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DivX, Inc. and Warner Bros. Entertainment announced today that they have signed an agreement that will enable retailers to offer Warner Bros. titles in DivX format. The agreement covers Warner's entire catalogue, including current and back-catalogue movies and television programs. The first titles will be available in DivX standard definition format later this month, with high defintion coming in September 2009.
DivX, Inc. (NASDAQ:DIVX) and Warner Bros. Entertainment today announced an agreement that will enable online retailers to offer Warner Bros. titles in the high-quality DivX® standard definition format in October 2008 and high definition format in September 2009 for playback on DivX Certified® consumer electronics devices.
The wide-ranging agreement covers all titles available for digital distribution in the Warner Bros. catalogue including current and back-catalogue major motion pictures and television programs. All titles offered in the DivX format are compatible with a variety of DivX Certified devices from major consumer electronics brands, including DVD players, Blu-ray devices, gaming consoles and more. The agreement allows retailers who sign additional agreements with DivX and Warner Bros. to offer Warner titles in the DivX digital media format.
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A rumor surfaced this week, claiming that Microsoft was preparing a Blu-ray addon for the Xbox 360. According to the report, Microsoft has contracted with Toshiba-Samsung Storage Technology (TSST) to manufacture the drive and that it would be priced between $100-$150. Microsoft has been quick to squash these rumors. In a statement issued to Edge Online, the company said that it has no plans to offer a Blu-ray addon and that it will instead focus on games.
"As we’ve said before, Microsoft has no plans to introduce an Xbox 360 Blu-ray add-on," the firm told Edge. "Games are what drive consumers to purchase game consoles, and we remain focused on providing the largest library of blockbuster games available."
While I think there is some truth to these rumors, Microsoft isn't going to release a Blu-ray addon for the Xbox 360 until they are good and ready.
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While Blu-ray has struggled to catch on with consumers, the folks at Disney have high hopes for the format. In a recent interview, Disney vice president of Blu-ray and DVD creative production, David Jessen, forcasted that sales of Blu-ray discs in the U.S will overtake DVDs within two years. Jessen also expects Blu-ray to succeed in Europe and other overseas markets. However, it could take as long as 4 years.
Walt Disney Co., the second-largest U.S. media company, forecast sales of high-definition Blu-ray discs in the U.S. will overtake DVDs within two years.
Consumers will adopt the new technology "much sooner than we think," David Jessen, Disney vice president of Blu-ray and DVD creative production, said in an interview in Milan today. "It's right on the verge of becoming really big in the U.S., where in two years Blu-ray will eclipse DVDs."
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Pioneer Eruope has announced its new flagship Blu-ray Disc player, the BDP-LX91. Along with support for BD-Live, the BDP-LX91 features a newly-engineered 16-bit video engine to provide video decoding, I/P conversion, video scaling and video adjustments. The player also supports full decoding and bit-stream output for high-resolution audio formats including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio.
Available across Europe in November, our anticipated BDP-LX91 flagship BD-Live™ Blu-ray Disc player is designed to take your audio and video experience to the next level.
The reference-quality player features unique technologies and is built with the industry’s most advanced components including a Pioneer-Renesas jointly developed core processor chipset.
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DivX, Inc. announced today that three of Pioneer's Blu-ray Disc players have been certified for DivX playback. While the BDP-LX08 is limited to the European market, the BDP-LX71 and BDP-51FD will be available across Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand starting in October.
DivX, Inc. (NASDAQ:DIVX), a digital media company, today announced the DivX Certification™ of three new Blu-ray player models from Pioneer (PN: BDP-LX71, BDP-LX08, BDP-51FD).
DivX® technology enables a high-quality experience for digital video and DivX Certification™ of these new Blu-ray players allows consumers to play back DivX video saved on CDs or DVDs. Pioneer’s first DivX Certified Blu-ray Disc Players, featuring high-quality image and sound, will be available across Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand starting in October (BDP-LX08 to be released in Europe only).
“Our standard DVD players that obtained DivX Certification have shipped worldwide, meeting the increasing consumer demand for devices that play high-quality DivX video. By supporting DivX in our newest Blu-ray Disc Player, we are now able to provide consumers with a greater video experience,” said Ryuichiro Yoshimura, General Manager of Video Planning Department, Pioneer Corporation.
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In a recent interview with Pocket-lint, Samsung UK's director of consumer electronics forecasted that Blu-ray would last only another five years before it was replaced by something else. While it took longer than expected, someone from Sony has finally responded to this statement. Rick Clancy, senior vice president for Corporate Communications at Sony Electronics, fired back on the Sony Electronics Blog, stating that the Samsung exec's comments "couldn’t be further from the truth." With millions of Playstation 3 consoles in consumers' homes, Clancy believes that Blu-ray should be around for a least another decade.
Now, I can understand why Microsoft and Toshiba would not be immediate adopters of the format (although I predict market demand will eventually persuade them otherwise) and try to move the discussion onto networked content and DVRs, but what throws me is a recent comment by a European marketing manager of Samsung, the world second-largest seller of BD players (after Sony), who said to the press that the format only "has five years left."
In my opinion, he couldn’t be further from the truth.
First of all, there are millions of BD-based PlayStation 3 videogame consoles in consumers’ homes around the world and this number is growing fast as the device is introduced to new global markets and to new consumers every day. I believe the value of this product is only going to increase for many years to come — perhaps a decade — as developers realize the true power of PS3 in the new games they create, and as the device’s real world features like Blu-ray compatibility blend with new virtual and, yes, networked world features like PSN and Home.
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Panasonic announced this week that it has developed the world's first 3D full HD Plasma Theater System. The system uses a 103-inch plasma television and a Blu-ray Disc player capable of decoding and playing back 3D images, consisting of left and right-sided 1080p full HD images. To experience the 3D images, a user then wears a pair active shutter glasses to distribute the images to left eye and right eye.
Panasonic, the leading brand by which Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. is known, has developed the world's first 3D full HD Plasma Theater System, which enables the viewing of true-to-life 3D images by using a 103-inch plasma television and a Blu-ray Disc (BD) player, distributing full high-definition (HD) (1920 x 1080 pixels) images to left eye and right eye. Panasonic will present this system at CEATEC JAPAN 2008, which is due to be held at Makuhari Messe from September 30 to October 4, 2008.
Human beings feel the 3D impression because each of the left and right eyes recognizes different images. Panasonic's system comprises a 103-inch plasma television and a BD player that plays back BD onto which 3D images, consisting of left and right-sided 1080p full HD images, are recorded. By wearing active shutter glasses that work in synchronization with the plasma television, the viewer is able to experience 3D images formed with twice the volume of information as regular full HD images, and enjoy them together with high quality surround sound. This system enables full HD signal processing on each of the left and right images in every process -- recording, playback and display.
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Plextor Europe has announced its first digital TV tuner, the ConvertX PX-DVBT100U. Along with the ability to watch digital TV anywhere, this pocket sized device doubles as a PVR, allowing users to save TV or radio programs to their hard drive with real-time or scheduled recording.
Plextor launches its first Digital TV tuner that enables users to watch digital TV anywhere via their laptop/PC. The Plextor ConvertX PX-DVBT100U doubles as a recorder - turning any laptop into a PVR - enabling digital terrestrial TV or radio programmes to be saved to the hard disk drive with real-time or scheduled recording.
Expanding the company’s portfolio of personal & SMB storage, media player, video converter devices and optical drives, Plextor’s pocket-sized gadget is ideal for ‘Freeview on the move’. Just the size of a memory stick, it is perfect for people who are increasingly carrying around laptops for entertainment and business purposes.
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Memorex announced today that it will be shipping its first Blu-ray Disc player this fall. The MVBD-2510 supports BonusView, 1080/60p and 24p video output the decoding of advanced audio formats such as Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, and DTS-HD. Best of all, Memorex's new player has a suggested retail price of only $269.00.
Memorex, a portfolio brand of Imation Corp (NYSE: IMN), announced today the availability of the Memorex MVBD-2510 Blu-ray Disc Player featuring advanced Blu-ray Disc (BD) entertainment technology at an outstanding value of less than $270. Memorex also announced that it has expanded its specialty Blu-ray Disc offerings to include a full-line of BD cleaning and storage accessories.
"Our customers want products that bring entertainment into their homes, but at a family-friendly price," said Carla Pihowich, Memorex brand director, Imation Corp. "With this in mind, we have introduced a Blu-ray Disc player that offers consumers the full high-definition viewing experience, but at a price that almost anyone can afford. The high-definition movie experience, with its sharp details and amazing sound quality, is one that brings families and friends together."
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At the HDTV 2008 conference, DisplaySearch projected that consumers will buy 2.38 million Blu-ray players this year, up from about 700,000 in 2007. They also stated that with prices continuing to fall and the rapid adoption of HDTVs, unit sales of standalone Blu-ray players will double to 5.31 million next year.
Global unit sales of standalone Blu-ray players will triple this year and will double next year as prices fall, more titles are released and a larger percentage of the population own high-definition TVs, researchers for NPD Group unit DisplaySearch said at its HDTV 2008 conference at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel here.
Worldwide consumers will buy 2.38 million Blu-ray set-top players this year and 5.31 million next year, up from about 700,000 in 2007, said Paul Gagnon, DisplaySearch director of North America TV research, at the conference. With such a surge in standalone players, Sony's PlayStation 3 consoles, which include Blu-ray players, will no longer be the biggest selling Blu-ray hardware source by 2010, Gagnon said.
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