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12 July 2007

HD DVD is apparently doing well in Europe. According to Reuters, the European HD DVD Promotional Group recently stated that HD DVD players are outselling Blu-ray players by a 3 to 1 margin.

HD DVD video players have outsold rival standard Blu-ray players by a three-to-one margin in Europe's main markets so far this year, according to a lobby group.

The European HD DVD Promotional Group claimed it had 74 percent market share in Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland for stand-alone players, citing sales figures it commissioned from market research group GfK.

Keep in mind that these numbers are spun heavily in HD DVD's favor. The HD DVD Promotional Group is only looking at stand alone players, the one area where HD DVD does have the advantage. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

11 July 2007

DigiTimes has reported that Samsung will introduce the Duo HD BD-UP5000 during the 4Q of this year. According to industry sources, this combo Blu-ray/HD DVD player will be priced at only $545.

Samsung Electronics, at an IFA (Internationale Funhausstellung in German) conference held in Hamburg, Germany last week, announced it will launch the Duo HD (high-definition) BD-UP5000, the world's second dual-format disc player model supporting both HD DVD and BD (Blu-ray Disc) next to the LG Electronics BH100. The device will be initially introduced in the European market at a tentative price of 400 euro (US$545) in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

It will be interesting to see if Samsung can deliver the BD-UP5000 at this price. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes.

Update - Apparently, DigiTime's "sources" got the price wrong. According to heise online, the BD-UP5000 will cost about 400 euro more than their single format Blu-ray player, putting it in the same ballpark as the LG BH100. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

09 July 2007

For the last week or so, its been rumored that Sony would be lowering the price of the 60GB Playstation 3 by $100. Earlier today, Sony confirmed the rumor, stating that the 60GB model will now be priced at $499. To fill the $599 price point, the company will be releasing a new version of the console that includes an 80GB hard drive and a copy of the game MotorStorm.

Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), Inc. today announced a new 80GB model of its PLAYSTATION3 (PS3(TM)) computer entertainment system. Beginning in August, the new PS3 model will be available in North America for a suggested retail price of $599/$659 CND and will be sold with the popular online-enabled racing game MotorStorm(TM). In conjunction with this news, the company also announced that effective immediately, the current 60GB PS3 model will be available in North America for $499/$549 CND, or $100 below the original launch price.

By featuring an expanded hard disk drive (HDD), the new 80GB PS3 is designed to appeal to the online gaming and entertainment enthusiast, providing ample storage space to download more games and other entertainment content from PLAYSTATIONNetwork. There are currently more than 60 playable games and game-related downloads available through PLAYSTATIONStore, with expanded entertainment content coming soon. The new model features the million-selling game MotorStorm in the box, allowing up to 12 players to play online at one time, hitting the dirt in this visually-arresting, fast-paced racing title.

If the $100 price cut isn't enough, remember that you can also get five free Blu-ray movies by mail. Full details on Sony's price cut and the 80GB PS3 can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

06 July 2007

While companies like Blockbuster have thrown their weight behind Blu-ray, Video Business has reported that most major retailers are still supporting both high-def formats. With more and more people buying Blu-ray and HD DVD players, retailers have also started to devote more floor space to high-def titles and promote them in their weekly circulars.

Retailers are going mainstream with their marketing and merchandising efforts for high-definition discs as the number of titles released across the HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats approaches 1,000.

Amazon.com, Best Buy, Trans World, Virgin Megastores and others are promoting both formats, unwilling to potentially snub a portion of their early adopter consumers.

“Our feeling is that we should continue to supply both until the customers tell us that we shouldn’t,” said Jim Litwak, president and chief operating officer at Trans World. “Blu-ray is outperforming HD DVD in stores, but the customer is still telling us they want HD DVD.”

While most retailers are deciding to support both high-def formats, I wouldn't be surprised if some eventually decided to sell only Blu-ray titles, at least in their stores. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

02 July 2007

Amazon and Microsoft have teamed up to form the 1,000 HD DVD Indies Project. According to their press release, the project will provide free authoring and setup services for up to 1,000indie titles. These titles will then be produced on demand by CustomFlix.

