Number of results 61 for dvd

04/11/2009 - Best Buy Brings On-Demand Entertainment to Its Customers

Best Buy and Sonic Solutions announced a strategic relationship that will result in a new Best Buy customer offering in its line-up of digital entertainment products.

The new on-demand movie and entertainment service will be powered by Sonic's Roxio CinemaNow.

The software required to access CinemaNow's video library will be included on all the Web-connected devices sold in Best Buy's more than 1,000 U.S. stores.


27/10/2009 - Netflix Coming to PlayStation3

Sony and Netflix – the two of the fastest growing home entertainment brands in the U.S. – are joining forces to make movies and TV episodes from Netflix available to be streamed instantly to TVs via the PlayStation3.

The streaming via the PS3 system will begin next month at no additional cost to Netflix members in the United States who have a PS3 system.


06/10/2009 - IFA 2009: Hybrid Blu-Ray/HD Media Player

VIDEO INTERVIEW. “After watching Blu-ray video or other HD content, you will never go back to Standard Definition,” assured Konstantin Dyshlevoy, Chairmain of HDI Dune, interviewed by Biz-news.com at IFA 2009.

During this year’s Berlin exhibition HDI Dune was showing its new versions of hybrid Blu-ray/HD media players that have been recognized as “IFA 2009 INNOVATION”.



03/09/2009 - Toshiba announces new and improved XDE600KE DVD player

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Toshiba may have finally bitten the bullet and announced a Blu-ray player, but it's not about to give up on the XDE DVD upscaling technology borne out of the format war, and it's now rolled out its latest XDE player alongside its Blu counterpart to balance things out a bit. As with the previous XD-E500 model, the new XDE600KE player promises to upscale your DVDs to full 1080p with noticeably better results than a standard upscaler, and give you all the features you'd expect from a non-bargain priced DVD player, including a full complement of outputs, and Toshiba's own Regza Link technology for all your Regza needs. Also new to this model is a USB port, which will let you view pictures, play MP3s and, yes, even DivX movies. No word on a price just yet, but Toshiba says it'll be available sometime this fall -- in Europe, at least. Head on past the break for a few more pics.

Continue reading Toshiba announces new and improved XDE600KE DVD player

Toshiba announces new and improved XDE600KE DVD player originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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12/08/2009 - Toshiba Enters Blu-ray Group


Toshiba announced that the company has applied for membership of the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) and plans to introduce products that support the Blu-ray format.

31/07/2009 - Paramount flicks to see Blu-ray purchase, DVD rental availability ahead of DVD sale date

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We'll leave it to rabid commenters to debate how well Blu-ray is or isn't doing, but Paramount's latest weapon to boost sales and DVD rentals is a staggered release schedule. Variety reports Dance Flick (sure reference material) will debut on September 8 in unrated Blu-ray form for purchase, plus rental DVD & blu-ray, while a version for purchase on DVD should arrive four to eight weeks later. Disney already tried something similar with its Bolt rollout, but retailers botched it and put both versions on shelves at the same time in many cases, though that hasn't stopped the studio from planning to try again with Snow White. At least in this case, we figure it's probably more about boosting rentals and testing the waters, but with VP of Paramount Ken Williams saying "that releasing a Blu-ray exclusively for sell-through will help drive adoption of the format" we figure the day a new blockbuster hits shelves on Blu only (for a limited time) isn't far off.

Paramount flicks to see Blu-ray purchase, DVD rental availability ahead of DVD sale date originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 04:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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21/07/2009 - Toshiba Blu-ray Player By Year End as Format Sales Grow

More flesh has been added to Toshiba's plans to bring out a Blu-ray player - it is likely to be called the BD-18 and could be available as soon as the year end.
The company, which backed the HD DVD high-definition format that eventually lost to Sony's prevailing Blu-ray, had stubbornly maintained it would not bring out a Blu-ray player and instead focused on its XDE DVD-upscaling technology.

26/06/2009 - Rising Demand Makes Toshiba Reconsider Blu-Ray Products

Ever since losing the high-def format war to Blu-ray, Toshiba has resolutely refused to join the enemy camp and start manufacturing Blu-ray products.
Until now that is. According to reports coming out of its annual shareholder meeting in Tokyo, Toshiba is considering making Blu-ray products.

