Expert View: HDMI Evolves

When shopping for a new HDTV, it's always a good idea to consider your current and future video connection needs. Also keep in mind that viewing a high-definition video source on an HDTV set requires the use of a cable (and corresponding port) that supports high-definition signals.

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Breaking News: Warner Brothers says we are all idiots!

There you go Mark Rubin!

Toshiba Launches New Hard Disk Recorder with HD DVD in Japan

Via Press release:

TOKYO--Toshiba Corporation today announced the launch of a new digital video recorder (DVR) with HD DVD drive that integrates key new features that bring greater freedom of recording to the HD DVD, including recording of HD video to standard DVD discs. The new DVR, HD DVD VARDIA RD-A301, integrates HD Transcoder, which achieves longer recording time for high-definition (HD) video, and also supports"HD Rec", which allows recording of HD video^*2 to standard DVD discs^*3 in HD quality. The RD-A301 will be available in the Japanese market in the middle of December, and advance orders will be accepted from November 1.

K-Mart goes HD-DVD exclusive

via wired:

Wal-Mart already has the $200 PC, and now it has a HD-DVD player at the same price tag. Furthermore, other stores are matching it's price, with Kmart announcing it will exclusively sell Toshiba's HD-A2 HD-DVD player. Let's hammer that point home: There will be no Blu-Ray for you at Kmart, unless you want a PlayStation 3.

"Toshiba spokesperson Jodi Sally said Kmart, which is owned by Sears, would exclusively stock Toshiba HD DVD players in retail stores due to their lower price. A clerk at the retail chain's Anaheim location confirmed the store only carried Toshiba players."

How can Blu-Ray fight a $200 price tag at America's largest retailer, a complete lock-out at the No. 2 shop, and everyone else following the leader?

DisplaySearch White Paper Outlines Bright Future for Plasma HDTV

DisplaySearch White Paper Outlines Bright Future for Plasma HDTV

Nielsen Releases High Definition TV (HDTV) Household Estimates for Total U.S. and Local People Meter Markets

Nielsen Releases High Definition TV (HDTV) Household Estimates for Total U.S. and Local People Meter Markets

Big Announcement coming from Warner Brothers tomorrow?

Word is getting out that Warner maybe announcing an exclusivity deal tomorrow at a press conference. check out Avsforum for some of the tidbits. But with the VP saying they support BluRay and are thinking long and hard about being neutral....somethings afoot!

Walgreen sees movie-burning DVD kiosks at stores

Walgreen plans to put kiosks that can make DVDs of popular movies in drugstore photo departments next year, using a new system that would increase selection while avoiding piracy. Recent change in...

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New DVD Releases Include `Spider-Man 3'

New release schedule for the week of 10-29-07

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JupiterResearch Finds HD DVD and Blu-Ray in a Futile Format War

JupiterResearch Finds HD DVD and Blu-Ray in a Futile Format War

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charts, charts and more charts

New sales chart for all the HDM sold this week

Disc Sales: Blu-ray Squeaks Weekly Win Against 'Transformers' HD DVD

Home Media Magazine is reporting a narrow Blu-ray disc sales victory for the week ending Oct 21, disputing Paramount's previously released sales numbers for HD DVD edition of 'The Transformers.'

According to the just-published report, Blu-ray won the week by a thin margin that amounts to 51% of the high-def discs sold, versus 49% for HD DVD. Although a two percent lead is certainly not commanding, many were expecting the HD DVD camp to win the week, thanks in large part to Paramount's high-profile HD DVD exclusive release of Transformers.

NPD analysts predict long haul for next-gen adoption

A new NPD Group study indicates a promising future for next-gen video formats, but only if a single format is available at a lower price than players currently sell for.

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Who else has stopped caring about the Blu-ray/HD DVD war?

The Blu-ray winner(Credit: CNET)Am I the only person who couldn't care any less about the HD DVD/Blu-ray war? For a while, I was captivated by the prospect of a Sony format winning the format war or the possibility of another Betamax debacle. At one point, I actually cared who won the format war.

read more | digg story

How HD-DVD's are made

skip ahead to about 2:10 in the video

Sony returns to profit in Q2, PS3 losses almost US$ 1 Billion!

Via CNN

Sony reported operating profit of 90.5 billion yen, reversing an operating loss of 20.8 billion the year before, when it spent heavily on financing the global recall of lithium-ion batteries used in laptop computers while wrestling with start-up problems for its PlayStation 3 (PS3) game console.

Five analysts polled by Thomson Financial had predicted Sony's operating profit would come in between 74.4 billion yen and 124.0 billion yen.

In the July-September period last year, Sony booked 51.2 billion yen in provisions for its global battery recall. It also booked a 54.5 billion yen write-down in the value of advanced semiconductor chips used in the PS3 following its decision to delay the PS3 launch.

Revenue expanded 12.3 percent to 2.08 trillion yen, led by brisk sales of its Cyber-shot compact digital cameras, Vaio PCs and Bravia liquid crystal display TVs.

Net profit surged to 73.7 billion yen from 1.7 billion a year earlier.

