HD DVD - Nyheter och Rykten

http://www.tacp.com/...omotionalAd.pdf

Redigerat av Guppa, 15 juni 2007 - 12:02.

https://www.minhembio.com/nyheter/1143

HD-DVD Standalones/Drives

Hitachi GGW-H20N HD DVD / Blu-ray player

Hitachi has unveiled a dual format player that can play both HD DVD and Blu-ray media. It can write dual layer (50GB) BD disc, BD-R and BD-RW as well as all the DVD and CD formats. The only thing this drive will not do is HD-R and HD-RW.

HD DVD Promotion Group

Home of HD

Toshiba HD-E1KY HD DVD Player + 8 filmer

Lucky b*st*rds (AU) ...cheers mate

RUMOR

http://www.avsforum....&

"No current updated news of any note.

Wal-Mart seems to be happy with the silence.

Forworld Electronics (Fuh Yuan) has shown some HD DVD loader designs to other people who might do additional contracts with them.

In addition (IMHO)Wal-Mart is planning a big HD push this fall but we may not here details for months.

BTW, Wal-Mart and Sam's Club are doing some details with Toshiba that should be a big deal later this year.

No news is good news here. "

HP HD100 External HD DVD-ROM 129.99$

Videohallen i Gävle hyr nu ut BD-HD-DVD Jag ska precis slänga i The Prestige

http://hddvdformat.b.....0DVD Software

"The Coming Soon List has been updated with The Shawshank Redemption and Twister (Link) which may be expected soon... Just imagine how cool it would be if Warner included 7.1-ch lossless audio for Twister HD DVD. Twister DVD has always been one of my favourite demo discs because of the audio."

Fortfarande den bäst säljande Hi-Def spelaren på amazon #1 #7 #10

HD DVD Twin-Format Disc:

http://www.highdefdi...Format_Disc/702

http://www.engadget....g-with-new-hdi/

Redigerat av Viggen, 20 juni 2007 - 16:47.

När kommer de billiga kinesiska HD-DVD spelarna som det snackats så mycket om?

Enligt CNN pipeline så har blu-ray ett övertag i blockbuster uthyrningen i USA. Får hoppas att det bara är ett tillfälligt övertag och att majoriteten väljer rätt format med tiden.

Enligt CNN pipeline så har blu-ray ett övertag i blockbuster uthyrningen i USA. Får hoppas att det bara är ett tillfälligt övertag och att majoriteten väljer rätt format med tiden.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Nja, det är ju inte riktigt rätt... >70% av blockbusters uthyrning har varit BD, varför blockbuster nu har tagit beslutet att sluta med HD-DVD, och bara hyra ut BD-skivor i sina butiker i fortsättningen.

HD-DVD-titlar kommer fortfarande finnas tillgängliga för onlineuthyrning, och nuvarande HDDVD-sortiment kommer finnas kvar i de 15% av butikerna som redan har både HD-DVD och Blu-Ray.

http://www.cdrinfo.c...px?NewsId=20742

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

The DVD Forum, the industry body responsible for the specifications and certification matters related to the the HD DVD format, announced the results of its latest meeting.

The DVD Forum frequently holds meetings in order to discuss the latest proposals and developments of the DVD and HD DVD industry, set new specification standards and provide certification guidelines for the corresponding formats.

The 38th Steering Committee Meeting was held on Monday in Japan.

Starting with the decisions related to the DVD format, the DVD Forum's members approved the DVD Specifications for Re-recordable Disc for Dual Layer (DVD-RW for DL) Part 2 File System Specifications, Version 2.0.

Regarding HD DVD, a new logo has been approved for the devices complying to the 1x/2x HD DVD-R/RW specifications.




In addition, the DVD Forum said that it will continue its discussions with the Chinese government-sponsored Optical Memory National Engineering Research Center (OMNERC), in order to develop the special version of the HD DVD standard for the China market. Both sides are preparing a MOU which is yet to be signed.

Last, the DVD Forum selected VeriSign, Comodo and Cybertrust information security companies, in order offer a secure environment for the online certification procedure of the HD DVD-Video Version 1.1 players.

Redigerat av henke007, 20 juni 2007 - 22:24.

Warner Plans Line of Direct-to-Disc Horror Sequels for HD DVD

http://hddvd.highdef...ray,_HD_DVD/713

Några ord från Ken Graffeo "executive vice president of High Definition Strategic Marketing for Universal Studios and co-president of the HD DVD Promotional Group"

HD DVD shrugs off Blockbuster move

Published: 21st Jun 2007

During a briefing with UK press in London yesterday, Ken Graffeo, executive vice president of High Definition Strategic Marketing for Universal Studios and co-president of the HD DVD Promotional Group, shrugged off Blockbuster’s move to expand Blu-ray to 1450 new stores in America.