17/06/2009 - Price Barrier to Blu-ray Falling Away?

There are several arguments put forward as to why Blu-ray has been slow to reach mainstream adoption - but price can surely no longer be a major factor.
Best Buy in the US is now offering the Insignia NS-2BRDVD Blu-ray player for US $129.99 shipped.

04/06/2009 - Online Video Viewing Rates "Grossly Overstated"

The amount of time US viewers spend watching online video and mobile video is growing rapidly - but still accounts for a small fraction of total video content viewing.
That's the conclusion of a study into how people spend their time consuming media, including live TV programming, time-shifted television, DVDs, video games.

22/05/2009 - LG Offers First DivX HD 1080p Certified Blu-ray player

LG has launched the first DivX HD 1080p certified Blu-ray player.
The BD390 - originally displayed at CES in January - has an 802.11n WiFi module and support for DivX streaming from a DLNA server.

21/05/2009 - Rising HDTV Ownership Bodes Well For Ambient DVD Market

The market for ambient DVDs may still be in its early days - but if HD Coolvision's offering is anything to go by it could take off very quickly.
The LA-based start-up has released The Moon, a DVD of high-def footage of this celestial wonder intended to be displayed as video artwork on flat-panel HDTVs.

12/05/2009 - Consumers Prefer Discs Over Downloads At Home

Watching movies and other video content on DVD and Blu-ray Disc accounts for 88 per cent of home entertainment spending - even although newer digital methods are beginning to gain a foothold in the consumer market.
The average US home video consumer reported spending an average of USD $25 per month on all types of home video purchases and rentals, according to NPD Group.

07/05/2009 - Can Blu-Ray Now Be Called Mainstream?

The drop in the average price of Blu-Ray players is, not surprisingly, fuelling sales of the high-def disks. But figures out from NPD show that the effect of cheaper players could finally be giving the format mass market appeal.
High hardware prices has long been given as a barrier to Blu-Ray technology becoming widely accepted.

23/04/2009 - Warner Offers Blu-Ray For HD DVD Trade-in

More than a year after the high-def format war ended Warner Bros has launched a new HD DVD trade-in program in the US that allows its HD DVD titles to be exchanged for the same film on Blu-ray for a small fee.
Called Red2Blu, it allows consumers to get the Blu-ray titles for USD $4.9 (USD $9.95 for boxsets), without needing to trade in the actual HD DVD discs, just the cover art (with UPC code) from the red HD DVD cases.

02/04/2009 - ArcSoft Plug-in Upscales Standard DVDs to HD-Like Quality on the PC

ArcSoft today announced a plug-in for its universal high-definition multimedia player which it says brings most standard-definition video to near HD quality.
Called SimHD, ArcSoft's in-house upscaling technology uses NVIDIA CUDA parallel computing architecture to upscale standard DVD movies to up to 1,920 x 1,080.

31/03/2009 - HD-Capable Device Shipments To Triple by 2012

As HD becomes the global video standard shipments of high-definition set-top boxes (STBs), camcorders, DVD players and video-game consoles are expected to triple from 2008 to 2012, according to iSuppli.
Shipments of HD-capable equipment in these categories will rise to 202 million units by 2012, up from 68.9 million in 2008.

28/03/2009 - Microsoft to Toshiba: with HD DVD, we go down together

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We've been looking for some new paper to turn here at the Engadget HD offices, and it looks like Marshall Phelps' "Burning the Ships" may be our next purchase. Penned by a top Microsoft lawyer and co-authored by David Kline, the book lays out details on how Microsoft had decided to sink right along with Toshiba even as HD DVD took its last dying breath. Apparently Microsoft pledged its unconditional support for the format in hopes of winning a rare cross-license deal with a large Japanese electronics firm. CNET reports that at the time, winning such a deal with Tosh was "key for it in its efforts to convince large companies, even those with broader patent portfolios, to cross-license Microsoft's technology." The writeup tucked away in the read link is pretty interesting for those intrigued by deep, dark secrets of the past, so head on down if that's you.

