Apple launched the iPad.  However, the iPad tablet comes with a price point at $600 or more.  In this economic recession, many people cannot justify spending that much money on a tablet.

Amazon recognized this problem and saw a perfect opportunity to market a more affordable tablet to this group.  The result is the Kindle Fire, which is currently on sale for only $199.

The Kindle Fire allows users to browse the web using Amazon’s fast silk browser, listen to music, read books and magazines, streamline videos and send and receive emails.

The Kindle Fire has Whispersync technology built in.  With Whispersync, consumers can start a movie on their Kindle Fire, pause it, and then resume watching their show right where they had left off from their TV Lift Cabinet.  The Kindle Fire also has free cloud storage, very durable display to protect from breaking, and fast dual processor so that consumers can be listening to music while surfing the web.

Americans can pre-order their Kindle Fires now with shipments beginning on November 15^th.  It is still to be decided when it will be available to customers located outside the United States.

Today many iPhone enthusiasts were excitedly awaiting the press release of Apple’s latest phone, the iPhone 5.  For those TV Lift Owners watching, you already know that instead of announcing the arrival of the iPhone 5, Philip Schiller, Apple’s Senior VP of Worldwide Product Marketing, announced the release of the iPhone 4S.

Ok, so what is the iPhone 4S?  The iPhone 4S is a new device that will offer these improved features over the iPhone 4.

1.)    Faster download, camera and data sending speed

2.)     Stronger battery life lasting up to 8 hours talk time and 40 hours of music listening capability.

3.)    Upgraded camera which is 8-megapixels.  That is 60% more pixels than the iPhone 4’s camera currently offers.

4.)    Better image quality in low light situations.

5.)    Better video camera at a high-definition resolution of 1080p.

6.)    Can switch between its two antennas to make even better call quality

The iPhone 4S goes on sales starting October 14th. Pricing to be determined.  Preorders for the iphone 4S start on October 7th for AT&T, Verizon and Sprint customers.

While this is impressive technology, many iPhone users were disappointed to discover it was not the iPhone 5, Apple was releasing.  Apple shares dropped as a result of this disappointment.   Hopefully, the iPhone which is now scheduled to be released in 2012, will boast their shares back up.