Graffeo pointed out that rental counted for less than one percent of its revenue and brushed it off as an insignificant event in the format war.

Ken cited the fact that HD DVD is still being offered in the original 250 stores and through Blockbuster’s online rental service. He claims that those 250 stores are stores where there are large numbers of early adopters and the latter, he believes, is Blockbuster’s major growth market.

Thus, he is not fazed by Blockbuster’s decision. In fact, we’d go so far as to say that this is potentially a bigger win for Blu-ray than it is a loss for HD DVD, based on the figures he’s given to us.

He remained adamant that HD DVD was on top at the moment and claimed that dedicated HD DVD set top boxes are outselling Blu-ray set top boxes at a rate of three to one in the US. In the last six weeks, the Promotional Group has sold over 50,000 HD DVD set top boxes on promotion in the US, proving that once the price is right, consumers will buy into the technology.

Of course, these figures Ken gave us discount the PS3’s sales figures, which has sold over one million units in the States. Interestingly though, Graffeo claimed that only 30 percent of PS3s in the US are connected to an HDTV.

This was an attempt at playing down the fact that the PlayStation 3 is primarily not a Blu-ray player. To further press this point home though, he highlighted the fact that if you include the PS3 sales in Sony’s Blu-ray sales figures, Blu-ray customers are only buying an average of one Blu-ray title per player, while HD DVD owners are buying around four titles per player.

Whichever way you look at it, the numbers are so inadequate, especially when you consider the fact that there are over 90 million US households with DVD players and the market is worth around $26 billion a year. It is definitely early days now and the war looks like it is going to continue for quite some time.

Graffeo is confident that HD DVD will win the war because its players are getting close to that critical point of affordability, and there's also the fact that the HD DVD specification was finalised before any player was released, meaning that even the first-generation players can access all of the features in discs being released tomorrow. On the other hand, Blu-ray's specifications still aren't finalised, meaning that current players will not be able to access new additions to the specification.

Den här går under kategorin RUMOR

RUMOR: Samsung to introduce HD-DVD player at CES.

I will preface this post by saying that, I am just repeating what I heard from a Samsung official and have no press releases of any kind to back up the following information. Let's just file this under "speculation" for now.

I just finished talking with a rep from Samsung Canada and he had a few interesting tidbits about some upcoming hardware they are working on. After chatting about the Sopranos finale and new flat panel technology, the topic shifted to the format war. He mentioned that he was impressed with the current sales numbers for the HD-A2 and had many positive things to say about Toshiba's recent marketing onslaught. This was the first time I had heard a rep from ANY company besides Toshiba say anything good about the format. He said that there had been a shift to format neutrality over the last few months at Samsung based on HD-DVD's hardware sales. He then went on to say that Samsung is working on a stand-alone HD-DVD player and will be debuting it at the next CES. I asked him if he was sure he wasn't talking about a laptop or a dual-format player, but he claimed it is an HD-only unit.

For any BD fans, he also mentioned a new BD-only player coming out at the same time for $599 US/$699 CAD. He said it was *pretty sure* it will have the REON chip, but he has not seen confirmed specs yet.

O här har vi press realesen från Samsung...SAMSUNG Electronics to Release Duo Hd Player

As a member of the DVD Forum and contributor to the DVD Industry, we recognize that both HD-DVD and BD formats have merits. As such, we have decided to market a dual format player. Samsung is flexible to market a stand-alone HD-DVD player whenever consumers demand it. Our main concern is not technology but consumer choice” said Dongsoo Jun, Executive Vice President of the Digital AV Division at Samsung Electronics.

Så det låter som en realistisk rumor.

http://www.cdrinfo.c...px?NewsId=20742

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

The DVD Forum, the industry body responsible for the specifications and certification matters related to the the HD DVD format, announced the results of its latest meeting.

The DVD Forum frequently holds meetings in order to discuss the latest proposals and developments of the DVD and HD DVD industry, set new specification standards and provide certification guidelines for the corresponding formats.

The 38th Steering Committee Meeting was held on Monday in Japan.

Starting with the decisions related to the DVD format, the DVD Forum's members approved the DVD Specifications for Re-recordable Disc for Dual Layer (DVD-RW for DL) Part 2 File System Specifications, Version 2.0.

Regarding HD DVD, a new logo has been approved for the devices complying to the 1x/2x HD DVD-R/RW specifications.




In addition, the DVD Forum said that it will continue its discussions with the Chinese government-sponsored Optical Memory National Engineering Research Center (OMNERC), in order to develop the special version of the HD DVD standard for the China market. Both sides are preparing a MOU which is yet to be signed.

