Number of results 359 for ray

19/03/2010 - Book of Eli Blu-ray disc arrives June 15 with plenty of extras
It seems that without plans for a double or even triple dip on the horizon, Warner's somehow found a way to squeeze lots of extras on the home release of its recent blockbuster, Book of Eli. Denzel Washington and the Hughes brothers will chime during a picture-in-picture Maximum Movie Mode, and "more than 90 minutes" of Blu-ray exclusives are in store. Besides being a Blu-ray/DVD/Digital copy combo pack it's listing extra scenes and several featurettes, but with a BD-Live logo prominently featured in the ad, we're hoping that maybe 2010 has another new wrinkle over 2009's top home movie releases (other than 3D.)

Book of Eli Blu-ray disc arrives June 15 with plenty of extras originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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16/03/2010 - Blu-ray releases for March 16th 2010
Princess and the Frog Blu-rayAnother pretty good week which features the first hand animated movie in a long time, The Princess and the Frog. A few TV shows that are always welcomed additions as well as some classics like The Wizard of Oz. Nice.

The Princess and the Frog (Disney)
Armored (Sony)
Breaking Bad: The Complete First Season (Sony)
Breaking Bad: The Complete Second Season (Sony)
Broken Embraces (Sony)
Did You Hear About the Morgans? (Sony)
Astro Boy (Summit)
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (MPI)
Fallen Angels (Kino)
The Fourth Kind (Universal)
New Moon (Summit)
Ninja Assassin (Warner)
The Wizard of Oz (Warner)
Paris (MPI)
South Park: The Complete Thirteenth Season (Paramount)
Suicide Girls: Guide To Living (First Look)
Unrivaled (Lionsgate)
Wonderful World (Magnolia)

Blu-ray releases for March 16th 2010 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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15/03/2010 - NVIDIA's 3DTV Play finally solves the HDMI 1.4 gap for 3D Vision
In case you hadn't noticed, there was some trouble brewing in the NVIDIA camp. After ages of reigning atop the land of stereoscopic 3D playback on the PC, NVIDIA is finally being confronted with a real, bona fide standard for 3D, with zero GPUs capable of meeting it. The current NVIDIA 3D Vision-compatible cards pump out the necessary pixels over DisplayPort or dual DVI plugs, while the official spec for 3D TVs is an HDMI 1.4 plug that accepts data from both frames at once. We were in doubt there for a moment, but it turns out NVIDIA's cards upgrade to 1.4 just fine, and all 3D Vision customers will be getting this as a free upgrade later this spring. NVIDIA will also be offering this 3DTV Play software in a standalone version for $40 to folks who don't want to bother with NVIDIA's 3D Vision stuff at all (with HDMI 1.4 you can just use the stereoscopic glasses that come with your fancy new 3D TV, no need for NVIDIA's setup). NVIDIA is naturally hitting all the high points of the 1.4 spec, with 1080p24, 720p60 (the official gaming spec), and 720p50. The cards will also support 3D Blu-ray. So, just about time to splurge big on that home theater PC? We don't know... is it just us, or does that guy and his couch look a little lonely?

NVIDIA's 3DTV Play finally solves the HDMI 1.4 gap for 3D Vision originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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09/03/2010 - Blu-ray releases for March 9th 2010
Up In the AirIf you're into great movies then this might be the week you've been waiting for as there are two that were nominated for best picture as well as other Academy Awards. But if Up In the Air and Precious aren't up your alley, then maybe Planet 51 and The Boondock Saints II is. There are also a number of titles out this week that deserve a look and we'd bet there is something for everyone.

Blu-ray releases for March 9th 2010 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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02/03/2010 - Blu-ray releases for March 2nd 2010
2012 Blu-rayWhat can we say when the biggest title of the week only has an IMDB of 6.1? Not much but we will say that there are a few great kids movies and classics this week. Disney has Ponyo, while Warner has Where the Wild Thing Are, but personally we can't wait to see one of our childhood favorites in HD, The NeverEnding Story.

2012 (Sony)
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (Dragon Dynasty)
Alice (Lionsgate)
Clash of the Titans (Warner)
Gentlemen Broncos (Fox)
The NeverEnding Story (Warner)
Ponyo (Walt Disney)
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (Screen Media)
Where the Wild Things Are (Warner)
Wild Australia: The Edge (Razor Digital)

Blu-ray releases for March 2nd 2010 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 21:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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23/02/2010 - Blu-ray releases on February 23rd 2010
The Informant! Blu-rayWhat's left to say about this week that we haven't already said so many time before over the past three or four years that we've been doing this weekly post? Yep, that's right, we have ran out of things to say. Some people who know us personally wouldn't believe such a thing could happen, but really, what would you say about The Informant! Or the Box? Exactly.

Blu-ray releases on February 23rd 2010 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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18/02/2010 - Redbox planning to expand Blu-ray availability around the middle of this year
According to statements by Coinstar CEO Paul Davis, we should expect to see Blu-ray discs appearing in more Redbox kiosks around the middle of this year. Specifically called out in its deal with Warner, Home Media Magazine reports he also mentioned the final price for HD rentals is undecided but would "for sure be higher than our standard DVDs." We're thinking $2 a night, any other guesses?

Redbox planning to expand Blu-ray availability around the middle of this year originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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15/02/2010 - Blu-ray releases on February 16th 2010
Law Abiding Citizen Blu-rayAt the top of this week's slate of new Blu-ray releases is Law Abiding Citizen from Anchor Bay. It isn't a hard week to be a the top, but this title does have an IDMB score of 7.3 and is a crime thriller that didn't do too bad at the box office at $73 mil.

Blu-ray releases on February 16th 2010 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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09/02/2010 - Blu-ray releases on February 9th 2010
Couples Retreat - Blu-rayIt isn't quite Oscar season, even though the nominations are out, so while we wait have a good laugh to Vince Vaughn in Couples Retreat. Sure, it isn't the funniest movie ever, but a movie as funny as Hang Over doesn't come out very often -- Old School is the last one we can think of.
  • Couples Retreat (Universal)
  • A Serious Man (Universal)
  • Bronson (Magnolia)
  • Serious Moonlight (Magnolia)
  • Dare (Image)
  • Drop Zone (Lionsgate)
  • Hard Rain (Lionsgate)
  • The Phantom (Lionsgate)
  • The Running Man (Lionsgate)
  • The Lily Town (Razor Digital)
  • SGU Stargate Universe: Season One (MGM)
  • The Stepfather (Sony)
  • The Time Traveler's Wife (New Line)
  • 36 (Tartan Video)

Blu-ray releases on February 9th 2010 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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25/01/2010 - Blu-ray releases on January 26th 2010

MJ this is it

Michael Jackson's This Is It hits Blu-ray and along with it comes an updated movieIQ Sync to help bring movie related information to your PC and iPhone. Walt Disney has the other day and date title with Surrogates. Universal has a few classics including Atonement and Pride & Prejudice, while Warner has 80's hit Fame. Roller Derby fans might want to check out Drew Barry directing ability in Whip It which has a very respectable IMDB score of 7.4.
  • Michael Jackson's This Is It (Sony)
  • Surrogates (Walt Disney)
  • Atonement (Universal)
  • Pride & Prejudice (Universal)
  • Fame (Warner)
  • Saw VI (Lionsgate)
  • Whip It (Fox)
  • Wild Ocean (Image)
  • Give 'Em Hell, Malone (E1)
  • Soul Power (Sony)
  • Paris, Texas (Criterion Collection)
  • Rebellion (Tai Seng)
  • The Toolbox Murders (Blue Underground)

Blu-ray releases on January 26th 2010 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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18/01/2010 - Blu-ray releases on January 19th 2010
magnolia Blu-raySo yeah it's one of those weeks where honestly we don't know what to tell you. The only good news is that there is at least one solid catalog with Magnolia and you can finally try out those flipper discs for yourself -- yeah we know, that's not that good. We're really not sure what to say to Blu-ray fans, so we'll try the old college football saying with a little twist; maybe next week.
  • Across The Hall (Image)
  • Artie Lange: Jack and Coke (Image)
  • The Bourne Identity (Universal)
  • The Bourne Supremacy (Universal)
  • The Bourne Ultimatum (Universal)
  • Smokin' Aces (Universal)
  • Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball (Universal)
  • Che (Criterion)
  • Death in Love (Screen Media)
  • Gamer (Lionsgate)
  • The Invention of Lying (Warner)
  • Whiteout (Warner)
  • Magnolia (New Line)
  • Pandorum (Anchor Bay)
  • According To Greta (Anchor Bay)
  • Weeds: Season Five (Lionsgate)

Blu-ray releases on January 19th 2010 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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15/01/2010 - Universal's Blu-ray/DVD flipper disc gets reviewed
Universal flipper disc
Love 'em or hate 'em, Universal's first flipper disc has arrived at the doors of reviewers -- Blu-ray.com's Kenneth Brown got his hands on the two Bourne movies, and as you might expect, the discs worked as advertised. He tried both sides of the disc on a number of different players without running into a single playback issue. Now obviously there's no cover art, which to some is a pretty big deal, but there's a slim inner ring label to let you know which side is which -- more plainly labeled then we've seen on some flippers. While we recognize the added value of including a DVD version of the movie with the Blu-ray, we prefer two separate discs like most of the other studios are using. That being said, we wouldn't let a flipper disc get in the way of enjoying our favorite movie at home, over and over again.

Universal's Blu-ray/DVD flipper disc gets reviewed originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 15 Jan 2010 07:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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14/01/2010 - Toshiba updates VARDIA line of DVRs with Blu-ray, VHS... wait, what?
Toshiba's showing it has moved on from the horrors of the format war, today announcing Three Non-HD DVD Recorders and a few other Japan only Blu-ray products. The top of the line D-BW1005K DVR connects with the future via a 1TB HDD, several tuners and the aforementioned disc burning capability but also gives a nod to the past and our old copies of Days of Thunder, A History of Violence and The Young Teacher thanks to its included VHS deck. Ditching the tape player, 1TB HDD or recording capability saves a few yen, while all-in-one fans can opt for the R1BDP series of REGZA LCDs, an offshoot of the R9000 line in 32- and 26-inch sizes with Blu-ray burning drives tucked in behind just like Sharp & Mitsubishi's HDTVs. All are due over the next few months, check Impress for the prices and dates, but we'd wait to see what kind of Blu-ray upgrade is heading the Cell TV's way before buying, even with the potential return of sweet, sweet VHS to our lives (it's amazing how a few years of nostalgia has made us forget all those worn out rentals, poor quality and the need for something called a "rewinder.")

Toshiba updates VARDIA line of DVRs with Blu-ray, VHS... wait, what? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 17:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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14/01/2010 - Toshiba updates VARDIA line of DVRs with Blu-ray, VHS... wait, what?
Toshiba's showing it has moved on from the horrors of the format war, today announcing Three Non-HD DVD Recorders and a few other Japan only Blu-ray products. The top of the line D-BW1005K DVR connects with the future via a 1TB HDD, several tuners and the aforementioned disc burning capability but also gives a nod to the past and our old copies of Days of Thunder, A History of Violence and The Young Teacher thanks to its included VHS deck. Ditching the tape player, 1TB HDD or recording capability saves a few yen, while all-in-one fans can opt for the R1BDP series of REGZA LCDs, an offshoot of the R9000 line in 32- and 26-inch sizes with Blu-ray burning drives tucked in behind just like Sharp & Mitsubishi's HDTVs. All are due over the next few months, check Impress for the prices and dates, but we'd wait to see what kind of Blu-ray upgrade is heading the Cell TV's way before buying, even with the potential return of sweet, sweet VHS to our lives (it's amazing how a few years of nostalgia has made us forget all those worn out rentals, poor quality and the need for something called a "rewinder.")

Toshiba updates VARDIA line of DVRs with Blu-ray, VHS... wait, what? originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 17:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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12/01/2010 - Blu-ray releases on January 12th 2009
Moon Blu-rayWith all the excitement from the holidays and CES we missed out on brining you the HD Releases. Unfortunately that doesn't equate to there actually be any new titles to get excited about. It's always good to see more catalog titles and TV shows come to Blu-ray though, so here you are.

  • Moon - Sony
  • Last Action Hero - Sony
  • Cliffhanger - Sony
  • Halloween II - Sony
  • Post Grad - Fox
  • The Simpsons: The Complete Twentieth Season - Fox
  • 8 1/2 - Criterion Collection
  • Billy Jack - Image
  • The Brothers Bloom - Summit
  • The Burning Plain - Magnolia
  • The Celestial Railroad - Razor
  • The Last Salt Caravan - Razor
  • Fame - MGM
  • The Hurt Locker - Summit
  • I Can Do Bad All By Myself - Lionsgate
  • In the Loop - MPI

Blu-ray releases on January 12th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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11/01/2010 - HD DVD rides again: TCL brings China Blue HD & Blu-ray together for a CES face-off
Ah, HD DVD, our old friend - we thought we'd never see you again. But there was no mistaking it, here's the logo tucked away in Chinese manufacturer TCL's booth on a China Blue HD deck next to a similar Blu-ray player. The Blu-ray demo appeared to be down when we stopped by making this not much of a fight -- although with recent gains by CBHD like adding studio support from Paramount, it may want to take this challenger more seriously. We'll move the threat level on this conflict to yellow.

HD DVD rides again: TCL brings China Blue HD & Blu-ray together for a CES face-off originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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11/01/2010 - HD DVD rides again: TCL brings China Blue HD & Blu-ray together for a CES face-off
Ah, HD DVD, our old friend - we thought we'd never see you again. But there was no mistaking it, here's the logo tucked away in Chinese manufacturer TCL's booth on a China Blue HD deck next to a similar Blu-ray player. The Blu-ray demo appeared to be down when we stopped by making this not much of a fight -- although with recent gains by CBHD like adding studio support from Paramount, it may want to take this challenger more seriously. We'll move the threat level on this conflict to yellow.

HD DVD rides again: TCL brings China Blue HD & Blu-ray together for a CES face-off originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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07/01/2010 - Panasonic's other 2010 Blu-ray players keep making 2D look & sound better
Not planning to make the jump to 3D this year? Panasonic is still working on hardware for you too. Continued revisions of the UniPhier processor and PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus hardware at their core to improve picture quality, reduce size & power consumption, and lower the bootup time from off to playing to just 14 seconds. The DMP-BD45 foregoes any VieraCast features beyond BD-Live hookups, while the BD65 and BD85 (above) add access to streaming services, expanded audio codec processing, and in the case of the BD85, additional hardware tweaks to keep audiophiles happy. Check the PR after the break for every detail except price and shipping dates -- we won't call you Luddites for living in a 3D-less world, just think (& Twitter) it.

Continue reading Panasonic's other 2010 Blu-ray players keep making 2D look & sound better

Panasonic's other 2010 Blu-ray players keep making 2D look & sound better originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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07/01/2010 - Netflix bends over, agrees to delay renting Warner DVDs
Oh sigh. We'd been hearing that Warner Brothers would be pushing for month-long rental delays for mail-order services in order to boost sales, and it looks like Netflix has been pushed into submission: under an agreement announced today, Warner Brother DVDs and Blu-rays won't be available to Netflix subscribers for 28 days after they're released for sale. What's worse, Netflix says it expects to reach similar deals with the other major studios as time goes on. Why would Reed Hastings agree to a clear imposition on his company's rights under the first-sale doctrine? We're guessing this is the only way the studios would open up and allow more movies to hit Watch Instantly -- and the AP says Netflix is also getting a discount on the actual discs. Yeah, it's lame, but honestly we'd rather take more streaming content over new releases in the mail straight away, so let's hope all this wheeling and dealing pays off.

Netflix bends over, agrees to delay renting Warner DVDs originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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06/01/2010 - VUDU comes to LG Blu-ray home theater systems
LG LHB975
If you are the home theater in a box type, but also want Blu-ray and VUDU movies streamed to your HDTV, then your wait is over. The new BD975 doesn't have a price and we don't know when it'll be available, but what we do know is that when that day comes for you to part with your hard earned cash you'll get a all the great internet features those who prefer to buy stand-alone Blu-ray players have enjoyed for years. You know, like VUDU, YouTube, Pandora, Picasa, AccuWeather, Netflix and CinemaNow -- so yeah, just about everything. The DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD can be played back wirelessly to the speakers and there's even a iPod dock drawer for your iPhone.

