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Fox has sued Dish Network over its new Auto Hop feature which automatically eliminates network commercials during recorded playback. Update at 6:15 p.m. ET: Dish has filed suit against all four major networks, asking for a ruling that Auto Hop does not infringe any network copyright and that the satcaster is not in violation of its agreement with the networks. Also, NBC Universal filed a separate suit against Dish. The Fox suit, which was filed in Los Angeles, says the Auto Hop feature is not authorized and violates the satcaster's license with Fox. The network adds that Auto Hop could...

Panasonic's new 145-inch Ultra High Definition television boasts resolution of nearly 34 million pixels, demonstrating what the future of television may eventually look like. When it comes to TVs, bigger is better. NHK, also known as the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation, unveiled its 85-inch LCD display, developed in conjunction with Sharp, last year. Today they’ve bested their previous technology with the introduction of a 145-inch Ultra High Definition plasma display, developed in conjunction with Panasonic. The ultra-high-definition display, or Super Hi-Vision TV as NHK refers to the format, rivals IMAX theaters in detail. “Even when viewed from 1.6 meters away,...

The FBI is warning that hundreds of thousands of people could lose their Internet connections come July, unless they take steps to diagnose and disinfect their computers. The problem is related to malware called DNSChanger that was first discovered way back in 2007 and that has infected millions of computers worldwide. In simple terms, when you type a Web address into your browser, your computer contacts DNS (or Domain Name System) servers to find out the numerical Internet Protocol (IP) address of the site you're trying to reach, and then it takes you there. DNSChanger fiddled with an infected machine's...

Washington, D.C. (April 15, 2012) -- Best Buy yesterday revealed the locations for 42 'big box' stores it will close this year. The CE retailer announced on March 29 that it would close 50 stories but has not disclosed until now the full list of stores that would get the ax. Best Buy is closing the stores due to sluggish sales and shrinking profits. The company lost $1.7 billion in the last quarter, compared to a profit of $651 million in the same quarter a year ago. The store closures represent a little less than three percent of its retail...

Washington, D.C. (April 12, 2012) -- Sony said today that it will reduce the number of products it sells by a whopping 40 percent -- and it will focus more on new high-end HDTV displays such as OLED and Crystal LED. Sony's new CEO Kazuo Hirai made the disclosure today at a press briefing in Japan, reports Verge.com. The announcement is part of Sony's effort to turn around its troubled electronics division which has fallen behind such companies as Samsung and Vizio. The company also said it would lay off 10,000 employees worldwide. Sony first introduced the Crystal LED at...

Discovery Communications will rebrand its Planet Green network as Destination America on Memorial Day, May 28. The newly christened channel "will be the first network to celebrate the people, places, and stories of the United States, emblazoned with the grit and tenacity, honesty and work ethic, humor and adventurousness that characterize our nation," according to officials at the programmer. Destination America will target adults 25 to 54 with genres like natural history, food, travel, home and adventure, and be available in 59 million homes at launch. Henry Schleiff will be the president and general manager of the network in addition...

Washington, D.C. (April 1, 2012) -- DIRECTV this morning was forced to remove 23 Tribune-owned local stations and WGN America after the two companies could not reach a new programming agreement. Tribune issued a statement late Saturday night saying the stations would no longer be available after midnight and early this morning the stations had been pulled. (DIRECTV posted an on-screen message on the Tribune-owned CW affiliate in the Washington, D.C. area that said the blackout would be "temporary" and that stations are sometimes pulled for a short time in programming disputes.) “This situation is extremely unfortunate,” Nils Larsen, Tribune...

Apple just reported that it sold three million 'New iPads' between Friday, March 16 and Monday, March 19. Is there any wonder? The pre-launch publicity and media attention for the new tablet was unprecedented. And so were the glowing comments from normally sedate tech analysts who called the new tablet "dazzling" and "revolutionary." The official launch day itself looked like a scene from 1964 circa Beatlemania as thousands of Apple-ites lined up overnight across the nation so they could be the first to own the new device. "For the people who stayed out here overnight, the real devotees, they say...

At the 2012 Satellite Convention which took place in Washington D.C. this week, Philip Goswitz of DirecTV (News - Alert) announced that, “4,000 and 8,000-line services are great for the satellite industry, and will ensure that satellite broadcasting continues to distinguish itself for image quality of service. We see this as a key strategic advantage for us.” Goswitz is disclosing how his company plans on providing its spectrum with advantages unique to satellite services. Unlike new spectrum-seeking satellite companies that are now hoping to initiate Ku-band transmissions (like Qatar’s Es’hailSAT) Goswitz predicts that Ku-band will soon be obsolete and Ka-band...

One reader asked about the lifespan of modern televisions, but first we need to discuss what manufacturers mean by "lifespan." CNET Reader Dadar asks: Are the "lifespan" claims by manufacturers proper? I've read numbers ranging from 50,000 hours to 100,000 hours, often with plasma TVs at the higher end of that scale compared to LED and CCFL LCDs. I would have thought, being solid-state devices, light emitting diodes would have had a greater lifespan than their fluorescent counterparts. Hearsay also puts plasma at the bottom, but numbers I've found show the opposite? Are any of these true? All claims by...

