June 28th, 2012
And it doesn't involved turning UP THE VOLUME! TVs are seeing a bit of a shake up across Australia as we reach for the remote to access bigger, smarter and digitally connected sets. Now broadcasting services will better cater for the 5 million of us expected to suffer from hearing loss by 2020. The digital switchover hasn't been the only thing on the Government's mind, as a change to the ... Read more
June 28th, 2012
On the same day that Panasonic shareholders approved Kazuhiro Tsuga as their new president, the Consumer Electronics Association has announced he will deliver the opening keynote address at the 2013 International CES (Consumer Electronics Show). CES features thousands of global technology companies who reveal their latest innovations in categories including TVs, mobiles, tablets, gaming, entertainment and more. At this year's CES both LG and Samsung unveiled their big-screen ... Read more
June 28th, 2012
Since we all love entertainment in different ways, Sony has defined a new personality trait, the Entertainment Obsessive Type, or EOT. But that's not all. The EOT is split up into eight different categories of entertainment obsession. So, which one are you? Or perhaps, how many?! There's the control freak, the been there done that (BTDT), the do not disturb, the superfan, the oversharer, the outsourcer, the late arrival and the ... Read more
June 27th, 2012
Almost a third of Australian households have replaced their TV in the last year as they look towards smarter, bigger and better quality screens for an improved viewing experience. New TVs are not replacing an old, broken set. In fact only a third of TVs bought were to replace a broken set and 80 per cent of purchases were to replace an existing set. Why? Because we ... Read more
June 27th, 2012
The Government has announced the proposed switchover timetable for the areas of Australia yet to switch to digital TV. The proposed timetable is for 2013. The next switchover in Northern New South Wales is on 27 November 2012. To be digitally ready people will require either a new digital TV or a set-top box. Senator Stephen Conroy made the announcement, saying that the switchover is the biggest technological change ... Read more
June 26th, 2012
The passage of a new Bill aims to provide over 100,000 Australians with earlier access to digital TV through the Viewer Access Satellite Television (VAST) service. VAST services provide digital TV access with 16 free-to-air channels to remote regions in Australia, including some external territories such as Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, the Coral Sea Islands or Norfolk Island. VAST is a satellite TV service which covers all ... Read more
June 26th, 2012
Australians are fond of having more than one TV in their home. Not only do studies show it, but our Big Brown Box Facebook fans agree. You can install a TV pretty much anywhere in the home, whether in the man cave, study or spare room, in the kitchen, or other more unusual places. One of the most common locations for an extra TV is the bedroom, which ... Read more
June 26th, 2012
The rival Japanese TV makers have confirmed rumours that they will enter a joint partnership to produce OLED panels together. Sharing each other's resources and expertise Sony and Panasonic intend to make OLED panels together, establishing low-cost mass production in 2013, according to a joint press release. The partnership will attempt to take on their Korean counterparts, Samsung and LG who have already released large OLED TVs to the ... Read more
June 26th, 2012
Two years after its release in the United States Sony has brought Google TV to Bravia TVs in Australia. According to Sony, comparing an internet player for TV with a Smart TV is like comparing apples with pears. The Sony Internet Player with Google TV is supposed to offer a deeper, more web-like experience than a regular Smart TV, with features such as a Google Chrome browser, YouTube ... Read more
June 25th, 2012
Apple has been ordered to fork out $2.25 for misleading advertising of the 'iPad with WiFi + 4G'. The Federal Court has ruled Apple contravened the Australian Consumer Law when it promoted the new iPad with 4G when in fact the device is not compatible with Australia's 4G network, in particular Telstra's LTE. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission took Apple to court earlier this year and after a ... Read more