Continue reading VUDU comes to LG Blu-ray home theater systems

VUDU comes to LG Blu-ray home theater systems originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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02/01/2010 - New standard could pave way for higher capacity Blu-ray discs
Already feeling the pinch of a mere 25GB per layer on a Blu-ray disc? Neither are we, but it looks like Sony and Panasonic have been busily working on ways to boost capacity nonetheless, and they've now devised a new method that seems to be on the fast track to becoming a standard. The best news is that it doesn't involve a change in Blu-ray optics, but rather something called the Maximum Likelihood Sequence Estimation evaluation index (or i-MLSE -- the "i' is just for kicks, it seems), which is a new means of estimating the read error rate of discs on the fly that has apparently be made possible thanks to "recent hardware advancements." According to Sony and Panasonic, that should now allow discs to hold up to 33.4 GB per layer, but it's not exactly clear what that means for existing Blu-ray players (a little firmware assistance seems to at least be a conceivable option, though). There's also no timeline for a rollout just yet, but Sony is reportedly now set to propose widespread adoption of i-MLSE to the Blu-ray Disc Association, of which it just so happens to be the leading member.

New standard could pave way for higher capacity Blu-ray discs originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Jan 2010 10:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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22/12/2009 - All Warner theatrical Blu-ray releases to include DVDs
Warner Home Video logoHere's a trend that Disney started that's taking over the Blu-ray landscape -- in the first quarter of 2010 all Warner Brothers theatrical Blu-ray releases will include a DVD and a digital copy. This is obviously good for consumers when the price stays the same as it adds value to Blu-ray without adding that much of an additional cost to the studio -- and we have to say that we prefer two discs in the box to the double sided disc that Universal seems to want to use. We expect both discs in one box to be the new norm and the bottom line is we think this is a good thing because we only want to pay once to see a movie, but totally love the flexibility to watch it any way we please.

All Warner theatrical Blu-ray releases to include DVDs originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 17:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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22/12/2009 - Oppo to add a lower cost Blu-ray player to its lineup
Oppo Blu-ray player
One of the most well respected Blu-ray player manufacturers out there mentioned on its Twitter feed that it plans to announce a lower cost option in early January 2010. We interpret this to mean that during CES, in a few weeks, that all the details will be revealed. This is certainly good news for Oppo fans, although we really wonder what sacrifices we'll have to make to take advantage of the lower price. After all, it isn't like it's as simple as dropping a few streaming features.

Oppo to add a lower cost Blu-ray player to its lineup originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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15/12/2009 - Broadcom First to Ship True Single Chip Blu-ray Solution

Broadcom today announced that it is the first silicon provider to ship a true single die Blu-ray Disc chip.

According to the company, the BCM7630 offers an “unprecedented level of integration” combining optical front-end and back-end video decoding and display technologies in a single die solution.

In addition it supports internet streaming applications including Netflix 2.0, Pandora Internet Radio, BD-Live, Vudu, CinemaNow movie services and others.


15/12/2009 - Lord of the Rings and Blu-ray to meet in April of 2010
Lord of the Rings - Blu-rayWe've been talking about Lord of the Rings on Blu-ray for as long as we've been talking about Blu-ray, so we're happy to finally see these two come together. The bad news is that if you're a big fan of the extended versions -- as if the originals weren't long enough -- you'll have to keep waiting as this $99 box set won't include 'em. What it will include is three discs of extras as well as digital copies of all three movies. If you aren't into buying movies on shiny discs anymore though, also on the 16th April, the trilogy will also be available at all the new sources like iTunes, Amazon VOD and Xbox/Zune Marketplace.

Lord of the Rings and Blu-ray to meet in April of 2010 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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12/12/2009 - Poll: Do you plan on participating in a DVD to Blu-ray trade-in?
First Warner, now Disney, we're wondering if any of you are actually interested in any of these DVD trade in programs? Besides the issues of availability & selection there's whether or not you get to keep your old discs, and the simple hassle of participating. Still, clearly the studios think there's a market for these programs to get people jumping into Blu-ray discs and players, so let us know, are you biting?

View Poll

Poll: Do you plan on participating in a DVD to Blu-ray trade-in? originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sat, 12 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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08/12/2009 - Disney's Upgrade2Blu Program saves you $8, lets you keep your DVDs
Disney Upgrad2Blu
That company with that mouse sure is open to trying new things, and as if the whole Snow White Blu-ray vs DVD box art wasn't interesting enough, now we have Upgrade2Blu. Like other offers, via an $8 rebate it saves you a few bucks on Blu-ray Discs that you already own on DVD, but what is different is that you get to keep the DVD. This makes sense from a company like Disney since it's been including DVDs with all the Blu-ray releases, which is especially useful for kid's movies. You see as much as we want our kids to grow as HD snobs like us, we still wouldn't dare driving more than an hour in the car without a Disney DVD being played in the back seat.

Disney's Upgrade2Blu Program saves you $8, lets you keep your DVDs originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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08/12/2009 - Some TV series reverse, go from Blu-ray back to DVD-only releases
Given the high price of Blu-ray boxed sets, the news from Video Business that some series are going backwards from having Blu-ray editions to DVD only really isn't that surprising. Specifically cited are Rescue Me, Damages and Nip/Tuck, with numbers indicating the average title sells only 5% of its copies in HD. Series that appeal to early adopting Blu-ray owners and HDTV fans like Fringe, Lost and Terminator:SCC naturally do better on Blu-ray, regardless of price, but with the exception of fanatics who will either pay up or wait for a sale, it's not surprising that most people would rather keep an extra $15 - $30 in their pocket and just grab it on standard def.

Some TV series reverse, go from Blu-ray back to DVD-only releases originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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08/12/2009 - Blu-ray releases on December 8th 2009
Harry Potter - Half-Blood Pring Blu-rayIt feels like just yesterday that Warner was released the latest Harry Potter movie as a way to decide which HD format it should abandon and now the whole world is Blu when Half-Blood Prince hits the shelves and it sure doesn't feel like two years later. In the TV show category, Disney has the 5th season of Lost and although that's one of our favorite shows, we're waiting on the complete collection. The real interesting one this week is Anchor Bay which really opened up the gates with 10 new Blu-ray titles in one week.
  • Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Warner)
  • Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Ultimate Edition (Warner)
  • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Ultimate Edition (Warner)
  • Julie & Julia (Sony)
  • Lost: The Complete Fifth Season (Walt Disney)
  • Public Enemies (Universal)
  • The Alphabet Killer (Anchor Bay)
  • Behind The Mask: The Rise Of Leslie Vernon (Anchor Bay)
  • Cyclops (Anchor Bay)
  • Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer (Anchor Bay)
  • The Lost Treasure of the Grand Canyon (Anchor Bay)
  • Lower Learning (Anchor Bay)
  • Red Mist (Anchor Bay)
  • Sands Of Oblivion (Anchor Bay)
  • Walled In (Anchor Bay)
  • While She Was Out (Anchor Bay)
  • Knut & Friends (Image)
  • UltraMarathon Man (ChannelSources)
  • World's Greatest Dad (Magnolia)

Blu-ray releases on December 8th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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03/12/2009 - Redbox sues Warner and Fox for retailer interference
Redbox Kiosk
Even though only a few Redbox kiosks actually offer Blu-ray Discs for rent, we still find the company's trials and tribulations with the studios entertaining and newsy. In this latest complaint, Redbox claims that Warner and Fox have instructed retailers to only allow Redbox kiosk operators to buy three copies of any given title, thereby preventing Redbox from renting movies day and date with the disc's retail release. Besides the obvious fact that the studios are being jerks here, it really gets our legal thoughts running about one's right to buy as many of something as one wants. Now we're pretty sure all this is just a way for Redbox to gain leverage in inevitable kick-back negotiations, but that doesn't make it any less entertaining or interesting.

Redbox sues Warner and Fox for retailer interference originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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01/12/2009 - Blu-ray releases on December 1st 2009
Terminator Salvation Blu-ray
The reviews are in and now Terminator Salvation can be enjoyed in the comfort of your own home -- we do wonder why Warner didn't take the opportunity to release the ultimate Terminator collection, but we suppose that'll come later. Warner definitely has the strongest offering of any studio this week with a total of four titles including old favorites like Gremlins and The Green Mile. Also this week are two of our favorite British films with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, which are both entertaining and hilarious -- although not really comedies.
  • Terminator Salvation (Warner)
  • Ben 10: Alien Swarm (Warner)
  • The Green Mile (Warner)
  • Gremlins (Warner)
  • Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (Universal)
  • Snatch (Sony)
  • A Christmas Tale (Criterion)
  • Deadline (First Look)
  • Death Warrior (Lionsgate)
  • The Mask of Zorro (Sony)
  • Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (Fox)
  • Paper Heart (Anchor Bay)
  • Ride Around the World (Image)
  • Secondhand Lions (New Line)
  • UltraMarathon Man (ChannelSources)

Blu-ray releases on December 1st 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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20/11/2009 - Warner's DVD2Blu trade-in swaps Blu-rays for your DVDs, Leland Gaunt approves
After baptizing the remaining HD DVD faithful, Warner has moved on to teaching new Blu-ray converts the five pillars of faith with a trade-up program. Send in your old DVDs (just the box art won't cut it this time around, better buy some blanks and get to ripping if you still enjoy Training Day on long car trips), $7.95 - $9.95 per movie plus $4.95 for s&h (orders over $25 ship for free) and expect HD versions back in 4 - 5 weeks. Is it worth it? Depends on how many of the 55 flicks on the approved list you own (included after the break) but for most you're probably better off keeping the ones you have and eyeing budget bins carefully, nabbing catalog flicks like Harold & Kumar for less than $15 without any mail-in shenanigans shouldn't be too hard for the truly thrifty.

Continue reading Warner's DVD2Blu trade-in swaps Blu-rays for your DVDs, Leland Gaunt approves

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Warner's DVD2Blu trade-in swaps Blu-rays for your DVDs, Leland Gaunt approves originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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20/11/2009 - Sony's Blu-ray digital copies tested on PS3, PSP
We've seen digital copies of Blu-ray via separate DVDs before (e.g. Watchmen), and just recently Sony finally cut out of the middle disc and put the transferable video on the high-def disc itself. Joystiq recently showcased how it's done using a copy of Godzilla and a PlayStation 3. For this you'll need a PSN account and the 12-digit code included in the disc case. The standard definition video, here clocking in at 2GB, will copy to the hard drive (not a separate download, thankfully), and then if you want to the PSP. All in all, it's approximately a five-minute process. We can't help but agree, the early batch of supported films -- The Ugly Truth, Angels & Demons, and Godzilla from 1998 -- isn't exactly fine cinema dining, but surely this is just a sign of things to come. Want to see all the nitty-gritty details in action? Check out the video after the break.

Continue reading Sony's Blu-ray digital copies tested on PS3, PSP

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Sony's Blu-ray digital copies tested on PS3, PSP originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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17/11/2009 - Blu-ray releases on November 17th 2009

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Blu-rayThe biggest blockbuster of the year finally gets to see the light of Blu today and we can all enjoy those weird lighting affects in HD in the comfort of our own home. But also this week, there are a few new shows from Fox and HBO as well as more than one all time classic like Fight Club and The Professional. So in other words, if you don't see something you like this week, you don't like movies or TV shows.
  • Star Trek (Paramount)
  • Bruno (Universal)
  • Chasing Amy (Miramax)
  • Clerks (Miramax)
  • Fight Club (Fox)
  • It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas (Fox)
  • Franklyn (Image)
  • Galaxy Quest (DreamWorks)
  • Gone With The Wind (Warner)
  • Is Anybody There? (Magnolia)
  • Janacek: The Cunning Little Vixen (Ideale)
  • Lords of the Street (Phase 4)
  • Moonshot (A&E)
  • My Sister's Keeper (New Line)
  • National Geographic: Darwin's Darkest Hour (National Geographic)
  • The Open Road (Anchor Bay)
  • The Professional (Sony)
  • Sex, Lies, and Videotape (Sony)
  • Rome: The Complete Series (HBO)
  • Scrubs: The Complete Eighth Season (Disney)

Blu-ray releases on November 17th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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17/11/2009 - Blu-ray releases on November 17th 2009
Blu-rayThe biggest blockbuster of the year finally gets to see the light of Blu today and we can all enjoy those weird lighting effects in HD in the comfort of our own home. But also this week, there are a few new shows from Fox and HBO as well as more than one all time classic like Fight Club and The Professional. So in other words, if you don't see something you like this week, you don't like movies or TV shows.
  • Star Trek (Paramount)
  • Bruno (Universal)
  • Chasing Amy (Miramax)
  • Clerks (Miramax)
  • Fight Club (Fox)
  • It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas (Fox)
  • Franklyn (Image)
  • Galaxy Quest (DreamWorks)
  • Gone With The Wind (Warner)
  • Is Anybody There? (Magnolia)
  • Janacek: The Cunning Little Vixen (Ideale)
  • Lords of the Street (Phase 4)
  • Moonshot (A&E)
  • My Sister's Keeper (New Line)
  • National Geographic: Darwin's Darkest Hour (National Geographic)
  • The Open Road (Anchor Bay)
  • The Professional (Sony)
  • Sex, Lies, and Videotape (Sony)
  • Rome: The Complete Series (HBO)
  • Scrubs: The Complete Eighth Season (Disney)

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Blu-ray releases on November 17th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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12/11/2009 - Don't miss this video of Martin Scorsese gushing over Blu-ray at Blu-Con
Blu-Con 2.0
Have you always wanted to go to Blu-con but never made it? Us either, but our friends at HD Nation did and shot some great HD footage which includes some interesting tidbits about transferring movies to Blu-ray. The highlight is listening to Martin Scorsese talk excitedly about transferring classics to Blu-ray, where he discusses things like the factors that influence him to modify audio and video. A great example is where he talks about upgrading the mono audio from Taxi Driver by going back to the original stereo score and mono dialog and remastering for the first time ever. So if you always wondered why some get so excited about seeing classics on Blu-ray, or you just can't get enough Blu-ray, don't hesitate to check it out.

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Don't miss this video of Martin Scorsese gushing over Blu-ray at Blu-Con originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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10/11/2009 - Spears & Munsil High Definition Benchmark Blu-ray mini-review

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Spears & Munsil High Definition Benchmark Blu-rayIf you're like us and you don't think it's possible to own enough HDTV calibration discs, then you've probably already bought the Spears & Munsil High Definition Benchmark Blu-ray Disc. Otherwise you might be looking at all the different options and since you only want to buy one, you're trying to figure out which one. Well, we've played with most of them and although we're hard pressed to decide on which is our favorite, we really like this one. To find out why, click through.

Continue reading Spears & Munsil High Definition Benchmark Blu-ray mini-review

Spears & Munsil High Definition Benchmark Blu-ray mini-review originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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10/11/2009 - Spears & Munsil High Definition Benchmark Blu-ray mini-review
Spears & Munsil High Definition Benchmark Blu-rayIf you're like us and you don't think it's possible to own enough HDTV calibration discs, then you've probably already bought the Spears & Munsil High Definition Benchmark Blu-ray Disc. Otherwise you might be looking at all the different options and since you only want to buy one, you're trying to figure out which one. Well, we've played with most of them and although we're hard pressed to decide on which is our favorite, we really like this one. To find out why, click through.

Continue reading Spears & Munsil High Definition Benchmark Blu-ray mini-review

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Spears & Munsil High Definition Benchmark Blu-ray mini-review originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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10/11/2009 - ZiiLABS Introduces 1080p Blu-ray Quality Handheld Media Processor

ZiiLABS announced the ZMS-08, its 3rd generation media-rich applications processor that brings 1080p Blu-ray quality H.264 decode to low-power devices.

ZMS-08 delivers the low-power, high performance processing required of next-generation connected devices such as web tablets, netbooks, connected TVs, video conferencing systems and home media hubs.


10/11/2009 - HD DVD's Managed Copy was never necessarily free, was always Mandatory

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Managed Copy Demo
It isn't often that we specifically call out another site for writing things that are just not true, but this one we can't let go. In an article about Blu-ray's Managed Copy, Ars Technica's Nate Anderson posts that Blu-ray's Managed Copy is a "stinker" because you might have to pay to make a copy and claims that the HD DVD version was better because it was free. Other than the fact that this is just not true, the part that really struck out to us was that he linked back to the Ars archive to support his statement, but must of missed the part of the source that states "No, as Jordi Rebbas told me, studios have to offer managed copy, but they have the option of charging for it." Lucky for us, both Intel and Microsoft exposed the real difference in Managed Copy between the two formats, which was that initially on Blu-ray the studios could choose whether or not each title was copyable, so in other words it wasn't mandatory. The BDA eventually caved and as we've said before, Managed Copy on Blu-ray is mandatory. Another related note is that Managed Copy was never implemented on HD DVD either, as it was also dependent on the finalization of AACS, but what was different was that the Discs did contain data that pointed to what was expected to become authentication servers. So in theory, if the format would've survived, even the initial Discs would've been copyable when it was implemented. Of course we'll never get to find out if it would've worked, but at least they did plan ahead a little, which is more than you can say for Blu-ray.

HD DVD's Managed Copy was never necessarily free, was always Mandatory originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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09/11/2009 - Blu-ray releases on November 10th 2009

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Up - Blu-rayBig week for Pixar fans as the latest animated feature, Up, is released, along with the Pixar classic Monster, Inc. Warner continues to release catalogs, but with the size of its catalog, it could probably release four a week every week and still never finish. For the most part this is a good week for Blu-ray but we know you are with us when we say that next week is what we're really waiting for as Star Trek was probably the best movie to hit the theaters this year and it hits Blu-ray next Tuesday.
  • Up (Walt Disney)
  • Monsters, Inc. (Walt Disney)
  • The Ugly Truth (Sony)
  • Godzilla (Sony)
  • Heat (Warner)
  • Logan's Run (Warner)
  • Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut (Warner)
  • The Negotiator (Warner)
  • Mamma Mia! (Gift Set) (Universal)
  • Near Dark (Lionsgate)
  • Red Heat (Lionsgate)
  • Spread (Anchor Bay)
  • World's Most Beautiful Sunrises & Sunsets (Digital Enviroments)
  • Ballast (Kino)
  • The Echo (Image)
  • The General (Kino)
  • Kingdoms Of The Coast (Razor)
  • The Line (Maya)

Blu-ray releases on November 10th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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09/11/2009 - Sony streaming Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs free to new customers, expensively to existing ones

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It wasn't long ago that Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was packing theaters, but given how quickly things hit DVD and Blu-ray these days we're surprised to learn this one won't be flinging vermicelli to disc until just after the holidays. Fear not carb-lovers: similar to the Hancock deal last year, new purchasers of internet-capable Sony TVs and Blu-ray players will be receiving one free stream of the film starting on December 8; that's nearly a full month ahead of the retail release. The stream will be in 720p and will allow full control during 24 hours. What if you've already purchased your Sony setup? The company is happy to extend the streaming offer to you as well -- so long as you don't mind paying a mere $24.95. Yes, a one-time 720p rental that costs as much as a Blu-ray. That's value.

Sony streaming Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs free to new customers, expensively to existing ones originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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07/11/2009 - Managed Copy hits Blu-ray Discs December 4th, but you still can't use it

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Managed Copy demo
The egg had to come before the chicken right? Well either way, one of 'em came first and in the case of the latest Blu-ray feature, Managed Copy enabled Blu-ray Discs will come before the hardware. Less than five months since AACS was finalized and the details of Managed Copy were revealed and so far we've only seen one demo and not a single product announcement. This doesn't surprise us, but AACS-LA is apparently surprised because although all Blu-ray Discs sold after December 4th have no choice but to allow at least one copy to be made, the requirement to label the packaging as such has been postponed until Spring of next year. We'd expect at least a few products that support Managed Copy to be announced at CES and although we highly doubt any stand-alone Blu-ray players will sport this feature anytime soon, we do have our hopes on PC software and expect a few movie jukebox devices like Kaleidescape -- that we won't be able to afford -- will be announced at the big show in Vegas.

Managed Copy hits Blu-ray Discs December 4th, but you still can't use it originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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02/11/2009 - Blu-ray releases on November 3rd 2009

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G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra - Blu-rayOctober is over and before you know it Black Friday will be here, and so all the studios are preparing their holiday selection. Although this mostly consists of classics like It's A Wonderful Life, Forrest Gump and others, there are also some okay day and date titles like G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3. Next week Disney makes things much more interesting for animated feature fans though as both Monsters Inc. and UP will be released on Blu-ray for the first time.

  • G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (Paramount)
  • Forrest Gump (Paramount)
  • It's A Wonderful Life (Paramount)
  • The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (Sony)
  • Aliens In The Attic (Fox)
  • I Love You, Beth Cooper (Fox)
  • Say Anything... (Fox)
  • Two Girls And A Guy (Fox)
  • The Answer Man (Magnolia)
  • Christmas Vacation (20th Anniversay Edition) (Warner)
  • Star Wars: The Clone Wars (The Complete Season One (Warner)
  • North By Northwest (Warner)
  • Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut (Warner)
  • Command Performance (First Look)
  • Direct Action (First Look)
  • Earth 2100 (MPI)
  • Food, Inc. (Magnolia)
  • Howards End (Criterion Collection)
  • Wings Of Desire (Criterion Collection)
  • Love Actually (Universal)
  • Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs (Image)
  • The Narrows (Image)
  • Not Forgotten (Anchor Bay)
  • Rocky: The Undisputed Collection (MGM)
  • Witchblade: The Complete Series (Funimation)

Blu-ray releases on November 3rd 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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30/10/2009 - Apple Updates Apple TV with 3.0 Software: More HD Content to Be Sold

After months of speculations whether Apple will release completely new Apple TV device making it a high-end media center for our living rooms or rather leave it, more or less, as it is (means without all the latest true HD capibilities, IP streaming, Blu-ray, live TV ability, HD recorder, 1080p support, etc.)… we still don’t know the answer.

The company introduced new Apple TV 3.0 software that gives us not more than a redesigned main menu - which is said to give a faster access to the content, possibility to watch iTunes Extras and enjoy iTunes LP in fullscreen and listen to the internet radio (including stations in high-quality HE-ACC formats).


29/10/2009 - Transformers 2 tops chart, best selling Blu-ray of all time?

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Transformers: Revenge of the FallenThe first week numbers are in and they're pretty good -- Michael Bay's latest movie moved 500,000 Blu-ray Discs in one day and a total of 1.2 Million for the week. Now we didn't go back and compare that to previous years, but that is without a doubt the best week any Blu-ray title has had this year, so we'd assume its safe to say this is the best selling Blu-ray title of all time -- in its first week anyways. Love it or hate it, there were plenty of people willing to run out the first week and buy this movie. This has to ease the minds of Paramount execs at least a little bit. Too bad for Hollywood that this will probably be as good as it gets this year, although we admit the movies we're looking forward to on Blu-ray still remain unreleased.

Transformers 2 tops chart, best selling Blu-ray of all time? originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.


26/10/2009 - Blu-ray releases on October 27th 2009

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Battlestar Galactica - The PlanSo the biggest movie of the year has come to Blu-ray and is behind us, but there are plenty of hot new releases left on the docket this year -- just not this week. This week we are planning on getting a couple of movies for our kids as well as checking out the latest Battlestar Galactica movie, The Plan. Other than that we're looking forward to checking out Larry David in a Woody Allen movie, we mean how could that not be funny?

  • Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (Universal)
  • Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs (Fox)
  • Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure (Walt Disney)
  • Night of the Creeps (Sony)
  • Whatever Works (Sony)
  • Orphan (Warner)
  • Nothing Like The Holidays (Anchor Bay)
  • Stan Helsing (Anchor Bay)
  • Beast Stalker (Tai Seng)
  • Expedition: Africa (A&E)
  • The Prisoner (A&E)
  • Il Divo (MPI)
  • The Living Dead At Manchester Morgue (Blue Underground)
  • Look For A Star (Tai Seng)
  • Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown (Cinevolve)
  • Monty Python: Almost The Truth - The Lawyer's Cut (Vivendi)
  • Stargate: 15th Anniversary Edition (Lionsgate)

Blu-ray releases on October 27th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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23/10/2009 - Microsoft: 'We have no plans for Blu-ray on Xbox 360'

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A recent Gizmodo sit down with Steve Ballmer led with a headline exclaiming a Blu-ray add-on for Xbox was coming. See, when Ballmer was asked about making the Xbox a home theater companion of choice and where Blu-ray might fit in, the Windows 7 wild man said, "Well I don't know if we need to put Blu-ray in there -- you'll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories." He then added that on-demand is the future of movies, not physical media. Now our bud Major Nelson, Director of Programming for Xbox Live, has stepped up to lay the conflation to rest. The Major says that Ballmer was referring to Blu-ray accessories for the PC and reiterated Microsoft's focus of bringing instant-on 1080p streaming movies to the Xbox 360. So... that should end speculation of Blu-ray on Xbox right? Not if history serves, nope.

Microsoft: 'We have no plans for Blu-ray on Xbox 360' originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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23/10/2009 - Phillips Launches Wireless HDTV Box in the U.S.

Philips confirmed U.S. retail availability for its much-anticipated Wireless HDTV Link, introduced in September at IFA 2009 in Berlin.

HDTV Link uses innovative technology to wirelessly deliver high-definition TV picture quality (up to 1080p) without ruining the aesthetics of the home.

It transmits HD signal up to 75 feet away from the TV without signal loss or degradation, making it possible e.g. to stream devices like a Blu-ray player to a TV from the other side of the room.



21/10/2009 - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Blu-ray review roundup

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It's pretty hard to miss this week's premiere Blu-ray release, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen may not be as well regarded as the first movie, but the hype train has continued to roll. Still holding out on a possible purchase? A slew of reviews of the Blu-ray edition are available to help you make a choice, so dig in and see what there is. The Dallas Morning News says FX can't turn a bad film into a good one, but were still impressed by the Blu-ray special features, while Blu-ray.com's reviewer had perfect scores the the video, audio and supplements of the IMAX edition, calling it "THE one to own" (reports on AVSForum.com also point to a volume difference between editions) Our friends at Cinematical actually preferred the flick at home to the theater experience, citing the thrill of checking out the preparations entailed in making such an explosive movie, plus the ability to pause and take in each set piece individually. DVD Town actually split up review duties between tow people with one on the quality of the flick, and the other on audio, video and extras, finding this flick "the kind of sonic spectacular one can use to impress friends and neighbors who haven't bought into Blu-ray yet."

Read - DVDTown.com
Read - Blu-ray.com
Read - The Dallas Morning News
Read - Cinematical.com
Read - AVSForum.com

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Blu-ray review roundup originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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15/10/2009 - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Blu-ray debuts October 20, check out one of the special features now (Video)

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You'll have to wait until October 20 to get a good look at Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen's IMAX sequences, but you can see an exclusive clip of one of the behind the scenes segments featured on the disc right now. Check the behind the scene pre-vis breakdown after the break along with a list of Blu-ray exclusive specs for this 2 disc set, with Blu-ray fanboy Michael Bay at the helm we have high expectations to this followup to a movie that blazed trails on two different high definition disc formats. even that case at the right is getting in on the augmented reality packaging trend, letting webcam owning users access a special website with even more adventures involving, surprisingly enough, ridiculously large transforming robots from outer space. Check the Transformers ROTF official website for more info.

Continue reading Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Blu-ray debuts October 20, check out one of the special features now (Video)

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Blu-ray debuts October 20, check out one of the special features now (Video) originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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14/10/2009 - China Blue HD crosses over to the UK, third Opium War inevitable

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We've given HD DVD's bastard child China Blue HD its due for a good start in its native land, but now that U.K. Importer GBAX has made a few units available it's time for English language buyers to at least consider this Blu-ray alternative. Of course, with a £259.99 ($413.22 U.S.) pricetag for this plain TCL player, AV and HD cables, plus 14 CBHD movies (The Aviator, Blood Diamond, The Invasion, The Island, Flood, Poseidon & 8 Chinese-only flicks) to get you started the barrier to entry is high, but as shown in the unboxing / preview video -- embedded after the break, watch for ninjas -- the experience is very familiar. As Format War Central points out, the 220/240Hz power cord makes things complicated for the U.S. and other places outside Europe, but hardcore HD DVD holdouts are used to a world filled with only Warner and Universal movies already, so why not give the other blue laser flavor a try?

[Via Format War Central]

Continue reading China Blue HD crosses over to the UK, third Opium War inevitable

China Blue HD crosses over to the UK, third Opium War inevitable originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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12/10/2009 - Blu-ray releases on October 13th 2009

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Drag Me to Hell Blu-rayHere we are one more week until Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Waterworld are released on Blu-ray and as you might expect in October, nothing much to see here -- just kidding about Waterworld, that movie stinks. If you are into scary movies then Drag Me to Hell should be a welcomed addition, you know with its IDMB score of 7.5 and all. Disney does have The Proposal, but we'd bet you feel the same way as we do about it; we'll pass.

  • Drag Me to Hell (Universal)
  • How The Grinch Stole Christmas (Universal)
  • Land Of The Lost (Universal)
  • Adoration (Sony)
  • The Craft (Sony)
  • Natural Born Killers: Director's Cut (Warner)
  • The Proposal (Walt Disney)
  • South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (Paramount)
  • American Violet (Image)
  • Eagles Over London (Severin)
  • Hardware (Severin)
  • Home For Christmas (First Look)
  • Killer Movie (Phase 4)
  • Midnight Movie (Phase 4)
  • Kong: Return to the Jungle (Image)
  • Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown (Cinevolve)
  • Paradox Of The Andes (Razor Digital)
  • Warren Miller's Children Of Winter (Shout! Factory)

Blu-ray releases on October 13th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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06/10/2009 - Blu-ray outpacing DVD adoption, will never reach its penetration

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Blu-ray image
We just love it when research firms compare the adoption of Blu-ray to DVD and this latest report from Futursource is no different. The long and the short of the study is that if you include the Playstation 3 and the PS2, Blu-ray adoption is ahead of DVD in its fourth year. The firm goes on to predict that Blu-ray will keep the lead -- especially if prices on the titles continue to drop -- but package media will not sustain the household penetration it enjoys today because of the recent introduction of digital downloads and other VOD options consumers have. This of course is music to our ears as we will sleep better at night knowing that we'll be able to choose to watch movies in the highest quality possible. Of course we can't wait for the day when we can get better, cheaper, easier access to content, but for now Blu-ray is a-ok in our book.

[Via Blu-ray.com]

Blu-ray outpacing DVD adoption, will never reach its penetration originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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06/10/2009 - Wal-Mart cutting back DVD and Blu-ray display area

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Wal-mart Blu-ray display
Looks like the nation's biggest retailer is figuring out that DVDs and Blu-ray Discs don't bring in the number of customers that they used to. Honestly this is pretty much what we'd expect as more and more consumers are renting from Netflix and Redbox and when they do decide to buy instead of rent, they know that Amazon is hard to beat. So all of that combined with the streaming competition, it makes sense to reassign the valuable shelf space to something a little more profitable.

Wal-Mart cutting back DVD and Blu-ray display area originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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”.



01/10/2009 - China Blue HD adding supporters and talking trash to Blu-ray

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It momentarily slipped under our US-centric noses, but another log was thrown on the Chinese high definition format war recently when Universal Studios and National Geographic joined Warner in supporting China Blue HD. Format War Central also reports 8 new manufacturers have signed up to join the CHDA backing the format. That plus a claimed 3-1 sales advantage have the CHDA calling the format war "a game no one played" thanks to Blu-ray's high prices and licensing fees. It's still unlikely China's son of HD DVD could affect that high definition movie marketplace anywhere else, but it will be interesting to see if the country's manufacturers choose that path and upgrade their existing DVD equipment instead of replacing it to produce the even cheaper Blu-ray players we'd hoped for.

[Via Format War Central]

China Blue HD adding supporters and talking trash to Blu-ray originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 03:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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29/09/2009 - New Digital Copies on the actual Blu-ray Disc from Sony exclusively for the PSP

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Digital Copy stickerDigital Copies packaged in with DVDs and Blu-ray Discs are an old hat, but now Sony is adding a new twist. Up until now, a DVD was bundled in with a Blu-ray Disc just to deliver the Digital Copy. This way you could put the DVD into any PC or Mac and grab the Digital Copy of the main feature. What Sony is doing now is something that was demoed at CES 2008, which is to store a PSP friendly copy, on the actual Blu-ray Disc. This way all you have to do is insert the disc into a PlayStation 3 and transfer it directly over to a PSP -- no computer required. This of course doesn't help those who'd prefer to watch the Digital Copy on their PC or iPod, so they'll still need to continue to look for an extra DVD in the box. All this fun starts November 10th with the release of Godzilla and The Ugly Truth, both of which sport the PSP copy on the Blu-ray Disc, but only The Ugly Truth will also come with the DVD with the traditional Digital Copy.