'Second-quarter sales reached a record high, led by brisk sales of our Vaio PCs, Cyber-shot digital cameras and Bravia LCD TVs, allowing us to also post an all-time high operating profit,' Sony chief financial officer Nobuyuki Oneda said at a press conference.

Sony estimates that a weak yen pushed up its quarterly operating profit by 30.3 billion yen from a year earlier, as the dollar rose to 117 yen from 115 yen a year earlier, while the euro appreciated to 160 yen from 147 yen a year earlier.

'Our electronics division saw a major rise in profitability thanks to the benefit of a weak yen and brisk sales of Cyber-shot digital cameras across the world and brisk overseas sales of Vaio PCs,' Oneda said.

In the September quarter, Sony's electronics division logged operating profit of 106.9 billion yen, up from just 8.0 billion yen a year earlier.

But the company's TV segment continued to bleed, making an operating loss of 21 billion yen in the quarter, larger than the operating loss of 10 billion yen a year earlier.

'Due to the weakness of the product line-up of our spring models, the street price of small-screen LCD TVs fell by 20-22 percent in the quarter from a year earlier, while the price of large-screen TVs dropped by 25-30 percent,' Oneda said in explaining the reason for the bigger loss of Sony's TV segment.

'But we expect the recently released, full high-definition and value-added models to be accepted well by consumers,' he said.

While the mainstay electronics division is showing steady improvement, performance in other segments was patchy.

Sony's game division incurred an operating loss of 96.7 billion yen, bigger than the loss of 43.5 billion yen the previous year, due to losses related to its PS3 launch.

'As we have taken the necessary accounting treatment to deal with the impaired value of inventories of the previous PS3 models in the first half, we aim to break even at the operating level in the second half, or better than breakeven,' Oneda said.

Including the operating loss it sustained in the second quarter, Sony already made operating losses of nearly 125 billion yen since the start of the current fiscal year.

'I cannot say at this point how much the division's loss will be in the full year,' Oneda said.

Sony had been selling its PS3 consoles at far less than production cost even before the latest price reduction. Therefore, the more game machines are sold, the bigger the loss of this division becomes.

Sony delivered 1.31 million PS3 consoles in the second quarter, up from 710,000 units in the first quarter.

'With the release of the new model, we are working hard to achieve the global sales target of 11.0 million PS3s for the full year, in line with the earlier estimate,' Sony investor relations manager Tatsuyuki Sonoda said.

On October 17, Sony cut the price in Japan of the most powerful version of the PS3 to 54,980 yen from around 59,800 yen.

The price cut comes as Sony struggles to recover its once-mighty position in the global video game market, where competition has heated up since Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) launched the Xbox 360 in 2005 and Nintendo Co introduced its Wii last November.

In the past quarter, Sony's movie business posted operating profit of 2.7 billion yen, reversing a year earlier operating loss of 15.3 billion yen, thanks to growth of its content distribution business.

Operating income at its financial service business fell to 23.1 billion yen from 24.6 billion yen.

The improvement in Sony's overall profitability comes in spite of a higher restructuring charge, which rose to 18.5 billion yen from 5.3 billion yen a year earlier.

For the year to March 2008, the company is now forecasting net profit of 330 billion yen, operating income of 450 billion yen and revenue of 8.98 trillion yen.

In July, it had projected a full-year net profit of 320 billion yen, operating profit of 440 billion yen and revenue of 8.78 trillion yen.

Samsung Kills BD-P2400; Makes Dual HD DVD Player Better

The company is dumping its high-end Blu-ray player and focusing on making its upcoming combo release better, stronger and sooner.

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Panasonic preps in-car Blu-ray player

A quick scan over Panasonic’s Japanese website did reveal a gap for in-car Blu-ray entertainment systems. Its in-car entertainment range currently tops out with the CN-HDS915TD, a 7in model with 40GB hard drive, DVD playback and, of course, iPod support.

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Vizio VM60P Plasma HDTV

Are you looking for a magnificently huge, 60-inch plasma HDTV for under $3,000.00? That’s right, a brand new, 60-inch Plasma HDTV, that you can hang on your wall, for less than $3000.00. Introducing the new Vizio VM60P, MAXIMVS, 60-inch, 720p, Plasma HDTV.

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Blu-ray dominates high-def disc sales in first three quarters of 2007

The sales numbers cover the first three quarters of 2007, which ranges from January 1 through September 30. Their study shows that Blu-ray is ahead by a large margin. I don’t think this is really going to come as much of a shock, as Blu-ray has been doing very well this year.

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Resident Evil (Biohazard over there) on sale on HD DVD in Japan on December 21st

Via Showgate

Blu-Ray Review: Scary Movie

cary Movie was released by Dimension Films back in the year 2000 and was a huge hit. It is a film which basically takes all of the big horror movies, which at the time included such films as Psycho, Friday the 13th, Blair Witch Project, and others, and makes parodies out of them.

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Blu-Ray Review: Meet the Robinsons

Meet the Robinsons is a great CGI animated film by Disney and one of their best efforts in quite some time, far superior to their prior effort with Chicken Little. The film has some humorous characters such as Bowler Hat Guy, whose hat, which is named Doris, talks like a futuristic robot as the pair has a stolen time machine of their own.

