It had its doubters, and this economy didn't help matters, but AT&T will reportedly convince its one millionth convert that fiber is the best way next week. According to the outfit's president and chief executive of telecom operations John Stankey, it will hit its goal of having one million U-verse TV customers by the end of the year. He was quoted as saying that "operationally, [the firm] has hit its stride," noting that it was slated to make the fiber-based programming service available to some 17 million American homes before 2009. Kudos on (almost) reaching a milestone, AT&T -- now, when's the next big wave of expansion?

It's hard to know what to believe these days. Just weeks ago, we heard that the worldwide economic situation would actually increase at-home entertainment sales; now, we're hearing that overall home entertainment spending will likely decline 3% to 4%. Regardless of what actually happens, Blu-ray backers are still scaling back their expectations for the format, with Warner Home Video president Ron Sanders and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment president David Bishop each estimating that total BD software sales in 2008 will reach $750 million. That's compared to earlier forecasts of around $1 billion, though it was noted that Paramount Home Entertainment president Kelley Avery nailed the revamped estimate a few months back. As it stands, year-to-date Blu-ray sales have surpassed $500 million, which means BD still needs a big holiday season to hit the fresh figures -- do see you it happening?

People love their money, sure, but people still love their style. A thought-provoking article over at CNET has us pondering whether or not these tough economic times will actually increase sales of thick RPTVs during the holiday season. After all, the desire for high-def isn't apt to wane while the belt tightens, but consumers may begin to sacrifice thinness in order to finally bring home a big screen of their own. In our estimation, we can't say in good faith that we think CRT / RPTV sales will skyrocket while flat-panels struggle, particularly when you realize just how cheap these wall-mountable sets will be on Black Friday and during the run-up to that final week in December. It's a cute gesture, but we're still saying the heartbeat for chunky sets is growing weaker by the day.

[Thanks, Anthony]

Right, so the obvious answer here is: "No, you don't need a Blu-ray player." But, you know -- do you need a Blu-ray player? At its core, the latest argument put forth by an Orlando Sentinel editor is yet another debate over the viability of the format in comparison to upscaled DVD and in the wake of surging support for HD streaming, but there are certainly a lot of points made that we vehemently disagree with. According to the editor, the "difference between DVD and Blu-ray is nowhere near as striking [as VHS and DVD], despite what the consumer electronics retailers and manufacturers might tell you." He goes on to assert that a BD player simply isn't worth purchasing if you've already got a stout DVD library, particularly if you own an upconverting DVD player. Ruining any shot at anyone taking his view seriously were the remarks by his colleague, who watched Planet of the Apes on a BD deck and a $40 DVD player; according to him: "The features are fancier, but the picture? No improvement. Investing in a [Blu-ray] player... is a needless expense. Downloads are the future, not discs in a cute blue box." Let the firefight begin.

[Thanks, Anthony]

We knew Japan was warming to Blu-ray, but apparently those tepid desires have morphed into infernos of passion. According to new statistics loosed by the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA), Blu-ray Disc recorder / player shipments hit a level of 138,000, or around 107 times more than the shipments posted a year ago. Moreover, those shipments accounted for 31% of "overall shipments of DVD equipment on a volume basis." Unsurprisingly, BD equipment -- coupled with flat-panel TVs -- were the two biggest drivers of consumer electronics shipments in Japan this year, with visual equipment shipments rising 8.2% year-over-year. Blu-ray and HDTV: a match made in heaven. Or Tokyo.

[Image courtesy of TVSnob]

Hey, the analysts have to find something to talk about, right? As the Blue Chips rise and fall like the tides, so have bobbed the reports regarding how this economy will affect HDTV sales. Just a week ago, one survey found that 73% of non-HDTV owners were still forging ahead with plans to pick up an HDTV within the next 12 months, and given the record low prices we're apt to see on Black Friday, we don't half blame 'em. Merely 24 hours later, out popped another report backing the claim. Now, however, Craig Moffett, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., is suggesting that the current credit crunch could already be eating away at TV sales. Or, you know, maybe all these intelligent souls out there understand that massive sales are just over a month away. How's that for analysis?

[Image courtesy of StarTribune]

Around this time last year, we heard that the FCC was looking to facilitate programming competition for apartments, and apparently, it has succeeded. Just this week, Verizon proudly announced that its FiOS TV programming service was on the way to residents in 2,029 Yonkers public housing apartments. In total, 18 buildings will get gifted with the fiber-based services (TV and high-speed internet), and the carrier has already begun the build-out of the necessary fiber network. There's no word on when or if a similar agreement could take other apartment complexes by storm, but it appears the biggest hurdle has been lifted.

Piecing together a programming, internet and digital phone package (or any mixture of the three) can be a real headache. Granted, many consumers only have one or two choices outside of satellite, but even choosing between those few can be a daunting task. Electronic House has taken the time to put together a number of easy to read charts that explain how much the average user will be billed for depending on which services they choose. Of course, we'd highly recommend lobbying your CSR for discounts (promotional or otherwise) before paying the full tab, but the writeup in the read link is a great place to get your bearings.

