Samsung’s 2013 flagship LED-LCD TV, the F8000

Samsung is expected to start rolling out its 2013 smart TV range in NZ from April.

Today in Jakarta the Korean consumer electronics giant revealed the scope of products destined for Southeast Asia.

The press release doesn’t disclose pricing or availability but says consumers can look forward to TVs with smarter features, superior picture quality and bigger screens, including an 85-inch, future-proofed Ultra HD model.

“Consumers are demanding more from TV and AV products in order to achieve the ultimate home entertainment experience,” Samsung Asia president and CEO Gregory Lee says.

“We’re offering a brand new Smart Hub, which offers a simpler, more intuitive way for consumers to discover and organize the content they love.

“In addition, the new upgradeable evolution kit makes Samsung Smart TVs timeless TVs.”

The 2013 Smart Hub simplifies organising and navigating personalised content through an updated interface and dynamic thumbnail previews within three newly designed panels:

· Apps: Easily access and edit downloaded Samsung Apps

· Photos, Videos & Music: Access personal content stored on various AllShare devices in one place

· Social: View popular video content shared across social channels

Users will be able to display up to 30 app icons on one page, which users can customise so for easy favourite apps access.

Samsung says its Voice Control function offers improved accuracy and useability – including the ability to understand about 300 different commands, up from 50 commands in 2012, and to control multiple apps at once.

Motion Control also has been enhanced with new gestures for swiping, pinching and zooming websites and photos, and flipping between Smart Hub panels.

Samsung reckons the Timeless Gallery design of its UHD TV 85S9 sets a new standard for the industry, “revolutionising the conventional TV design aesthetic”.

The TV appears to be floating within its frame, combining a classic, minimalist concept with a large, 85-inch display and 120-watt array speakers.

Samsung’s design concept includes its One Connect solution to eliminate cable clutter by requiring only one cable to connect to the TV, “creating a perfect Clean Back look”.

The UHD TV’s larger screen size is part of Samsung’s effort to meet consumer demand for larger-screen TVs – the fastest growing TV segment in the region.

The state-of-the-art 85S9 offers four times the resolution of Full HD displays and includes Samsung’s proprietary up-scaling engine to up-convert HD or Full-HD to UHD-level picture quality “by restoring detail information to create greater precision for real-life picture quality”.

Samsung also resolves conflicting UHD content industry standards through Smart Evolution, which will have forward compatibility with the latest standards and features.

“Users will have no difficulties in watching UHD content regardless of future standardisations, which eases purchasing concerns to ensure that users will be able to view UHD content for years to come.”

Samsung’s flagship LED TV will be the F8000 in 55-, 60-, 65- and 75-inch screen sizes.

It will boast not only a floating design and superior colours, black levels and contrast but also Intelligent Viewing, which optimises picture quality according to content, and a quad-core processor for quicker, easier toggling between apps, online services and on-air TV.

Meanwhile, owners of Series 7, 8 and 9 2012 Smart TVs will be able to use evolution kits to update software and hardware that will turn their TVs’ dual-core CPUs into quad-core for faster internal processing speeds.

Several of Samsung’s high-end 2013 Smart TVs will also have slots for future evolution kits.

Next month TVNZ will stream Shortland Street ondemand in HD.

However, it can be viewed this way only on desktop, not in the iPad and iPhone video-on-demand apps the broadcaster released today.

“We’re trialling HD to see if there’s an appetite for it and will keep consumers posted on any development,” a spokeswoman told ScreenScribe.tv of the Vodafone-sponsored initiative.

Meanwhile, TVNZ’s general manager of digital media, Tom Cotter, says the TVNZ Ondemand iPad and iPhone apps are “only the beginning” of its mobile VOD plans.

“TVNZ is committed to ensuring New Zealanders have the choice to access their favourite shows on whichever screen they want, when they want.

“The launch of the TVNZ Ondemand app on iPhones and iPads is only the beginning.

“We are working with Samsung to develop an app for their Galaxy range which will give Kiwis more ways to watch the shows they love when they choose.”

TVNZ is the first NZ broadcaster to launch a VOD app for iPads and iPhones.

It calls the initiative a “natural progression” given its video streams have jumped 41% year-on-year and an estimated 46 per cent of New Zealanders have a smartphone and 10 per cent a tablet.