New Digital Copies on the actual Blu-ray Disc from Sony exclusively for the PSP originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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28/09/2009 - Blu-ray releases on September 28th 2009

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Wizard of Ox Blu-rayYou we can't help it so here we go -- we're off to see the Wizard on Blu-ray this week as one of the all time classics is released in HD, but other than that there isn't much to get excited about. Sure if you like TV shows you might be interested in the latest seasons of The Unit or How I Met Your Mother and like usual there are plenty of other catalogs to help complete your collection, but most can keep waiting for the Summer blockbusters to open their wallets.

  • The Wizard Of Oz (Warner)
  • Superman Batman: Public Enemies (Warner)
  • Away We Go (Universal)
  • The Dark Crystal (Sony)
  • Facing The Giants (Sony)
  • Fireproof (Sony)
  • Labyrinth (Sony)
  • How I Met Your Mother: Season 4 (Fox)
  • The Unit: Season 4 (Fox)
  • Snakes on a Plane (New Line)
  • The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) (New Line)
  • The Girlfriend Experience (Magnolia)
  • Lies And Illusions (Anchor Bay)
  • Management (Image)
  • Monsters vs. Aliens (DreamWorks)
  • Bad Boy Bubby (Blue Underground)
  • The New York Ripper (Blue Underground)
  • Screwballs (Severin)
  • Eagles Over London (Severin)
  • Streets Of Blood (Anchor Bay)
  • The Universe: The Complete Season Three (A&E)
  • Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer (Dark Sky)
  • Yellowstone: Battle For Life (BBC)

Blu-ray releases on September 28th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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28/09/2009 - Panasonic Develops 50-inch Full HD 3D PDP

Aiming to bring Full HD 3D TVs to the market in 2010, Panasonic steps up its efforts in developing the related technology. The company has just developed a 50-inch Full HD 3D compatible plasma display panel (PDP) and high-precision active shutter glasses that enable the viewing of theater-quality, true-to-life 3D images in the living rooms.

The new PDP and glasses evolved from Panasonic's Full HD 3D Plasma Home Theater System that was developed in 2008 and comprised of a 103-inch PDP and a Blu-ray Disc player. The prototype PDP has a 50-inch screen, which is expected to become the most popular size for home theaters.


24/09/2009 - Intel announces Atom CE4100 for insanely powerful cable boxes and Blu-ray players

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Intel's CE3100 media chip has been behind some of the cooler demos they've done here at IDF, and it's just gotten a big brother, the Atom CE4100. As you'd expect, the big change is the replacement of the CE3100's Pentium M core with an Atom core, but this thing is actually kind of a monster -- it can decode two 1080p video streams with various high-end audio codecs, it adds MPEG-4 support and 3D graphics capability, and it can even capture uncompressed 1080p video. Of course, it's up to manufacturers and cable companies to actually put all this power to use, but Intel's promised us some hardware demos from partners -- stay tuned.

Continue reading Intel announces Atom CE4100 for insanely powerful cable boxes and Blu-ray players

Intel announces Atom CE4100 for insanely powerful cable boxes and Blu-ray players originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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23/09/2009 - The Mede8er Multimedia Monster gets reviewed

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Mede8er Multimedia Monster
There aren't many HD related technologies more difficult to keep up with then media streamers, but of course that doesn't mean we're not going to stop trying and with that we bring you a review of the Mede8er Multimedia Monster by Tx Daily. Overall the reviewer was happy with the performance and usability of the device. He found no problems playing back Blu-ray rips in MKV containers and recommends the device "to anyone looking for a total Full HD solution." We do however wish more emphasis was put on the user interface because we find that the weak point of most of these media streamers is exposed when trying to navigate tons of HD content. A video with lots of zooming and a heavy accent after the jump.

Continue reading The Mede8er Multimedia Monster gets reviewed

The Mede8er Multimedia Monster gets reviewed originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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22/09/2009 - Netflix CEO dreams of iPhone, TV, and game console ubiquity

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When a CEO is asked to dream we shouldn't be surprised when he dreams big. In an Reuters interview with Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings, we learn that Netflix is working in parallel to bring its services to "all the game consoles, all the Blu-ray players, all the Internet TVs." Naturally, he added that the Xbox deal is exclusive for the time being. The company is currently focused on the big screen but "will get to mobile eventually, including the iPhone." And while the streaming business is "booming," he says the DVD business is still growing as well, likely peaking in "5 years or so" with people still doing DVD-by-mail over the next 20 years. Reed then adjusted his monocle and disappeared in a flash of cigar and brick-and-mortar ash.

[Via All Things Digital]

Netflix CEO dreams of iPhone, TV, and game console ubiquity originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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21/09/2009 - Blu-ray releases on September 22nd 2009

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Star Trek Series on Blu-rayThere's only one thing to call this week and that's Star Trek week. Sadly, of the six Star Trek Blu-ray Discs being released this week, the one we are really waiting for isn't included -- that's okay though as it'll probably take you that long to watch all of these. Universal evidently isn't out of catch up titles yet as it releases two more worth watching with Hot Fuzz and Shaun Of The Dead. The SciFi week is rounded out with the Terminator TV Show which we still can't believe made it an entire season.
  • Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan (Paramount)
  • Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (Paramount)
  • Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Paramount)
  • Star Trek: First Contact (Paramount)
  • Star Trek: The Next Generation Motion Picture Collection (Paramount)
  • Star Trek: The Original Series (Season 2 (Paramount)
  • Hot Fuzz (Universal)
  • Shaun Of The Dead (Universal)
  • Battle For Terra (Lionsgate)
  • Book Of Blood (Lionsgate)
  • Wallace & Gromit: The Complete Collection (Lionsgate)
  • Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past (New Line)
  • Observe and Report (Warner)
  • Scooby-Doo!: The Mystery Begins (Warner)
  • Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (The Complete Second Season (Warner)
  • Pierrot Le Fou (Criterion)
  • Monterey Pop (Criterion)
  • The Secret of the Nutcracker (BFS)
  • Gojira (Classic Media)
  • Lymelife (Screen Media)
  • The Haunted World Of El Superbeasto (Anchor Bay)
  • Hoop Reality (Terra)

Blu-ray releases on September 22nd 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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14/09/2009 - Blu-ray releases on September 15th 2009

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My Name is Earl Blu-rayThese weekly posts are starting to make us sound like a broken record. In fact we really don't know what else there's to say about another week of solid catalogs and TV shows for Blu-ray. By our count we have about another five weeks of this before the Summer blockbusters start to get released on Blu-ray.

  • My Name Is Earl: Season Four (Fox)
  • Wrong Turn (Fox)
  • Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (Fox)
  • X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Fox)
  • Amadeus (Warner)
  • Casablanca (Warner)
  • An American Werewolf In London (Universal)
  • Army Of Darkness (Universal)
  • Van Helsing (Universal)
  • Deep Impact (Paramount)
  • Varsity Blues (Paramount)
  • Easy Virtue (Sony)
  • Iron Monkey (Buena Vista)
  • The Legend Of Drunken Master (Buena Vista)
  • Zatoichi (Buena Vista)
  • Child's Play (MGM)
  • The Hannibal Lecter Collection (MGM)
  • Misery (MGM)
  • Crash: The Complete First Season (Anchor Bay)
  • Grace (Anchor Bay)
  • Camille (E1)
  • Hero (Miramax)
  • The Wonder Of It All (Indican Pictures)

Blu-ray releases on September 15th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 14 Sep 2009 09:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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13/09/2009 - Video: Sony 400 disc Blu-ray changer with Gracenote in action

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Blu-ray changer video
Ever since the we first heard about the Sony 400 Disc Blu-ray changer we wondered what it must be like to try and navigate through 400 movies to find something to watch. Sony was quick to tout its award winning XrossMediaBar interface, but you really never know until you see it first hand. We stopped by Sony's booth at CEDIA and we have to say it's pretty sad. We can't even imagine paying that much for something that is frustrating. The fact is that one user interface design does not fit all, and while the XrossMediaBar works for many applications, it is hard to beat the good ol' tile view for browsing movies. The Sony representative giving the demo was quick to remind us that you can use another piece of equipment to browse your movies, which will in turn control the changer, but that's no excuse. The good news though is that the big guy did manage to change discs pretty fast.

Continue reading Video: Sony 400 disc Blu-ray changer with Gracenote in action

Video: Sony 400 disc Blu-ray changer with Gracenote in action originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sun, 13 Sep 2009 11:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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13/09/2009 - Sony network Blu-ray player spied at CES

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Why wait 'til October to get a peek at Sony's BRAVIA Internet features come to Blu-ray on the BDP-N460? Check them out right now in the following gallery, we got a good look at the future on the CEDIA show floor, though whether Sony delivering all new hardware or everyone else's strategy of upgrading existing players for Netflix, Amazon and other forms of streaming is the path to follow remains to be seen. The BDP-N460 should hit for about $250 starting next month.

Sony network Blu-ray player spied at CES originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sat, 12 Sep 2009 20:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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11/09/2009 - Panasonic including DivX Plus HD (MKV) support into next gen Blu-ray players, TVs

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Nearly a year after Panasonic stepped the UniPhier chips at the heart of its Blu-ray players up to DivX HD, comes word that the company is moving on up to DivX Plus HD (read: Up to 1080p h.264 video in an MKV container) next time around. That includes not only its next line of Blu-ray set-top players we're sure to see unveiled at CES, but also digital TVs and in-car players, so between Panasonic and NEC MKV fans should be able to take their videos even more places without the extra step of transcoding in 2010.

Panasonic including DivX Plus HD (MKV) support into next gen Blu-ray players, TVs originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 11 Sep 2009 16:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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11/09/2009 - NAD doubles its Blu-ray fleet with new flagship M56 player

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NAD M56 Blu-ray player
Until now, if you wanted a Blu-ray deck with the NAD (New Audio Dimensions, smart guy) logo, you could either pony up the $1,500 for the T587 or get familiar with silk-screening your own faceplate. But now, a $1,999 option from NAD's Master Series has opened up for you in the M56. Back in the day, we had some pretty nice NAD stereo gear, but those pieces always stood for good value -- and unfortunately, we can't say we're seeing the same value proposition here. Aside from the overbuilt chassis construction , the specs add up to a Profile 2.0 player that can dole out Blu-ray's lossless audio via bitstream, LPCM or 7.1-channel analog jacks and play back media via a USB port; in other words, the standard feature set for a reasonably "complete" Blu-ray player these days. If you really need something that fits style-wise into your current rack full of NAD gear, go for it; otherwise consider some alternatives -- including getting back into silk-screening.

NAD doubles its Blu-ray fleet with new flagship M56 player originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 11 Sep 2009 09:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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10/09/2009 - Pioneer shoots for the moon with its Entertainment Tap concept

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Pioneer ET
What do you get when you take every single source of audio and video content, including Blu-ray with Managed Copy, online streaming content and everything else you can think of (except Hulu), and then combine it with control and remote viewing capabilities? You guessed it, the Entertainment Tap. We understand that Pioneer is shooting for the stars with this one, but it most definitely falls under the category of it sounds too good to be true. Of course Pioneer is just trying to throw everything against the wall to see what sticks, which is great, but the anticipated release of 2010 seems ambitions considering everything included in the demo. We could go on and on listing the media sources and control devices, but Pioneer wasn't exactly giving us any negative responses. Lets just say the new ET concept is a do it all media server as well as a client client that plays nice with everything. For example, the ET can connect to a HR22 DirecTV HD DVR via USB and using the data from the DVR, it'll build its own version of the interface. Of course the whole video part is hard to integrate, so the ET simply instructs the TV to switch inputs at the right time to give you a seamless experience. At this point none of these features are finalized so don't be bashful with your ideas in the comments, because who knows, Pioneer might actually include them.

Pioneer shoots for the moon with its Entertainment Tap concept originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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09/09/2009 - Blu-ray releases on September 8th 2009

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Crank2 High VoltageWow look at all the movies coming out on Blu-ray this week, we haven't been keeping count but if we were this might be a record. But as you can tell by image to the right, while there is plenty of quantity, there isn't much quality. We wouldn't exactly say we've been waiting to see Crank2 High Voltage or Dance Flick. It does seem like a great week for those that are into old horror movies or westerns though.

  • Catwoman (Warner)
  • Dead Calm (Warner)
  • Creepshow (Warner)
  • Fringe: The Complete First Season (Warner)
  • Over The Top (Warner)
  • The Postman (Warner)
  • Sphere (Warner)
  • Crank: High Voltage (Lionsgate)
  • Requiem For A Dream (Lionsgate)
  • Dance Flick (Paramount)
  • Freddy vs. Jason (New Line)
  • Friday (New Line)
  • Menace II Society (New Line)
  • The New World (New Line)
  • The New World (New Line)
  • Set It Off (New Line)
  • Heroes of World Class (Big Vision)
  • The Office: Season Five (Universal)
  • The Quick And The Dead (Sony)
  • Silverado (Sony)
  • Rainier: The Mountain (Topics)
  • Sleep Dealer (Maya)
  • Valentino: The Last Emperor (Phase 4)
  • Wild Asia: Island Magic (Razor Digital)
  • Equator: Reef of Riches (Razor Digital)

Blu-ray releases on September 8th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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02/09/2009 - 74 percent of PS3 owners have watched a Blu-ray, but how many have watched two?

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74 percent of PS3 owners have watched a Blu-ray, but how many have watched two?
Sony may be working to expand the perception of the PS3 as a media powerhouse with half-hearted bundles and new advertising campaigns, but according to SCEA Director of PlayStation Network Operations Eric Lempel, it's already doing quite well in that department. He indicates that 74 percent of all PS3 users have "spent some time" watching Blu-ray movies, with barely a quarter left shunning the machine's high-def creds. Of course, the real question for Sony's sake is how many have gone ahead and purchased some of those fancy discs, a stat that Lempel doesn't share, but regardless we have to think it's time for Sony to stop putting tedious advertisements for Blu-ray players at the beginning of its Blu-ray discs -- we've already got one, you see? It's very nice!

[Via Joystiq]

74 percent of PS3 owners have watched a Blu-ray, but how many have watched two? originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 09:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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31/08/2009 - Blu-ray releases on September 1st 2009

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BraveheartStill no new blockbusters as we creep closer to the Fall, but plenty of very solid catalogs. The top of our list is easily one of our favorite movies of all times, Bravehart. The next one, Gladiator, that might be on the top of your list is a skip though -- if you think it is a better movie than Braveheart, you're crazy -- because early reviews say it is one of the worst transfers ever and is actually barely a notch about DVD.

  • Braveheart (Paramount)
  • Gladiator (Paramount)
  • CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - The Ninth Season (Paramount)
  • Bring It On: Fight To The Finish (Universal)
  • Heroes: Season 3 (Universal)
  • State Of Play (Universal)
  • Monster (First Look)
  • Sugar (Sony)
  • Supernatural: The Complete Fourth Season (Warner)
  • Earth (Disney)
  • High Crimes (Fox)
  • M*A*S*H (Fox)
  • The Girl Next Door (Fox)
  • Life After People (A&E)
  • The Crusades: Crescent & The Cross (A&E)

Blu-ray releases on September 1st 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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31/08/2009 - Goldmund enters universal Blu-ray player space in typically gaudy fashion

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Goldmund Eidos Reference BlueYou knew it was only a matter of time before Goldmund jumped in on the Blu-ray bandwagon, and the result as just as ridiculous as you'd expect. The new Eidos Reference Blue -- yes, it's spelled with an "e" -- is a universal Blu-ray playback system that puts heavy (literally) emphasis on damping down all vibrations. Didn't you know that much like the needle on the old Edison cylinders you're still clinging to, those digital bits just hate to be shaken around? Well, the 180-pound Eidos Reference Blue will put a stop to that nonsense. High end decks from from mere mortal companies have nothing on this player that must have been woven by especially dexterous unicorn hooves -- it's so exclusive that the 50 produced units will only be offered to Goldmund subscribers; if you haven't heard of said club, you won't be getting one. We all know the first rule of Goldmund club, right?

Goldmund enters universal Blu-ray player space in typically gaudy fashion originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sun, 30 Aug 2009 22:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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27/08/2009 - Blu-ray Won’t Replace DVD as the Primary Drive for PCs

Despite a rapid rise in the sales of consumer Blu-ray players, a fall in their prices and an increase in the number of high-definition movie titles, Blu-ray drives in PC systems have been left singing the blues, according to iSuppli.

iSuppli’s recent report says that by 2013, Blu-ray drives will be found in only 16.3 percent of PCs shipped, up from 3.6 percent in 2009.