Last, the DVD Forum selected VeriSign, Comodo and Cybertrust information security companies, in order offer a secure environment for the online certification procedure of the HD DVD-Video Version 1.1 players.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Mer info om detta:http://www.avsforum....&

For Amir. This question was posted on another thread. Any feedback on what HD DVD-Video 1.1 is?

DVD Forum Announces Latest Progress HD DVD Format
http://www.cdrinfo.c...px?NewsId=20742

Last, the DVD Forum selected VeriSign, Comodo and Cybertrust information security companies, in order offer a secure environment for the online certification procedure of the HD DVD-Video Version 1.1 players.

Sure.  There are two key areas, one of which is mentioned above, but I suspect not clearly enough for people to understand what it means . 

A content authentication method was added (Advanced Application signing) for authors and discs that don’t use AACS content protection.  This PKI cryptographic signing method allows small publishers and others who don’t need AACS to create online discs and content at a low cost, while maintaining platform player security from Internet attacks.

The second addition makes the 44.1kHz sample rate (and multiples) for audio officially required in players.  This makes it easier for music publishers to use existing music masters recorded at those frequencies (used for audio CD) without resampling to 48 kHz and multiples.  Existing audio decoders support this frequency, but this guarantees continued support going forward.

I expect software upgrades for players to accomodate both features easily.

Redigerat av diabolo, 21 juni 2007 - 20:53.

Underbara nyheter och skön läsning för ett brinnande HDDVD hjärta

New VidaBox Magnum Media Center

June 20, 2007



"VidaBox has released their new ultra-high end media center system called the Magnum. The Magnum is equipped with a 12.1" 1080p motorized touch panel and supports Blu-ray, HD DVD, and CableCARD. Support for Dolby Digital and DTS HD is optional along with up to 9 terabytes of storage space."



"The heart of the Magnum is an AMD 6000+ dual core CPU with up to 4GB of installed RAM and a silently cooled nVidia 8600GTS video card as standard equipment. DD-HD & DTS-HD are also available via analog outputs connected to a pre-processor or receiver. All music and video playback can be controlled via the 12.1" 1080p full color screen.

Base price of the VidaBox Magnum is $7,999 and it is available now."

Billig var den också, jag tar 2st

Intressant läsning...skrivet av Amir

http://www.avsforum....&

Originally Posted by joshd2012
I hope you don't mind if I compress your post a little bit.

No problem. I can get wordy sometimes .

Admittedly, I'm on the outside looking in, but it looks like BDA gave Microsoft a fair deal.

We were not looking for a "deal." So fairness has nothing to do with it. We were not negotiating a dollar amount and decided to split the difference. We picked a small set of technologies which we thought were key to having harmony, success and longevity in these formats. .

Our goal was a simple one: to have a future optical standard which worked better than the one before it. We didn’t want to have a format you couldn’t stream across a network as is the problem with DVDs today (how do you get the remote system to understand BD+?). We didn’t want a system where you could not make legitimate copies of the disc. We didn’t want a system where the act of playing a disc, meant installing all kinds of system components like file systems and such. We didn’t want a system that had content management system from two separate organizations operating on the same piece of content. And we didn’t want to turn every movie company into a bunch of programmers, writing buggy code like we sometimes do.

Were we hardcore this way? Sure. Were Sony, Panasonic and Toshiba hardcore about not settling their differences over the physical format? Sure. They had their principals they didn’t want to compromise on. So surely it is fair game for us to be the same.

From my viewpoint, it appears that, when you didn't get everything you wanted, you bailed as BDA was trying to compromise with you. Discussion is very give and take, and here it appears Microsoft was only in for the taking. Regarding the requests that weren't approved:

We did not "bail" on BDA. They bailed on us. We made it clear what we thought made sense for the industry and our customers. They agreed in principal and decided to "study" them further. But while their own technical group evaluated Java and HDi, and declared by a majority vote that HDi was better, it did not get selected. Nor did backing of Sony, Disney and Samsung prove sufficient there. Of course they had a choice to tell us no. No problem with that. But given the fair notice we had given them, it should also be considered fair that we would go and back the alternative format, which had selected the technology we and many others in the industry accepted as being right (Java was soundly rejected in DVD Forum).

Now, if they had been proven right with their technology selection, you might have half an argument. But we know they have not. All the problems we predicted they would have, they have. We warned them that it would be hard to get content owners up to speed on programming java, and that is exactly what happened. We told them that people need to be able to create content quickly, and that is precisely why we have so many HDi titles and they have so few.

Keep in mind that we also played a strong role in making studio wishes as far as interactivity standard in HD DVD/DVD Forum. In contrast, the forces in BDA had less conviction, leading to the incompatibility mess that they are facing right now.

Now, I realize that you are a proponent of Java. But please understand that this is NOT Java against HDi. We were not trying to solve a general problem. We needed to solve a specific problem, namely, how to get people who normally make movies, write applications that make the movies more than what they are in DVD and in the theater. To that end, we took a fresh approach, based on open web standards and proved that method as being the right one. Understanding the requirements is a key aspect of good engineering and that is what we applied here. We understood our customer’s needs better than the people whose primary interest was to expand their design wins in new areas.

2. I can see how you would want the same interactive layer on both formats, but this is because you are a software company. HDi has proven to be much more resource needy than BD-J.

I am going to assume that you have the words backward there . It is BD-J which has proven to be super slow and resource hungry. Have you tried waiting minutes for interactivity to start on a Samsung player? And see how slugging their performance can be? Ditto for all their other CE products.

HDi is very performant, running nearly at the speed of Xbox. Can you say the same about PS3 and BD CE Players? And we are not done yet. The Broadcom platform will be more optimized yet. Pretty soon, you can get your solar pocket calculator to run HDi at the rate we are going .

This puts added stress on the CE manufacturers who must absorb the cost of using computer processors and memory instead of SOC applications.

Indeed, one has to know what technology to design that fits in embedded platforms. And you are talking to people who do . My group has been helping companies port our technology to their embedded devices for nearly a decade. And do a ton of embedded development our self. The team is one of the largest groups at Microsoft. We have hundreds of licensees who ship hundred millions of devices with our codec and our media technologies. DVD Forum would have thrown us out the window if we had come over, acting like a bunch of PC programmers who didn’t understand embedded devices.

BTW, the above skills is the reason behind one of the key benefits of VC-1. VC-1 uses one third less MIPS and RAM as compared to AVC, yet achieve similar if not better performance. By your logic then, AVC should not be in either spec. But how come it is? Why did the CE companies with IP in AVC, “stress” the chip guys to develop this complex codec? The Cabac module (arithmetic coder) occupies 20% of the chip just of this one piece of the pie! So you see, politics talk sometimes. Not technology.

3. As I understand it, BD+ is an optional layer of protection. I don't see how this would have caused issue if those distributing content simply chose not to use it. Further, as Microsoft is not releasing content on HD DVD, you would not have had any interaction with it regardless.

Content companies don’t build technology. Instead, they rely on us to deliver that. We make no money however from building such content protection technology. As you know, no customer wants to pay for “DRM.” Nor do we get paid when we participate in AACS, and then give away our patents in the form of cost recovery for the licenses to create/play the content. Given these reasons, then there must be other reasons for us to get involved.

And that reason, at least for us, is to make our life simpler (i.e. reduce our support and development costs) when it comes to building our core asset, which is an entertainment platform on the PC and Xbox. This factor drives our requirements and gives us every right to have a voice, just like CE companies have a voice, as do the content companies. Folks realize this and hence the reason we have a founder seat on AACS, before companies like Sony and Disney were invited in.

The other thing our customers look to us to do, is to protect their interest. Some years back, I got a request from a certain music label to block the playback of MP3. I was told that we built the OS, and therefore, we must have it within our capabilities to block playback of such content because it was detrimental to their business. Needless to say, we said no. And that caused pretty negative consequences for us at the time. Mind you , we didn’t do this out of the kindness for mankind. We did it because you would not buy our products otherwise (imagine how many copies of Windows we would sell if it blocked playback of MP3). Note that the person is long gone from the music industry and the above story is not typical but it does highlight the role that we have and must play at times.

Now, if you had a seat in AACS and BDA you could speak for yourself. But you dp not, so I hope it is OK if we do it . Actually, you can see what happens when we are not involved as you look at how BD+ came to exist. Think about that for a moment and decide if your suggestion is really what you want us to follow.

I know you probably aren't going to agree with what I have written here, but would you agree that what I am seeing is plausible? Am I missing a factor?

Let me say that you are making cogent arguments and I respect the knowledge that you appear to have in the embedded space. But I think you are led astray due to lack of proper context and history. I am trying to show you how the proverbial sausage is made. I know it makes it unpalatable to accept as a result, but it does reflect the reality of how this business (unfortunately) works.

BLU-RAY HD-DVD
Weekly 39.7% 60.3%
Monthly 49.0% 51.0%
Yearly 41.3% 58.7%


Releases 344 306

Ordningen är återställd i Europa

Redigerat av henke007, 23 juni 2007 - 13:55.

BLU-RAY HD-DVD
Weekly      39.7%                                  60.3%
Monthly      49.0%                                    51.0%
Yearly        41.3%                                     58.7%


Releases 344                                      306

Ordningen är återställd i Europa 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Och hur viktiga är axelmusics siffror då? De är ju knappast lika stora som t.ex Amazon eller Play.com

henke007: Varifrån kommer siffrorna? Att bara slänga upp lite siffror säger inte så mycket tycker jag. Är det försäljningen hos din lokala ica-handlare eller är det hela europa eller vad?