In 2012 the most watched programme on TVNZ Ondemand was Shortland Street (more than 4.9 million streams), followed by Coronation Street (1.1 million streams), New Zealand’s Got Talent (881,027 streams) and Revenge (651,485 streams).

TVNZ Ondemand can be viewed on PC and Mac desktop computers, Sony PlayStation 3 and the Samsung Smart TV; the TVNZ Ondemand app can be downloaded at the app Store.

Sony will release more affordable — but smaller — Ultra HD TVs in July.

Six months after unleashing its 84-inch behemoth, Sony will offer 65- and 55-inch variations at prices yet to be disclosed.

Sony is scaling back its struggling TV production division to concentrate on mobile technology and those displays at the top end of the market where retail margins are still high.

There’s no word on when it will roll out its Full HD models, which last year landed here in April.

But the new 4K models will include innovations beyond native 3840 x 2160 resolution and the upscaling of even low-res web videos and smartphone clips to near this quality (or so Sony claims).

“Once you’ve seen it there’s no going back,” the press release says.

And that’s not an exaggeration.

Anyone who’s drooled over the 84-inch display at a Sony Store knows it’s a jaw-dropping wonder that truly achieves a startling sense of immersion in what’s on screen — although whether the impact will be the same on screens 20-30 inches smaller is questionable.

Still, unique to Sony are its Triluminos display technology, which is meant to deliver a wider colour palette; the processing grunt of its X-Reality PRO engine; and its TV SideView app for Android or iOS devices, which “mirrors” their content — photos, games, videos — on screen.

The new TVs also will showcase Sony’s “Sense of Quartz” styling, with the monolithic quartz-like panel “floating” over a circular base.

Panasonic’s new flagship plasma TV is ultra flash but not Ultra HD.

Unlike rivals Samsung, Sony and LG, which are betting on Ultra HD and OLED technologies to captivate consumers in 2013, Panasonic’s focus appears to be on exacting higher 1080p picture quality from screens no bigger than 65 inches.

Today at CES it unveiled 16 new Viera plasma models, including the premium ZT60 series that the company says goes “Beyond the Reference” level with its Studio Master Panel (which is expected to be THX-certified in both 2D and 3D modes).

Panasonic claims the new panel structure, which eliminates the air gap layer between the front glass and plasma panel, cuts out dim and double images.

“The quality of the ZT60’s 3D images is greatly enhanced, with clear, natural Full HD 3D images because of reduced crosstalk. 3000 Focused-field Drive also produces image resolution of 1080 lines for 2D images, to provide crisp, clear image motion.

“A wider colour gamut (DCI 98% Colour Space) is achieved thanks to a newly developed pure red phosphor. “

The introduction of the ZT60 series, in 60- and 65-inch displays, means the previous flagship model, the VT, is being repositioned as mid-range with 55-, 60- and 65-inch options.

The rest of the range will be split among the ST60, S60 and X60 series, with not only picture quality separating the budget models from the premium.

Panasonic also is pushing smart TV innovations in its higher-end sets, including:

❑ My Home Screen: a personalisation function that allows each user in the home to create their own personal home screen giving them quick access to their favourite content (ZT60, VT60, ST60)

❑ Swipe & Share 2.0: turns the TV into a hub for streaming and sharing photo and video content seamlessly with smartphones and tablets (ZT60, VT60, ST60)

❑ Touch Pen: allows users to add their own writing to their photos on screen and transfer them back to their smart devices using the optional Electronic Touch Pen (TY-TP10U) accessory (ZT60, VT60, ST60, S60)

❑ Voice Guidance: uses text to speech functions to verbalise text content as it appears on your TV (ZT60, VT60)

❑ Voice Interaction: saying a key word into the Smart Viera Touch Pad Controller or smartphone (Viera Remote 2 App must be installed), the search result is displayed on the HD screen and also verbally read out (ZT60, VT60).

For more details, see the press release; expect Panasonic NZ to roll out most of the new models, starting with the entry displays, between April and June.

The Pirates! Band of Misfits sets sail on both 2D and 3D Blu-ray, plus a swag of HD extras that includes an 18-minute short featuring the Pirate Captain as a late-night talk show host.

“Filmed digitally and in native 3D the image exhibits everything that you’d expect, with a bright colourful picture, plenty of depth to the picture and many ‘wow’ 3D moments.”