Microsoft to Toshiba: with HD DVD, we go down together originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sat, 28 Mar 2009 15:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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26/03/2009 - Warner Bros. 'Archive' brings obscure films to DVD on-demand

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Being the digital aficionados that we are, we still prefer Criterion's Online Cinematheque over this approach, but those not quite ready to give up physical media will absolutely (and understandably) disagree. At any rate, the studio has just fired up its Warner Archive, a nice little web portal where film fanatics can surf over and locate niche titles to be placed on a DVD and shipped out. Most of the flicks are priced at $19.95, but that's still far cheaper than scouring eBay for hours in hopes of finding the original reel, having it converted and then watching it. Head on over to see if there's anything you like, but don't be shocked if you leave a few Benjamins poorer.

Warner Bros. 'Archive' brings obscure films to DVD on-demand originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 15:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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12/03/2009 - Panasonic's VHS/Blu-ray Combo Upconverts SD Video to 1080p

The world's first Blu-ray-VHS dual player is to go on sale in the US from next month.
Made by Panasonic, the DMP-BD70V has a multi-format playback that allows users to play VHS, CD, DVD and 1080p high definition Blu-ray Discs.

03/03/2009 - Downloading Will Be The Death of Blu-Ray

Predicting the demise of Blu-ray is a popular sport - and it has just gained another fan.
Consumer review specialist Reevoo has come out with a report saying that the high-def format is fighting a losing battle against HD download services and hard drives.

22/01/2009 - Testing Times For Technology Tradeshows

This year's Home Media Expo has been cancelled after a 27-year run as a result of the current economic conditions.
With the financial situation worsening, the technology event is unlikely to be the only casualty among industry tradeshows.

08/01/2009 - Blu-ray Growth Bolsters Dipping DVD Sales

US consumer spending on packaged home entertainment - rental and sales of DVD and high-def disc formats - fell by 5.5 per cent in 2008, to USD $22.4 billion, according to the Digital Entertainment Group.
Spending on DVD purchases fell more dramatically than the total, declining by 9 per cent, to about USD $14.5 billion, and the shipment of DVD units was down almost 15 per cent in 2008 to 1.4 Billion

06/01/2009 - Blu-ray's first two years outpaces DVD's

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Blu-ray Disc Market Share in the %: Top 20
The success of DVD is the kind that consumer electronics manufactures dreamed of, and now after two years after the introduction of Blu-ray, it appears to be gaining steam even faster -- and during the worst economic crisis of our time. According to Richard Greenfield of Pali Capital, in two years there were about 1.2 million DVD players sold, whereas Blu-ray stand-alone player sales are estimated to be at 2.5 million -- no this doesn't include PS3s which are expected to be at 8 million. Of course choosing between a $129 DVD upconverter and a $199 Blu-ray player isn't that hard of a choice, but paying 30 percent more for a movie is. The news here isn't bad for Blu-ray either as it has managed to almost double its market share of the top 20 titles in the past six months. We have a feeling the members on the panel at the BDA press conference this Thursday at 7pm EST -- which we'll be covering live -- will have a few things to smile about.

Blu-ray's first two years outpaces DVD's originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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06/01/2009 - Toshiba talks about its XDE future

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Toshiba XD-E500 upscaling DVD player
Not everyone has been won over by Toshiba's XDE upscaling, but the company has no plans of abandoning its in-house developed tech; at least that's what key folks behind XDE said in an interview with Home Cinema Choice mag. Not surprisingly, there's a lack of specific sales figures or technical detail on how the adaptive processing works -- there's nothing wrong with holding on to the secret sauce, after all -- but the interview definitely shows that Toshiba is feeling pressure from falling Blu-ray player prices. We've got to wonder how the company is going to deliver a model cheaper than the $150 XD-E500, though -- the gap between standard DVD spinners and cheap Blu-ray players is getting awfully thin, even for pixie dust.

Toshiba talks about its XDE future originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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05/01/2009 - LG Broadband HDTVs To Stream Netflix Movies

LG Electronics has announced the first broadband-enabled HDTVs with Netflix streaming software embedded directly in the set.
The new LCD and plasma “broadband HDTVs” will be able to show Netflix’s library of movies, TV episodes and HD content directly on the set without needing an external device.

22/12/2008 - Hybrid Disc Plays On Blu-ray and DVD

Japan-based Infinity Storage Media has launched the first Blu-ray / DVD hybrid disc.
The disc sports a single-layer of Blu-ray (25GB) on one side and a conventional dual-layer DVD (8.5GB) on the other.

