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02 August 2007

Hitachi has officially unveiled their new Blu-ray Disc camcorders, the DZ-BD7H and DZ-BD70. Both models can record up to an hour of 1920x1080 full high-definition video onto an 8cm Blu-ray disc. The DZ-BD7H also features a 30GB hard drive which can hold another 4 hours of 1920x1080 full high-definition video.

Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT / TSE:6501) announced the world's first Blu-ray Disc (BD) Camcorder, -which records one hour of 1920x1080 Full High-Definition video onto a BD (single side, single layer.) The new camcorders will start selling in Japan on August 30, 2007, and overseas market sequentially starting from October.

The new DZ-BD7H is a Hybrid Cam with a BD drive and a 30 gigabyte (GB) built-in hard disc drive (HDD) which can record approximately four hours of 1920x1080 full high-definition video, or up to eight hours of 1440x1080 high-definition video. It can also copy the contents from HDD to 8cm BD within the camcorder so that users do not need to use any external devices.

The new DZ-BD70 is a BD single drive camcorder which can record approximately one hour of 1920x1080 full high-definition video (two hours of 1440x1080 high definition video) on a 8cm BD.

Hitachi has not announced a price. However, AV Watch expects the DZ-BD7H and DZ-BD70 to cost about 190,000 Yen ($1597US) and 160,000 Yen ($1345US) repectively. Full details can be found here.

Update - Hitachi America has followed up with their own press release, stating that the DZ-BD7H and DZ-BD70 will be priced at $1,499 and $1,299 respectively. Expect to see them on store shelves some time in October. Add a comment

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30 July 2007

While adult film makers in the US have primarily been pro-HD DVD, those in Japan are reportedly embracing the Blu-ray Disc format. According to PC World, finding companies to mass produce their adult titles hasn't been an issue either, as there are companies in Taiwan more than willing to do the work.

Until now, only a handful of companies operated the stampers needed to copy thousands of Blu-ray Disc movies at a time. But the Japanese company handling most of the early Blu-ray Disc adult film releases in Japan says it has partnered with a Taiwanese company able to secure the necessary equipment from Sony.

"In Japan, there are some problems. Companies cannot press Blu-ray discs because they cannot touch adult-related contracts," said Kiyotaka Konno, director of administration at Assist Corp., a Japanese company that authors and replicates DVDs for the adult industry in Japan. "So we asked some makers in Taiwan to do the work, and then we import the discs back to Japan. The Taiwanese company was able to obtain a pressing machine from Sony and will start mass production in August."

The Japanese adult film industry has already put out ten movies on Blu-ray and more are on the way. In comparison, only one adult film has been released on HD DVD in Japan. If you'd like to read more, then entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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02 August 2007

Pioneer announced this morning that they will be introducing a new Blu-ray Disc player in Japan. According to their press release, the BDP-LX80 includes new features like bitstream output of next-generation audio formats and the ability to be controlled by other A/V devices via HDMI.

The Pioneer BDP-LX80 supports bitstream output of the next-generation audio formats - Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio, as well as linear PCM 7.1-channel output of the same formats. Users can enjoy a surround sound ambience never before possible as well as stunning piture quality.

The new BD player is designed for seamless home theater integration via HDMI Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) technology. This feature realizes syncronized operations with HDMI-control enabled home theater products including Pioneer plasma display PDP-5010HD and A/V amplifier VSA-LX70. Users can be freed from troublesome procedures such as switching remotes even when enjoying their favorite BD contents on the complicated home theaters.

The BDP-LX80 will ship in October for a suggested retail price of 210,000 Yen ($1768US). If you'd like to read more, Pioneer's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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30 July 2007

The research group, Parks Associates, has released a new report on next generation DVD players. According to the report, Blu-ray currently has the lead due to recent retail developments, support from major Hollywood studios, and inclusion of the format into the Playstation 3. The report also states that sales of next generation players will reach 32 million units by 2011.

As consumers continue to embrace more high-definition products and services, next-generation DVD players are poised to experience significant growth over the next five years, according to a new report from Parks Associates titled Next Generation DVD Players: Will History Repeat? The new report estimates that, with set-top box models and game consoles combined, more than 32 million Blu-ray and HD DVD players will be sold in United States by 2011, an 85% increase from the 4.9 million units estimated to be sold in 2007.

“Purchasing or renting DVDs will continue to be a dominant way for consumers to view content,” stated Chris Roden, Research Analyst at Parks Associates. “What has yet to be determined is which format will become the standard, HD DVD or Blu-ray?” According to the report, consumer confusion is still prevalent with less than 10% of U.S. consumers stating that they are familiar with the HD DVD or Blu-ray formats.

“However, we are starting to see the pendulum swing slowly in one direction,” said Roden. “Recent retail developments, support from major Hollywood studios, and inclusion of the format in the PlayStation 3 puts the Blu-ray format in the lead.”

It's going to be interesting to see how HD DVD backers respond to this report. If you'd like to read more, Parks Associates' entire press release can be found here. Add a comment