“The film comes across mostly fine in high def. Colours are excellent, detail and clarity are superb and the both sound and image are free of dirt and damage …

“However, during the opening Columbia logo banding is immediately apparent and it crops up throughout the feature whenever mist or particularly complicated cloud formations are involved.

“It’s by no means a major problem, but can prove distracting once you’ve spotted its presence.

“Elsewhere there are no flaws to speak of and this goes for the soundtrack too, here present as DTS-HD Master Audio.”

“Mirror Mirror‘s 1080p/AVC-encoded Blu-ray presentation is across-the-board stunning. Shot digitally with Sony’s F35 high definition camera, the image is very nearly noiseless, even the darkest scenes.

“What grabs you immediately, though, is just how sharp the picture is, from start to finish.”

“The image carries a great sense of depth and pop, and the sumptuous production design dazzles.

“Some of the stylistic choices and digital tinkering aren’t totally refined, but the overall picture manages to impress greatly.”

“Dark Shadows is true to its name, with fleshy, oppressive shadows … Looks exactly like it should. It won’t drop jaws, but it won’t leave fans with anything to complain about either.”

Extras are limited to deleted scenes and half-an-hour of behind-the-scenes “Focus Points” that can be watched separately or during the movie.

“Big Miracle is presented in a 1080p AVC 2.40:1 transfer that mostly works well, melding CGI with live action and mechanical effects without showing the seams.

“Flesh tones are accurate, and a satisfying amount of detail is present, as we should expect from a good HD transfer.

“The only issue I had here is a distracting amount of noise that pops up several times due to the sheer white-on-white effect of filming out on the ice with a grey-white sky as a backdrop.”

Also new are The Five-Year Engagement, the animated Resident Evil: Damnation and the direct-to-disc Jeff Who Lives at Home and Hick.

Collectors can choose from the $240 Bond 50: James Bond 007 Collection and boxed seasons of Boardwalk Empire (1-2) and True Blood (1-4).

The only new music release is Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender.

Tonight’s episode of Boss on SoHo (Sky 10, 8.40) opens with Mayor Tom Kane watching the interrogation of the man arrested for trying to kill him. “But like all good things on Boss, there’s something murky and untrustworthy in the apprehension of the suspect,” says Screen Rant, which also warns of “earth-shattering revelations” before the hour’s over. It screens midway through TV One’s scarcely fresh MasterChef  Australia finale (it aired two months in Oz), which the network precedes at 7pm with the return of the sickly sweet Annabel Langden The Free Range Cook: Simple Pleasures. Meanwhile, MasterChef Australia has become the first Australian light entertainment programme to reach one million Facebook “likes.”

Rating a mention: Castle fans desperate to see what happens after this week’s season-four finale should check out this fifth-season premiere clip at Entertainment Weekly, which the mag refrained from commenting on because it was ”too cute, too fun, too full of joy, and, simply, too perfect” to spoil … Deadline reports Battlestar Galactica‘s Ron Moore is adapting the 2001 Heath Ledger movie A Knight’s Tale as a series for ABC … And according to The Hollywood Reporter, Guillermo del Toro is adapting his book trilogy, The Strain, at FX with Lost’s Carlton Cuse .. While Dallas fans await its roll-out on TV One, TV Guide reports another original cast member has signed on for its second season: Audrey Landers, who played Cliff Barnes’ lover, Afton Cooper.

The second half of TV3′s X Factor USA narrowly won the 8.30 hour on Thursday but couldn’t top TV2′s reality duo of Police Ten-7 and Motorway Patrol in its first hour. However, it was a tight contest, with TV2′s target 18-39 viewership dropping nearly two points from 7.30-8.30 and X Factor’s rising by virtually the same amount. TV3′s Smash, however, wiped out any gains the network made by averaging only 1.6% – 2.7% of the key demos– which was half what TV2′s Fringe rated an hour later (3.5% – 5.8%). It was a similar story of TV One’s Auckland Daze, which averaged only 2.5% – 4.1% after Mrs Brown’s Boys 6.8% – 11.6%.

Flat-screen TVs look great but often have flat sound.

If you don’t want to improve the Full HD experience with a full-on sound system, Bose has just released its Solo TV sound system for $749.