25/08/2009 - Blu-ray releases on August 25th 2009

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Smallville Season 8This post gets harder and header to write each week. We mean what is there really to say about a few old catalogs and a few TV shows. It's not that we don't think anyone is going to get excited about the latest season of Smallville on Blu-ray, it's just that we don't get excited about it. That's okay though as there is plenty left to watch in our queue as we wait for the fall, which not only brings with it lots of great new movies on Blu-ray, but new HDTV shows and football as well.
  • Smallville: The Complete Eighth Season (Warner)
  • Adventureland (Miramax)
  • Duplicity (Universal)
  • Fighting (Universal)
  • The Informers (Sony)
  • Rudo Y Cursi (Sony)
  • Lie To Me: Season One (Fox)
  • Children of the Corn (Anchor Bay)
  • Sunshine Cleaning (Anchor Bay)
  • Water Life: Planet Water (Questar)
  • Water Life: The Big Blue (Questar)
  • Water Life: Water's Journey (Questar)

Blu-ray releases on August 25th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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24/08/2009 - Blu-ray rental availability lagging in Japan

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A Reuters blog posting from Japan reports that even with strong Blu-ray DVR sales, discs are still tough to find on rental shelves and suggests that Japanese makers have been reluctant to commit to the format so far. We're Redboxing and Netflixing it up on this side of the Pacific so the (likely lonely) inside of a video rental store even in the U.S. is foreign to us, but perhaps some of our overseas living or traveling readers can tell us how the HD battle is going from their perspective?

Blu-ray rental availability lagging in Japan originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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20/08/2009 - McIntosh sneaks MVP881BR universal BD player into its lineup

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McIntosh MVP881BR universal player
You didn't really think that McIntosh would let its sister company, Denon, court all the well-heeled Blu-ray shoppers, did you? The company that has long stuck by blue lighting has added the MVP881BR universal Blu-ray player (Blu-ray, SACD, DVD-A, DVD and CD) to its lineup; a perfect match for the company's Blu-ray ready MX150AV controller. As you'd expect from McIntosh, the specs are top-notch without being tech-laden, with Profile 2.0, onboard lossless decoding, analog outputs and 32-bit DACs making the cut. No word on bitstreaming support, but we'd be shocked if the McIntosh unit went missing a checkmark that the Denon flagship deck hits -- in fact, given the engineering that was poured into the Denon, we'd be surprised if the McIntosh wasn't a variation (including chiclet buttons) on the DVD-A1UDCI. No pricing info, but if you make it past the McIntosh velvet rope, money's not a problem.

McIntosh sneaks MVP881BR universal BD player into its lineup originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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20/08/2009 - Mitsubishi's new Blu-ray DVRs have you covered, from super resolution to VHS

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Mitsubishi has always tried to take a different tack with its Blu-ray recording DVRs in Japan -- see its DVR-BF2000 model for evidence -- and we're sure someone's glad to see them going the extra mile with these latest three models. The DVR-BZ330 combines a 1TB hard drive with the super resolution upconversion that promises to pull additional information from low res video via its Diamond HD chip. If that bit of video magic isn't impressive(or believable) there's always the similar DVR-BZ230 sans-Diamond HD and half the hard drive space, while true back compat freaks should opt for the DVR-BV530 with VHS playback (no recording, we know you had an LP tape you've been saving.) Expect these to hit the streets in October from ¥180,000 ($1,915) for the high end DVR-BZ330 to ¥120,000 ($1,270) for the DVR-BV530.

Mitsubishi's new Blu-ray DVRs have you covered, from super resolution to VHS originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 06:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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20/08/2009 - Pioneer plots a Kuro-less future in the home theater market

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Pioneer empty Kuro
If you were afraid that the post-Kuro Pioneer would retreat to car audio, fear not, because the company has plans to soldier on in the HT space with a marketing message that emphasizes both its A/V specialty roots and "balanced" home-A/V product lineup. As much as we love those Kuro plasmas, there's no denying that the prices didn't exactly jive well with the company's efforts to get consumers to recognize the value proposition in its other products. We'll admit that everyday consumers (read: not Engadget HD readers) looking to assemble a one-brand system could have been scared off of the Pioneer name by the Kuro prices, but we wish Pioneer would have kept its plasmas around as an "aspirational" product and allowed shoppers to cross-shop displays by building in deep, off-brand HDMI-CEC support into its other electronics. Wiping our fanboy tears aside, we have to give Pioneer credit -- its current lineup of electronics (AVRs especially) stack up competitively on the value-o-meter; which is good, because with companies like Denon, Onkyo and Yamaha around, it's in for a tough fight.

Pioneer plots a Kuro-less future in the home theater market originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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19/08/2009 - Qdeo Blu-ray test disc promises more nits to pick and adjustments to obsess over

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Qdeo logoPristine transfers and favorite demo material aside, if you're an obsessive-compulsive videophile like us, one of the first discs you reach for after unboxing that new TV is a calibration disc. You know, the ones with the exciting test patterns and narration that empty a room really fast. Make space in your arsenal for one more of those riveting discs, because Marvell is bringing out its Qdeo Blu-ray disc to help you evaluate your setup, and with a focus on noise reduction, format conversion and image enhancement, this disc could be a good fit for modern systems that have the ability to stack tweak upon tweak at the player, receiver and TV. We'll admit that we're always a little leery of electronics manufacturers that issue their own test discs, but as long as no foul play is uncovered, it certainly can't hurt to have another choice on the market; some test patterns just work better for some people.

Qdeo Blu-ray test disc promises more nits to pick and adjustments to obsess over originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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18/08/2009 - Redbox scores in first round for the fight for $1 day-and-date rentals

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Redbox
The first preliminary verdict came down against Universal yesterday when a judge refused to dismiss anti-trust charges. Redbox filed two other charges that didn't experience the same fate though, but we'd bet that Redbox was just hoping that at least one would stick. In the suit that did, the claim is that by instructing distributors to refuse to sell Universal titles to Redbox for the first 45 days after release, that Universal is using its influence to prevent Redbox from competing in the movie rental busines. This is far from a verdict though, and with Redbox buying Universal titles at retail, and the fact that this thing has already been going on for some time now, we'd be surprised if any of this was resolved any time soon.

Redbox scores in first round for the fight for $1 day-and-date rentals originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 18 Aug 2009 08:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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17/08/2009 - Blu-ray releases on August 18th 2009

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The Last StarfighterAnother week closer to Fall and another week of so, so releases on Blu. Again this week we're excited about at least one catalog title, and the one this week is extra special. In fact we can't imagine growing up without seeing The Last Starfighter and can't wait to see it in HD for the first time ever. Other than that though, we probably going to pass on everything else this week, but maybe we'll rent How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days for the wife -- on second though, she'd probably make us what it with her, so scratch that.

  • The Last Starfighter (Universal)
  • The Last House On The Left (Universal)
  • Hannah Montana: The Movie (Disney)
  • How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (Paramount)
  • Julieta Venegas: MTV Unplugged (Sony)
  • Tyson (Sony)
  • Sons Of Anarchy: Season One (Fox)
  • Dexter: The Complete Third Season (Showtime)
  • Playtime (Criterion)
  • Sicario: Ejecucion De Mando (Laguna)
  • The Fighter (Laguna)
  • Surveillance (Magnolia)
  • Visions of Britain and Ireland (Acorn)
  • Visions of Italy (Acorn)

Blu-ray releases on August 18th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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14/08/2009 - Disney plans to keep the DVDs packed in w/ Blu-ray through next year

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Blu-ray buyers of Disney movies can expect to keep finding DVD copies packed in, at least through 2010. According to a statement from the company received by Video Business, president Bob Chapek claims customers have shown "tremendous interest" in packages that can also play in their existing DVD players. Especially for the market of Disney titles, we can see how that would be, since you probably haven't upgraded the television in the kids room, or in the backseat of the car just yet. Hopefully this deeper commitment to including an additional disc doesn't lead to the rumored raised prices, but hopefully the threat of Redbox keeps that at bay.

Disney plans to keep the DVDs packed in w/ Blu-ray through next year originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:32:00 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.

11/08/2009 - Blu-ray releases on August 11th 2009

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I Love You Man Blu-rayWill Summer ever end? It certainly doesn't seem like it as we suffer these hot days inside without much to watch on Blu-ray. No worries, because football will be back before we know it and in the meantime we'll catch up with some catalog titles from Lionsgate and Sony. At the same time we'll skip the 17 Again from New Line, but we're sure some big Zac Efron fans won't.
  • 17 Again (New Line)
  • About Last Night (Sony)
  • Blue Thunder (Sony)
  • The Class (Sony)
  • St. Elmo's Fire (Sony)
  • Starman (Sony)
  • The Ninth Gate (Lionsgate)
  • Replicant (Lionsgate)
  • See No Evil (Lionsgate)
  • Chaos (Lionsgate)
  • Cutthroat Island (Lionsgate)
  • Alien Trespass (Image)
  • Bad Boy Bubby (Blue Underground)
  • Borneo's Pygmy Elephants (Razor)
  • Eagles Over London (Severin)
  • I Love You, Man (DreamWorks)
  • National Geographic: Sea Monsters 3D (NatGeo)
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Film Collection (Warner)

Blu-ray releases on August 11th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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03/08/2009 - Blu-ray releases on August 4th 2009

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My Cousin Vinny Blu-rayOn this slow week in August we're happy that both Disney and Fox went to the vault and pulled out a couple of classics. The first on our list has us thinking we should have some French fried potaters for lunch, while the second reminds us of when we just were just a couple of yutes. So in other words, if you're all caught up on the recent day-and-date new releases, now's a good time to go back and enjoy some of the classics in HD for the first time.

  • Sling Blade (Disney)
  • The Waterboy (Disney)
  • Race To Witch Mountain (Disney)
  • My Cousin Vinny (Fox)
  • Big Trouble In Little China (Fox)
  • The Soloist (DreamWorks)
  • Stargate Atlantis: Fans' Choice (MGM)
  • Mutant Chronicles (Magnolia)
  • Obsessed (Sony)
  • Four Seasons (Navarre)
  • Puppies & Kittens (Navarre)
  • Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 (Kino)
  • Labor Pains (First Look)
  • The Beast (Timeless)
  • The Mysteries Of Pittsburgh (Phase 4)

Blu-ray releases on August 4th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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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30/07/2009 - US Blu-ray and HDTV Households Growing

Blu-ray Disc player household penetration is up to 12.3 million in the US for the first quarter of 2009, a 71 per cent gain year over year, according to a survey.
Research firm Centris also found that the number of American households with an HDTV is up to 50.5 million - a gain of 33 per cent from the first quarter of 2008.

29/07/2009 - Onkyo Launches Home Theater Packages for Blu-ray and HD Video Systems

Onkyo has introduced two new 7.1-channel home theater systems that it claims deliver leading edge AV processing and surround sound reproduction for HDTV and Blu-ray.
The HT-S7200 and HT-S6200 each feature powerful AV receivers with 1080p-compatible HDMI inputs, 130 watt-per-channel amplification, processing for every major audio format on the market.

27/07/2009 - Panasonic's DMR-BW970 Blu-ray DVR squirrels away 2TB of your video

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Panasonic DMR-BW970 Blu-ray DVR
In parts of the world where Blu-ray DVRs are available, there's not a lot to be done in the way of new features or radical improvement. They've already got a lot of the convergence features ironed out, but one thing every media-saturated home can use is more storage. Enter Panasonic's new DMR-BW970 Blu-ray DVR with a capacious 2TB of hard drive storage, which means that by the time you sift through its hundreds of hours of recordings, new content will be popping up in the library. Seriously, if you can't find something worth watching with that much of a back-catalog, you should just pull away from the TV, get outside and try real life for a while -- it's fascinating and one-in-five people find it to be almost as good as HD.

Panasonic's DMR-BW970 Blu-ray DVR squirrels away 2TB of your video originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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26/07/2009 - Blu-ray reportedly trailing CBHD in China, the second theater of the format war begins

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Just because Toshiba has given up on HD DVD and moved on, doesn't mean the format war is totally over for red. According to a report by a Japanese TV station, its successor, China Blue HD is actually leading Blu-ray in marketshare in that country. Of course, based on the article found by our friends at FormatWarCentral, all we have to go on is a machine translated description of a video in a language we don't speak describing the apparent initial success of the government backed format in a socialist republic. If you need more evidence than that to declare the format war officially restarted, you're probably a communist, but before we drag you in front of the Un-American activities committee check out the video for a peek at the slick new CBHD cases that The Onion will surely be shipping its videos in very soon.

[Via FormatWarCentral]

Blu-ray reportedly trailing CBHD in China, the second theater of the format war begins originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sat, 25 Jul 2009 18:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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24/07/2009 - Michael Bay plans The Dark Kight-style IMAX sequences for Transformers 2 Blu-ray

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Hope you liked The Dark Knight's treatment of its shot-for-IMAX scenes, as it may be a trend. Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen director (and Blu-ray fan for life) Michael Bay has stated that among other unspecified extras, the disc release will see similar frame filling transfers that let viewers see top to bottom. This is your chance to be heard, are you a fan, or just want everything in one aspect ratio?

Michael Bay plans The Dark Kight-style IMAX sequences for Transformers 2 Blu-ray originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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24/07/2009 - Rentrak, Screen Media add Blu-ray to revenue sharing program

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Expect to see more Blu-ray discs on the shelf of your local rental spot (for the three of you that haven't gone Netflix yet), now that Rentrak has added Blu-ray discs from Screen Media to its revenue sharing program. Simply put, it allows retailers to obtain the titles for little or no up front cost, while the studios share a percentage of the rental revenue after that. Other recently added suppliers include Anchor Bay Entertainment, E1 Entertainment, First Look Studios, Magnolia Home Entertainment and Summit Entertainment, while the first flick planned to be available under the new deal is Lymelife, available September 22.

Rentrak, Screen Media add Blu-ray to revenue sharing program originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 24 Jul 2009 04:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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23/07/2009 - Universal Adds iPhone/iPod Features to Blu-ray Titles

Universal Studios has announced plans to add a series of iPhone and iPod touch-enabled features on its upcoming Blu-ray releases.
These will enable access to exclusive interactive content through the mobile devices - starting with the Blu-ray release of the box-office smash Fast & Furious on July 28th.

21/07/2009 - Redbox scores deal with Disney, Lions Gate and Sony

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Redbox Rental
At the same time as Universal is waiting to hear how the Redbox lawsuit turns out, Disney, Lions Gate and Sony have signed deals that help Redbox to get a better deal on movies. The studios have faced that fact that 99 cent kiosk rentals are here to stay and figure they might as well get something out of the deal. Unlike the deals with the likes of Blockbuster that share rental revenues with the studios, Redbox seems to be simply agreeing to lesser terms like not selling used DVDs at discounted prices. No word on when or if the rest of the studios will get with the program and accept that rental kiosks are here to stay. But it is obvious that 99 cents seem to be just the right price for most consumers.

Read -- Sony Pictures, Redbox Sign Movie Agreement (WSJ sub required)
Read - Studios Rethink Redbox (WSJ sub required)

Redbox scores deal with Disney, Lions Gate and Sony originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 21 Jul 2009 10:08:00 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.

20/07/2009 - Blu-ray releases on July 21st 2009

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Watchmen Blu-rayThings really turned around quickly for Blu-ray this week as not only is there an honest to goodness day-and-day blockbuster in the way of Watchmen, but there is also a couple of TV Shows and a catch up title from Universal. On top of all that there is also a nice trio of documentaries like NOVA: The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies and and two Scenic National Parks.

  • Watchmen (Warner)
  • 300: The Complete Experience (Warner)
  • Pushing Daisies: The Complete Second Season (Warner)
  • Prison Break: The Final Break (Fox)
  • Midnight Express (Sony)
  • Coraline (Universal)
  • I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (Universal)
  • Echelon Conspiracy (Paramount)
  • The Great Buck Howard (Magnolia)
  • NOVA: The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies (WGBH)
  • Scenic National Parks: Glacier, Banff, Jasper (Questar)
  • Scenic National Parks: Zion & Bryce (Questar)

Blu-ray releases on July 21st 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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17/07/2009 - Blu-ray celebrates 91 percent sales increase for first half of 2009

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Remember back in May when Blu-ray sales were reportedly up 72 percent for 2009? Turns out the high definition disc business is doing even better than that. The Digital Entertainment Group is reporting a 91 percent sales increase year-on-year, totaling $407 million, for the first six months of this year -- an impressive feat, especially in this recession climate. Blu-ray rentals, too, saw a 61 percent increase, and on the less tangible side of things, digital distribution rose 21 percent. Despite all this, the report noted that overall consumer spending on prerecorded entertainment dropped 3.1 percent, and net profit down 2.2 percent... come on UMD, pick up the slack.

Blu-ray celebrates 91 percent sales increase for first half of 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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14/07/2009 - Blu-ray releases on July 14th 2009

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Courching Tiger and others on Blu-rayIt may be hard to believe but this is one of the better weeks in July as far as Blu-ray releases go. Not only do you have some solid catalog titles from Sony and Fox, but you also have a nice selection of documentaries. Things really get interesting starting next week as Watchman is due which kicks off a few weeks of good releases.
  • Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon / Curse of the Golden Flower / House of Flying Daggers Trilogy - (Sony)
  • I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (Sony)
  • The Towering Inferno (Fox)
  • The Haunting In Connecticut (Lionsgate)
  • Mad Men: Season Two (Lionsgate)
  • The Edge of Love (Image)
  • Explicit Ills (Phase 4)
  • For All Mankind (Criterion)
  • National Geographic: Great White Odyssey (National Geographic)
  • Shark Week: The Great Bites Collection (Discovery)
  • Wild Pacific (BBC Warner)

Blu-ray releases on July 14th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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09/07/2009 - Wal-mart rolls back cheap Blu-ray player price to $98

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Like Blu-ray but hate spending lots of money? The guys at FormatWarCentral spotted the Magnavox NB530MGX Blu-ray player cold lampin' on the shelf of a local Wal-mart now permanently rolled back from $168 to a mere $98. as usual, you'll pass up the newest, fastest, internet-connected-est features of high end Blu-ray players, but for less than a hundred it's hard to complain. We know many probably missed out on the Meijer deal last month, anyone planning on picking this one up for a second -- or first -- Blu-ray player? We'll see how long Sony avoids the "battle to the bottom" now.

Wal-mart rolls back cheap Blu-ray player price to $98 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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06/07/2009 - Blu-ray releases on July 7th 2009

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The Universe - Blu-rayWe just passed the official half way point of 2009 and still waiting for Hollywood to start releasing the goods again. So until then, we'd like to highlight The Universe from A&E. We're drawn towards this for a few reasons. One is that we like to see TV shows being released on Blu-ray since that just gives us one more reason to not subscribe to cable, and two we like documentaries on Blu-ray. There are also a few catalogs this week that might be up your alley though, like Grumpy Old Men and The Deep. Otherwise keep moving and waiting until the end of July when a few good titles are due to hit the streets.
  • The Deep (Sony)
  • Grumpy Old Men (Warner)
  • In Memory of My Father (Invincible)
  • Knowing (Summit)
  • Night Train (National)
  • Push (Summit)
  • The Unborn (Universal)
  • Universe, The: The Complete Season Two (A&E)

Blu-ray releases on July 7th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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03/07/2009 - UK Blu-ray sales up 231% over last year

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The British Video Association is back with some more happy stats on how well Blu-ray is doing, claiming 3.1 million discs sold since the start of 2009. Still, even with a claimed 231% jump over last year's YTD figures, that hasn't offset a 9.5% drop in sales of DVDs. that should move the needle well past last year's figures, where only 1.5 million were reportedly moved by October, but we doubt that's much comfort to employees of the nearly 900 retailers that have closed this year. Even with consumers "continuing to spend money on the product" once they've experienced it, according to BVA director general Lavinia Carey, expect a greater focus on downloads to offer an alternative to piracy, though no word on when that can be expected.

UK Blu-ray sales up 231% over last year originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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03/07/2009 - HD Streaming and Blu-ray "Can Co-exist" - For Now

There are already more digital delivery devices connected to HDTVs in US homes than Blu-ray players, thanks largely to the Xbox 360 and the likes of TiVo, Roku, AppleTV and Vudu.
Yet despite the numerical supremacy of players capable of streaming HD content, digital downloads are not expected to be a serious competitor to the Blu-ray format anytime soon.

01/07/2009 - Paramount considering home video partnership with Sony, Fox

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In a bit of news that would have been considerably juicier back in the old format war days, Paramount is reportedly negotiating with Sony and Fox to take over parts of its home video business, specifically physical fulfillment to retail, billing and collections. Reported by Video Business and Financial Times, it seems like the studio is trying to save cash as the DVD market shrinks while Blu-ray and other distribution methods aren't yet picking up the slack. We're not sure if home viewers would notice any difference from such a deal, but with titles like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Monsters vs. Aliens releasing later this year it's worth keeping an eye on, if only for the slim possibility of history repeating itself and Paramount promising exclusive China Blue HD format support in return for a huge bundle of incentives. Hey, it could happen....maybe.

Paramount considering home video partnership with Sony, Fox originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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30/06/2009 - Panasonic makes Tsuyuzaki new CTO
The executive who helped Panasonic develop its Blu-ray discs and 3D FullHD TV technologies has been named as the new chief technology officer of Panasonic Consumer Electronics North America.
Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, Panasonic’s Hollywood Laboratory managing director, is replacing Paul Liao who is leaving the company to be the new CEO of Cable Television Laboratories.

29/06/2009 - Blu-ray releases on June 30th 2009

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12 Rounds Blu-rayWow, we don't even know what to say about this week's slate of new releases on Blu-ray. All we can really say is that even though we're used to being bored by the studio's Summer offerings, this week is especially weak. We'd like to say things are about to turn around in the coming weeks, but in all honesty it appears that Hollywood wants us to go to the movies instead of enjoying our HDTVs.

  • 12 Rounds (Fox)
  • Do The Right Thing (Universal)
  • Flawless (Magnolia)
  • Two Lovers (Magnolia)
  • Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun-Li (Fox)
  • Home Front (Cinevolve)
  • Tokyo! (Liberation)

Blu-ray releases on June 30th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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27/06/2009 - Poll: So how do YOU think Blu-ray is doing?

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Why leave it to analysts and other, much less reliable, polls to gauge the impact of Blu-ray after a couple of year's on the market and where it's headed? We're taking it to the people, let us know what you think of Blu-ray so far. Still on track for mass market dominance and successfully supplanting DVD sales within a couple of years, or a doomed vestige of a bygone age that's just not convincing people to upgrade?

View Poll

Poll: So how do YOU think Blu-ray is doing? originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sat, 27 Jun 2009 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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26/06/2009 - Pioneer & Sharp Blu-ray joint venture officially official

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Pioneer and Sharp have officially finalized their deal to combine Blu-ray operations, completing the joint venture planned since Pioneer began navigating its way out of several businesses including its Kuro plasma HDTVs. The official PDF has all the details, but the salient points are that Pioneer will have 66% ownership and 3 of 5 seats on the board of the 450-employee joint venture, ready to start up on schedule October 1, for the development, design, manufacture and sale of optical disc products, primarily Blu-ray.

Pioneer & Sharp Blu-ray joint venture officially official originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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26/06/2009 - Harris Poll concerning Blu-ray and HD DVD penetration is way off

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HD DVD vs Blu-rayWe had a feeling something was up with the results of the recent Harris Poll and it looks like we had good reason. No one is trying to say that the folks that conducted the poll had a Red agenda or anything, it is just like Adams research puts it when talking about consumer polls in general, "you can't trust the average survey respondent to correctly identify the high-tech devices in their homes." You can say that again. The funny thing is that the results of the poll even look screwy when compared to the HD DVD Promotion group's numbers which reported that even after a few months following the format war, only 1 million stand-alone HD DVD players were sold. This is nowhere near the 10 million that it would take to make up 9 percent of the 111 million US households the poll reports. And in case you care, analysts project -- you know, the ones actually based on retail sales instead of a consumer survey -- that 14.8 percent of US households will have some way to play a Blu-ray Disc by the end of 2009, which is almost double what it was at the end of 2008.

Harris Poll concerning Blu-ray and HD DVD penetration is way off originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.

24/06/2009 - Netflix CEO predicts significant declines in packaged media rentals by 2018

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Netflix processing center
Some think that discs are already dead, but that's because they're ignoring all the success Netflix is still having. Of course any company with a name like Netflix is obviously forward thinking -- the name isn't Discflix after all -- and on that note Reed Hastings, the CEO, told the WSJ that he expects to see significant declines in packaged media rentals in the next "four to nine years." We think that estimate is as good as any, but can't wait to see how the home media landscape changes between now and then. This is of course why Netflix is actively building it's streaming service which evidently is currently only used by 20 percent of Netflix customers.

Netflix CEO predicts significant declines in packaged media rentals by 2018 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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23/06/2009 - Panasonic DMP-B15 hands-on

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While we got a quick look at the thing a few months ago, we were finally able to get our mitts all over Panasonic's new DMP-B15 portable Blu-ray player. With its bigger-than-a-laptop size and wild pricetag (for a consumer device), it's obviously a niche product, but that's not to say there aren't hints of consumer friendliness in here. Overall the hardware is light and strong, and while we felt a bit of heat venting out the sides, it's not uncomfortable, and the disc operation is virtually silent. Startup time and disc load times are comparable to most dedicated home Blu-ray players -- certainly not best in class, but passable -- and we couldn't get the player to skip despite our best efforts. The screen is really great, with a good amount of viewing angle and brightness for the category and plenty of resolution to differentiate HD content. We spotted a bit of pixel crunch in menus and stills, but once the motion started we could barely differentiate pixels. Sure, it's hard to imagine a reason for most people to pick up a DMP-B15 over a cheapish Blu-ray playing laptop -- the thing is monstrously thick, and can't even handle a traditional laptop-style screen orientation, only everything but -- but the hardware is reliable enough for kids to handle on the road, and the single-use makes it a good home Blu-ray player for plugging into that second HD-starved TV. Still, we're guessing most will wait to see what next year's (sure to be flush) crop has to offer.

Panasonic DMP-B15 hands-on originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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23/06/2009 - Not even Blu-ray's founders know how to spell Blu-Ray

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iPhone Blu-Ray spelling
We've seen this so many times we're not sure why we even care anymore, but this one struck a chord. You see it's one thing when some website capitalizes the R in Blu-ray, because you know, they don't know any better. And it's another thing when a PR person for one of the founders of the association does it in a slide at a press event. But it's a totally different animal all together when one of the founders builds the incorrect spelling into the auto-correct feature of its flagship mobile phone. We knew Apple thinks Blu-ray support in OS X was a bag of hurt, but does that mean is has to go and spell it wrong? Hit the read link on Blu-raydisc.com for the correct spelling.

Not even Blu-ray's founders know how to spell Blu-Ray originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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22/06/2009 - Evidently it's still cool to hate on Blu-ray: Harris Poll spin

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Harris Poll results

We'd expect nothing less from some, and honestly 90 percent of the time we just ignore these types of posts, but when our friend CmdrTaco from Slashdot gets in on the fun we just can't help ourselves. It all started with that Harris Poll late last week in which stand-alone Blu-ray players got their own box instead of being grouped in with the PS3. So of course it's more fun to point out that only 7 percent of Americans own a stand-alone Blu-ray player than it is to recognize the fact that twice that many can actually watch Blu-ray Discs thanks to the PS3. So while it is true that HD DVD managed to sell more stand-alone players than Blu-ray, even today, it is still true that Sony's PS3 strategy was successful in selling more more Blu-ray Discs than HD DVDs. Which is in the end what really matters.

Evidently it's still cool to hate on Blu-ray: Harris Poll spin originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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22/06/2009 - Blu-ray releases on June 22nd 2009

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Pink Panther 2 - Blu-rayYes, that's right, this week's releases are so weak that we actually have the box art from The Pink Panther 2 on the right there. Unlike last week this week doesn't even have any solid TV shows to help hold it up. No, there's not much to talk about now, so catch up on all the Blu-ray movies you haven't seen yet, or you might just consider going outside, the beach maybe?
  • The Pink Panther 2 (MGM)
  • Waltz With Bashir (Sony)
  • Confessions of a Shopaholic (Disney)
  • Dragon Hunters (Peace Arch)
  • Inkheart (Warner)
  • Mr. Troop Mom (Warner)
  • Last Year at Marienbad (Criterion)

Blu-ray releases on June 22nd 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 22 Jun 2009 08:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.

16/06/2009 - PopcornHour's latest C200 media box is Blu-ray (& anything else) ready

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The followup to the popular PopcornHour media streamer series has finally been announced, and the list of features makes it look worth the wait. Revealed in a post on the Networked Media Tank forums the C200 contains an upgraded Sigma SMP8643 667 Mhz processor, HDMI 1.3 out, two SATA slots, a drive bay for mounting your own HDD, DVD or even Blu-ray drive (requires internal HDD or 1GB USB stick) and supports a list of networking standards, codecs and containers far too long to recount here. At first glance, only DivX jumps out as missing from the list, have a look at the forum posting and let us know if you spot. Of course, there's already a video unboxing available, seen after the break (along with the copied list of specs) or check out the full Google translated early hands on impressions from HomeTheater.co.il. The most pressing questions of when will these be available and for how much, will have to be answered at another time.

[Via HomeTheater.co.il & Geek Tonic]

Continue reading PopcornHour's latest C200 media box is Blu-ray (& anything else) ready

PopcornHour's latest C200 media box is Blu-ray (& anything else) ready originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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16/06/2009 - Blu-ray releases on June 16th 2009

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Lost Season OneUp this week is a big ol' slew of TV shows and catalogs, but that's ok because we're very excited to see the first season of our favorite shows on Blu-ray: Lost. But as much as we love it, we're still waiting on the super all inclusive complete season box set, and since it'll probably cost a small fortune, we'll be saving up in the meantime. That isn't the only great show coming to Blu-ray this week either, as Burn Notice Season Two also comes out, and if you haven't checked out the best action show on TV since the A-Team, you need to go ahead and at least add the first disc to your queue. The last one we'll mention because we loved it so much was John Adams, and we'll just say that we wish our teachers in school made history this interesting.
  • Lost: The Complete First Season (Disney)
  • Lost: The Complete Second Season (Disney)
  • Miracle (Disney)
  • Morning Light (Disney)
  • The Greatest Game Ever Played (Disney)
  • Burn Notice: Season Two (Fox)
  • The Diary of Anne Frank (Fox)
  • Generation Kill (HBO)
  • John Adams (HBO)
  • The Cell 2 (New Line)
  • Ghostbusters (Sony)
  • No Way Back (Sony)
  • Striking Distance (Sony)
  • Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Sony)
  • Fracture (New Line)
  • Friday The 13th (2009) (New Line)
  • Friday The 13th: Part 2 (Paramount)
  • Friday The 13th: Part III (Paramount)
  • Kickboxer (Lionsgate)
  • The Seventh Seal (Criterion)
  • Spaceballs (MGM)

Blu-ray releases on June 16th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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08/06/2009 - Blu-ray releases on June 2nd 2009

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Gran Torino Blu-rayIt's just too easy to pick the biggest movie of the week when there is something as anticipated as Eastwood's award winning Gran Torino. Unfortunately other than that there isn't much to get excited about. Again this week there are some classic catalog titles from Paramount and Fox, as well as a few notable documentaries from Razor and Discovery, but overall as long as it is Summer we can expect much of the same. So in other words its time to go to the movies.
  • Gran Torino (Warner)
  • Woodstock (Warner)
  • Fired Up (Sony)
  • The International (Sony)
  • Fatal Attraction (Paramount)
  • Indecent Proposal (Paramount)
  • Predator 2 (Fox)
  • The Siege (Fox)
  • Baby on Board (E1)
  • Ocean Voyagers (Razor)
  • Battle For The Light (Razor)
  • China Circus Elites (Razor)
  • Time Warp (Discovery)

Blu-ray releases on June 2nd 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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01/06/2009 - Up director discusses Blu-ray extras with Cinematical

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If you hit the theaters for Disney / Pixar's Up this weekend, you're probably more than ready to watch at home, and our friends at Cinematical recently talked to director Pete Docter about what to expect on the Blu-ray release. Beyond just commentary, there's also a documentary on their South American mountain research trip and Cine Explore powered look at all the artwork and animation tests behind the making of the flick. Considering how many of you consider other Pixar Blu-ray discs reference quality, there's little doubt this will be another great to add to the collection, check out the rest of the interview at the read link.

Up director discusses Blu-ray extras with Cinematical originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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26/05/2009 - Blu-ray releases on May 26th 2009

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Children of MenAll catalogs, all the time this week as we slow down for the summer theater season. Not a big deal if you're a Blu-ray fan as there are plenty of great classics to check out for the first time on Blu-ray. Most notable is that Universal is still playing catch-up and obviously still has a few recent titles that were released on HD DVD, but have still not been released on Blu-ray. Warner has a few classics too, we can't even remember the last time we watched True Romance, but no doubt we're due. Expect much of the same for the next month or so, with a few big TV shows in between.
  • Children of Men (Universal)
  • Cinderella Man (Universal)
  • Field of Dreams (Universal)
  • Seabiscuit (Universal)
  • Spy Game (Universal)
  • Falling Down (Warner)
  • True Romance (Warner)
  • Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (Warner)
  • New in Town (Lionsgate)
  • Powder Blue (Image)
  • The Sky Crawlers (Sony)

Blu-ray releases on May 26th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 26 May 2009 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.