Due to an ongoing dispute between Time-Warner and my local NBC affiliate KRIS, NBC is not currently carried on my cable system. It's pretty likely this dispute won't be resolved before the Super Bowl next weekend, so I want to find out what model of antennas, I should buy in order to watch the Super Bowl next week. I bought a Terk amplified antenna prior to the Houston Texan's game in the first round, and it didn't work at all. The clerk at the return desk at Best Buy said that lots of people were returning that model.

The Consumer Electronics Show is more than a convention. It's an opportunity for companies to position themselves as leaders in their respective categories. And with the world's media -- and more than 150,000 attendees -- watching, there's a lot at stake. So with the 2012 CES finally coming to an end last Friday -- after four grueling days and endless exhibits and press conferences -- it's time to examine which companies emerged as the show's winners and losers. Winner: LG The company snagged a 'Best of Show' award from CNET for its new 55-inch OLED TV, whose amazingly thin panel...

Dish CEO Joe Clayton raised eyebrows yesterday when he said the satellite TV service is "open" to being purchased by another company. "We're open to all possible options," Clayton told Bloomberg News after being asked about possible merger plans. "We could be acquired or we could be the acquirer." Clayton, who was interviewed at the Consumer Electronics Show, did say the company would be "open" to those options after it finished 'building out' its wireless spectrum and entertainment businesses. There has been speculation that Dish might be interested in buying T-Mobile. Clayton, a long-time executive in the satellite and TV...

Washington, D.C. (January 8, 2012) -- Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will give the pre-show keynote address Monday night kicking off the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. With Microsoft saying it will be its last appearance at the gadgetfest, the Ballmer keynote likely will be more symbolic than one of substance. Like Microsoft at CES, the CE industry is changing, reassessing past projects and future goals. Consequently, companies are getting more creative and entering fields they once feared. For instance, tablet/mobile king Apple is now facing stiff competition from a host of companies, even low-cost TV maker Vizio. And...

Electronics retailer Best Buy is headed for the exits. I can’t say when exactly, but my guess is that it’s only a matter of time, maybe a few more years. Consider a few key metrics. Despite the disappearance of competitors including Circuit City, the company is losing market share. Its last earnings announcement disappointed investors. In 2011, the company’s stock has lost 40% of its value. It’s forward P/E is a mere 6.23 (industry average is 10.20). Its market cap down to less than $9 billion. Its average analyst rating, according to The Street.com, is a B-. Those are just...

Washington, D.C. (December 29, 2011) -- Let's face it. It wasn't a great year for the TV technology industry. TV sales were flat; home 3D became better known as 3DOA; streaming companies invested heavily in new services but persuaded relatively few Americans to give them a try; and pay TV providers, with the exception of DIRECTV, saw their subscriber totals dwindle. Of course, the nation's sluggish economy didn't help the cause with many consumers deciding to cut spending until things got better. But we also have to be truthful here: Some of the industry's problems were self-inflicted. Unforced errors, as...

Sharp Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. and five other makers of liquid crystal displays agreed to an over $550 million settlement with several U.S. states involving allegations of price-fixing. It is the latest development in a large antitrust investigation into makers of LCD display panels, which are used in computer monitors and notebooks, ...

In a bid to streamline its unprofitable television business, Sony said Monday that it would sell its stake in its flat-panel screen venture with Samsung Electronics, cutting its production capacity at a time when outsourcing has become the norm for manufacturers. Sony, which makes the Bravia liquid-crystal-display televisions, said in a statement that it would sell its stake of nearly 50 percent in the jointly owned manufacturer, S-LCD, to Samsung, of South Korea, for 1.08 trillion won, or $935 million. Sony’s exit from the joint venture, which was set up in Tangjeong, South Korea, in April 2004, will let it...

It’s a great time to buy a television, and Ram Lall, a television salesman, isn’t happy about it. In a basement showroom of J&R, the huge electronics store in Lower Manhattan, Mr. Lall says the days of making big money from televisions are in the past. Pointing to a top-of-the line, 55-inch Sony television, Mr. Lall said it would have sold for $6,000 a few years ago. The current price? $2,599. “We are making less money because the company is forcing us to slash prices,” ..Televisions have become so inexpensive that the profits have largely been squeezed out of them,...

Washington, D.C. (December 21, 2011) -- Well, here we go again. A financial analyst has opined that a large communications company wants to buy Dish Network or DIRECTV. Over the years, similar ideas have been proffered by numerous analysts and pundits (including yours truly), but the only deal that actually got to the altar was DIRECTV's merger with Dish Network a decade ago. And that deal was killed by federal regulators who said the merger would be anti-competitive. But today a new buzz can be heard on Wall Street and elsewhere because Christopher King, a Stifel Nicolaus analyst, says AT&T...