It’s a svelte, single speaker that’s designed to sit under TVs up to 42 inches in size and fix the biggest flaw in most LCD and plasma TVs: sound that’s as thin as the thickness of the displays.

As Bose’s director of home theatre product marketing Doug Lankford says in the company’s press release: “TV picture quality has improved over the years, but its audio quality hasn’t.

“The Bose Solo TV sound system was developed for the love of TV –- for people who don’t want a home theatre system.

“It delivers detailed sound at any volume, without the complications or intrusions of multiple components.

“One listen, and you’ll realise how much you’ve been missing in your favourite shows.”

The Bose Solo TV sound system measures 7.1 cm high x 53 cm wide and 30 cm deep.

It uses proprietary Bose digital signal processing and Bose speaker array technology to deliver what Bose says is detailed, wide, even sound.

According to the press release, programmes can be heard clearly and naturally, even at lower volumes — regardless of what’s being watched: a whispered conversation, the powerful vocals of a talent show, the music supporting a drama, or the crack-of-a-bat for a test match-winning boundary.

While the Bose Solo TV system will work with any TV, it was designed for placement under displays that have a base up to 51cm wide and 26 cm deep – which is typical of TVs with screens up to 32 inches (81.5cm) and many 40- (102 cm) to 42-inch (107cm) models.

It connects to a TV with just one cable and one plug to the wall.

It comes with a remote control but can be operated by most universal remotes.

“People will enjoy the Bose Solo TV system every day,” Lankford says. “It’s not a product reserved for special occasions, or movie night — and that’s what makes it so exciting.

“Every time you watch TV, the Bose Solo system improves the experience.”

Sharp NZ will release the world’s biggest consumer LCD-LED TV next month for $15,000.

The 80-inch LC80LE940X is the latest addition to Sharp’s AQUOS Quattron HDTV range.

It has double the screen area of a 55-inch display and is being launched during Sharp’s centenary year.

What’s more, it may be displaced by a 90-inch model at the end of the year.

According to Sharp’s press release, “The fourth-generation Quattron technology built into the new 80-inch screen provides ultra-brilliant Full HD in not three, but four colours – with superior Aquomotion Pro controlled 200Hz panel, in both 2D and 3D, for the ultimate viewing experience.

“Offering USB multimedia display capabilities, the Sharp 80-inch AQUOS Quattron is the perfect large-screen centrepiece for a ‘dream’ in-home entertainment centre or dedicated home theatre.”

Other features include:

• Internet and web browser ready
• LAN terminal for movies, photos and music via Microsoft Windows 7
• Skype calling and YouTube video streaming
• AQUOS LED backlighting and 3D brightness booster
• Yamaha Audio Engine and TruSurround sound system.

Panasonic's 2012 range of TVs will be able to stream HD Quickflix movies

HD movies will be part of the streaming service Australian-based Quickflix offers Kiwis when it launches today.

At this stage it’s not known how many movies will be in HD, or if there will be HD TV shows, too, and whether they’ll cost a premium over SD content.

Ironically, the service’s launch already has hit a snag, with the site yet to go live because of a “technical issue”. (It’s online now, at http://quickflix.co.nz, but it’s not clear which content is HD.)

Otherwise, the introduction of the service couldn’t be better timed for the roll-out of NZ TVs from the likes of Samsung, Sony and Panasonic that will include Quickflix as part of their smart TV features.

As I wrote for The Press’ The Box section on Tuesday, “An announcement expected this week that Quickflix will launch a movie and television streaming service in New Zealand could make buying a smart TV a no-brainer.

“Even before the Australian entertainment giant started to stake out this side of the Tasman, televisions manufacturers were rushing to exploit smart TV’s potential as the next must-have technology after their last big hope, 3D, confused more consumers than it converted …

“They were in their infancy last year, but over the next few months will be rolled out in force, with faster processing and more sophisticated functionality.

“Samsung and Panasonic, for instance, will have high-end plasma and LED TVs with dual-core chips to make Internet streaming smoother and browsing quicker.

“Sony will offer smart TV features on every model except its entry-level BX series, while 13 of Panasonic’s 16 new plasma models will be internet capable, as will half its 2012 LCD/LED range.”