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Take the Red Pill

Hitachi To Launch Ultra-Thin HDTV In U.S. Next Year -- Consumer Electronics

Hitachi on Tuesday said it plans to launch in the United States next year a new line of high-definition TVs that are only 1.5 inches thick. The televisions, which have liquid crystal displays, fall under a new category called ultra-thin HDTVs. The new products will be available in Japan in December and in the United States in early 2008.

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Microsoft working on "bookmark" problem on certain HD DVD's played on Xbox 360

We are aware of a problem in this area on Knocked up, Evan Almighty and Transformers on Xbox 360. The work-around is to disable the network connection then re-run the disc. You can then save and delete bookmarks without issue.

via AVSforum

Samsung lowers Blu-ray player price to $499

It looks like Samsung has chopped $50 off the list price of its third-generation Blu-ray player to $499.

Samsung’s BD-P1400, originally expected to be tagged at $549, is now being sold at such retailers as Best Buy and Crutchfield.com at a price that matches the cheapest available Blu-ray set-top to this point, Sony’s $499 BD-S300.

Amazon.com was offering the latest Samsung model for $409 as of Monday. In its Sunday advertising circular, Best Buy singled out Samsung’s BD-P1400 for $499.

A spokesman for Samsung has not responded for comment.

The manufacturer might be feeling some pricing pressure in the format, as the Samsung player is streeting near the same time that Sony knocked $100 off its 80GB PlayStation 3. Now, for $499, people can pick up a gaming system and a Blu-ray player all-in-one.

Also next month, Sony will launch a $399 40GB PS3, representing a new pricing low for Blu-ray-capable players.

Toshiba say NO to HD-DVD 360

A spokesman told Yahoo News: “It’s got nothing to do with us. But we know Microsoft doesn’t want to include the HD DVD drive so as not to limit the user’s experience.”

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Transformers Becomes Best-Selling DVD and HD release

Live action Transformers movie takes top spot on standard DVD and HD-DVD release charts.

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Samsung’s 1cm-thick HDTV

Samsung has taken the wraps off an anorexic 40in LCD TV with a 1cm thin waistline at this week’s FPD International show Japan

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IBM and MediaTek to Bring Wireless HDTV and Movies to Consumers

IBM (NYSE: IBM) and MediaTek have launched a joint initiative to develop ultra fast chipsets that can wirelessly transmit a full-length high definition movie to and from a home PC, hand-held device, retail kiosk or television set nearly as fast as a viewer can push their remote control.

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Latest Japanese data shows Blu-ray outsells HD-DVD 9:1

Impress Watch of Japan seems to have some kind of article which looks at the sales of Blu-ray and HD-DVD formats in Japan. They are reporting that Blu-ray is outselling HD-DVD by a huge ratio of 9:1, and the following data by GfK Japan shows how Blu-ray is growing while HD-DVD's consumption has remained at a constant low level with no real growth.

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High-Def and No Frills: Vizio's Winning Formula

Love my 50" Vizio Plasma...here's a good article in the Washington Post about them:

Vizio, recently catapulted to the No. 1 position for shipments of HDTVs in North America, according to the research firm iSuppli. Its strategy is to hold down the cost of making the sets, then undersell its rivals and make money by selling in high volume through discount retailers. It has also benefited from a boom in television sales ahead of the pending phase-out of analog television signals in 2009. With a 14 percent market share in the second quarter, Vizio surpassed such better-known, well-heeled competitors as Samsung, Philips, Sony and Sharp, iSuppli said.

Link here

Blu-ray Bests HD DVD Market Share 71% to 29% - Nielsen VideoScan

Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer is once again the top title this week on the Nielsen VideoScan charts courtesy of Home Media Magazine. There are a lot of changes in this week's list of top ten titles, as Knocked Up falls to six, from two, and new release Evan Almighty rises to number four.

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Toshiba & MS working on HD-DVD Xbox 360?

Looks like the PS3's inclusion of a Blu-ray player driving blu-ray sales has got Toshiba and M$ a tad concerned so that much hoped for Xbox360 with built in HD-DVD drive might be a possibility in the near future

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Halo 3 boosts Xbox 360 to record sales month

OCT. 18 | Halo 3 generated an impressive halo effect for the Xbox 360, as the videogame console sold 527,800 units in September for a record month in 2007 sales. Xbox 360 was the best-selling console for the month, according to the NPD Group, topping the Nintendo Wii’s 501,000 in unit sales; Nintendo DS, 495,800; PlayStation Portable, 284,500

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Bourne Ultimatum HD DVD cover

HD Sales Chart from last week

"Heroes", "King Kong" and 5 other Free HD DVD's!

Starting this weekend at Best Buy, when you buy the Xbox HD DVD add-on drive you instantly receive the Heroes Box set (along with King Kong that comes in the box plus the 5 free by mail)

Plextor PX-HDTV500U Mini Digital HDTV Receiver Review

This review takes a look at Plextor's recently introduced PX-HDTV500U Mini Digital HDTV Receiver. Perfect for those of us facing limited resources with viewing high definition television while traveling. This HDTV digital mini receiver is an excellent option not only for road warriors, but for college students as well namely because of the unlimite

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Blu-ray vs. HD DVD: a Solution Abroad

the Wallstreet Journal discovers what some of us learned months ago:

Some savvy consumers are looking overseas for a way to take some of the risk out of buying a next-generation DVD player.

Many movie lovers have repeatedly said they are reluctant to buy one of the new high-definition movie players because of a format war pitting two incompatible technologies against each other. As the battle has unfolded, some studios have made deals to exclusively distribute their titles in one format or the other. Sony Pictures, for example, releases high-definition titles only in the Blu-ray format, which parent Sony Corp. developed. General Electric Co.'s Universal Pictures, on the other hand, releases high-definition movies only in the rival HD DVD format.

Via WSJ

Price Drop: Sub-$200 HD DVD Player from Toshiba?

Is this the beginning of the end?

Just a year-and-a-half since they launched, high-definition players are breaching the $200 barrier. If reports on the Web are correct, HD DVD is poised to break the $200 mark before the holidays. Toshiba has told me there's no official pricing moves with regard to their MSRP; however, reports on the Web indicate Wal-Mart may be prepping to sell a $198 HD DVD player.

Via PC World

2 new Blu-Ray Players from Denon

Denon will sell from January 2008, 2 new High-end Blu-Ray players with the DVD-3800BD, with the support of 1080p24, a DAC of 12bit/297MHz, the D.D.S.C-HD (or Dynamic Discrete Surround Circuit-HD), D.P.I.C. (DENON Pixel Image Correction), as well as the AL24 Processing Plus from Denon, HDMI 1.3a, RCA/BNC, RS-232C; and, the DVD-2500BT, which only has HDMI 1.3a and RS-232C, but with Divx supports.
While we are extremely happy to know that Denon will sell high-hands BluRay players, we are stunned by the prices of these 2 devices… And you will have to expect a price of up to 2000€ to be able to put your hands on the DVD-3800BD.

Via Akihabara news

Excellent review of the new Directv HD DVR

if you have a HR10-250 like me, this is the box you want! Piano Black finish!

eSata external drives!

Link:

Plextor Launches USB HDTV Receiver

According to the digital media manufacturer, the PX-HDTV500U can be ordered now and will take the form of a stick-sized USB device that customers can use to watch, pause, and record high-definition TV on most Windows-based laptops—all without a subscription fees or recurring charges.

Why Do DVDs Look So Bad on My New Large Screen HDTV?

The experts at bigpicturebigsound.com answer this age-old question


Link Here:

HD DVD Review: Transformers

Via E-Gear.com

AMD Introduces New Tuner Products to Deliver Exceptional HDTV on PCs

HDTV tuners for your PC at a pretty reasonable cost.

Via AMD presser:

Amazon having Buy One Get One Free Blu-Ray sale!

Click the "bogo" link

Amazon.com amazing Blu-ray Buy One Get One Sale!

Lots of good Disney Stuff like Pirates and such

HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

one of the first reviews of the highly anticipated HD disc:

via HTF:

Pure entertainment value for the kid in us is about the best description of Transformers I can give. The HD-DVD from Paramount is my new reference disc, and although I would have loved a lossless audio track, what is presented AV-wise more than makes up for it. The set also has some great extras that cover most of the film making process. This type of material allows us enthusiasts to be that much closer to hi-def nirvana in our theaters. Is it any surprise this HD-DVD comes…

LG Goes Full Profile With BH200 Dual-Format HD DVD/Blu-ray Player

Due before the end of October, LG's new dual-format player may end up being the first Blu-ray player to hit the market with secondary BD-Java support.

As we've previously reported, the BDA has mandated all that Blu-ray players launched after October 31, 2007 include a series of features (including full BD-J support) in order to be Profile 1.1 compliant. The updates will enable a series of functions not supported by current Blu-ray players, including true video picture-in-picture playback.

Although to date, no manufacturer has released a Profile 1.1 player ahead of the BDA deadline, LG said yesterday that its soon-to-street BH200 dual-format player will include "full profile specifications" for Blu-ray players.

AnyDVD's new AI boasts ability to crack future DRM

SlySoft claims AnyDVD now contains code that will be able to crack new DRM that may be added or changed in the future. The feature, officially called an "AI scanner" is supposed to work similarly to antivirus software, which can heuristically find new viruses. AnyDVD is a popular program for removing copy protection from DVDs, HD DVDs, and BDMV discs.

"The AI Scanner in AnyDVD is a new, pro-active copy protection circumvention method," said Giancarlo Bettini, SlySoft's chief executive, in a statement. "It allows the user to make safety backups of his DVD movies even if the newest anti-piracy technology is used. It is our belief that the AI Scanner will even work on protections yet to be released, so we see this as a future-proof technology. This is indeed a hard nut to crack for the copy protection industry."