19/12/2008 - Economy, HD adoption to blame for higher stay-at-home entertainment numbers

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We've already waded through a number of research reports that found individuals more likely to stay at home and get their entertainment during rough economic times, but an insightful piece from Parks Associates takes a more deliberate approach to analyzing what's really going on. When looking at just how many people are viewing video-on-demand content now versus two years ago (it's way up, by the way), it's easy to attribute that -- along with the downturn at the box office -- to a flagging economy. However, the report also notes that HD adoption in general has boomed over the past two years, giving citizens access to more high-quality at-home entertainment than ever before. As Kurt Scherf, principal analyst at Parks, so satisfactorily put it: "As we're seeing high-definition TV penetration reach 50% of households and home theater penetration well over 20%, we're seeing consumers want to enjoy those investments as much as possible." Nice thinking outside of the box there, Kurt.

[Via VideoBusiness]

Economy, HD adoption to blame for higher stay-at-home entertainment numbers originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 06:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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17/11/2008 - HDTV Owners Prefer Blu-ray....They're Just Not Buying Them

The latest survey from SmithGeiger shows that HDTV owners would rather watch movies on Blu-ray Disc than stream content directly to their TV.
Well, hardly any surprise there. There's never been any doubt about the phenomenal quality of Blu-ray images - but that still doesn't seem to be translating into sales.
Even with price drops in the US of between USD $200 and $300, the HD players aren't rushing off the shelves.

10/11/2008 - Toshiba's XD-E500 player: now with free 1-year Lovefilm subscription in UK

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We won't even front: we questioned the value in Toshiba's super-upscaling XD-E500 DVD player, but the company is making the pill a lot easier to swallow for those on the opposite side of the pond. Starting now, those who purchase the player and register it within seven days are blessed with a full year of DVD rentals from Lovefilm (a British DVD rental company). The year of rentals is technically worth £100, thus making the net cost of the player itself just £20 (£120 minus £100) if you're keen on twisting your math. So, Tosh -- when can we Americans expect a similar deal with Netflix?

[Via CNET]

Toshiba's XD-E500 player: now with free 1-year Lovefilm subscription in UK originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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04/11/2008 - Netflix doing away with secondhand DVD sales on website

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One thing's for sure -- Netflix isn't afraid of trimming back anything it feels is hindering its ability to excel on its core offerings. On a posting over at the official Netflix Blog, Meghan has announced that the outfit's previously viewed DVD section will be vanishing on November 30th. In case that's not crystal clear, after that day, members will no longer be able to purchase secondhand DVDs from the company. According to her, Netflix has decided to refocus its efforts exclusively on providing DVD rentals via mail and online rentals via broadband. We're also hearing that the firm's current stash of DVDs will be offloaded to a wholesaler for resell, but unless you feel like ponying up for yet another middleman, you may want to snap up a few now while there's still time. Or, you could just complain really loudly and see if it has another miraculous change of heart.

[Image courtesy of FutureGringo, via Silicon Alley Insider]

Netflix doing away with secondhand DVD sales on website originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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08/10/2008 - Will Iron Man and Dark Knight, Finally, Ignite Blu-ray?

Iron Man is quickly becoming the highest selling Blu-ray disc yet, with an estimated 20 per cent of all discs of the super-hero movie sold last week being on the high-def format.
With the release of the Dark Knight – including a BD-Live version – still to come, could the year end on a high note for Blu-ray?

01/10/2008 - Hollywood hates fair use, sues over RealDVD

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We knew Hollywood wouldn't let RealNetworks sell its RealDVD DVD-ripping-and-archiving software without a fight, and right on schedule, the six major studios have filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent it from being sold. Of course, RealNetworks has been planning on hiding behind that Kaleidescape ruling all along, but straight CSS circumvention isn't really what's at the heart of the suit: according to the studio's request for a restraining order, consumers won't be able to contain themselves in the face of RealDVD's voodoo magic and will start ripping rental DVDs en masse -- seriously, the suit calls the incentive to do so "all but overwhelming." Here's a hint, guys: if you believe the temptation to do something is that strong, it probably means you can get people to pay to do it -- and you should probably be working out a business model that embraces consumers instead of funding new BMWs for your lawyers while actual piracy tears down the fragile house of cards your entire industry is built on. Or you know, whatever.
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08/09/2008 - RealDVD rips DVDs just like you do, only legally (maybe)

