Here's an interesting bit of news. According to an article at Reuters, Pioneer is pushing back the North American launch of their Blu-ray players to some time this fall.
Japanese electronics maker Pioneer Corp. (6773.T: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday it would postpone the North Amercian launch of next-generation DVD players using Blu-ray technology to this autumn from its previous launch schedule of June, citing a delay in the development process.
With Sony's Blu-ray player reportedly delayed until August and Pioneer's until fall, its now up to Samsung. Hopefully they can ship their player before the first Blu-ray titles hit store shelves on June 20th. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here here. Add a comment
Over the weekend, the Japanese newspaper, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, reported that Pioneer was going to stop developing DVD recorders. Instead, the company is looking to form a partnership with Matsushita (Panasonic).
Pioneer Corp will stop developing DVD recorders on its own, as stiff price competition is causing the firm to lose money in this segment and is looking to link up with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co to cut costs, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported, company sources said Saturday.

Pioneer plans to continue developing next-generation DVD recorders based on the Blu-ray format, promoted by Sony Corp and Matsushita, by purchasing key microchips and software from Matsushita, the business daily said.
As far as I can tell, this only applies to Pioneer's set top DVD recorders and not their PC based drives. As we find out more, we'll let you know. In the mean time, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
Yesterday afternoon, Sony announced their latest A/V receiver, the STR-DG1000. Designed to optimize Blu-ray and other HD sources, the STR-DG1000 includes features like dual HDMI active intelligence, 7.1 channel sound and support for resolutions up to 1080p.
Whether it's 1080p pass-through, eight channels of uncompressed audio, smooth video switching, simplifying set-up of a surround sound system, and automatically adjusting performance, this new A/V receiver is optimized for a full high-definition experience.

The STR-DG1000 receiver has several HD enhancing features, beginning with dual HDMI active intelligence, which automatically detects and receives the best possible video and audio signals from connected devices. This all-digital path from source to display also handles 1080p resolution and up to eight channels of uncompressed audio.
The STR-DG1000 will ship in August for about $800. More information can be found on Sony's website. Add a comment
RCA has announced that they've started shipping their new HD DVD player, the HDV5000. Here's part of their press release:
Officially endorsed by the DVD Forum industry organization as the next high-capacity DVD disc, the HD DVD format featured in the HDV5000 delivers sharper, more detailed picture performance than standard DVD discs. Moreover, the HD DVD format opens new avenues of interactivity including enhanced on-screen menus, scene searching, directors' commentaries and the potential for online shopping. For consumers with large libraries of digital disc content, the RCA HDV5000 player provides backward compatibility with current DVD discs as well as audio CDs that have been available for over 20 years.

The HDV5000 supports various video formats including MPEG2, MPEG4/AVC and VC1. The unit plays back DVD/DVD-R/-RW/DVD-RAM discs and mp3 audio files from CD-R/CD-RW discs.
RCA's HD DVD player can also upconvert standard DVD's to 720p or 1080i. The HDV5000 is shipping now for a suggested retail price $499. More information can be found here. Add a comment
Businessweek has a great editorial about the DRM technologies being used by Blu-ray and HD DVD. According to the author, many of these copy-protection schemes are simply anti-consumer.
Having grown tired of one war, we're on the eve of another, complete with alliances, secret codes, and laser beams. No, not Iran -- it's the fight over the next generation of DVD devices. The real battle isn't between Sony (SNE ) and Microsoft (MSFT ) and their chosen formats, it's between the manufacturers and us -- the consumers, the ones who ultimately pay for it all. And the battle is over Digital Rights Management (DRM), because in addition to increased storage, these new disks are packed full of copy-protection functions, some of which impair our ability to use the content we pay for, the way we like and are legally entitled to.
It's definitely an interesting read. If you'd like to check it out, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment