3D, movies, games, players
Archive for July, 2007
Target to sell Blu-ray players in stores
Jul 26th
Target Corp., the nation's second-largest retailer, will start selling a Sony Blu-ray high-definition DVD player during the critical holiday shopping period and feature the player along with Blu-ray discs in store displays, dealing a potential blow to the rival HD DVD format.
The move, which the companies will formally announce Thursday, is another step in resolving a format war that has kept confused consumers from rushing to buy new DVD players until they can determine which format will dominate the market.
Target said it will sell the Sony BDP-S300 for $499 in October and display it along with Blu-ray DVDs from three studios, including Sony Corp. and The Walt Disney Co., at the ends of store aisles.
The Target announcement comes five weeks after a decision by video rental chain Blockbuster Inc. to offer only Blu-ray titles when it expands its high-def offerings this fall.
Blu-ray is backed by Sony, which developed it. Most Hollywood studios are releasing films either exclusively in Blu-ray or together with the rival HD DVD format, which is backed by its developer, Toshiba Corp.
Samsung’s 3rd-gen and dual-format players
Jul 26th
Samsung has released more details about the company's third-generation Blu-ray player lineup, including a home theater-in-a-box system, and the Duo HD dual-format HD DVD / Blu-ray player. We learned about the two Blu-ray players earlier this month, and we can add to that info support on both players for 24 or 60fps playback at 1080p. The BD-P2400 also adds 7.1-channel output, with the BD-P1400 sporting 5.1 outs.
The dual-format BD-UP5000 was also announced back in April, and now we know that it will play back both of the high-definition formats at 1080p and includes the HQV upconversion processor chip found in the BD-P2400. It includes the same feature set as the BD-P2400, with Blu-ray playback at 24 or 60fps, 7.1-channel out, and Dolby Digital Plus and DTS HD support. It also has HD DVD-specific features like local storage and picture-in-picture support, while staying fully compatible with both the HDi and BD-J interactive specs.
Arrival of a competitively priced internal Blu-Ray Writer
Jul 25th
Philips and Lite-On Digital Solutions (PLDS) have announced the arrival of a competitively priced internal Blu-ray disc drive, the LH-2B1S, in Europe.
Lite-On was one of the first brands to release a Blu-ray disc writer to the market in November 2006. But, due to a global shortage of Blu-ray lasers at the time, prices started high and have remained that way…until now it seems.
"Now that Blu-ray lasers are not in big shortage anymore and we have accumulated enough stock of the product, we can lower the price and still fulfill the growing demand," says Katrin Ackermann, European sales Manager for PLDS.
Toshiba HD-A20
Jul 25th
With the first year of the format war under our belt, the second generation hardware is starting to hit the streets and we had a chance to spend some quality time with the new Toshiba HD-A20. The A20 fits nicely in the Toshiba HD DVD player lineup, offering 1080p60 output, the Silicon Optix Reon chip Anchor Bay ABT1018 chip and HDMI 1.3 without the price of the HD-XA2. It has been a year since we have had an HD DVD player to play with, and that was before all the firmware updates were released, but we won't let that stop us from comparing it to the A20.
The A20 really feels like a consumer electronic device; very different than the A1. The remote is an improvement over the A1 as well, but we still wish it was back-lit like the XA1/XA2's. We're not sure why they even bothered to include composite cables, what is the point of composite cable on a HD movie player anyway? Lucky for us we had all the cables we needed to get things connected.
After we got it connected, we were impressed that the component outputs defaulted to 1080i, this only makes sense considering almost every HDTV with component inputs supports 1080i. Our test TV is getting long in the tooth and doesn't have HDMI, so we used component for all of our tests.
Denon’s new high end Blu-ray Disc player
Jul 25th
Denon recently announced their new high end Blu-ray Disc player, the DVD-3800BDCI. This $1999 monster is the first player to feature support for BD-ROM Version 1.1 which, among other things, allows for playback of picture-in-picture content. The DVD-3800BDCI also features the Silicon Optix Realta chipset, which provides enhanced video performance with upconversion and IP scaling to 1080p.