Slumping economy? Recession? Poppycock. Based on sales of home media, America's financial engine is humming along just fine, with consumers plunking down 1.6% more on DVD / Blu-ray purchases and rentals combined than they did in the first half of 2007. Granted, some may suggest that home entertainment is seeing an increase as more lavish alternatives (going out for a movie, taking a vacation, etc.) are utilized less frequently, but whatever the case, this sector is sure benefiting. Focusing on HDM, we're hearing that $194 million has been spent on Blu-ray Disc thus far in 2008, which is up some 350% from $43 million in 1H 2007. Amazing what a format war conclusion will do for numbers, huh?

[Image courtesy of Syracuse, thanks Joel]

Nah, Comcast wasn't shedding any tears after announcing its Q1 2008 earnings, but DirecTV must be grinning from ear-to-ear. Aside from seeing its earnings rise 10-percent and revenues climb 17-percent, the satcaster also managed to grab 275,000 net subscriber additions. Analysts were quite pleased with the exceptionally low churn rate, as many of its subscribers seem to be staying put. And with close to a hundred HD channels on tap, who can blame them? It was also noted that average revenue per subscriber crept up from $73.40 to $79.70, and an increasing demand for high-definition programming and DVRs were largely to thank. Is making the switch from cable to satellite worth it? Seems that quite a few folks said yes with their wallets this past quarter.

[Via BloggingStocks]

Yeah, you heard us. We're bored with looking at all these "other surveys," it's time to have our own. We've seen that sales of Blu-ray players have been relatively disappointing thus far in 2008, even after the format war was over. We've heard that heightened prices, occasional shortages and Profile confusion were the causes. But we're interested to see if you -- the most diehard of them all -- have paid attention to any of that. Are movie / HD lovers still buying now that there's one true winner? And if so, are you snapping up the safe bet (read: PlayStation 3), waiting for a Profile 2.0 deck or grabbing up another standalone unit in order to not miss a minute of that 1080p glory? Let us have it below.

As we poked and prodded through the ups and downs of the format war, we noticed a recurring theme -- HD DVD seemed to have things going in its favor on more than one occasion. Consumers adored the low priced hardware, studios were coming on board and Sony's PlayStation 3 (along with all the other Blu-ray players) was priced extraordinarily high. Not to mention Sony's absolutely awful track record with formats. In a recent interview with ABI Principal Analyst Steve Wilson, BetaNews found that he believed that the outcome of the format war wouldn't necessarily benefit the consumer. Besides being more expensive and less developed, some Blu-ray players have had quite the time performing as advertised. According to ABI, "it wasn't customers' likes or dislikes that powered the fatal blow in the format war, it was Warner Bros.' decision to switch allegiance to Blu-ray, along with subsequent moves to dump HD DVD by major retailers such as Wal-Mart, Netflix and Blockbuster." Frankly, we can't argue with that one iota.

[Thanks, Andrew]

Ready for your fortnightly (give or take a few days) dose of analyst conjecture in the drawn out format war? According to new numbers from NPD Group, just 11-percent of HDTV owners surveyed "strongly intend to buy a Blu-ray or HD DVD player by next spring," and moreover, nearly 75-percent of those consumers noted that standard DVD was "good enough for them." Ross Rubin, director for industry analysis at NPD, even went so far as to say that both players may "emerge as a premium, luxury item," rather than a successor to DVD. All in all, we'd agree that the average joe / jane isn't apt to pick a side in a deadlocked battle when prices are still comparatively high (for players and titles alike), and considering that the war is still so close after 1.5 years of feuding, it seems increasingly likely that a bona fide winner may not actually emerge. 'Course, we tend to think that one side will eventually gain the upper hand, but as of now, your guess is as good as ours as to which camp that will be.

It's one thing to fret over the estimated $1.5 billion Congress has to set aside to pay for the "coupon program" to aid Americans in the analog-to-digital transition of 2009, but now lawmakers are "worried that too few of us know that the analog TVs we have been using for years could become big cathode-ray paperweights after February 18, 2009." Essentially, those in power feel that "too little is being done to get the message across," and that quite a few disgruntled individuals could be smacked with a reality check of gigantic proportions if no one tells them beforehand. According to a poll released by the Association for Public Television Stations earlier this year, some 61-percent of those surveyed had "no idea" the shutoff would even take place, so we'd expect a commercial blitz to give your fast-forward finger a workout in the coming months.

What do you typically get when you mix hot demand and a generous supply of competitors willing to offload their surplus? Apparently you get a frustrated and whiny mega-corporation, at least based on a recent report about Sony's reaction to the recent decreases in LCD / plasma prices. While we all knew Black Friday was bringing deals to the HDTV market like never before seen, and we discovered that new sets were topping wish lists galore, is it really any surprise that LCD TV prices are dropping "between 25- and 30-percent this year?" According to Sony, those figures are about "7-percent more" than the firm anticipated, and considering the coinage it's losing on each PS3 sold (and subsequent fines), we're sure the company has plenty of reason to frown. Notably, Jay Vandenbree -- president of consumer sales for Sony Electronics -- stated that the firm would "stay competitive, but wouldn't do anything that damages the industry long term." He also added that Sony (being that big gorilla that it is) had a "responsibility" to not accelerate price declines. Although we're sure it's staying far, far away from getting itself into one of these price fixing predicaments, we don't suspect there's a whole lot Sony can do to outgun the Vizios of the world this holiday season, and just like everything else, balance will eventually be restored.