22/05/2009 - Watchmen movie / game Blu-ray combo on the way

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Look out for another edition of the Watchmen Blu-ray disc hitting on or around the launch date of July 21, but this package -- probably inspired by The Dark Knight's deep console ties -- is a two disc set with the Director's Cut on one disc and the Watchmen: The End is Nigh Parts 1 and 2 videogame for PlayStation 3 on another. Not quite as cool as packing both on a 50GB disc, but it should allow fans to get the special features of the movie, and cop the previously download-only game all at once. Without a price it's hard to say how interesting of a proposition this is but we're sure that and other details will appear before this hits shelves.

Watchmen movie / game Blu-ray combo on the way originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 21 May 2009 22:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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15/05/2009 - LG puts its HB954TBW Blu-ray HTIB into Korean streets

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LG HB954TBW Blu-ray HTIB
Only last month we saw a positive review of LG's HB354BS HTIB, and the company obviously feels it's on to something good with these HTIB systems, because it has now introduced the similar HB954TBW to its homeland Korean market. This system notches up the channel count to 5.1 (as opposed to the 2.1-channel HB354BS), but still hangs on to the Mark Levinson name-drop, Blu-ray heart and retractable iPod dock that to our eyes looks like a sleek accident waiting to happen. Gather up your won, this one lists out at ?1,299,000 ($1,030).

LG puts its HB954TBW Blu-ray HTIB into Korean streets originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 14 May 2009 17:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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13/05/2009 - Surprise surprise, most home video spending still on discs

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Just in case you needed another reminder that despite some interesting developments, digital isn't quite overtaking disc just yet, as NPD's latest figures indicate 63 percent of consumer spending is still on DVD purchases. Blu-ray purchases snapped up 7 percent, rentals of DVD and Blu-ray discs together were rolled up to take 18 percent of the pie, VOD accounted for 9 percent with 3 percent of the cash left for digital downloads and online streaming. Still, all wasn't lost for internet based options, while out of the more than 11,000 surveyed only 9 percent of those with internet at home reported watching a movie via streaming that's up 4 points from last year, same for rented downloads, up to 8 percent from 4 in the previous year. The much hyped video game console marketplaces? Less than 5 percent of consumers have checked them out yet (We'll wait for one to launch on Wii.) Interestingly, but not all that surprising given the crossover, the same people into digital video are also heavy consumers of Blu-ray and DVD, but the overall indication is that packaged media still has some time in the spotlight before consumers find a reason to switch.

[Via Electronista]

Surprise surprise, most home video spending still on discs originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 13 May 2009 15:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.

05/05/2009 - Blu-ray releases on May 5th 2009

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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button -- Blu-rayWhat an easy week to decide which new releases is the most anticipated as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button finally goes Blu. Although that is the biggest title, Paramount didn't stop there as it released the second season of the hot TV show Dexter as well as some all time classics like Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Grease. Sony has a few catalogs this week as well, but nothing we're really excited about. There is plenty to get excited about next week though, between all the Star Trek movies and classics like Fargo and -- our personal favorite -- The Good, the Bad And the Ugly, there really is something for everyone.

Blu-ray releases on May 5th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 05 May 2009 12:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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28/04/2009 - Blu-ray releases on April 28th 2009

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What doesn't kill you - Blu-rayAlthough we're still pretty far from seeing blockbusters like we do during the holiday season, there are some pretty decent titles this week. This is especially true from Sony who has What Doesn't Kill you and The Da Vinci Code. Not all the new releases are good this week though as Fox has Bride Wars and Paramount brings us Hotel for Dogs -- yikes. Paramount does finally bring out Star Trek: The Original Series - Season 1 on Blu-ray which we have to admit is kinda exciting. Next week looks more exciting to us though, as one of our favorite 80's movies Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button both hit the shelves.

Blu-ray releases on April 28th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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27/04/2009 - Sin City Blu-ray garners a perfect review

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Sin City Blu-rayHow better to follow up the great DVD box set version of Sin City than with an all-out Blu-ray version (Sin City - Recut, Extended, Unrated)? From the review at HollywoodChicago, that's exactly what Disney did -- the two-disc set scored across the whole trifecta: the video (thankfully) kept the 1.85:1 aspect ratio and accurately captured the abundant dark area details, the 5.1-channel DTS-HD MA audio track left nothing behind and even the extra features provided something for diehard fans and more casual viewers who want to rearrange the jump-cut narrative into linear form for individual characters. Say what you will about a lack of colorific range in the movie, but it's Blu-ray releases that fully deliver the director's vision and one-up the DVD that will get people into Blu-ray despite its premium price.

Sin City Blu-ray garners a perfect review originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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27/04/2009 - GE microholographic storage promises cheap 500GB discs, Blu-ray and DVD compatibility

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Ah, holographic storage -- you've held so much promise for cheap optical media since you were first imagined in research papers published in the early 60s. Later today, GE will be trying to keep the dream alive when it announces a new technique that promises to take holographic storage mainstream. GE's breakthrough in microholographics -- which, as the name implies, uses smaller, less complex holograms to achieve three-dimensional digital storage -- paves the way for players that can store about 500GB of data on standard-sized optical discs while still being able to read DVD and Blu-ray media. Better yet, researchers claim a price of about 10 cents per gigabyte compared to the nearly $1 per gigabyte paid when Blu-ray was introduced. The bad news? We're talking 2011 or 2012 by the time microholographics devices and media are introduced and even then it'll only be commercialized for use by film studios and medical institutions. In other words, you'll likely be streaming high-def films to your OLED TV long before you have a microholographic player in the living room.

GE microholographic storage promises cheap 500GB discs, Blu-ray and DVD compatibility originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 02:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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22/04/2009 - Sony Raises Blu-Ray Stakes With Feature-packed Entry-level Player

Sony has unveiled its latest Blu-ray player - the BDP-S360 - which comes with full 7.1 surround sound via a compatible AV receiver.
This is achieved thanks to newly incorporated DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD decoding capabilities - the first time these have been made available on an entry level Blu-ray player from Sony.

22/04/2009 - Panasonic's Dash-mountable Devices Offer In-car Blu-ray

Blu-Ray may still be absent from most people's living rooms - but Panasonic is offering a pair of dash-mountable devices for those who need their high-def fix in the car.
The CN-HX3000D Windows-powered device, with a 7-inch, 1280 x 720 display offering GPS, Bluetooth, a 40GB hard drive, and iPod/iPhone compatibility.

22/04/2009 - Warner reintegrates HD DVD faithful with Red2Blu trade-in program

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U.S. HD DVD fans that passed up Best Buy's offer of $3 per disc, or just those who stocked up on cheap movies after the format gave up the fight have another option coming from Warner Bros. Send in the cover art sleeve (keep the disc) including UPC from your HD DVD case (plus $4.95 per movie and $6.95 / $8.95 per order S&H) and it will send you back a brand new Blu-ray copy. There's a few other restrictions, like 1 copy per movie and 25 different movies per household, but the biggest decision is likely to be whether giving up your precious I Am Legend sleeve is worth the trade, hit up Red2Blu.com for all the details and necessary forms. It seems to us like a decent offer to make HD DVD owners whole, we'd be surprised if Paramount and Universal came through with similar plans.

[Via DVDTown]

Warner reintegrates HD DVD faithful with Red2Blu trade-in program originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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22/04/2009 - Panasonic makes school runs more cinematic with its in-dash Blu-ray player

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Panasonic to make school runs more cinematic with an in-dash Blu-ray player
Finicky kids may have their opinions about which brand of peanut butter or sugar-crusted breakfast cereal they prefer, but surely every single one of them wants HD over SD for their in-car viewing experience. Panasonic's giving them just that, a pair of dash-mountable devices that will finally let you toss those DVDs Disney's been sneaking in with its Blu-ray releases. First is the CN-HX3000D Windows-powered device, with a 7-inch, 1280 x 720 display offering GPS, Bluetooth, a 40GB hard drive, and iPod/iPhone compatibility. Pair that with the CY-BB1000D in-car Blu-ray player (which, sadly, is not BD-Live compatible) and bam you've got all the high-def Chicken Little you can handle. Mind you all this will surely come with quite a price tag when it releases this fall, and while Panny isn't willing to say just much, isn't keeping your little videophiles happy worth any cost?

[Via Newlaunches.com]

Panasonic makes school runs more cinematic with its in-dash Blu-ray player originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 22 Apr 2009 07:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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20/04/2009 - Sin City Blu-ray special features previewed

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A highly stylized flick like Sin City is sure to look great in high definition, so you're probably already planning to grab when it hits Blu-ray this week. For those who can't wait or are on the fence, MovieWeb has this quick snippet (embedded after the break) of Cine-Explore Bonus View special footage from the home version that shows off how the special effects were done while the movie plays on in the background. Other than that, the disc packs a couple commentary tracks, a 5.1 audio track including audience reaction (apparently so you can pretend you're at one of those movie theaters you no longer go to) and an interactive comic book.

Continue reading Sin City Blu-ray special features previewed

Sin City Blu-ray special features previewed originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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19/04/2009 - Netflix Blu-ray movies showing up cracked and unplayable?

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That's the word, with a small but vocal group of subscribers claiming their discs are repeatedly arriving with small cracks on their outer edges. It's unclear what might be to blame, even with the extra coating to prevent scratches on Blu-ray, they could still be susceptible to automated mail processing machines, manufacturing defects or perhaps a spontaneous game of mail Frisbee. The Mars Box blog experienced this issue back in '07 with the disc pictured above, but in the last few months reports seem to be picking up again. It's really too bad those extra costs can't buy tougher packaging like the cardboard slips GameFly uses, but Netflix told Wired the problem is "infinitesimally small" and changing shipping wouldn't be cost effective. We know plenty of you rent your discs, let us know, have you been afflicted?

[Via Hacking Netflix]

Read - The Mars Box
Read - Wired
Read - AVS Forum

Netflix Blu-ray movies showing up cracked and unplayable? originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sat, 18 Apr 2009 22:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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14/04/2009 - Blu-ray releases on April 14th 2009

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Splinter Blu-rayIt's a slow week for blockbuster new releases, but it's a big week for catalog titles. So rather than focus on the new day-and-date movies like Splinter, we will take a look at the awaited older titles. One that we really enjoyed the first time around is 8 Mile, but there is also Mean Girls as well as The Last Kiss. More documentaries are making their way to Blu-ray and one of our favorite sources (PBS) has The Story of India -- although we'd rather see more episodes of Nova and Nature. Next week is already looking better though as there are a few X-Men movies as well as another instant classic, Sin City.
  • Splinter (Magnolia)
  • Strange Wilderness (Paramount)
  • Mean Girls (Paramount)
  • The Last Kiss (Paramount)
  • The Thirteenth Floor (Sony)
  • Universal Soldier: The Return (Sony)
  • 8 Mile (Universal)
  • The Spirit (Lionsgate)
  • Deep Sea (Warner)
  • Pride & Prejudice (A&E)
  • Cranford (BBC)
  • The Story of India (PBS)
  • Living Landscapes: Earthscapes - Wild Africa (Allegro)

Blu-ray releases on April 14th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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10/04/2009 - Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown get Blu-ray release dates

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Put down that import order form Tarantino & Samuel L. Jackson fans, Disney/Miramax has apparently set a date for Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown, with both coming to Blu-ray August 4. High-Def Digest notes they're tagged special editions, so in lieu of any official information about specs, extra features or price, we still expect only the best fo these long awaited flicks.

Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown get Blu-ray release dates originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 20:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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09/04/2009 - Pioneer, Sharp agree to joint Blu-ray venture

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As mentioned during Pioneer's reorganization, it's combining forces in the optical disc biz with Sharp, and have signed a basic agreement to start combined operations October 1. The aim is to strengthen the joint venture's stance in the Blu-ray market, but what exactly this means for Pioneer's Elite line of players is unknown. Negotiations are still underway and we should likely hear more by the time a final agreement is reached, anticipated by June 25. [Warning: PDF read link]

Pioneer, Sharp agree to joint Blu-ray venture originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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07/04/2009 - Blu-ray releases on April 7th 2009
Yes Man Blu-rayAlthough we didn't go back and count every week, we're pretty sure Warner broke its own record this week by releasing 15 titles. At the top of the list is the latest Jim Carry movie Yes Man, but there also more than a few classics like American History X, 2010, The Wedding Singer and Point of No Return. Fox has a pretty big title this week as well with The Day the Earth Stood Still, although if you believe in IMDB scores you'll skip it. Disney also has a few worthwhile titles like the latest Adam Sandler movie Bedtime Stores. What is also pretty big news this week though, is that Discovery opened up the vaults and released six new documentaries, which are a welcomed addition to Blu-ray's lineup.

Blu-ray releases on April 7th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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02/04/2009 - Netflix notches 2 billionth delivery with a Blu-ray disc

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2,000,000,000. That's how many movies Netflix has shipped out since coming on the scene in 1999. Lucky number two billion -- Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist on Blu-ray) snagged Clay Shannon a complimentary lifetime subscription (guess he's not too concerned about the new, higher Blu-ray rates.) It took the company eight years to cross the one billion milestone, and only two for the next billion. While there's little indication of a slowdown in the two million movies shipped out every day from 58 distribution centers, we wouldn't be surprised if number 3 billion were just as likely to come as a download than anything else.

Continue reading Netflix notches 2 billionth delivery with a Blu-ray disc

Netflix notches 2 billionth delivery with a Blu-ray disc originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 02 Apr 2009 03:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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01/04/2009 - Poll: Will Netflix's new Blu-ray rates cause a change in your subscription?

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One only has to look at Netflix's recent growth to see how successful it's been while branching out onto new disc formats and digital delivery. Still, the news that the $1 Blu-ray surcharge is kicking upwards next month based on how many discs you can have out at once is making many previously happy (or not-so-happy) customers rethink their status. Still, Blu-ray discs are more expensive and if you've been happy with Netflix's service so far, maybe it remains a good deal. After a couple days to let the news settle in pick one, and let us know why in the comments.

View Poll

Poll: Will Netflix's new Blu-ray rates cause a change in your subscription? originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 01 Apr 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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01/04/2009 - Twilight tops the DVD charts while Blu-ray sales lag behind

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In a shocking development, Twilight's mostly tween girl audience may not have quite bought into this Blu-ray thing yet, since despite selling 5.2 million copies of the weekend, the movie only managed to move less than 5% of that total on Blu-ray. Making the HD edition available only at Target and Best Buy likely didn't help, but earlier reports pegged the director as extremely pleased about how the vampire's sparkling effect turned out in HD, so Summit Home Entertainment and the BDA may have missed a great opportunity to expand their audience. Well, there's always Twilight 2.

Twilight tops the DVD charts while Blu-ray sales lag behind originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 23:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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31/03/2009 - Is Netflix Price Rise A Set-Back For Blu-ray?

The price for Netflix's Blu-ray subscribers is going up again on April 27th.
The increase translates into an extra USD $4 a month for BD users opting for standard three-at-a-time plans.
While Netflix is arguably justified in charging more to finance its rapidly expanded - and more costly to buy - Blu-ray stock of over 1,300 titles, it doesn't help the high-def format's image.

31/03/2009 - Shuttle's Mini H7 4500H media PC joins Blu-ray, DVB-S tuner in matrimony

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Shuttle's back with another mini HTPC, the H7 4500H, only this time you can swap out that DVB-T tuner with a DVB-S for satellite TV. The cost of going for the latter means you have to settle onboard graphics only, but either way you're still getting DVR capabilities and Windows Media Center. Max configuration for the Vista-based machine includes 2.83GHz Intel Core 2 Quad, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285, 1TB SATA HDD, 4GB DDR2 RAM, and a Blu-ray writer. It's also got HDMI, SPDIF, eSATA, FireWire and six USB ports. Starting price is around €775 ($1,020), but if you're planning to get the whole kit and kaboodle, the price jumps to about €1858 ($2,450).

