3D, movies, games, players
Archive for November, 2006
Mitsubishi Chemicals Releases BD-R/RE Media
Nov 28th
Mitsubishi Chemicals will release its single-layer (25GB) BD-R/RE media for recording on the Japanese market on December 1.
The company did not provide pricing details for the new BD-R and BD-RE media, although they are expected to be available for 1,800 Yen ($15.6) and about 2,500 Yen ($21.6), respectively.
source: ‘CDRInfo’
Relevant links: full story
Blu-ray Promotions Begin
Nov 22nd
A consortium supporting the launch of the Blu-ray Disc format announced the start of a holiday advertising campaign targeting HDTV owners.
The group, which includes Twentieth Century Fox, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, Sony and Warner Bros., hired the ad agency SicolaMartin to develop the campaign.
The effort includes a 30-second commercial shot for high-definition television that is running through the holiday shopping period.
It will be combined with print and online media vehicles, and builds upon earlier advertising efforts directed at home-entertainment enthusiasts, the companies said.
The high-definition TV commercial features movie clips and animation accompanied by music and an announcer who describes the various benefits of Blu-ray Disc technology.
source: ‘Broadcast Newsroom’
Relevant links: full story
Sony Says 50 GB Blu-ray Up and Running
Nov 22nd
Sony DADC has announced that they now have six 50 GB Blu-ray Disc production lines up and running.
The company, which announced its 50 GB Blu-ray production plans in May of this year, is currently ramping up production to 60K discs per day.
“We are encouraged by the performance of both our 25 GB single layer and 50 GB dual layer production technologies, both of which are meeting our expectations,” stated Michael Mitchell, Executive Vice President, Manufacturing and Engineering for Sony DADC. “My hat is off to our development and process engineering teams worldwide, all of whom have contributed tirelessly to bring these capabilities to life.”
source: ‘CDRInfo’
Relevant links: full story
Blu-Ray Versus HD-DVD search traffic on Google
Nov 22nd
Just like the rest of the world we’ve been keenly monitoring the rise of these two Blue Laser giants. We created this graph from statistics based on Google searched data. As you can see there is a larger volume of searches for Blu-Ray based devices than HD-DVD. Both platforms seem to follow the same peaks and troughs most likely determined by press announcements, news coverage and the release of white papers.
We’ll be actively monitoring this new market in order to provide information regaring new markets and cross-selling opportunities.
It should be noted that in our opinion google search stats can not be used in any way to determine the size or growth of a market. There is no scale so actual volume cannot be determined.
source: ‘CD-Writer.Com Blog’
Relevant links: full story
Discover Blu-Ray and its Acronyms
Nov 22nd
DRM – Digital Restrictions Management – technology to restrict what you can do with media you purchase
AACS – Advanced Access Content System – the DRM infection used for both Blu-ray and HD-DVD
BD+ – an addition to AACS for Blu-ray discs, that provides additional restrictions to what you can do
MMC – Mandatory Managed Copy – a theoretical way for you to make a legal copy of a movie
HDCP – High-bandwith Digital Content Protection – Encryption of data over digital connections
HDMI – High Definition Multimedia Interface – A digital connection found on most new HDTV’s, all HDCP compliant
DVI – Digital Visual Interface – Precursor to HDMI, found on many older HDTV’s. However, many DVI connections are not HDCP compliant, making them worthless for Blu-ray and HD-DVD.
MPAA – Motion Picture Ass. of America – trade organization representing the major movie companies
RIAA – Recording Industry Ass. of America – trade organization representing the major music companies
source: ‘CD-Writer.Com Blog’
Relevant links: full story
JVC Releases Blu-Ray Media
Nov 20th
Japanese JVC announced that its first 25GB BD-R/RE media will be available on the market in December 15.
Both “BV-R130A” and “BV-RE130A” packages of BD-R and BD-RE media have been manufactured according to the “Blu-ray Disc Recordable Format Version 1.1″ and “Blu-ray Disc Rewritable Format Version 2.1″ specifications. .
The new discs feature JVC’s “U-HD” hard coating technology and offer scratch resistance and durability. It can be recorded at 2x. JVC said that it has not decided the release of double-layer (50GB) media yet.
source: ‘CDRInfo’
Relevant links: full story
PlayStation 3 Launches With Shootings, Robberies, Riots and Other Crime
Nov 20th
Plus a few whacky Canadians decide to smash a PS3 in front of wide-eyed fans
“Finally, the wait is over,” is probably the first thought on the minds of many eager PlayStation 3 campers across North America after sitting outside store fronts for hours, if not days.
Chris Toribio was the first to receive a PlayStation 3 at Sony’s premiere launch event at the Metreon in San Francisco.
“I’m going to go home and dream about it,” said Toribio according to Dean’s blog. “I’m going to go sleep. It was way worth it. I met a whole lot of people. The publicity is a good experience for me.”
source: ‘DailyTech’
Relevant links: full story
For Sony, the PS3 is about more than gaming
Nov 20th
For a company with almost $64 billion in annual sales, Sony has an awful lot at stake with the launch of its latest game console, the PlayStation 3.
No doubt, there will be lines of hard-core gamers waiting outside retailers across the country late Thursday night, and all expectations are that every PS3 available will be sold before Christmas. That certainly would be good news for Sony, a company that could use a dose of holiday cheer.
source: ‘C-Net’
Relevant links: full story
Comparing The Playstation 3, Xbox 360, And Nintendo WII by Gary Ruplinger
Nov 20th
Finally, they’re all here. The Xbox 360 has had the next generation gaming market to itself for a year. Now its two competitors, the Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii, are here. No more speculating about speed. No more guessing about memory. Now we can take a look and see exactly how they stack up compared to each other.
Let the console wars begin again.
source: ‘Go Articles’
Relevant links: full story
LG unveils world’s first 4x Blu-ray disc writer
Nov 17th
Despite the slow sales of Blu-ray writers at present, according to Pocket-lint LG has just announced its 4x Blu-ray disc writer, which it claims to be the world’s fastest Blu-ray writer this time. It also features up to 12x writing to DVD±R and 8x/10x writing to CD-R/RW respectively. Unfortunately, according to this article on Channel Register and this earlier DigiTimes report, the drive does not support dual-layer Blu-ray recording for either BD-R or BD-R formats.
source: ‘cdfreaks.com’
Relevant links: full story