As Blu-ray in particular was designed with an option to support changing DRM with player firmware updates, it's likely that AnyDVD's AI claims will be put to the test sooner rather than later. While it's possible it will work as advertised, SlySoft will certainly continue to provide program updates as new copy protection features are cracked. It looks like this is more of an attempt to reassure potential customers that future copy protection will always be broken.

High-def adoption 'will roll', albeit slowly, say panelists

via Videobusiness.com

OCT. 10 | UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif.—Supporters of the HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc high-definition formats locked horns at the HDTV DisplaySearch conference here Wednesday, but all participants ultimately agreed they were heartened by the fact that consumers are adopting high-def discs, even slowly.

“The chances are pretty slim” that high-def won’t succeed, said Don Eklund, executive VP of advanced technologies for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. “There are obstacles in getting consumers to appreciate it, but it’s inevitable it will roll. Satellite and cable do a good job of indoctrinating people to high-def and by extension high-def packaged media.”

Currently, high-def stand-alone players comprise a 5% unit share within the total DVD player market, according to DisplaySearch. Although that is small, that share has significantly improved in recent weeks. Between April 2006 and August 2007, next-gen set-tops totaled just 1.3% of the overall DVD player market.

By year end, there should be about 1 million Blu-ray and HD DVD set-top units sold, the research concern predicts.

On a revenue basis, next-gen players carved out a 27% share of the overall market during the month of August. That marks a rise from next-gen’s 11% share between April 2006 and August 2007.

The CEA Nixes 1080p Video Through Analog Component Cables

Via AVRev.com

Despite screams of disgust from early adopting consumers and audio-video installers over horrible connectivity problems via the copy-protected HDMI digital cables, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the lobby group for the audio-video industry, recently refused to allow a standard that would allow 1080p video to flow through a standard analog component video cable. Analog component cables do not have the HDCP digital copy protection that Hollywood studios demand to protect their highest resolution video output. HDMI digital cables in their current 1.3b version theoretically carry both 1080p video and the highest resolution multi-channel surround sound, bitstream formats such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master HD. However, they are plagued with horrible connectivity issues due mostly to the HDCP copy protection that the studios have forced into the specification.
HD DVD and Blu-ray players will output the lower resolution 1080i video via analog component video cables, which have become the choice among frustrated consumers and custom installers who see HDMI systems struggle with predictably making a “handshake” between copy protected players (Blu-ray and HD DVD) and 1080p native HDTVs. These consumers are willing to sacrifice the last level of performance between 1080i and 1080p video for a player that consistently sends video to their HDTVs.

Electronics manufacturers are equally frustrated with HDMI and its HDCP connectivity. Non-copy-protected components such as DVRs and HDMI DVD players connect via the one-cable solution of HDMI perfectly. Copy protected players, including nearly every current HD DVD and Blu-ray are more hit and miss, especially depending on what HDTV you use with your HD disc player. While second generation HD disc players and the newest HDTVs are definitely better about making an HDCP “handshake”, manufacturers complain about a lack of access to specifications that would make a simple connection actually work every time.

In the end, Hollywood studios clearly have the ear of the CEA, thus the consumer is forced to deal with the less-than-perfect world of HDMI, thanks to the HDCP connectivity, or downgrade their video to 1080i and use component cables, a solution that works every time. The CEA should be publicly putting tremendous pressure to get the HDMI specification and copy protection to a level where one-cable-connectivity passes the best in HD video and high-resolution audio. With mainstream consumers lining up to buy flat HDTVs by the millions per month, wouldn’t it be nice to sell them a new player than can actually feed their 1080p HDTVs actual 1080p video, because as of today, both digital cable and satellite can not provide consumers with 1080p.

Blu-ray Review: Spider-man 3

via Tvpredictions.com

Toshiba says HD DVD set-top players are back in front

HD DVD set-tops have reclaimed their dominance over Blu-ray standalone players, according to weekly NPD Group unit sales figures cited by Toshiba.

HD DVD players began outselling Blu-ray models starting in mid-September and regained a year-to-date lead of a little over 50% through the rest of the month, said Jodi Sally, Toshiba VP of marketing of digital A/V products.

Year to date, according to NPD figures she cited, HD DVD players command 53% of sales; Blu-ray players, 44%; dual format players, 3%.

She acknowledged several Blu-ray weekly victories in the run-up to home theater installer conference CEDIA, but she told attendees at Tuesday’s DVD Forum conference, that Blu-ray victory was short lived. At the time of CEDIA in early September, Sony executives said that the launch of the company’s $499 models, which marked the cheapest available BD set-tops to date, helped boost their August sales.

"We can use HD discs to train consumers to move into digital, but it's a transition."

So says the head of Warner Brothers!

via Cnet

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif.—What if somebody started a format war and nobody came?

That was the question posed at the opening session of the DisplaySearch's 5th Annual HDTV Conference here. The much-hyped battle between opposing next-generation packaged media formats HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc still has no clear winner. Each of the panelists onhand to hash out the question of which side will prevail predictably had an agenda--to explain why his camp will win.

While there was no answer, several things became more clear: Studios have learned some lessons over the past year, and both sides are still essentially guessing as to what will be most compelling to consumers. Adoption of next-generation players and media is still low compared with standard-definition fare, though consumer recognition of all things high-definition is growing, which should benefit both sides.