Siffrorna är från Axelmusic


Axelmusic.com siffror är nog rätt så viktiga när vi pratar om EU marknaden, vi vet att BD
säljer bra i USA redan det gör även HDDVD på Amazon när det gäller hårdvara sen att Amazon är typ sämsta stället att handla film på fraktpriser, leverans tid etc , Play.com har ju väldigt bra priser får man säga "NOT"

Redigerat av henke007, 23 juni 2007 - 14:46.

Dem är från min lokala ica handlare joakim99  , by the way är du HDDVD supporter med tanke på din spelare, bara undrar tycker du hugger en del varje gång man postar nåt om HDDVD 


Axelmusic.com    siffror är nog rätt så viktiga när vi pratar om EU marknaden, vi vet att BD
säljer bra i USA redan det gör även HDDVD på Amazon när det gäller hårdvara sen att Amazon är typ sämsta stället att handla film på fraktpriser, leverans tid etc  , Play.com har ju väldigt bra priser får man säga "NOT" 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hur stora är Axelmusic då? Antar att de är pyttesmå jämfört med riktiga affärer som amazon och play.com t.ex. Det viktiga är ju helt klart hur stor volym av marknaden som en viss butikskedja har. Om axelmusic nu har en pytteliten andel så är ju deras siffror totalt meningslösa.

Redigerat av Johan78, 23 juni 2007 - 14:46.

Axel Music started out in 1992 with just one store in Downtown Copenhagen and has slowly grown to include 14 stores in total along with a nice online music and entertainment shop dedicated to bringing our clients the best in movies, videos, computer games and entertainment.

Our web shop currently works out of Holland, Germany, United Kingdom, Denmark, Canada and USA. www.axelmusic.com is entirely owned and operated by L.S. Distribution, P.O. Box 1500-1367, Ontario, Canada, M8W 1B8.

Tror de är ganska så betydelse fulla, för HD marknaden och tror deras kundkrets är hyfsat stor i Europa, inte som Amazon men som Play iaf och med betydligt bättre priser osv..

Redigerat av henke007, 23 juni 2007 - 14:52.

Antar att xbox hd-spelaren är den billigaste fortfarande?
Tänkte köra en beställning på en sådan å lite filmer/serier =)

Antar att xbox hd-spelaren är den billigaste fortfarande?
Tänkte köra en beställning på en sådan å lite filmer/serier =)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Jo, har också denna tanke

Låga priser säljer mycket

Captain Obvious has swooped in to bring us the latest sales bit from the world of high-definition players, and the results are nothing short of unsurprising. According to data gathered since the recent rash of price cuts -- particularly on standalone HD DVD players -- HD disc players have seen noticeable jumps in sales. Citing Sony's recently slashed BDP-S1 and Toshiba's bargain-priced HD-A2, various analysts and company spokespeople were unanimously upbeat by the recent (and unseasonal) uptick in sales. Notably, Universal Studios' Ken Graffeo claimed that he "realized over the last couple of months that the audience was not perceiving $499 as a great value, but the $299 to $399 range really hit the sweet spot." Maybe so, but get these suckas below the magical $200 point and watch the mayhem really begin.


Låga priser på Hi-Def säljer

henke007: Jag är hyffsat neutral när det gäller de olika formaten då det är film jag är intresserad av. Dock vill jag att antingen HD-DVD eller BD försvinner illa kvickt så att marknaden kan koncentrera sig på ett format.

Att jag blir lite gnällig ibland har mest att göra med alla enögda ******-inlägg som skrivs.

BLU-RAY HD-DVD
Weekly      39.7%                                   60.3%
Monthly        49.0%                                    51.0%
Yearly        41.3%                                     58.7%


Releases 344                                       306

Ordningen är återställd i Europa 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Jag vill också göra en anmärkning på dessa siffror. Jag är formatneutral men lutar stark åt HD DVD av många anledningar.

Jag antar att det inte är många icke europeer som handlar av Axelmusic då dom ligger i Europa samt att deras priser är dyrare än de i USA. Så då är den stora majoriteten av deras kunder Europeer. Där har HD DVD ett stort övertag, i och med att HD DVD är regionsfritt kan man beställa vilka filmer man vill ifrån Axelmusic och de fungerar i spelaren man har hemma! Det samma gäller inte för Blu-Ray. Den stora majoriteten av Blu-Ray ägare har region B spelare (i Europa) och då utgår ett ganska stort antal filmer ur Axelmusics sortiment de kan beställa (Då dom säljer Reg A filmer).

