Just in time for the NFL playoffs and March Madness, TV viewers in the Elmira-Corning, New York area will suddenly have lots more to cheer about when firing up the tube. ABC affiliate WENY-TV, alongside CBS affiliate WENY-DT2, will finally deliver programming to locals in high-definition "within the next week or two." The addition of ABC and CBS in HD to the area has been a long time coming, and it's actually being pushed back a few days as the network waits for a few last minute hardware acquisitions to arrive. HD channel additions are always welcome, but getting broadcast stations in high-def... now that's something special.

Even if the economic climate favors RPTVs for one last hurrah, things are looking grim for LCD demand -- just ask Corning, which has backed off of its previous financial guidance for the near-term future. The global economy being what it is, production from Taiwanese manufacturing plants in particular has decreased demand for the LCD glass substrates "more precipitously than expected," and similar pains are being felt at the Samsung Corning Precision Glass operation in Korea. The news gets more ominous still when the company cites uncertainty in both LCD supply chain and retail sales as reasons to decline any updated guidance for Q4 2008 or 2009. It's not all doom and gloom, of course -- this environment can play in your favor if you're in the market for a new TV.

While Time Warner Cable has been boosting HD lineups in overcrowded areas of New York and New Jersey for a few months now, folks in the less traveled portions of NY have gone without. Granted, it's no onslaught of 50, but we have received word that Disney HD, ABC Family HD and Toon Disney HD have just landed on EPGs in Jamestown, Binghampton, Corning and Elmira, NY (along with surrounding areas). So, we can expect the other 47 soon, right TWC? [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

[Thanks, Greg]

If you ask folks around Engadget HD to name a luxurious work of art, chances are you'll hear something like "Samsung LN70F91BD." Outside these walls, though, if you ask around a crowd of a more wine-and-cheese bent, you might get a response like "Verre de Soie Steuben Vase." Those two worlds have Corning glass in common, at least for a little while longer. On one hand, Corning is the largest supplier of glass substrates for flat panel displays. On the other, it also has a long history (since 1903) of glass artisanship in its Steuben brand. Times being what they are, though, Steuben is losing money and the flat panel display glass business accounts for about half of the company's sales, with growth expected to rise along with LCD's fortunes. Sadly, Corning is looking at either selling off Steuben or closing it down. We're hoping a buyer is found; as much as we love our TVs, we'd hate to see them associated with the end of artwork we've seen in the Corning Museum of Glass.

For today's installment of "lost in translation," we have a recommendation from Corning -- a 65-inch LCD is just about right for the average North American home. We're totally on board with that, and it's not surprising that the substrate glass manufacturer is pushing LCDs. But the "average" figures used to come up with the recommendation leave us scratching our heads: a viewing distance of 6.5-feet in a living room measuring 8 x 9-feet. By most sizing charts we've seen, below about 9-feet viewing distance on a 65-inch display, you'll be wishing you'd purchased that 1440P set. And while we're doing the math, what's with the average living room size of 8 x 9-feet? That can't be the average size of the 21st century American living room, especially for the kind of consumer who can afford a 65-inch LCD.

After stumbling in the race to dominate LCDs due to a lack of production capacity, it appears Sharp is doing something about it. Corning has announced plans to expand an existing plant later this year, as well as an agreement to supply Sharp with 40" LCD screens. Also of note is that they are calling these new screens the most "environmentally-friendly" LCD glass on the market.

The flat panel market continues the go big or go home trend, but have we seen the 32" LCD for $799 yet? (Actually, it appears there are a few.)