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The format wars are definitely still raging between Blu-ray and HD-DVD. No one format has emerged as a clear winner yet, and likely will not for some time. An announcement from Toshiba does however indicate the HD-DVD might be ahead of the game.
‘HD DVD’ Stories
Over 100k HD-DVD players sold
By Chris Scott Barr on Thursday, Apr 19th 2007 No CommentsToshiba’s Announces HD-DVD Burner
By Rue Liu on Saturday, Jan 6th 2007 1 CommentToshiba Japan has announced the release of what they claim to be the “the world’s first dedicated PC-based HD-DVD burner.” Dubbed the SD-H903A, this DVD SATA burner supports not only dual layer HD-DVDs, but also DVD RAM and DL DVDs. The drive has a 8MG buffer and burns DVD RAM at 3x, DVDs at 8x, DL DVDs at 2.4x and HD-DVDs at 2.4x.
The drive will be making an appearance at the upcoming CES and samples of the drive will be shipped soon thereafter. But there is no pricing information yet.
A dual layer HD-DVD burner for January [Via: AkihabaraNews]
Blu-Ray, HD DVD, Hybrid Players and Total HD
By Rue Liu on Thursday, Jan 4th 2007 2 CommentsIt is confusing times for consumers looking to buy a new player for next-gen discs, as the war between HD DVD and Blu-Ray rages on. However, some companies are playing it safe by not choosing sides, leading to many great announcements for 2007. LG is announcing their release of hybrid next-gen players while Warner Brothers is announcing their plans to release the first hybrid movie discs, known as TotalHD.
All these developments attempt to eliminate the fear of obsolescence that has been turning away many potential early adopters, stalling the widespread adoption of high-definition, and showing poor sales for next-gen products.
Details on LG’s hybrid players as well as the availability of Warner Bro.’s hybrid movie discs will remain a mystery until their full reveal at the upcoming CES.
Hybrid Blu-Ray and HD DVD discs, players at CES [Via: Electronista]
A Crappy Plasma TV from ByD:sign / EyeFi
By Staff Editor on Friday, Dec 29th 2006 No CommentsWant to buy a TV from a company that is just catching up to modern technology? I don’t either. A new 42″ plasma TV released by ByD:sign / EyeFi supports an unattractive 852 x 480 pixels. This TV has just met industry standards and only now has HDMI support.
The PE-4202DFK does have removable speakers which could be helping this unit sell. This feature alone does not substitute the fact that HD and Blu-Ray DVDs won’t appear as well on such a low resolution.
So, does a TV that has old technology at a horrible resolution with limited support for new technologies suit everyone? I believe not. For $1,430, this TV won’t make it to my home any time in the future.
ByD:sign / EyeFi unveils antiquated 42-inch plasma [Via: Gizmodo]
Microsoft Releases Xbox 360 1080p Update
By Benjamin Nied on Tuesday, Oct 31st 2006 No Comments
Just in time to make Sony sweat a little bit more, Microsoft has finally released the long-awaited sixth Xbox 360 update, which adds, among a ton of other things, 1080p support for both movies and games. The update will go live today for all Gold and Silver Xbox 360 members, and doesn’t require your Xbox to have a hard drive installed (for all you Core owners out there). Obviously, the update is meant to support Microsoft’s soon-to-be-unleashed HD-DVD add-on for their next-gen system, but how long until game developers start adding 1080p options to their games? My guess is that we won’t need to wait long; to see the full list of things that’ll be included in this massive update, check out Xbox.com’s list and get to downloadin’!
[via Gamasutra]
VidaBox Media Center PCs Support HD DVD and Blu-ray
By Rue Liu on Friday, Oct 20th 2006 No CommentsNot a confrontational person? Don’t want to pick sides? Don’t want to get caught in between the HD DVD and Blu-ray battle? Wish there would just be peace and harmony in the media format world? Well, VidaBox delivers two new Media Center PCs that support both formats in its native 1080p resolution to soften the tension just a little, at least for the consumers. Now you can have peace of mind knowing that regardless which party wins the war, you wont end up with a prematurely obsolete device. The Dual HD Lux and Dual HD Max come priced at $3,499 and $4,399, respectively. The pricier model comes with built-in 7-inch touch screen to navigate the Windows Media Center.
VidaBox Dual HD Max pictured above, continue after the jump for picture of the Dual HD Lux.
HP Pavilion dv9000t – Media Center Laptop with HD-DVD
By Ewdison Then on Monday, Oct 16th 2006 No CommentsHP Pavilion dv9000t is a great desktop replacement and media center laptop. Don’t mind the size, after all it’s a desktop replacement. It is the first laptop to feature a HD-DVD drive. The dv9000vt sports 2 headphones jack, which is pretty cool if you want to watch movies with your girlfriend alone without disturbing your roommates. The shiny top cover gives a cool look to the laptop chassis. The 17” widescreen display shows 1440 X 900 resolution and unlike some of the media center laptop; it does not come with a TV tunner. Under the hood, the dv9000t powered by Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.16ghz. HP priced this laptop at $1249.99, which is pretty decent for a media laptop.
NEC Hybrid Solutions for Blu-Ray and HD-DVD Combo
By Ewdison Then on Tuesday, Oct 10th 2006 No CommentsAt this moment many of us are deciding if we should buy a HD-DVD or a Blu-Ray DVD Player. No clear winner yet as both is trying to establish itself as the new standard. This is really bad for consumer and I don’t want to buy something that will be outdated because lack of industry support (remember betamax?). Fortunately NEC is working on a solution, a hybrid player chips that will play both types of disc. The μPD63410 and the μPC3360 chips will be available in early (April) 2007 and it will cost around $84 (10,000 yen) a piece. Hopefully we will see combo players by summer 2007 or earlier.
NEC Electronics ships dual-format DVD chip [via yahoo reuters]
Xbox 360 HD-DVD Arriving this Nov. for $199
By Benjamin Nied on Thursday, Sep 28th 2006 No CommentsFINALLY, we have Stateside release information for the Xbox 360’s hotly-anticipated HD-DVD drive. Coming out just in time to give the difficult-to-find, Blu-ray-equipped PlayStation 3 a run for its money arriving “mid-November” to happy HD customers everywhere. For that price, you’ll get the USB-connected drive, the Xbox Universal Remote, and a HD-DVD copy of King Kong. Not a bad deal, eh?
Sony to Microsoft: Nyah Nyah, Our Console is Better Than Yours
By Benjamin Nied on Friday, Sep 22nd 2006 3 CommentsIn the ultimate show of maturity, Sony is once again going on the offensive, pointing out how their internal Blu-ray solution is “better” than Microsoft’s external HD-DVD soluion. Coming the day after we got our first solid details about Microsoft’s upcoming Xbox 360 add-on, as well as news of an update that will allow the 360 to play back 1080p video, Sony’s response comes off as a desperate attempt to save face in the wake of their PS3’s advantages slowly slipping away.
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