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RealNetworks, the company you love to hate, is back with a new product sure to capture the attention of Hollywood and its MPAA thugs. For $30, RealDVD plans to do what DVD Jon enabled years ago -- namely, making digital copies of your DVDs. Unlike Jon's illegal DRM stripping software, RealNetworks' approach lays on additional DRM allowing you to make a single copy, only, playable on the machine doing the rip -- up to five additional Windows PCs can be authorized at a cost of $20 per.

Real thinks that the use of the additional DRM coupled with Kaleidescape's legal victory -- a ruling that seemingly authorizes users to copy DVDs for their own personal use -- will help it escape the wrath of the MPAA. Not that RealNetworks has ever been afraid of a fight as demonstrated by its 2004 scuffle with Apple when it began offering software that allowed iPods to play Real's DRM'd content. Good thing too because we're pretty sure that shutting down the planned start of RealDVD's sales at the end of this month is the number one topic around the bunny-juice dispensers at the MPAA offices this morning.

[Via cnet]
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29/08/2008 - Blu-ray is an unstoppable train

Why upgrade to Blu-ray when the old DVD player still manages to churn out a pretty good picture?
That was one of the issues addressed by the Blu-ray Disc Association at the IFA 2008 electronics trade show in Berlin.

22/08/2008 - Sony churns out external VRD-MC10 handycam-to-DVD burner

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It may be gettin' better, but it ain't getting any prettier. As the proper successor to Sony's DVDirect VRD-MC5, the all-black VRD-MC10 only looks marginally better than the original, but still has way too much 80s flair for our tastes. Sporting a 2.7-inch LCD, HDMI / component / composite outputs, a multicard reader, audio / video inputs, USB connectivity and support for just about every writable DVD still on the market, this unit was designed to burn your precious Handycam footage straight to DVD without any fuss (or formal editing procedures). Additionally, it could serve as your primary DVD player in a pinch, though the lack of BD functionality makes this a lot less attractive overall. We'll see if Sony keeps its "coming soon" promise; it's listed at a shockingly high ¥44,800 ($410).

[Via SonyInsider]
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18/08/2008 - US$10 discount for trading up from DVD to Blu-ray

Blu-ray still has some way to go before it fulfills the hype and replaces DVD - but one Hollywood studio has come up with a novel way of geeing it along.
Paramount will provide a US$10 rebate to consumers to upgrading their DVD titles with Blu-ray versions of the same movie.

18/08/2008 - Toshiba stubbornly launches the un-Blu-ray, XD-E500 DVD player

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Oh Toshiba, has it really come to this? After a humiliating loss to Blu-ray, Tosh just unveiled its new $150 XD-E500 DVD player. It's no run o' the mill DVD player mind you, this unit touts Toshiba's new eXtended Detail Enhancement (XDE) technology -- that super-duper resolution upconverting tech meant to fill the void between ubiquitous upconverting players and Blu-ray. Unfortunately, the player demonstrated offered just "subtle but noticeable sharpening of the image" when compared side-by-side (in a controlled demonstration) with an unnamed $70 upscaler -- to its credit, Tosh did not try to compare its new player with an HD-capable Blu-ray machine. Still, more than twice the price for "subtle" hardly sounds like a compelling purchase to us.
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01/08/2008 - Open Media Library beta available, easy access to DVD rips via extenders for all

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Forget about waiting for Niveus to open up its slick Movie Library to the public, now that the Open Media Library is available. The GPL v3-licensed project just rolled out the 0.1 beta version, designed for users to access their entire movie library and associated metadata (actors, summary, etc.) no matter the format, through extenders like the Xbox 360 or HP MediaSmart Connect. Turning Media Center Extenders into DVD streamers has been done before, but this should streamline things even further, with the added bonus of playing back Blu-ray and HD DVD rips. If you've got Vista Media Center, check it out and give some feedback for future editions.