Talk of this so-called war isn't new. But as more consumers buy high-definition television sets, and as the prices of next-generation set-top boxes and players come down and more people are exposed to the marketing push for high-definition discs from movie studios, retailers and hardware makers, they will be faced with a choice. Remaining neutral, though, is still what many are choosing.

Since this time last year, there's been some shift in the landscape of high-definition media. One of the most highly publicized changes was Paramount's decision to back off its Switzerland-like approach of offering its content on both formats and focus exclusively on HD DVD. The shift had a significant impact--at the very least on the perception of the format war, which up until that point appeared to be favoring Blu-ray.

For the record, Paramount Executive Vice President Allen Bell said the decision "didn't have much to do with the format war," but rather observations of the industry dynamics. (However, The New York Times reported that Paramount and Dreamworks Animation had both been paid off to choose HD DVD.)

"Up until (the) launch of two formats you could do an analysis and it was fundamentally a PowerPoint deck...more or less a white paper," Bell said. "We were the first company that went ahead and said, we're going to try both. A year later...does it become a good consumer proposition?" Compatibility, as well as consistency of the players from competing manufacturers and content availability led the studio to HD DVD, he said.

Though Paramount might think it has picked a winner, consumer polling by The NPD Group doesn't back up that decision. There are still plenty of factors holding up the next-generation packaged media industry as a whole.

A Plague Of Cracked Blu-Ray Discs From Netflix?

Grant is having a problem renting blu-ray discs from Netflix.

They're all arriving with an identical crack near the outside edge.

Some of them play; some of them don't.

He's documented the cracked discs for us:

9/13/2007 - Casino Royale (Not recognized by player)

9/17/2007 - Casino Royale

9/18/2007 - Flags of Our Fathers (Would not play)

9/18/2007 - The Holiday

9/21/2007 - The Holiday

9/27/2007 - The Holiday

9/27/2007 - Planet Earth: Complete Collection: Disc 1

10/02/2007 - Happy Feet

10/02/2007 - Babel

10/04/2007 - Happy Feet (Played OK)

10/04/2007 - Babel (Played OK)

10/09/2007 - Babel (Played OK)

12 cracked out of 19 as of 2007-10-09

Hey, Planet Earth was pretty cool, and we were pleasantly surprised by Casino Royale. The new James Bond is sexy, although he looks more like he belongs in a remake of The Prisoner than James Bond... Oh sorry, wrong blog. Anyone else experiencing trouble with their blu-ray discs from Netflix?


Via Mars Box

Upconvert your BD/HD DVD 1080p content to 1600p with Gateways' HVQ HDMI 1600p display

It features a stunning 2560x1600 widescreen ultra-high resolution and uses the Silicon Optix Realta HQV video processor for incredibly detailed images. In addition, the display's advanced upconversion makes standard-definition video look high-definition, and will even upscale 1080p high-definition video to an astonishing 1600p.

Unique visitors to Netflix

Now there's hi-def on regular DVDs?

Via PCworld.ca

New recorders from Toshiba Corp. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (Panasonic) shown at this week's Ceatec exhibition in Japan can record high-definition TV to conventional DVDs.

Both of the new high-def formats were developed because conventional DVDs don't have the capacity to hold an HD movie in the MPEG2 format used for most of the world's HDTV broadcasting. While a DVD holds just 4.7G-bytes of data per layer, an HD DVD disc can hold 15G bytes and a Blu-ray Disc 25G bytes, enough to store a high-def movie or soccer match.

2007 Large-Screen HDTV Ratings

To help consumers make the right choice with regard to their large-screen HDTV purchase, the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Large Screen HDTV Usage and Satisfaction Study^SM gathers consumer responses about various makes and model series across three market segments: HDTV 37-inch to 49-inch; HDTV 50-inch to 65-inch; and Rear Projection (50-inch to 72-inch). In the survey, consumers who purchased or received a 37- to 65-inch HDTV, or a 50- to 72-inch rear-projection TV, were asked to rate their TV’s picture and sound performance, appearance and styling, operation and features. Consumers were also asked about how, why and what they purchased, their shopping and research experience, and about brand loyalty, among other considerations. Consumers say the factors that contribute the most to their HDTV satisfaction are: picture and sound performance, ease of operation, features, and appearance and styling.

Via JD Power

Fastmac Announces 2X Blu-Ray Optical Drive Upgrade for Laptops

Salinas, CA - Fastmac today announced the first & only 2X Blu-Ray optical drive upgrade for Apple's PowerBook, iBook & MacBook Pro computers. The new slimline, slot loading drive uses the fastest & most compatible Blu-ray mechanism available to provide up to 50 GB of storage on 1 disk, without sacrificing compatibility with standard DVD & CD recordable media. Fastmac's Blu-Ray optical drive upgrade is scheduled to ship within 30 days and is available for pre-order from www.fastmac.com for a special introductory price of $999.95. Each drive carries a 1 year warranty and a 30 day money back guarantee .

