ScreenScribe

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 [...]

The same day Sony’s expected to unveil its PlayStation 4 strategy in the US, the PS3 will be offered here in two new colours: Azurite Blue and Garnet Red. The consoles will go on sale for $519 on February 21, which is when Sony has invited journalists to an evening press event in New York City. According to reports, [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Samsung is extending its vacuum tube technology from audio dock speakers and home theatre systems to its latest soundbar – and the first in the world that can connect with a TV via Bluetooth. The HW-F750 will be unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, along with a new Blu-ray player [...]

As part of its new-season roll-out, TVNZ tonight announced it would become the first commercial broadcaster in Australasia to offer a video-on-demand app for Samsung smart TVs, smartphones, tablets and gaming consoles. According to the press release, TVNZ will extend its popular TVNZ Ondemand app to smart phones, tablets and connected TVs in a series of [...]

LG is aggressively undercutting Sony for its first ultra-definition TV, which goes on sale across the Tasman from November 19. Although its availability and price have still to be confirmed here, chances are the first displays will be in a handful of shops before Christmas. In Australia the 84-inch monster will sell for $A16,000, which [...]

Homeland continues tonight (TV3, 8.35) with a superior instalment to last week’s premiere, Variety reckons. “Once the narrative begins hitting its stride in the second episode, it’s clear the programme remains on a rarefied creative tier, tantalisingly mixing terrific performances with anything-can-happen edge.” The creators of Homeland, Howard Gordon and Alex Sansa, are developing another drama [...]

At last the wait is over for fans of True Blood who resisted tuning into its SD season on Prime. On Saturday and Sunday, from midday-6pm, SoHo will screen all 12 episodes of season five back-to-back, in HD, as a box set weekend. This is the first time SoHo has run out a first-run, premium [...]

The Sydney Morning Herald reports a surprisingly cheap solution for HD fans wanting a region-free Blu-ray player that’s more affordable than Oppo’s. It turns out Toshiba is marketing a range in Australia and NZ that at least one retailer is providing with a firmware CD for “unlocking the player’s factory-set Blu-ray region coding”. The SMH says [...]