Rounding Up HD News: Travel Channel and Oprah Network to Air in HD, Japan Invests in New HD Standard

By Danny King

Travel Channel, Oprah’s New Network to Broadcast in HD
Cox Communications’ Travel Channel and Oprah Winfrey’s new channel are among networks that will start broadcasting in high definition. Travel Channel, which Cox bought from Discovery last year, said this week it began a simulcast of Travel Channel HD, including shows such as “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.” The network didn’t identify any cable or satellite providers. The Oprah Winfrey Network, also known as OWN, will start airing next year on what is now the Discovery Health Channel and will be simulcast in HD.

Japan Investing $2.7 Million to Boost High-Definition Standards
Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications will invest 300 million yen ($2.7 million) to help public broadcaster NHK develop an improved high-definition video standard called Super Hi-Vision, Agence-France Presse reported, citing Tokyo newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun. The ministry’s goal is for the new HD version, which would be able to show 16 times the pixels of current HD, to be standard technology on NHK by 2015, AFP said, citing the newspaper.

Philips’ Eco TV Was ‘Best in Show’ at CES
Philips’ 42-inch Eco high-definition TV was “Best in Show” at Las Vegas’ International Consumer Electronics Show last week because of the television’s lower power consumption, CNET said. The TV, which will be available to the public in March at a price of $1,399, has self-dimming features that allow it to cut power use almost to that of an incandescent light bulb, or about 30% less than the next most energy-efficient 42-inch LCD television, CNET said. CNET also praised EchoStar’s TR-50 HD digital video recorder, which can be used by antenna-based viewers to get high-definition quality without satellite or cable service.