Så i praktiken finns det färre BD filmer att köpa på Axelmusic än HD DVD filmer vilket bör bidra till ökad HD DVD försäljning på just Axelmusic. Så egentligen tycker man att HD DVD bör ha ett större övertag på Axel på grund av endast Region A titlar. Man kan ju tex inte köpa storfilmer som Casino Royale på BD på Axel och få den att funka på sin Region B spelare....

Redigerat av Anteee, 24 juni 2007 - 11:54.

Varit på minisemester och åker snart igen, så vet inte om detta skrivits om, men verkar som att tl54 gått in i nästa fas i utvecklingen.

http://www.avsforum....&

Varit på minisemester och åker snart igen, så vet inte om detta skrivits om, men verkar som att tl54 gått in i nästa fas i utvecklingen.

http://www.avsforum....&

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

TL-51

Not bad

Rumor

http://www.avsforum....&

"And finally, I believe the title Bill alluded to, but did not say in his article will be the original Star Trek series, which we'll see by the end of the year with a ton of very cool interactive tools. CBS will be distributing the original TV series through Paramount. Surprisingly, Star Trek will be exclusively released HD DVD and as we all know Paramount is a neutral studio.

-Robert"

*Edit: Kanske inte så "rumor" after all
http://www.hollywood...97002a2524dddc3

"CBS Home Entertainment also will take the lead in other home entertainment initiatives, including the launch of high-definition discs. Like Paramount, CBS will release titles in the Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD formats. First up: the original "Star Trek" TV series, rolled out on DVD/HD-DVD combo disc in the fourth quarter.

"The reason we chose to do that is to give us the ability to make high-definition transfers of the show available to people who don't yet have high-definition players," Ross said.

A Blu-ray Disc release has not been scheduled"

Redigerat av diabolo, 25 juni 2007 - 02:52.

Komm just att tänka på något, kanske är interaktiviteten en anledning att vi inte fått se A Series of Unfortunate Events ännu, dom kanske håller på den tills dom kan släppa samma interaktiva funktioner även på BD?

TORRANCE, CA--(Marketwire - June 22, 2007) - Bandai Visual USA Inc., a leading innovator in Japanese animation, today announced it will be continuously screening "FREEDOM," the first anime title to be released in North America on HD DVD, at Anime Expo® 2007 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, Calif. June 29-July 2, 2007.

Bandai Visual USA will be screening "FREEDOM" volume 1 (episode 1) and volume 2 (episode 2) on a continuous basis in a specially built 30-seat theatre located within the Bandai Visual USA booth (#1605). There will also be special live demonstration of Web-enabled network functions contained in "FREEDOM" volume 1 at the selected screenings. The theatre will feature a Toshiba REGZA 1080p 47" LCD TV and a Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD player, as well as an impressive sound system.

"FREEDOM" volume 1, which will mark the first commercial availability of a high-definition anime title in North America, will also be available for purchase at the Bandai Visual USA booth. Shuhei Morita, the director of "FREEDOM," will be participating in a special "FREEDOM" panel on Friday, June 29, 6:00-6:50 p.m. in Live Programming Room #1. Also participating in the panel will be "FREEDOM" series planner Dai Sato ("Cowboy Bebop," "Ghost in the Shell: Stand-Alone Complex"). In addition, both Morita and Sato will be on-hand for the first screening on Saturday, June 30, at 10:20 a.m.

An autograph session with Morita and Sato will be held at the Bandai Visual USA booth on Sunday, July 1 at 4:30 p.m. The fans who purchase "FREEDOM" volume 1 and "FREEDOM" related products at the Bandai Visual USA booth will be eligible to get their copy and products signed by Morita and Sato.

"FREEDOM" volume 1 (SRP: $39.99) will be simultaneously released in HD DVD/DVD Twin Format (HD DVD layer & DVD layer on single side in one disc) in Japan and the U.S. on June 26, and will be the first introduction of the title in North America. "FREEDOM" will be released in HD DVD, including Web-enabled network function that allows viewers to watch extra features. The DVD has already sold more than 100,000 in Japan, and won top honors at the Tokyo International Anime Fair 2007 for its high-quality animation combining 2D and 3D graphics. The complete series to be released in 6 volumes. The official "FREEDOM" site can be found at www.bandaivisual.us/freedom/.

In collaboration with Toshiba America Consumer Products, L.L.C., visitors to the Bandai Visual USA booth can take part in a sweepstakes that has, among its prizes, a Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player. Bandai Visual USA will also be distributing a special coupon good towards a free copy of "FREEDOM" volume 1 with the purchase of any Toshiba HD DVD player.