The NZ Herald’s John Drinnan has this take on how Quickflix might impact on Sky while below is the official Quickflix press release:

Quickflix launches New Zealand’s first unlimited movie and TV streaming service

· Unlimited movies and television series at an introductory price of $9.99 per month

· Content provided by major feature film and television studios

· View on internet‐connected devices from leading consumer electronics brands

· Zero‐rated broadband access via partnership with Orcon

· Announcements awaited from other ISPs, starting with Slingshot

Other countries have been enjoying the advantages of unlimited streamed movies and TV programmes for years. Now, at long last, it’s New Zealand’s turn.

From [today], ASX‐listed company Quickflix Limited (QFX) will launch its streaming service in New Zealand – and it will be available to anyone with a broadband connection.

The Quickflix subscription streaming service offering unlimited viewing will retail at NZ$16.99 per month, however for a limited period it will be available at an introductory price of just $9.99 a month. Subscribers will be able to watch unlimited movies and television series digitally streamed to PCs, Apple Macs and Sony’s range of Internet-connected Bravia TVs, Blu‐ray players and PlayStation 3.

Over the coming months, both Panasonic and Samsung will stream Quickflix through their range of connected TVs, as well as Samsung’s Galaxy Tablets and smartphones. The service will also be made available to users of Apple iPhones and iPads in May. Quickflix will continue to roll out its service on further connected devices throughout the course of the year.

“The advent of smart devices in the home is transforming the choices available to consumers all over the world,” says Quickflix chief executive officer Chris Taylor. “The Quickflix streaming ‘smart channel’ will change the way Kiwis experience movies and entertainment services. No boxes, no contracts, just great content on demand, at an affordable price.”

Major Hollywood studios Warner Bros, Sony Pictures, NBC Universal and MGM, along with Lakeshore Entertainment and Pinnacle Films, will provide blockbusters from their tremendous catalogue of feature films and BBC will deliver the best of British drama and comedy television on demand.

Quickflix expects to announce more participating film and television studios over the coming weeks.

To complement the unlimited subscription service, selected devices will offer the latestrelease films on a pay‐per‐view basis for as little as NZ$6.99. Also streaming free on Quickflix will be exclusive A‐list interviews, red carpet coverage and film reviews from Hollywood and around the world hosted by celebrity TV presenter, DJ Ruby Rose. This content will be available free, whether New Zealanders are subscribed to Quickflix or not.

Taylor expects Quickflix’s launch to provide a real alternative to the existing entertainment options in New Zealand.

“New Zealanders’ entertainment choices have been far too limited for far too long. In our view there is not enough competition in New Zealand and consumers deserve more choice of content, on demand without the exorbitant price tag. Quickflix will do its part to drive a new era in on‐demand entertainment in New Zealand.”

Quickflix sees exceptional opportunities in the New Zealand market, which will only be further enhanced with the future rollout of the Ultra Fast Broadband.

For the time being, however, Quickflix is seeking to work with broadband providers to make its streaming service unmetered and not count towards customers’ broadband data usage. “Compared with other countries in the developed world broadband data caps in New Zealand are restrictively low but we see this changing,” declares Taylor.

“We’re delighted to announce that broadband provider Orcon will be zero‐rating our service from 1 May. We expect other ISPs to follow suit.”

Orcon CEO Scott Bartlett said: “New Zealanders have been hanging out for a service like this. It’s an old adage, but content is king, and to be able to legally stream unlimited movies under an affordable monthly subscription service is a massive leap forward for Kiwis.

“We are really proud that we can zero‐rate Quickflix for Orcon customers who will also be able to take advantage of their special introductory offer and enjoy this great service first hand.”

Other ISPs are likely to go public with their zero‐rating plans soon, starting with Slingshot, who are expected to make an announcement about zero‐rating the Quickflix service [today].

Quickflix (ASX:QFX) recently announced that Time Warner‐owned HBO has taken a 15.7% stake in the company.

TX-NR609

The NZ distributor of Onkyo products next month will announce the pricing and specs of the 2011 a/v receiver range.

But for a sneak peek, see Trusted Reviews’ rundown of four of the models.

The biggest news for HD diehards is the inclusion of Marvell Qdeo video processing on the TX-NR609, which will upscale standard video signals to state-of-the-art 4K-resolution (3840 x 2160).

The TX-NR609 also will have six HDMI inputs, including one on the front, two subwoofer pre-outs and an analogue RGB video input for accepting computer signals that are then routed via HDMI to the display.