"Next" HD DVD reviewed

Via 411mania.com

Spielberg Movies coming to HD DVD:According to Universal Japan

'300' HD DVD combo disc packaged with Xbox 360 at Walmart

Interesting.....

Best Buy named leading high-def retailer

too bad Frys Electronics isn't nationwide!

Best Buy has emerged as the leading retailer of Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD titles by a wide margin, easily topping DVD-dominant Wal-Mart, according to the NPD Group.

Wal-Mart carries a third-place share of the high-definition software market, followed by Circuit City and Target. Amazon.com sits in second.

NPD declined to report specific unit sales shares for each of the retailers but noted that Best Buy is far in front. Amazon.com and the rest are mostly clustered together for the second through fifth spots.

Best Buy’s fanboy and fangirl consumer base, coupled with its commitment to customer service, has boosted the chain’s high-def performance, said Brian Lucas, spokesman for the chain.

“We generally have an audience that loves movies, where they are not casual fans, and these people are likely to have a great home theater experience,” said Lucas. “As one of the market leaders in HDTV sales, our customers tend to understand high-def more than the average consumer.”

Lucas noted that Best Buy’s ‘blue-shirt’ staff regularly talk to customers about the incompatibility between Blu-ray and HD DVD, and he said that honesty has encouraged consumer interest in high-def.

Blu-Ray Chairman: HD-DVD is not our main competitor

"The main BD competition is with current DVD businesses, not HD DVD, making the main hurdle consumer understanding, for example when the consumer does not understand the benefits of or enjoy high definition. Hence, consumer education is key."

Link to interview

HD DVD gets Knocked Up!

the latest Nielsen numbers are in and Knocked Up brought out the big numbers for HD DVD!

Whats going to happen when Transformers comes out?

Fox points to hardware for Silver Surfer Blu-ray problems

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is aware of consumers experiencing playback problems on Oct. 2 Blu-ray Disc release The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, but the studio believes the issues are confined to a limited number of players.

Link here:

Hostel 2 Blu-Ray Cover art

Comes out October 23rd.

HDTV Customers Are Happy With Picture Quality, Less Enthusiastic About Programming Options, Nielsen Finds

another article about Nielsens findings:

HDTV Customers Are Happy With Picture Quality, Less Enthusiastic About Programming Options, Nielsen Finds

Pan's Labyrinth coming on 12/26

New Line Home Entertainment have announced the US Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD release of Pan’s Labyrinth on 26th December 2007 priced at $35.99 SRP each. From director Guillermo Del Toro, Pan's Labyrinth is a fanciful and chilling story set against the backdrop of a fascist regime in 1944 rural Spain. The film centres on Ofelia, a lonely and dreamy child living with her mother and adoptive father; a military officer tasked with ridding the area of rebels. In her loneliness, Ofelia creates a world filled with fantastical creatures and secret destinies. With post-war repression at its height, Ofelia must come to terms with her world through a fable of her own creation.

The film is presented in 1080P 1.85:1 Widescreen with Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 Surround and optional English, English SDH and Spanish subtitles.

Toshiba shows soon-to-launch HD DVD recorders

Toshiba is showing three yet-to-be-launched HD DVD recorders at this week’s Ceatec show in Japan.

A main feature of all three players is the ability to transcode in real-time an off-the-air MPEG2 high-definition signal into the more efficient MPEG4 AVC compression system. When used it means recorded HD content will take up less space so more can be stored in the recorder’s hard-disk drive or on an HD DVD disc.

Toshiba says about 6 hours of content can be stored on a single-layer HD DVD-R disc.

Because the MPEG4 AVC data takes up less space it’s also possible to store about 2 hours of content on a DVD-R using the recently standardized HD REC format.

The high-end RD-X7 recorder from Toshiba features 1080p (1080 horizontal lines with progressive scanning) video output at 24 frames per second, which is the highest of several grades of video signal judged to be high-definition. The other two recorders, the RD-A101 and RD-A201, didn’t appear to offer this output based on available information from Toshiba.

The company hasn’t announced when the recorders will hit the market but three manufacturers of recorders based on the competing Blu-ray Disc format, Sony, Panasonic and Sharp, have all in the last month announced new machines for the year-end shopping season. To compete, Toshiba will likely have to release the new recorders in the coming weeks.

Most Happy With HDTV Picture, Dissatisfied With Program Selection

Via Digitalmediawire.com

While 85% of high-definition TV owners are satisfied with the picture quality of HD televisions, only 39% could say the same for HD programming selection, according to a report released Wednesday by The Nielsen Company.

Of those surveyed, women were slightly more positive about HD picture quality than men, while no difference was observed between cable and satellite subscribers.

Some 60% of HDTV owners subscribed to HD signals from a cable provider, while 31% had a satellite subscription and 6% said they received HD signals via an antenna or over-the-air.

Sports and movies were the most frequently watched programs in HD, while music and reality shows were the least-watched.

Among HD channels, ESPN HD was the most popular sports channel, while Discovery HD was the top documentary channel and HBO HD the most popular movie channel.

Nearly one-fifth (19.7%) of respondents reported that they watch more TV since they got their HD set.