"FREEDOM" to Be Screened Throughout Expo in Special High-Definition Theatre Using Latest, State-of-the-Art Equipment

Columbia House Says it Will Add Blu-ray, HD DVD to Club Menu



In another step toward the mainstream acceptance of Blu-ray and HD DVD, Columbia House has indicated that it plans to begin carrying both high-def formats in 2007.

The oldest and largest music and video club in the world, Columbia House has thus far stayed outside of the next-gen fray, offering only standard-def DVD titles. However, according to a new statement that recently appeared on the club's official website, it seems the club is gearing up to offer high-def discs before the end of 2007

In a new addition to the Q&A section of the company's membership FAQ (available only to registered members with a login ID and password), Columbia House has added a general primer on high-definition technology. that ends with the question, "Will Columbia House support both of these new formats?", followed by the answer, "We plan to begin carrying both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs in the fall of 2007."

We should emphasize that Columbia House has not yet released an official press release nor any other confirmation detailing exactly when and how they plan to begin carrying Blu-ray and HD DVD titles, but boasting an estimated 14 million members worldwide, the addition of high-def discs to the club's menu could provide a significant boost in consumer awareness of both high-def formats, if not a considerable impact in sales.

We'll certainly keep you posted on this story as it develops. Stay tuned!

Da blir det kjørt kampanje på Toshiba HD-E1 i norge.

HD DVD-kampanje i Norge

Toshiba comments on predicted lower HD-DVD sales

We are very pleased with the recent sales success of our HD DVD players, particularly based on the seasonality. In the CE business, the summer is generally a 'slower' selling season, so we expect this uptrend in sales to increase in the coming months, not only due to the seasonality, but as the number of HDTV owners increases, as well.


http://www.dvdtown.c...-dvd-sales/4553

Xbox 360 HD DVD Add-on Sells 155,000 Units in U.S.

The HD DVD Group announced in April that it had sold over 100,000 players in the U.S. in its first year of availability. The numbers only represented standalone players, and did not include sales of HD DVD PC drives or the Xbox 360 HD DVD player.

A Microsoft representative told CNET UK that 155,000 Xbox 360 HD DVD add-ons have been sold in the U.S., making it the “biggest-selling accessory” ever sold for the console. By “biggest-selling,” Microsoft may be referring to the overall revenue, as it would seem unlikely that the HD DVD add-on would be more popular than extra controllers. Each HD DVD drive retails for around $200.

Even with the combination of standalone HD DVD players and the Xbox 360 add-on, the overall number of HD DVD-capable players is less than the total number of Blue-ray playing machines. The difference between those two, however, is that every HD DVD player or drive is purchased with the intention of playing movies. On the other hand, not every Blue-ray machine (with the majority of them being PlayStation 3 consoles) purchased for movies.

Firmware 2.0/T22M is out for G2 Toshiba Players, fixes chroma bug

Redigerat av diabolo, 25 juni 2007 - 19:24.

HD DVD Lens Cleaner

First Look: XCM Xbox 360 HDMI 1080p cable for original white Xbox 360

We have managed to score some exclusive information regarding XCM's 360 HDMI 1080p for use with the original white Xbox 360 console. The cable itself is nearly finished and will be completed in approximately 4 weeks and promises to allow 1080p output on a regular white original Xbox 360.

 xcmmm_1.jpg   8,76K   0 Antal nerladdningar

Redigerat av diabolo, 26 juni 2007 - 07:25.

Samsung goes for Duo HD

Friday June 22, 2007

Samsung has rocked the AV world by announcing the release of its first dual-format HD disc player.

The Blu-ray Disc Association founder-member is to launch its Duo HD BD-UP5000, a combined Blu-ray and HD DVD deck, in the US in August. Unlike LG’s rival Super Multi Blue player, it’s capable of playing interactive content from both formats – HDi and BD-Java.

Costing approximately $1,000 at launch (and rumoured to hit the UK before the end of the year for around £1,000), the player promises to be fully-featured. It will incorporate an HDMI v1.3 output capable of streaming Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD; a LAN port for BD Live and online firmware support, and full backwards-compatibility with DVD and CD. A Faroudja DCDi processor allows video upscaling. The BD-UP5000 will also offer the ability to output 1080p at 24frames per second (on Blu-ray only) – in short, the features requested by critics of the its first-gen Blu-ray-only BD-P1000 and a few more besides.
A Samsung insider told HCC, ‘Our dual-format player can fully support both Blu-ray and HD DVD. Unlike rivals, we have full-functionality with both formats, including BD Java and HDi.’

However, this player doesn’t denote the end of Samsung’s commitment to Blu-ray-only decks, as Dong Ho Shin, (Senior Vice President & GM of HP R&D Team, Digital AV Division, pictured below) explained: ‘Our strategy includes two models. One model will be a Blu-ray player [the BD-P1200], and the other will be a dual-player. The Blu-ray-only player will be cheaper than the dual player.’