Amazon.comInc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) today announced the1,000 HD DVD Indies Project, designed to lower the barriers to entry forfilmmakers to produce and distribute movies in the HD DVD format throughthe innovative manufacturing-on-demand technology of CustomFlix, a part ofan Amazon group of companies. Jointly sponsored by Amazon and Microsoft,the project will provide free authoring and setup services for up to 1,000selected indie titles.

"This collaboration with Microsoft is a great opportunity forindependent filmmakers to reach Amazon customers with their films via theHD DVD format," said Peter Faricy, vice president of music and movies atAmazon.com. "By working together with Microsoft and leveraging the provenCustomFlix DVD on Demand model, we can lower the barriers to entry forindependent filmmakers and dramatically increase the selection we offer ourcustomers."

The project will be spearheaded by CustomFlix, which will bring as manyas 1,000 feature-length independent films to Amazon customers using theCustomFlix DVD on Demand technology, which produces and ships DVDs only asthey are ordered. This model greatly improves the cost structure forindependent filmmakers by eliminating the need for costly inventory.

It will be interesting to see how this pans out. If indie film makers take advantage of this project, it just might be what HD DVD needs to jump back in the lead. Full details can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

29 June 2007

Toshiba announced today that they've released a new set of firmware updates for their HD DVD players. The update adds support for web-enabled network capabilities, giving consumers the ability to access additional content and bonus features.

Using the Ethernet ports found on all Toshiba HD DVD players, and thecurrently available firmware update, once connected to the network, userscan download bonus features, as available, from a movie studio's server.This data is then saved in the player's persistent storage and can beaccessed by the user. In addition to downloading new bonus features, someHD DVD discs may even include locked prerecorded content which can beunlocked with a downloadable key from the studio's online server.

In addition to downloading content, HD DVD users also have the abilityto upload content and interact with content providers. For example, withthe award winning title, "Blood Diamond" from Warner Home Video, users canparticipate in interactive polls. After providing feedback, results aredelivered back to users via the HD DVD player.

Toshiba plans to release another firmware update in September that will enable 1080p/24 output on the HD-XA2 and HD-A20. More information can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

29 June 2007

For the last month or so, Toshiba has been running a promotion, offering $100 instant rebates on two of their entry level HD DVD players. This promotion has been a big success, boosting sales in some locations by as much as ten-fold. According to a report by Video Business, Toshiba has decided to make these price cuts permanent. Starting July 1st, the HD-A2 and HD-A20 will be priced at $299 and $399 respectively.

Toshiba is sticking with the $299 price-point for its bottom-line HD DVD player after seeing a sales jolt when it introduced the lower price in May as part of a limited-time offer.

The company said during a press event in New York Thursday that promotional prices introduced in May on its two lower-priced players would go into permanent effect July 1.

The entry-level HD-A2 player will stay at $299 and the HD-A20 at $399. The top-line HD-XA2 remains $799.

With more affordable Blu-ray players on the way, its going to be an interesting holiday season. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

28 June 2007

At this year's Consumer Electronics Show, Warner Home Video unveiled its Total HD disc. Developed to eliminate consumer confusion, Total HD put both HD DVD and Blu-ray content onto a single disc. While Warner originally planned to release its first Total HD titles during the second half of 2007, Video Business is reporting that they've pushed the launch back until early 2008.

Warner Home Video looks to be pushing the launch of its dual-format high-definition disc, Total HD, into 2008, from the second half of this year, as was originally planned.

Studio VP of sales and planning and operations Dan Miron said at a session during the Entertainment Supply Chain Academy conference here today that Warner will release its first titles in Total HD in early 2008.

Separately, Warner senior VP of marketing management Steve Nickerson said the studio hasn't yet set a launch date but acknowledged it's unlikely it will be in the fourth quarter.

While Warner does not give an explanation for the delay, its possible that they're waiting to see who wins the format war. If Blu-ray titles continue to outsell HD DVD, there might not even be a need for Total HD. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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27 June 2007

For the last few months, Toshiba has been giving away five free HD DVD movies with each player purchased. The Blu-ray Disc Association is finally responding with their own promotion. People purchasing a Blu-ray player (including the PS3) between July 1st and September 30th will be able to get five free movies by mail.


Once the promotion starts, you'll be able to get complete details at BluraySavings.com. If you can't wait that long, a copy of the ad, as well as a list of available titles, can be found here. Add a comment