While Microsoft has criticized Sony for making Blu-ray standard on the PS3, Ray Maguire of Sony UK has replied, claiming that it is essential to the next-gen gaming experience.
"Blu-Ray is really important for the games side of our business because what it does is it give us the ability to have 50Gb of information actually on the disc," Maguire said.

"With PlayStation 3 you're looking at a Cell chip that has immense computing power. That means you're going to need a huge amount of storage as well - we really need that Blu-Ray disc because what we don't want to be doing is swapping discs half way through loading. It's really important to us."
It's going to be interesting to see what game developers can do with Blu-ray. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
According to an article at Ars Technica, Hollywood studios have agreed to delay forced quality downgrades until at least 2010. This means that even if you don't have HDMI, you can still enjoy HD video for at least a few years.
The conundrum isn't apparently lost on the consumer electronics industry or Hollywood. According to German-language Spiegel Online, there is reportedly a behind-the-scenes, unofficial agreement between Hollywood and some consumer electronics manufacturers, including Microsoft and Sony, not to use ICT until 2010, or possibly even 2012. Without providing more details, the report suggests that Hollywood isn't exactly happy with the situation, and could very well renege on the agreement, such that it is. But the agreement is there nonetheless, presumably to help the industry transition to HDMI. This could explain why the very same studios that pushed for HDMI and ICT have recently announced that they would not use it for the time being.
This is definitely good news for consumers. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found website. Add a comment
Panasonic has announced that they will be incorporating DivX support into two of their DVD recorders, the DMR-EH55S and DMR-EH75VS. Along with the ability to play back DivX files, both players feature an HDMI interface and the ability to upconvert to 1080i.
Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company and DivX, Inc., the digital entertainment company that created the DivX media format, announced today that Panasonic will incorporate the DivX codec into two of its 2006 DVD-Recorders. The DMR-EH55S DVD-Recorder with HDD and the DMR-EH75VS DVD-VHS-HDD Recorder bring a range of popular functionality to consumers, including the playback of DivX encoded video files.

Both models feature HDMI single cable connection with up-conversion to 1080i. The Panasonic DMR-EH55 is a DVD recorder with a 200 GB built-in hard disc drive, SD slot and DV Input. The Panasonic DMR-EH75 is a combo VHS-DVD recorder deck with an 80GB built-in hard disc drive. They provide very versatile solutions to users who want extreme flexibility in the formats they use for content delivery.
If you'd like to read more, Panasonic's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
Here's an interesting bit of news. According to GameIndustry.biz, the HD-DVD drive for the Xbox will be priced so that it and the console combined will be cheaper than Sony's Playstation 3.
Currently, the Xbox 360 retails at GBP 279 in the UK, with the Core System version selling for GBP 209, while the 60GB model of the PlayStation 3 is expected to cost between GBP 399 and GBP 419 when it arrives in late November.

Microsoft's alleged comments to UK retailers seem to suggest that the HD-DVD peripheral, which allows playback of high definition movies using Toshiba's next-generation DVD standard, will be priced below GBP 130, making an Xbox 360 and HD-DVD player bundle into a potentially attractive option at Christmas.
Keep in mind that they're comparing the cheaper Xbox 360 core system and the high end, 60GB PS3. For those on a budget, the 20GB PS3 will still probably be the way to go. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
Sony DADC has announced that they've started producing Blu-ray Discs in the US. According to their press release, they currently have three replication lines turning out 25,000 Blu-ray Discs a day.
Sony DADC today officially inaugurated Blu-ray Disc BD-ROM (video, games, data) production in the U.S.

Sony DADC in the U.S. currently has three Blu-ray replication lines functioning with a capacity of 25,000 single-layer 25GB Blu-ray Discs per day, for a total of 750,000 Blu-ray Discs per month. This capacity is expected to increase to nearly 5 million discs per month by October as additional lines are added to the facility. Of these additional lines, six will be capable of manufacturing 50GB dual layer Blu-ray Discs.
Wow, that's a lot of Blu-ray discs. If you'd like to read more, Sony DADC's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment