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Home Entertainment

20 February 2008

While Toshiba plans to out of the HD DVD player market by the end of March, LG isnt dumping the format quite yet. According to Pocket-lint.co.uk, LG will will continue to develop and offer players that support both both Blu-ray and HD DVD.

"LG believes that at this present moment in time, it is necessary to provide a player which supports both formats and therefore create simplicity and convenience for the existing HD DVD consumer..."

"...With the recent announcement from Toshiba, Blu-Ray will now be the format that will pave the way for high definition movies, however this does not rule out HD DVD immediately as there are still a number of consumers who have chosen HD DVD and begun to build a HD DVD collection."

This is definitely good news, especially for those who already have a sizeable HD DVD collection. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

20 February 2008

With Toshiba dropping HD DVD, companies that remained neutral throughout the format war are now pledging support for Blu-ray. Amazon.com announced today that they are recommending Blu-ray as the preferred digital format for consumers.

In an effort to help demystify high-definition entertainment for consumers, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced its support for Blu-ray as the digital format of choice for customers. As part of this announcement, Amazon.com will more prominently promote Blu-ray hardware and software products on its website.

"The high-definition landscape is rapidly changing, and consumers are looking for guidance on how to make the best high-definition buying decisions," said Peter Faricy, vice president of movies and music at Amazon.com. "Our customers have clearly voiced their support for the Blu-ray format. Blu-ray titles have increased from just over half of our high-definition sales to over three-quarters of our high-definition sales since early January. In order to best serve our customers, Amazon is recommending Blu-ray as the preferred digital format and will continue to carry the 'Earth's Largest Selection' of Blu-ray products."

While its good to see that Amazon is looking out for its customers, this announcement would have meant more if it came a week or two sooner. If you'd like to read more, Amazon's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Optical Storage

20 February 2008

Verbatim's parent company, Mitsubishi Chemical, has announced that they will be releasing their new LTH Type BD-R media to the Japanese market on February 26th. These new discs are rated at 2x and use an organic recording layer which allows them to be manufactured on existing CD-R or DVD-R production lines with only minor adjustments. Here's part of their press release, translated from Japanese:

Mitsubishi chemical media Ltd. (The headquarters: the Tokyo Minato Ward and president: Otsuka heavy morality) will put write-once type Blu-ray Disc and five double-speed BD-R LTH TYPE 25GB for recording that uses the organic dye for the recording layer on the market by packing on February 26.

This corporation advanced the standardization propulsion activity of organic pigment system BD-R, but previous spring, the recording type Low to High which corresponds to organic pigment system BD-R (LTH) is adopted for Blu-ray Disc Recordable Format Ver.1.2. As for BD-R which used the organic pigment in the record membrane, reflectance ratio of the disk after the recording, from low reflectance ratio changes to high reflectance ratio, (Low to High: LTH) From thing, LTH TYPE it is inscribed.

Mitsubishi's LTH Type BD-R media is expected to cost about 4,800 Yen ($45US) for a pack of five. Full details can be found here. Add a comment

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Other

19 February 2008

DFI Lanparty LT X38-T2R S775 Motherboard @Madshrimps
LapWorks Attache Laptop Stand @BCCHardware
MSI Radeon HD 3870 512MB OC @TweakTown
OCZ 64GB SATA 2.5" Solid State Drive OCZSSD64GB @Benchmark Reviews
OtterBox 7030: Durable Notebook Case @Phoronix
ZEROtherm Hurricane HC92 Cu 8800 @Hardware Zone

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Home Entertainment

19 February 2008

With Toshiba dropping HD DVD, it was only a matter of time before its supporters in Hollywood followed suit. According to Home Media Magazine, Universal Studios has announced that it will be releasing its new and catalog titles on Blu-ray.

At least one of the two major studios currently exclusive to HD DVD is already gearing up to join the other team after Toshiba’s announcement it would stop making HD DVD players.

“While Universal values the close partnership we have shared with Toshiba, it is time to turn our focus to releasing new and catalog titles on Blu-ray,” said Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

With a Blu-ray version of Transformers showing up in Circuit City's computers, its only a matter of time before Paramount announces that they too are dropping support for HD DVD. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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Other

19 February 2008

ASRock 4Core1600 P35 WiFi+ S775 Motherboard @Madshrimps
Coolink ChipChilla @BCCHardware
Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 DES X48 DDR3 Motherboard @Benchmark Reviews
iStarUSA T-7MI HDD Rackmount Enclosure @HardwareLogic.com
Leadtek WinFast PX8800 GT ZL 512Mb Video Card @Madshrimps
Lenovo ThinkPad T61p 14.1-inch & 15.4-inch Laptops @ThinkComputers.org
LG GGC-H20L Super Multi Blu-ray & HD DVD-ROM @CD Freaks
Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus 1TB External Hard Drive @Bigbruin.com
Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 6000 @I4U
Systemax Endeavor Workstation @HotHardware.com
Thermaltake SwordM VD5000 Chassis @Virtual-Hideout

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Home Entertainment

19 February 2008

With the impending demise of HD DVD, Microsoft is reportedly working on a Blu-ray addon for the Xbox 360. While this isn't the first time we've heard this rumor, sources at Microsoft have told Smarthouse that the company has already configured a Blu-ray player which could be on sale within 3 months.

Insiders at Microsoft in the USA have told SmartHouse that Microsoft has already configured a standalone Blu-ray player that can be connected into an Xbox 360 and that subject to internal marketing and sales approvals the model could be on sale within 3 months.

The Company has also been working on a built in Blu-ray player however insiders are claiming that Microsoft see the HD format battle moving online with consumers offered 1080p movie and content files as a download as opposed to having to buy a HD DVD or Blu-ray disc.

It would not surprise me if Microsoft was working on a Blu-ray player. However, I doubt that they will get it to market in three months. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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Optical Storage

19 February 2008

Samsung has announced that they've started shipping the world's first 22x DVD writer, the SH-S223. Along with support for Serial ATA, the SH-S223 features 22x DVD±R, 16x DVD+R DL, 12x DVD-R DL and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds.

Samsung Electronics Ltd., the worldwide digital consumer electronics and information technology leader, announced today shipment of the industry’s fastest DVD burner the new Super-WriteMaster SH-S223. The SH-S223 drive offers a powerful over-speed performance features that enable consumers to burn data at high speeds -- even on low speed media. With over-speed recording, users can write at 22X speeds on 16X media and 12X speeds on 8X media. As lower speed media is more cost-effective, users can save money while burning discs at faster speeds.

The SH-S223 drive provides blazing recording speeds across a gamut of different data media types including: 22X DVD±R recording, 12X DVD-RAM recording, 16X DVD+R Dual Layer recording, 12X DVD-R Dual Layer recording, 8X DVD+RW recording and 6X DVD-RW recording. It enables consumers to burn 4.7GB on a DVD±R disc in approximately 4 minutes and 26 seconds, a 6 percent increase in speed compared to a 20X DVD writer. It also takes less than 12 minutes to burn 4.7GB in DVD-RAM format, which is a 30 percent increase in speed over a 20X DVD drive.

No word yet on pricing or availability. As we find out more, we'll let you know. In the mean time, Samsung's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

19 February 2008

Toshiba sent out a press release this morning, announcing that they will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders. The company will begin reducing shipments of its players and recorders immediately and is aiming to pull out of the retail market altogether by the end of March 2008.

Toshiba Corporation today announced that it has undertaken a thorough review of its overall strategy for HD DVD and has decided it will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders. This decision has been made following recent major changes in the market. Toshiba will continue, however, to provide full product support and after-sales service for all owners of Toshiba HD DVD products.

HD DVD was developed to offer consumers access at an affordable price to high-quality, high definition content and prepare them for the digital convergence of tomorrow where the fusion of consumer electronics and IT will continue to progress.

“We carefully assessed the long-term impact of continuing the so-called 'next-generation format war' and concluded that a swift decision will best help the market develop,” said Atsutoshi Nishida, President and CEO of Toshiba Corporation. "While we are disappointed for the company and more importantly, for the consumer, the real mass market opportunity for high definition content remains untapped and Toshiba is both able and determined to use our talent, technology and intellectual property to make digital convergence a reality.”

So there you have it. The format war is officially over. I would expect to see announcements from Universal and Paramount later this week. If you'd like to read more, Toshiba's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment