Malaysia's first free satellite TV service

Have you heard? Malaysians will soon get to enjoy the country's first free satellite television service. This was launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday.

The new service is named NJOI (pronounced as 'enjoy') and is provided by Astro. Astro is currently the country's sole provider of (paid) satellite television service. The free service will have 18 TV channels and 19 radio stations. No details of these channels as yet.

It will be available by the first quarter of next year. A decoder and a dish is needed which have to be purchased. However, there is no monthly subscription fee.

UPDATE:
The television channels featured include TV1, TV2, TVi, iView, i130, CCT 4, Bernama TV, and Astro's home-grown channels such as Awani, AEC, Prima, and Vaanavil.

From July, a prepaid system will be in place for customers to enable a menu of add-on programmes.


Source: The Star..PM launches country's first free satellite TV service

1Malaysia TV

The 1Malaysia philosophy is spreading its wings further with the launch of 1Malaysia TV on Sunday by the Prime Minister who said that "with today's technology, the public is able to receive news and information "in the blink of an eye and that official government news and information must be disseminated in real time speed to curb the spread of false news.

1Malaysia TV is an internet and mobile tv and can be accessed using Apple, Blackberry and Android smartphones and tablets.

The tv offers the following channels - RTM1, RTM2, TV3, CCTV 1, TV Al Hijrah, E-Korea TV, My Youth TV, Erama Music, Erama Documentary TV and KLPOP Online Radio Streaming. 1Malaysia is targeted at viewers aged between 18 and 25.

The address is at www.1malaysiaiptv.com or www.erama.tv/mobiletv. Smartphone users can download the application from their respective app store.

According to Bernama, 1Malaysia TV is recognised by the Malaysia Book of Records as the first new media television based on the 1Malaysia concept.


Sources:
- The Star.. PM: Official news must be put out quickly to curb spread of false news
- Bernama

Google doodle in honour of Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets

Google pays tribute today to Jim Henson. James Maury "Jim" Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. If you are not familiar with The Muppets, how about Sesame Street? There you go..

PixelTuneup fixes plasma burn in on TVs

Here is a gadget that can save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars if you own a television set at home. A TV set lasts a long time but like any other electronics equipment, it can sometimes wear out before it's time.

What do you do with your tv if you find it has burn in, color and contrast not quite what they used to be? Chances are if the problem persists, the usual course of action would be to have the tv replaced. When plasma burn in occurs, you will see faint images of channel logos, sports banners, computer desktop images, game console menus, side bar and others on your tv screen. Though the tv still works, these faint stuck pixel images can be annoying resulting in a lesser-than enjoyable tv-watching experience. Most, if not all of us would just replace the tv not knowing about a gadget that can fix stuck pixels. But wait! Before you go out and spend that cash, there is something else you can do to rectify the problem. Take a look at this video first.


PixelTuneup is the world’s first stuck pixel fixer that improves picture quality and eliminates image retention. It improves color and contrast, eliminates stuck pixels, reduces effects of burn in. It corrects image retention in LCD and LED TVs. There is a 30-day Money Back Guarantee if you are not happy with the result. It says on the website that regular use will also help protect your television set or monitor from static images like cable channel logos, sports banners, computer desktop images, game console menus, and side bar.

PixelTuneup pays for itself many times over eliminating the need for costly repairs or a tv replacement. There is no need to buy a new tv if you don't have to, PixelTuneup may save your hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Singapore scrapping Radio and TV Licences

The Singapore Government announced last Friday that it has decided to scrap compulsory radio and TV license fees. Malaysia is ahead on this as licences for radio and tv have been scrapped many years ago.

Besides, the licence fees paid in Singapore were a lot higher than what Malaysians used to pay. In Singapore, all residences with working TV sets have had to pay an annual fee of $110 per household, even if the sets not used to watch TV programmes, say, for playing console games and watching DVDs or only cable programmes.

Similarly, all vehicle-owners with a working radio set had to pay the $27 radio licence, even if it was used for playing CDs or MP3 music files.

I believe our radio and television licence was just RM24 a year. Correct me if I am mistaken.

Toshiba plans to begin selling TVs with OLED screens as soon as panels are ready.

Toshiba Corp. plans to begin selling televisions with OLED (organic light-emitting diodes) screens as soon as panels are ready, according to a company spokeswoman.

The first Toshiba OLED television sets should hit the market in 2009, said Yuko Sugahara [CQ], a company spokeswoman.

OLED screens offer higher contrast and faster response times than LCD (liquid crystal display) screens. OLED screens can also be thinner since no backlight is required. The carbon-based materials used to make OLEDs illuminate themselves when an electrical current is applied.

However, OLEDs are difficult to manufacture and degrade over time. Manufacturers are therefore working on ways to improve production yields and increase the lifespan of the screens.

Sony Corp. became the first company to introduce an OLED television on Monday, with the release of its XEL-1. The television, which goes on sale in December, has an 11-inch screen and has an estimated of lifespan of around 30,000 hours. That's enough time to watch eight hours of television per day for 10 years, Sony said.

While Sony was first to market with an OLED television, a lot of work remains to be done before the screens are ready for widespread adoption. The XEL-1 will be available in limited quantities, with Sony expecting to produce just 2,000 sets per month.

OLED
An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) is any light-emitting diode (LED) whose emissive electroluminescent layer comprises a film of organic compounds. The layer usually contains a polymer substance that allows suitable organic compounds to be deposited. They are deposited in rows and columns onto a flat carrier by a simple "printing" process. The resulting matrix of pixels can emit light of different colors.

Such systems can be used in television screens, computer displays, portable system screens, advertising, information and indication. OLEDs can also be used in light sources for general space illumination, and large-area light-emitting elements. OLEDs typically emit less light per area than inorganic solid-state based LEDs which are usually designed for use as point-light sources.

A great benefit of OLED displays over traditional liquid crystal displays (LCDs) is that OLEDs do not require a backlight to function. Thus they draw far less power and, when powered from a battery, can operate longer on the same charge. OLED-based display devices also can be more effectively manufactured than LCDs and plasma displays. But degradation of OLED materials has limited the use of these materials. See Drawbacks.

OLED technology was also called Organic Electro-Luminescence (OEL), before the term "OLED" became standard.