[Via eHomeUpgrade]

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28/07/2008 - Chinese rival to Blu-ray squares up for fight

Volume production of China’s self-developed high-definition optical disc format - China Blue High-definition Disc (CBHD) – is to begin in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Shanghai United Optical Disc has completed its first production line and its output is initially expected to sell only in the Chinese market.

25/07/2008 - The Matrix to be released on Blu-ray

Warner Home Video has announced that they will bring the highly anticipated The Ultimate Matrix Collection to Blu-ray on October 14th.
The sci-fi action film starring Keanu Reeves played a major part in converting mainstream audiences to DVD.

16/07/2008 - Blu-ray disc prices could fall in line with DVD

Warner Home Video is to launch aggressive pricing initiatives for the fourth quarter of 2008, including its most comprehensive Blu-ray Disc promotion yet.
From September and continuing into the first-quarter of 2009, Warner will offer a Blu-ray point-of-sale rebate programme in which retailers will be able to order participating catalogue titles for around US$11.
The strategy could result in Blu-ray discs at retail being on a par with current DVD prices.

08/07/2008 - DVD still dominates but Blu-ray sales up

Sales of Blu-ray discs for the first half of 2008 have grown by 506 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to the British Video Association (BVA).
Yet, despite the huge increase, the format still only represents 1.2 per cent of the total UK video market, with sales of nearly one million units.
The BVA’s half-year results show total sales in 2008 are up 3.3 per cent compared with the same period last year, a rise it attributes to the increased level of consumer choice provided by the HD formats – both BD and HD-DVD.
In the US, DVD also remains the most popular home entertainment choice but there are differences emerging among age groups.

07/07/2008 - Pioneer develops 400 GB Blu-ray disk

Pioneer has developed a Blu-ray compatible disk that can hold 400GB of data on 16 layers.
The company currently only has a read-only disk available but expects to be able to produce recordable discs.
Each of the layers can hold 25 GB of data - equivalent to one single “standard” Blu-ray disk layer.
Multi-layer disks have existed for a while. Normal DVD players and burners are usually able to read and write to dual-layer discs.
It has been a challenge for Pioneer to get a clear signal from each of the recording layers of the disk, without picking up distortion from other layers.

02/07/2008 - Former backer of Toshiba's "defeated" HD DVD format to release first Blu-ray Disk player

Onkyo, the A/V manufacturer that backed the high def DVD format and sold around 2,000 players, is to launch its first BD player later this year.
The company had flagged up its intention to let bygones be bygones and join the other “side” shortly after Toshiba announced that it would concede the format war last February.
It discontinued production of its HD DVD players, while assuring existing customers they would continue to receive full product support and service.
A company statement also said it’s R&D team had “maintained a parallel development programme for the competing Blu-ray technology”.

02/07/2008 - DVD Download DL logo sparks wonder over Toshiba's super-resolution DVD player

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We keep hoping that Toshiba will come to its senses and just let this whole thing die, but no. Apparently insistent on keeping the last-generation format alive for as long as it possibly can, it seems the outfit is getting ever-closer to a super-resolution DVD player that would reportedly upscale DVD content like nothing we've ever seen. The latest tidbit in this woefully depressing saga is a newly approved DVD Download DL logo, which was given the final thumbs-up by the DVD Forum Steering Committee last month. In reality, no one outside of Tosh's headquarters has any idea if this development is indeed intrinsically related, but at this point, we wouldn't be shocked one bit to find that it was. Then again, the June 11th meeting also saw specifications for CH-DVD approved, so here's to hoping Toshiba isn't jumping on that bandwagon fiery wreck.

[Via TG Daily]

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27/06/2008 - Movies from every major Hollywood studio now available in HD

The Weinstein Company became the final major studio in Hollywood to release movies in high def.
It has announced that its first offering in HD is to be the horror movie The Mist, which will be released in Blu-ray this August 5th.
The Weinstein company, distributors of Dimension Films, briefly supported HD DVD, but pulled out before releasing a title after the format’s downfall.
The extensive extras present on the standard DVD are set to be included on the Blu-ray.