Key to the player’s abilities is a new dual laser drive, in which one lens is used for Blu-ray and the other HD DVD.

Synd bara att den verkar bli dubbelt så dyr i europa som i usa ($1000 jämfört med £1000). Annars så verkar spelaren ha det mesta som jag vill ha just nu. Regionsfri på BD och DVD hade ju varit trevligt men sådan tur har vi nog inte.

Upcoming HD DVDs with HDi Network Functionality Requires Firmware Update

As we've mentioned on this blog earlier last week, the upcoming HD DVDs with HDi network functionality or web-enabled extras would require the latest firmware update. HD DVD titles taking advantage of the network functionality includes Freedom Vol. 1 (June 26), Blood Diamond (July 3), 300 (July 31) and Heroes: Season 1 (Aug 28)

Toshiba (America) has also reiterated the importance of the latest firmware updates (See Important Note of the firmware update notification) if you intend to enjoy the web-enabled extras without any major hiccups.
Labels: Firmware Updates (North America)

Some News On the Technical Side of HD DVD...

Hot on the heels of the debut of the world's first web-enabled HD DVD - Freedom Vol. 1, comes news of preparations for more extensive support of web-enabled extras on HD DVD both techically and commercially.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Firstly, DVD Forum has approved the selected three Certificate Authorities whose public keys will be embedded in HD DVD-Video players supporting the Version 1.1 specification, and, they will be listed on the DVD Forum Web page referred to by the specification so that Advanced Application authors can obtain code signing certificates. The Video Application Signed Security Subcommittee will monitor these Certificate Authorities, and make adjustments if needed.

The 3 selected Certificate Issuing Authorities whose public keys will be embedded in HD DVD-Video players supporting the Version 1.1 specification are VeriSign, Comodo and Cybertrust.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Next, Memory-Tech Corporation (Tokyo Japan President and CEO, Shiroharu Kawaski) and Microsoft Corporation (Tokyo Japan, President and CEO, Houston Dalen) formed alliances for HD DVD commercial server technology development and services deployment.

Memory-Tech and Microsoft Business Alliances

1.Memory-Tech and Microsoft establish technology partnership for HD DVD commercial server development.

2.Memory-Tech and Microsoft jointly promote HD DVD web connectivity based on HDi T jointly with studio partners of the world.

3.Memory-Tech and Microsoft will deploy wide rage of application and business development based on the HD DVD server technology and hosting know-how of the two companies

Microsoft and Memory-Tech HD DVD Server Services Alliances

June 26, 2007

Memory-Tech Corporation (Tokyo Japan President and CEO, Shiroharu Kawaski) and Microsoft Corporation (Tokyo Japan, President and CEO, Houston Dalen) formed alliances for HD DVD commercial server technology development and services deployment.

<Background>
Memory-Tech and Microsoft have been collaborating for improvement and enhancement of HD DVD VC-1 CODEC and HDi interactivity. Interests and demands of HD DVD web connectivity is becoming higher and higher in the world wide market to clearly differentiate the new HD DVD format from the conventional DVD format and widen package software business opportunities.
Memory-Tech and Microsoft will promote HD DVD web connectivity jointly with studio partners of the world and accelerate the new software business deployment.

<Memory-Tech and Microsoft Business Alliances>
1. Memory-Tech and Microsoft establish technology partnership for HD DVD commercial server development.
2. Memory-Tech and Microsoft jointly promote HD DVD web connectivity based on HDi T jointly with studio partners of the world.
3. Memory-Tech and Microsoft will deploy wide rage of application and business development based on the HD DVD server technology and hosting know-how of the two companies.

"Web connectivity is one of the most important features for wide penetration of HD DVD products in the market. So far Microsoft has been working with Memory-Tech, who is leading HD DVD authoring and replication in the market, to improve and refine VC-1 CODEC. Collaboration for HD DVD server development between the two companies will contribute to acceleration and business growth of the HD DVD format in the world market" says Kazuo Sakai, Vice President, Digital Entertainment Partner Group of Microsoft.
"It is great honor for Memory-Tech to jointly develop HD DVD commercial server and make it available for studio partners with Microsoft. As HD DVD total service company, we would like to continue to support studio partners to develop very attractive HD DVD software for consumer benefits"says Shiroharu Kawasaki, President and CEO of Memory-Tech.

<Contact for the press announcement>
Haruhiko Noborisaka, Business Strategy Planning Department, Memory-Tech, +81-3-3405-880
Aki Araki, Public Relations Department, Microsoft Corporation, +81-3-4533-3210