Recap of Samsung TV Event: UHD TV = 4x res of full HD, OLED TV at $9,000, Evolution Kit upgrades TV brain

This morning's Samsung press event was jammed with information, check out below for a full recap of what happened:

• TV Commerce
  
  
  
  • Releases "T-Commerce", which allows users to search for products while on TV
  
  
  
  


• Sales
  
  
  
  • Samsung is on tap to be the #1 TV seller for the eighth year in a row. In 2012, Samsung sold over 50 million TVs.
  
  
  • Sells more than two TVs per second
  
  
  
  


• Samsung UHD TV
  
  
  
  • 4x resolution you get with full HD
  
  
  • Seamlessly up converts content
  
  
  • UHD began shipping last week, good sales so far
  
  
  
  

• OLED
  
  
  
  • "Unparalleled picture quality"
  
  
  • "True to life color"
  
  
  • Supports Evolution Kit
  
  
  • Offers multi-view
    
    
    
    • You would need to separate cable boxes
    
    
    • Requires you to wear glasses and earbuds
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • Available tomorrow on Samsung.com
  
  
  • Priced at $8,999.99 compared to LG's model for $14,999.99
  
  
  
  

• Evolution Kit
  
  
  
  • Upgrades SMART TVs by giving them a new brain
  
  
  • Includes special remote
  
  
  • Idea is to have an older TV, but to keep on upgrading the brains, by buying a new Evolution Kit every few years
  
  
  • Unfortunately, only works with a few high-end SMART TVs
  
  
  
  

Samsung Cuts Price on OLED TV: Down to $9,000 Compared to LG's $15,000

After so much craziness over OLED TVs, it looks like they are becoming a reality. Several models have come out, but the prices have been ridiculous with a capital R. Now, Samsung is lowering the price on its curved OLED TV to $8,999.999, and is shipping to "specialty retailers." The $9,000 price point definitely beats that of LG's $15,0000. The Samsung KN55S9C was reportedly supposed to be the price of the LG model, but it looks like Samsung had a change of hear. Even though the screen has a much lower price than what was expected, it doesn't have 4K resolution. Samsung has said that the 55-inch TV will have the company's Multi-View technology built in, which allows users to watch two different videos at the same time using 3D glasses.

Aereo Launching in Miami, Houston, and Dallas in September

Aereo is continuing to push forward with city rollouts for its awesome streaming TV service. The company announced that Miami, Houston, and Dallas are going live in September. Miami is going first on September 2nd, Houston second on September 16th, and then Dallas is last on September 23rd. The legal battle surrounding Aereo is still going against networks, but I think the networks got the picture that Aereo was here to stay when Time Warner Cable was recommending to its users to go to Aereo to watch CBS. Aereo is currently running out of Atlanta, Boston, and New York City. In addition to Miami, Houston, and Dallas, Aereo is also launching in Chicago on September 13th. September is looking like a very busy month for Aereo.

CBS Bars ALL TWC Internet Users, Even if they have DirecTV for TV Service

As Time Warner Cable and CBS continue to squabble over retransmission fees, DirecTV has entered the battle as well. The company said in a statement that it was appalled that CBS was blocking full episodes of its TV shows on its website for TWC internet customers. This is a blanket block, even if the user doesn't use TWC for their TV, the block still applies. And, just to aggravate CBS, DirecTV compared the current situation to the premise of the popular show, Under The Dome.

"Just like the characters in CBS' Under The Dome, all pay TV customers are feeling trapped and helpless as broadcasters expect them to absorb ridiculous rate increases for the exact same programming," it said. "We applaud Time Warner Cable for fighting back against exorbitant programming cost increases." Time Warner and CBS have been unable to resolve retransmission fee issues for CBS, Showtime, and other network channels. Time Warner Cable has been whining that CBS is asking them to pay an "outrageous increase".

The two companies have run over many deadlines, and are still fighting over terms. Basically, the idea of a new retransmission deal is pretty far fetched. Competitors to Time Warner Cable are benefiting from this enormously. DirecTV, a popular satellite TV provider, benefits from low retransmission fees, and Aereo, a startup who is trying to up root the TV industry, pays no retransmission fees at all.

Netflix Rolls Out Individual Profiles, Up to 5 Per Account

Netflix has decided its time to ship individual profiles, allowing up to 5 people to share one Netflix account. Each person can have their own settings, viewing history, and queue. Profiles are coming out today to all Netflix regions, but it may take a few weeks for the new option to appear on everyone's account. Device support may be a little shaky at first, but most platforms are ready for the upgrade today. The only two odd men out, are Android and the Wii. They will be coming "later in the fall" and in mid-August.

Aereo is Launching in Boston

Boston is getting some good news this week: they are the next in line to receive Aereo. The service will be available starting on May 15 for pre-registered users. It will become available to the general public on May 30. The growing over the air TV company is looking to expand to 21 additional cities by the end of the year.

The following counties will receive Aereo:

• Massachusetts: Barnstable, Dukes, Essex, Middlesex, Nantucket, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk, Worcester


• New Hampshire: Belknap, Cheshire, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham, Strafford


• Vermont: Windham

Time Warner: I built a mini Aereo all by myself!

Time Warner Cable announced today that they will be pushing an update to their TWC TV app tomorrow. This will allow subscribers to watch live TV from their iOS devices. TWC appears to be creating their own version of Aereo in house. However, this replica is very dummed down. If you aren't watching TV on your home wifi network, the number of channels you can watch takes a staggering drop. If you want to watch TV on the road, you will hit a red light. Only Verizon 3G/4G LTE customers will be able to stream live. But even that will have to wait until Quarter 4. The idea of watching live TV with real channels is coming closer; just at a snail's pace.

The Aereo Battle Intensifies

News Corporation is getting serious in its struggle to get Aereo offline; it's considering taking the signal from Fox off the air. All of the major broadcasters are peeved at Aereo. The small startup has found a small legal way to broadcast television live from over-the-air signals. This loophole in the copyright law permits Aereo to stream. However, the TV conglomerates are annoyed that Aereo, and anyone really could have, actually noticed this loophole, and took advantage of it. Fox is threatening to cut its over the air signal if Aereo doesn't shut down. And trust me, Aereo is not shutting down because big News Corp. is scared of a little startup. It's quite surprising that News Corp. is actually even putting that possibility on the table. You would think that News Corporation, one of the biggest media giants in the US, would not be threatening to shut down one of its services. Many people take advantage of over-the-air signals. Aereo just got lucky and found a good business model. News Corp. should really only be mad at itself, not at Aereo. I'm going to keep following the story, as I'm interested to see how it plays out.

Vdio and Rdio: The iTunes of the Internet?

Everyone knows and loves iTunes. But, there is one company that is aiming to change that. Titled Rdio, an alternate spelling of radio; the company now has an online music and video service. The music service, Rdio, is an unlimited music plan and charges by what devices you use. This price model has definitely earned its share of media attention. The new video service, just launched today, Vdio, is definitely now a competitor to iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, and similar services. Vdio has the same price model as all other services: charge users by per episode. But what Vdio different, is the fact that it is web and mobile based. Consumers can watch their TV episodes and movies via their web browsers, not just using an app (i.e. iTunes) on their computers. Also, Vdio has launched an app for iPad, but I think I can make a safe assumption that they are doing quickly to get apps rolled out for iPhone, Android, and maybe even Blackberry and Windows Phone. An additional feature is that you can use your Rdio login for Vdio too. No more managing different media passwords. I think that Vdio was a wise decision. The idea of a closed system for both your music and TV episodes/movies seems intriguing. I do think that Vdio will eat up some market share, but it will be real adjustment for customers. If you are a Rdio unlimited subscriber, you can get a $25 credit. Just check your email, and you should have gotten an invitation from Rdio. All the rest of you will have to wait before you can get a peek at Vdio. They are signing people up for the public release, just take a visit over to their website, Vdio.com and click on "Get Notified". As Vdio says, "Enjoy the show!"