27/06/2008 - Sony outlines plans for Blu-ray, PS3 video downloads, games and BRIC nations

The world’s second-largest maker of consumer electronics aims to double its revenue in Brazil, Russia, India and China within three years by bolstering sales in seven main businesses including Bravia televisions and Blu-ray disc players.
Sony’s plans for sales of electronics to so-called BRIC nations will rise to 1.2 trillion yen (US$11.1 billion) by the 12 months ending March 31, 2011, from 600 billion yen last fiscal year.
Speaking in Tokyo, Sony chairman and CEO, Howard Stringer, was presenting the company’s mid-term corporate strategy, which included the first concrete details on the plan for on-demand video content, including a launch window of later this summer.
After touting an installed base of 50 million network-enabled PS3 and PSP units and a plan to achieve profitability this year, Stringer outlined a large-scale video service for Sony’s entire empire.
The as-yet-unnamed video store is described as a “premium film and TV service”. Aside from Sony titles, no other content deals have been announced.

24/06/2008 - DVD still dominates the movie market but Blu-ray set to overtake by 2012

The Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) expects sales of Blu-ray disks in the US to exceed those of standard DVDs by 2012.
In its latest Annual Report on the Home Entertainment Industry, the EMA reports that home video continues to dominate the movie market.
This segment of the market had sales of approximately US$24 billion, making it the largest segment of consumer movie spending by far, accounting for 49% of total consumer movie spending in 2007.
In the video game market, game software sales increased 34% in 2007, to a total of US$8.6 billion.

24/06/2008 - Could Angelina Jolie do for Blu-ray what Keanu Reeves did for DVD?

The idea that one movie could transform a technology from niche to mainstream may seem extreme.
Yet that is what Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios home entertainment, is suggesting will be the effect of the yet-to-be released new thriller starring Angelina Jolie.
The studio executive believes the film’s highly visual nature could be the trigger to mass sales of Blu-ray devices.
James McAvoy plays an average guy who’s recruited by Jolie to become a contract assassin.
Kornblau said he thought Wanted, which is released in US cinemas on Friday, could do for HD disks what The Matrix did for the standard-def DVD.

20/06/2008 - Movie Booth DVD rental kiosks head for UK, Ireland

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DVD rental kiosks have been lighting up pharmacies and supermarkets across the US, but it seems that UKers and Irish lads / dames will soon have the great, great privilege of interfacing with Movie Booths in the near future. This particular unit doesn't seem all too different from other variations we've seen, boasting a simple touchscreen display and a built-in android tasked with fetching your selected title and spitting it out for a nominal (read: undisclosed) fee. Apparently, trials have been deemed a success in outlets like Tesco, Centra and Applegreen, thus paving the way to see these pop up everywhere by the year's end. Any chance we'll see a Blu-ray Disc or two popped in there?

[Via Pocket-lint]
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20/06/2008 - Flat-panel, DVD recorder sales surge in Japan as Olympics draw near

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Although some analysts aren't attributing the heightened flat-panel sales in China to the upcoming Olympics in Beijing, Tokyo-based BCN most certainly is pointing the finger at said Games to explain a similar surge in Japan. Reportedly, overall flat-panel TV sales skyrocketed some 35.3% during the June 1st - 15th period from a year prior, with demand particularly high for 40-inch models. Additionally, DVD recorders saw an equally impressive 25.2% increase in sales, with just over half of those supporting Blu-ray. Maybe they're just trying to beat the impending taxation?

[Image courtesy of HDTVUK]
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12/06/2008 - Up close and personal - porn industry turns on to high definition

A leading maker of adult movies is to release all new titles on Blu-ray Disc as well as on standard definition DVD.
Digital Playground says it is the first mainstream studio to opt for the “same day” treatment for HD discs.
The porn maker will also begin converting one previously released title to Blu-ray every week.
Such a move is likely to lead to a dramatic increase in the number of adult titles available on Blu-ray.

11/06/2008 - Signs point towards rising output of Blu-ray Discs as production capacity grows

The market leader in the manufacture of optical disc production lines has upgraded its 2008 forecast for Blu-ray machines by 50% after receiving strong orders in the first three months of the year.
Along with “numerous orders” for Blu-ray lines from Europe and Asia, the company received its first major order for Blu-ray from the US.
Stefan Baustert, CEO of Singulus Technologies, said its order projections had been upped from 20 Blu-ray machines to “about 30 machines” for 2008.
He said a market share of more than 65 % was targeted for the Blu-ray segment.