Denon Electronics, a world leader in high-performance home entertainment products, today announced the upcoming introduction of two groundbreaking DVD products, the new reference-standard DVD-3800BDCI BD-ROM Profile 1 version 1.1 Blu-ray Disc Player and the DVD-2500BTC BD-ROM Profile 1 version 1.1 Blu-ray Disc Transport.
PlayStation 3 sales more than double in United States
Jul 24th
Sales rocket following price drop in the region. Following the $100 price cut in the US on July 9th, sales of PS3 hardware have shot up by 135 per cent according to reports from Wal-mart, Best Buy, Target, Circuit City and GameStop – the firm’s five biggest retailers.
June NPD figures show that the PS3 sold 98,500 in the US during June, compared to 81,600 units in May, reported Next Generation.
The firm also enjoyed a 21 per cent increase in PlayStation brand sales prior to the price drop, while PSP hardware sales were up 31 percent year-on-year to 290,108 units, following a price drop of its own earlier this year.
HD DVD Consumer Electronics Player Firmware Updates
Jul 24th
To add new features, improve compatibility, address security concerns and correct internal programming issues, manufacturers periodically issue firmware updates to HD DVD players, drives and recorders. Generally speaking, it is advisable to use the latest available version.
Sony offers revenue-sharing deals to promote Blu-ray
Jul 23rd
Beginning in September, Sony will make all of its new releases and select catalog titles on Blu-ray available under the agreement, which expands the studio’s DVD revenue-sharing deal with Rentrak. Neither Sony nor Rentrak would disclose terms of the deal.
“We think it’s important to the expansion of the format to make sure that the rental component of the Blu-ray launch is covered, and now it is,” SPHE president David Bishop said. “Virtually all retailers can have Blu-ray on a revenue-sharing basis. We think it’s important to the retailer, so they are perceived as being on the cutting edge of new technology.”
Marty Graham, president of Rentrak’s pay per transaction division, said the deal could accelerate high-def adoption because more rental retailers are likely to enter the business earlier in the format’s lifecycle.
Toshiba’s "Perfect Offer"
Jul 23rd
Toshiba America Consumer Products, L.L.C. (“Toshiba”) announced it has extended its highly successful 5 free HD DVD disc promotion, “The Perfect Offer” until September 30, 2007. “The Perfect Offer,” a strategic promotion started last year by Toshiba to encourage purchase of Toshiba HD DVD players, has been met with overwhelming demand and consumer response and has contributed to strong sales of Toshiba HD DVD players. As a result, with the purchase of any Toshiba HD DVD player, consumers will continue to be able to select five HD DVD titles for free, from a selection of 15, via a mail-in offer.
Consumers have spoken — price matters. Toshiba recently announced that it is lowering prices on HD DVD players to a level that took standard DVD players three years to reach. With HD DVD, consumers can get high definition 1080p resolution at the best value in the market today. Toshiba’s 1080p HD- A20 is only $399 (MSRP), and for the best value in high definition, Toshiba’s 1080i HD-A2 is only $299 (MSRP). The combination of an HD-A2 or HD-A20 HD DVD player and up to $150 worth of free movies is a value that is unmatched by any other competitor.
The extension of “The Perfect Offer” comes at a great time for consumers as studio partners have recently announced HD DVD movie titles that include web-enabled network capabilities. Purchasers of Toshiba HD DVD players can enjoy the most extensive interactive features in the market today via this technology. Whether an individual is planning to purchase HD DVD or already has, every Toshiba HD DVD player will be able to provide web-enabled interactive features through a firmware update.
BLU-RAY Copy Master II
Jul 19th
Copy Master introduces the newest member of the Copy Master II duplicator line: Copy Blu™.
Copy Master is a manufacture of the highest quality and most reliable standalone duplication equipment on the market today. The Copy Blu™ offers reliable duplication for all of your Blu-Ray discs as well as lightning fast duplication for DL DVD+/-R, DVD+/-R, & CD-R discs. When you value your project enough to use BLu-Ray discs, make sure your duplicator is strong enough to handle the job, make sure your’re using the COPY BLU™!