Horizon Semiconductors Unveils Industry's First True 1080/60p Universal System-On-A-Chip Solution for Next Generation HD-DVD and Blu-Ray(TM) Media

Horizon Semiconductors Unveils Industry's First True 1080/60p Universal System-On-A-Chip Solution for Next Generation HD-DVD and Blu-Ray(TM) Media Players/Recorders

Blu-ray eyeing China

Via Content Agenda

After initially turning a cold shoulder to China, the Blu-ray Disc Assn. is warming up to Chinese OEMs and consumers, BDA spokesman and Pioneer Electronics senior VP Andy Parsons tells Content Agenda.

The BDA has begun formal evaluation of AVS (Advanced Video System), a Chinese-developed video codec, and DRA (Digital Rise Audio), a Chinese audio format, for possible inclusion in Blu-ray players made and sold in China.

The decision to evaluate the codecs was announced at a press conference held in Beijing on Sept. 28.

If adopted, the move would put Blu-ray on par with HD DVD, which has already approved the use of AVS in a Chinese version of HD DVD currently slated for launch there in May 2008.

Parsons says no decision has been reached yet on whether Blu-ray players incorporating the Chinese codecs would be limited to the Chinese market, as the DVD Forum has sought to do with China-only HD DVD players, or they could be exported to the rest of the world.

"We don't know where we would draw the line, or even if we would draw a line," Parsons said. "Generally, we haven't tried to regionalize the format."

Either way, China has become a major strategic focus for the Blu-ray camp, according to Parsons. "Clearly, we're putting a lot of effort into promoting the format in China," he said.

The new emphasis on the Chinese market and Chinese manufacturers represents a bit of a turnaround for the Blu-ray camp. The format's developers were initially reluctant to license the technology to low-cost Chinese CE makers, fearing a rapid decline in prices would make it harder to recoup their investment.

But with prices now falling for both high-def formats, Blu-ray has little choice but to embrace low-cost manufacturers.

"We would have been foolish to think that limiting the involvement of Chinese manufacturers is something that could be sustained for a long time," Parsons said. "Initially it made sense to keep margins high to try to recoup some of the investment that went into the format, but we always knew that as we got into more competitive price points we would have to look for ways to take some of the costs out."

Parsons also says Blu-ray is unwilling to concede the Chinese market to HD DVD.

"There's this perception that China has somehow 'selected' HD DVD, but that's just wrong," he said. "First of all there's no one entity to 'select' anything, and it didn't come from the government. There was a consortium of groups, which included the government, that pressed for a Chinese version of HD DVD, but at this point that's still a proposal. We haven't seen any product."

According to Parsons, "there's a lot going on over there right now, with both formats."

One thing the Chinese government has made clear, however, is that any high-def format sold in China will have to support AVS, which the government sees as crucial to China's bid for technological and IP parity with Japan, the U.S. and Europe.

So it's a fair bet that the "evaluation," will go well, especially since most members of the BDA board also sit on the steering committee of the DVD Forum, and would be already familiar with the technology from its incorporation into HD DVD.

Parsons couldn't say how long the evaluation is likely to take.

Panasonic: Blu-ray will win the war by New Year's Day

according to Panasonic, I should not bother buying Transformers on HD DVD.

The decisive battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD is at hand, says a prominent Panasonic exec.

Blu-ray manufacturers are going to start cutting prices and go out on a promotional binge this holiday season, Matsushita Electric Industrial's Kazuhiro Tsuga said during a briefing with reporters at Ceatec, a large tech trade show that started here Tuesday. At Matsushita, which is best known for its Panasonic brand name, Tsuga is an executive officer who oversees networking efforts, some home electronics technologies and overseas labs, and other areas.

By the end of the Christmas season or the end of the first quarter, the writing will be on the wall. The format war in earnest may last only another year, he predicted.

"The BD (Blu-ray disc) companies will try to do our best to promote Blu-ray," he said. "The studios want us to put money in to promote it."

He added: "By the end of the year, you will see good products with very good promotion."

The Blu-ray coalition is also working on ways to cut the price of slim Blu-ray drives and recorders to allow the technology to infiltrate notebooks and PCs.

And wouldn't you know it--Matsushita has new Blu-ray players on the way. The three models will handle 18 hours of full-HD programs on a dual-layer disc and will go on sale November 1 in Japan, according to Reuters.

Tsuga's no fan of combo players that conjoin Blu-ray and HD DVD features. Last year, he called the idea "stupid, stupid." He pretty much repeated the comment this year and said that Matsushita still has no plans for such a device.

He downplayed Paramount Pictures' commitment to release movies on HD DVD exclusively, saying it only lasts for 18 months, and argues that studios are going with HD DVD "because big money came" to them. (Microsoft, Toshiba and Intel are the main backers of HD DVD.)

IPTV Has An Uphill Battle Against Cable, Satellite In The U.S.

Internet protocol TV services, which are offered by telecom companies, face in the U.S. a saturated pay-TV market that will require attractive pricing to lure consumers from cable and satellite services, a market research firm said Monday.

More after the jump:

Venturer HD DVD Player - SHD7000

Not really $199 after all:

Target has it up for sale