11/06/2008 - More HD titles needed to boost up-take of Blu-ray players

With Blu-ray sales still not setting the heather alight much has been made of the high cost of HD players and continued viewer satisfaction with standard-definition DVD.
Paul Erickson, director of DVD and HD Market Research at DisplaySearch, is in no doubt these are big factors contributing to Blu-ray’s slow shift into the living room.
Adding to the picture is the emergence of online content delivery as a viable source of HD programming, something that is seen as posing a real threat to Blu-ray’s long-term survival.

03/06/2008 - Blu-ray awareness and potential rising in the US but barriers remain

High cost and a belief that standard-definition DVD is “good enough” are the main barriers to US consumers purchasing Blu-ray players.
These are the conclusions of a study by the NPD Group, which found that manufacturers still face challenges despite rising awareness of Blu-ray.
The market research company found that 45 per cent of HDTV owners in the US now claim to be familiar with Blu-ray Disc (BD), up from 35 percent in June 2007.
And, while only 6 per cent of all consumers surveyed said they plan to purchase a BD device in the next six months, NPD found purchase intent to be higher among the growing population of HDTV owners, boding well for the future of the format.

30/05/2008 - "Hard" media discs in no danger of disappearing despite advances being made in digital downloading
Blu-ray discs and DVDs are going to survive for another 20 years even though great advances are being made in digital downloading.
That is the belief of Reed Hastings, head of NetFlix, the online rental service, who also stated that he doesn’t think a rival physical optical disc will emerge to challenge Blu-ray.
Speaking at an investors meeting, Hastings said on DVD and Blu-ray wouldn’t be replaced by digital downloads and ray Hollywood studios would continue releasing films on disc.
“Our view is that the studios are going to publish DVD and Blu-ray for another 20 years,” he said. “I don’t think there’s going to be another physical optical disc.”

29/05/2008 - DVDPlay to add Blu-ray Discs in movie rental kiosks

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When Blu-ray hits the food mart, you know it has gone big time. DVDPlay just coined itself the "first rental kiosk operator to offer Blu-ray Discs," as it laid out a plan to shove BD flicks into its machines as early as June 10th. Vanilla DVDs will, of course, continue to be offered alongside the newcomers, and best of all, the rental fee for Blu-ray Discs won't be a penny more than what is already charged for DVDs ($1.49). Those with DVDPlay kiosks around can inspect their local machines for Untraceable and Men in Black in under a fortnight, as those two are specifically noted as titles that will likely be offered up early on.

[Via TheManRoom]
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28/05/2008 - Samsung HDTV earns top slot in customer loyalty survey
Samsung Electronics has come first in a customer loyalty survey in the US for both its HDTVs and DVD players.
The company was winner in the two categories in the Loyalty Engagement Index, a nationwide survey carried out by Brand Keys Customer.
It identifies brands that are best able to engage consumers by meeting or exceeding their expectations, which creates loyal customers.
The report forecasts which products consumers are most likely to purchase over the next 12 to 18 months.

28/05/2008 - Blu-ray recorder sales rising fast in Japan
Sales of high definition Blu-ray recorders are increasing rapidly in Japan as consumers take to the new generation of home movie entertainment.
Last month the more expensive Blu-ray recorders topped the old generation recorders in the value of sales for the first time.
The research firm BCN Ltd said that around a third of machines sold now carry the new format.

26/05/2008 - Westinghouse VK-40F580D LCD embodies HD's divided state

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Westinghouse VK-40F580D LCDIt's some strange times in HD-land, and all that strangeness is brought together in the Westinghouse VK-40F580D LCD. Things start off pretty good with a 40-inch, 1080p LCD with NTSC, ATSC, and clear QAM tuning. Our eyebrows arched when we saw that Westinghouse also builds a DVD player into mix. We know that Westinghouse had a price point to hit with this unit, so we're not disappointed to see Blu-ray left out. But the real stick in the eye is that the DVD player does not upscale. So here we have a 1080p display that is both helped (in convenience) and hurt (in performance) by its built-in player. This is exactly the sort of thing that will keep consumers confused and/or disappointed with their $1149 purchase. The word "separates" usually has a snooty connotation, but here's a case where we think it's easy and affordable enough for everyone.
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