TV retailers and manufacturers have agreed to phase out all TVs without digital TV tuners at the end of 2009.
Non digital recorders will be also phased out including analogue DVD recorders and shops will need to have better labelling and consumer information.
The Digital Switchover Supply Chain Group which represents major names like Sony and Panasonic as well as independent retailers have requested that the conversion of all TV digital sets is speeded up to ensure that they are all equipped with digital tuners. So far both Sony and Panasonic have successfully migrated all their TV products to digital.
As much as nine out of ten large TVs sold this year already have digital tuners but only 15% of smaller screens under 26 inches are ‘digitally ready’ and 64% of recorders are without a digital TV recorder.
The Co-Chairman of the Digital Switchover Supply Chain Group said, “We’ve already seen a rapid transformation in the market for larger, flat screen televisions in the shape of LCD TVs, the vast majority of which are now digital. The moves we are announcing today will further benefit consumers by continuing that transformation across the full range of television and recording equipment”
Sony has just upped the stakes of Blu-Ray players with their new offering which includes high specifications and a stunning design.
The new Sony BDP-S5000ES has a Super Bit Mapping Technology included which aims to assist you in achieving the best possible outcome, allowing you to select your TV bit depth to match the players output.
Other features include a Vertical Edge Correction to make the images smoother and sharper, a HD Reality Enhancer to fine tune images to perfection and Precision Cinema HD to add detail!
To create the best sound possible, concentration has been placed upon the audio selection and Sony have ensured that with Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio the deepest bass and surround sound is available.
Sony have included connections such as USB 2.0 and Ethernet for BD-Live Interactive content in order to future-proof the BDP-S5000ES.
This is Sony’s technology that allows you to download content to view on your LCD or Plasma TV such as movie trailers, additional scenes and much more.
For AJ Electronics full range of Sony Blu-Ray players, please click here.
Apple is upgrading its iPod shuffle with a new 4GB version that includes software that speaks the name of the tracks being played.
The new iPod shuffle is similar to the older model in that it has no screen but is around half the size of previous models.
The device includes software that will not only tell the user verbally what track is playing but will also vocalise playlists and the amount of battery life remaining.
Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of Product Marketing said:
‘Imagine your music player talking to you, telling you your song titles, artists and playlist names.’
‘The amazingly small new iPod shuffle takes a revolutionary approach to how you listen to your music by talking to you, also making it the first iPod shuffle with playlists.’
The vioce software is installed on the user’s computer and downloaded to the device so that it can speak in 14 languages, including English, Czech, Dutch, and French.
The Apple device will be available in silver and black and is $10 more than the older 2GB shuffle it replaces.
For our full range of Apple products please click here.
According to the British Video Association, in as little as two and half years the 1,000th Blu-ray title has just been released in the UK.
The BVA states family favourite Walt Disney’s Pinocchio Platinum Edition is the 1,000th title and said “despite tough times for the economy, content distributors in Britain are more committed than ever to high-definition home entertainment”.
Blu-ray discs are currently up on a 52 week rolling basis by 325% and its forecasted that blu-ray disc sales will rise from the 3.7 million in 2008 to over 13 million this year. Blu-ray disc player sales reached 300,000 by the end of 2008 and are expected to hit the 1,000,000 mark in 2009.
The Official Charts Company have also announced the best selling Blu-ray titles of all time (so far) which is led unsurprisingly by The Dark Knight.
- The Dark Knight
- Casino Royale
- Iron Man
- Wall-E
- Spider-Man 3
- Hancock
- Mamma Mia – The Movie
- Transformers
- Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
- I Am Legend
AJ Electronics Blu-ray disc players can be found here.
Canon has been voted Europe’s top camera brand for the 9th consecutive year in the Reader’s Digest Most Trusted Brands Survey 2009.
Reader’s Digest asked its readers in 14 languages across 16 European countries to nominate the brand they trusted most in a range of consumer categories, including cameras.
Respondents were drawn from the Reader’s Digest customer database of 4.5 million homes in Europe, and a total of 23,000 responses were analysed.
Canon was one of only three brands nominated as ‘most trusted’, Canon coming out on top in 13 of the 16 countries..
The Chief of Communication and Corporate Relations for Canon Europe said:
‘It is a great achievement to be awarded the ‘most trusted’ camera brand for the ninth year running by readers from all across Europe. At Canon we nurture a passion for the power of image, providing our customers with imaging solutions that empower creativity and innovation. It is rewarding to see that so many readers of the Reader’s Digest continue to trust us to deliver products of the highest quality.’
Gavin Murray, Regional Advertising Director of Reader’s Digest said:
‘Consumer trust is vital to successful brands. Maintaining trust in a fast changing world is one of the biggest challenges facing companies today, especially in the technology sector. For Canon to have maintained its position as the most trusted camera brand in the large majority of countries in Europe is impressive.’
For AJ Electronics full Canon range, please click here.
Sony has won 17 International Forum Design (iF) product design awards, including 3 coveted gold awards, at a recent ceremony held at the CeBit trade fair in Hanover, Germany.
An iF award is considered in the industry to be one of the most prestigious design awards available and the 2009 iF design awards attracted almost 3,000 entries from 39 different countries.
Out of the 50 gold awards available, Sony received 3 iF Gold Design awards for their Cybershot DSC-T700 digital camera, DSC-T77 digital camera and the Active Headphone Series. The other 14 iF product design awards awarded to Sony included the Bravia EX1 Picture Frame LCD TV, XEL-1 the worlds first OLED TV, the DAV-F500 Home Cinema System, VGF-CP1 Digital Photo Frame and the Sony Walkman S Series video MP3 player.
Kazumasa Sato, Head of Sony’s Creative Centre said:
“At Sony we strive to build high-performance, easy-to-use, beautiful products with a distinctive Sony flair which involves every department. I am absolutely delighted that Sony has been awarded 3 iF gold awards from an organisation that has such a strong reputation for recognising leading design as the iF design award. It is hugely encouraging and reinforces our commitment to excellence in design.”