[Via I4U]

Shuttle's Mini H7 4500H media PC joins Blu-ray, DVB-S tuner in matrimony originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 04:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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28/03/2009 - The early release of Bolt on Blu-ray caused more harm then good

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Bolt Blu-rayWe commend Disney on always trying new things to promote Blu-ray like the recent decision to release Bolt on Blu-ray two days before DVD. But just like in the comments of our weekly HD release post, it confused more people then it motivated to upgrade to Blu-ray. Evidently as a result of the confusion, employees at retailers all over the country were scratching their heads and ended up breaking the release date on the DVD version. Although we can totally understand the confusion, we figure the pain is over, so don't stop now Disney! We don't know about anyone else, but we really want to see this experiment run the course because we think the results will be fascinating.

The early release of Bolt on Blu-ray caused more harm then good originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sat, 28 Mar 2009 17:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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26/03/2009 - Fast & Furious Blu-ray Trilogy reviewed, D-BOX shines

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The new Fast & Furious, not to be confused with the old Fast & Furious, is all set to become the first major theatrical release with D-BOX baked in. And as TheHDRoom points out, these movies were just born to be felt as well as watched. When reviewing the trilogy on Blu-ray, they found these discs immediately among their favorite D-BOX discs. More specifically, they noted that the sensation was strong and engrossing throughout, especially when cars were changing gears -- though they did confess that Tokyo Drift suffered from jolts that were just too faint to really enjoy. Of course, you'd have to be the world's biggest F&F fan to let this trio of flicks convince you to pick up one of those pricey D-BOX motion chairs, but if you're leaning that way, give the read link a look beforehand.

Fast & Furious Blu-ray Trilogy reviewed, D-BOX shines originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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25/03/2009 - Europe's HDTVs "Starved of HD Content"

FutureSource Consulting has produced an interesting chart that highlights the gulf between HDTV ownership and the penetration of Blu-ray disc players in Europe.
It shows that there are 69 million HD-ready TV sets but just 8 million Blu-ray players,including PS3 consoles - prompting the title: "61 million TVs starved of HD content".

23/03/2009 - Blu-ray releases on March 24th 2009

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Quantum Of Solace - Blu-ray

We like weeks like this when there is little doubt what the biggest title is. In fact we'd go as far as to call this the James Bond week with MGM releasing the latest addition to the franchise with the Quantum of Solace, as well as some of our favorite classics like Goldfinger and The World Is Not Enough. Also this week Universal has The Fast and the Furious Trilogy box set -- although we're not sure why we mentioned it -- while Paramount has Things We Lost in the Fire, The Kite Runner and A Mighty Heart. Next week the top Oscar winner finally hits Blu as Slumdog Millionaire hits the streets.


Blu-ray releases on March 24th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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16/03/2009 - Blu-ray releases on March 17th 2009

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Bolt - Blu-rayAt first glance this week's releases were pretty weak, but then we noticed that Disney's latest animated feature was scheduled to release before next Tuesday so we threw it in to make things more interesting. Sure it isn't the greatest movie ever, but compared to the rest of the offerings, it's looking pretty good. There are a few other titles worth a look though, but nothing that really jumps out at us. One catalog title that was special to us as kids is The Princess Bride. Next week on the other hand is all Bond, all the time. First the latest in the series is leading the pack, and then there are a handfull of the classics keeping it company.

Blu-ray releases on March 17th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 16 Mar 2009 12:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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12/03/2009 - Sony Not Cutting PS3 Price - or Planning Non Blu-ray Version

Sony has no intention of releasing a PS3 without a Blu-ray drive.
The suggestion that the Japanese company would ditch the high-def format was scotched by Sony's marketing manager Kim Nguyen.

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.

11/03/2009 - 1080p Video Possible With Intel's New Atom Chipset

Poor video acceleration - stuttering and frame rate drops - has been something of a blight for netbooks when it comes to playing HD video.
Now Intel has confirmed that the GN40 chipset for Atom chips, when paired with the Atom N280 processor, is capable of playing 1080p video.

10/03/2009 - Blu-ray releases on March 10th 2009

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Transporter 3 Blu-rayJust as expected, things are starting to turn around already and movies worth seeing are once again hitting the shelves. First up is Transporter 3. We don't expect it to be the best movie ever, but it should be entertaining. Next up is another title from Disney's vault, Pinocchio -- which should be interesting for a few reasons. Another animated title worth a look this week is the hilarious South Park: Season 12, which is showing that TV shows are finally starting to be released on Blu-ray with some regularity. We also can't forget one of our favorite Edward Norton movies as Paramount offers up Primal Fear. One of the first Oscar winning titles hits this week as well with Milk. Last week we had a poll to decide where our links should go, and we have to say we are a bit surprised that Blu-ray.com won -- well technically, no one cares actually won, but we threw that one out. Last week's poll was so much fun we decided to take a new suggestion and add a poll this week for which title you think will be the hottest selling of the week -- we'd ask which you're going to buy, but our polls are limited to a single answer.

Continue reading Blu-ray releases on March 10th 2009

Blu-ray releases on March 10th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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06/03/2009 - Fox cuts out the extras on rental discs

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With DVD sales slipping, every studio is trying new strategies to eke out a buck, and now Fox is trying to coax people towards buying instead of renting, by selling stripped down versions of some movies to rental outlets and keeping premium extras for buyers. According to a letter obtained by Video Business, Slumdog Millionaire will be one of the first discs with the treatment, where extras like deleted scenes and commentaries go retail only on the DVD, while the rental Blu-ray edition loses the (probably useless on a rental) digital copy. At least so far the HD editions of these movies don't seem to be affected, but unless prices come down we wouldn't be surprised to see this kind desperation double dipping on the Blu-ray front as well. Still, with as many of our readers that have said they don't care about extras and the relative ease of piracy, studios may just have to learn to be happy people are paying to watch at all.

Fox cuts out the extras on rental discs originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 06 Mar 2009 13:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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03/03/2009 - SageTV's HD Theater gets Blu-ray streaming

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SageTV HD Theater streamer
Fans of SageTV will love this one -- out now in the latest beta release of the software is HD Theater streamer playback of ripped Blu-ray discs. There's no support for the interactive features, but based on what we've seen from BD-Live so far, you won't be missing much; what you are able to do is point the HD Theater at the ripped BDMV folder on your SageTV PC and enjoy multiple audio tracks and chapter support, with subtitles promised somewhere down the road. For now, this only works when the HD Theater is used in extender mode, but a future firmware upgrade promises to bring the functionality to streamers used in standalone mode. This certainly gives SageTV something to crow about with respect to, say, a Kaleidescape setup, doesn't it? Beta testers, let us know how this feature works out for you.

SageTV's HD Theater gets Blu-ray streaming originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 03 Mar 2009 13:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.

03/03/2009 - Warner Bros. plans to support CBHD, the format war is back on -- at least in China

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It seems appropriate that after striking the fatal blow in the war between HD DVD and Blu-ray, Warner is the first to break rank and ally itself with the China Blue HD team. Ready to enter the ordinary Chinese consumer's family, according to Managing Director Tony Vaughan, the Harry Potter series, Speed Racer and others will launch for 50-70 yuan ($7.30 - $10.22) per disc. Excuse us while we pick our jaws up from the floor, but with at least one Hollywood studio in pocket and 1999 yuan ($292) players on the way the son of HD DVD looks remarkably closer to a real Blu-ray competitor (and less like the destined for the scrap heap reject we predicted) than ever. With DVD sales shrinking and Blu-ray not quite ready to pick up the slack, how long until another studio decides the Chinese market has enough potential to publish movies on CBHD? [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

[Via Format War Central]

Warner Bros. plans to support CBHD, the format war is back on -- at least in China originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 02 Mar 2009 23:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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02/03/2009 - Kaleidescape still on track to deliver a pricey Blu-ray player this year

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Kaleidescape setup
Apparently unfazed by the fact that its target demographic openly disses the Blu-ray format, Kaleidescape is moving ahead with plans to deliver a Blu-ray player by the end of 2009, says the company CEO. We always suspected claims that the Mini Player's DVD upscaling "rivals Blu-ray" was a bit of a reach, even given the $3,000 price. Sadly, when the "doesn't have to rival Blu-ray, because it is Blu-ray" deck comes out, though, the ripped-for-whole-home-use joy you might expect from Kaleidescape will have to wait -- on deck for initial delivery is CD and DVD importing, but Blu-ray discs will be playback only for now (with Kaleidescape remaining "optimistic" that Blu-ray import gets support somewhere down the road). Then again, it's probably safe to assume that if you can afford to get into a Kaleidescape setup, you can afford a few extra copies of every title to sprinkle around the compound.

[Via Format War Central]

Kaleidescape still on track to deliver a pricey Blu-ray player this year originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 02 Mar 2009 11:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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02/03/2009 - Blu-ray releases on March 3rd 2009

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Australia Blu-rayFebruary is over, but the boring releases aren't; things should turn around pretty quickly now as the Oscar winners will be hitting the shelves between now and the Summer. There are a few nice day and date offerings from Hollywood this week though, like Fox who has Australia and Image with In the Electric Mist. Steeler fans should be happy know that they can relive the Super Bowl over and over again for the rest of their lives in HD. And finally MGM has the best catalog this week with the very good Silence of the Lambs. As promised, we've added a poll this week to see who we should link to, so be sure to let us know as the voting ends in one week.
  • Australia (Fox)
  • Beverly Hills Chihuahua (Disney)
  • Brokeback Mountain (Universal)
  • I've Loved You So Long (Sony)
  • In the Electric Mist (Image)
  • NFL Super Bowl XLIII: Pittsburgh Steelers Champions (Warner)
  • The Silence of the Lambs (MGM)


Blu-ray releases on March 3rd 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 02 Mar 2009 10:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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28/02/2009 - Nielsen VideoScan High-Def market share for week ending February 22th, 2009

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The good news for Blu is that for the fourth week in a row it has seen an increase in revenue, the bad news is that after three weeks of single digit market share, it still isn't anywhere near as good as it was at the end of last year. The reason of course is the slate of releases -- isn't it always -- which have been anything but focused on the Blu-ray demographic. Now there has been some debate about what exactly the Blu-ray demographic is, but one thing is for sure, it isn't kid movies. We witnessed this last week with Madagascar and now this week with the latest High School Musical. Just to put things into perspective, the Blu-ray version of High School Musical 3: Senior Year only managed 6 percent away from DVD, while Body of Lies managed 21 percent. Next week should be even better for Blu-ray though because there aren't anymore kid movies on the schedule, so we're going to be so bold to predict about a 15 percent overall share.

Continue reading Nielsen VideoScan High-Def market share for week ending February 22th, 2009

Nielsen VideoScan High-Def market share for week ending February 22th, 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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26/02/2009 - OWC Doubles Speed of Mercury Pro Blu-Ray Drives to 8X

Other World Computing (OWC) has upgraded the speed of its Mercury Pro Blu-ray/SuperDrive just four months after launching it as the world's first external Blu-ray drive with a quad interface.
Now twice as fast, the Mac and PC technology company device boasts 8X Blu-ray write speeds of up to 2GB per minute, blank DVDs at 16x and writable CDs at up to 32x.

26/02/2009 - Panasonic To Release Freesat PVR HDD Blu-Ray Recorder

Panasonic has unveiled what it claims are the world's first Blu-ray recorders with two integrated Freesat receivers and an internal hard drive.
Freesat is a UK free-to-air digital satellite television service that is a joint venture between the BBC and ITV.

25/02/2009 - Broadcast International and Fixstars Develop Software-based H.264 Real-time Encoder

A PC-based H.264 software encoder that offers advanced encoding solutions has been developed by Broadcast International and Fixstars Corporation.
The CodecSys CE-100/200 has been designed to improve the productivity of IPTV content creation in areas like Blu-ray disk authoring, digitization of video archives and large scale surveillance camera networks.

25/02/2009 - Deal With Broadcom Brings Chumby's Widgets To HDTVs

Widget company chumby's media Internet platform is to start appearing on HDTVs, set-top-boxes and Blu-ray players thanks to a deal struck with Broadcom Corporation.
The tie-up will see chumby's interactive multimedia widgets integrated into Broadcom's latest system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions.

25/02/2009 - One-stop Shop For Blu-ray Licensing Could Reduce Prices

A "one-stop shop" for Blu-ray player and disc licensing is being set up by Panasonic, Philips and Sony.
The trio are currently in talks with Blu-ray Disc patent holders, according to Blu-ray.com.

24/02/2009 - Nielsen VideoScan High-Def market share for week ending February 15th, 2009

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This week's Nielsen VideoScan chart is the easiest to analyze to date because it really came down to one movie; Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. You see although this title was released the week before, it was late enough in the week that most people obviously didn't get counted until this week, and boy did they. Blu-ray fans picked it up by almost 3 to 1 over the second place new release, Miracle at St. Anna, but only 8 percent of the overall population chose the Blu-ray version over the DVD -- which is exactly what Blu-ray's share was for the week of the top 20. We suppose the only good news for Blu-ray this week is that its revenues are up over 33 percent when compared to the same week last year -- this time of the season is always slow for disc sales. We don't expect next week to be much better either, but it really comes down to how many choose to pick up the Blu-ray versions of Changeling and Body of Lies.

Continue reading Nielsen VideoScan High-Def market share for week ending February 15th, 2009

Nielsen VideoScan High-Def market share for week ending February 15th, 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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23/02/2009 - Blu-ray releases on February 24th 2009

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FutureamaWell lookie what we have here, that's right, just about nothing. We've been doing this post every week for a few years now and we'd have to go pretty far back to find a more boring slate of titles. Sure there are a few things of interest like Futurama and some catalog titles from Fox and MGM -- who doesn't like Ronin -- but for the most part we aren't rushing out to pick up anything this week. To continue our theme of changing up the links, this week we're not linking to anything, because honestly we're not sure how useful they are anyway. Who knows, maybe we'll just have to have a poll to decide what to do once and for all.
  • Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder (Fox)
  • Vanishing Point (Fox)
  • The French Connection (Fox)
  • French Connection II (Fox)
  • What Just Happened (Magnolia)
  • Ronin (MGM)
  • Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk (Image)
  • Hurricane on the Bayou (Image)
  • Super Speedway (Image)
  • Hounddog (Hannover House)
  • The Matador (2008) (City Lights)
  • Sex Drive (Summit)

Blu-ray releases on February 24th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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23/02/2009 - More studios more towards Blu-ray / DVD combo packs

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It's sort of odd to hear about this now, but for whatever reason, it seems that some studios are looking to bundle traditional DVDs with Blu-ray Discs in order to broaden appeal and gently ease people into consuming BDs. As you very well know, this tactic was heavily used during the HD DVD era, but it's definitely not as prominent with Blu-ray... yet, anyway. Reportedly, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment along with Lionsgate and MGM Home Entertainment are all prepping rather large releases in the Blu-ray / DVD 2-disc form, with Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment -- who is credited with pioneering the practice last fall -- hoping to release about seven of the bundles throughout 2009. Fox is even taking things a step further by tossing in Digital Copy on top of a BD and a DVD with Marley & Me. Mary Daily, the studio's executive VP of marketing for North America, noted that it's simply looking to become "flexible to adapt to the changing [habits]" of the consumer. Honestly, we love the idea of tossing a DVD in at little to no extra cost; there's hardly a better way to convince people to try Blu-ray Discs than to include one with the purchase of their DVD, if you will.

[Image courtesy of Porhomme]

More studios more towards Blu-ray / DVD combo packs originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 23 Feb 2009 10:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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16/02/2009 - Blu-ray releases on February 17th 2009

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ChangelingWhat a pleasant surprise this week's releases are as there are more than a few titles worth picking up. The most notable is Changeling which is in the IMDB top 250 of all time -- which is no easy feat for a new release since IMDB's top 250 is weighted against them. The other title really worth a look is the latest Ridley Scott flick featuring Leonardo DiCaprio with Body of Lies. There are also a few solid catalog titles this week including Gandhi and Capote. What is shocking to us is that there are still some titles only released on DVD. We just don't get why any studio would leave at least 3 to 6 percent on the table. Those included in the MIA list this week are Religulous, Choke, and Dead Like Me.

Blu-ray releases on February 17th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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14/02/2009 - Nielsen VideoScan High-Def market share for week ending February 8th, 2009

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Whoa, some movies are just no friend to Blu-ray fans as two titles helped push the overall Nielsen VideoScan market share down to half of what it was last week, which is the lowest in six months (when the Sex in the City Movie was released). Space Buddies was really the title that push the charts down with only 3 percent of the overall sales going to Blu-ray, but the other one was The Life of Bees which was also only at 3 percent. This was just too much for Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (9 percent) and Zach and Mari Made a Porno (11 percent) to overcome. Blu-ray is still up when compared to last year and we don't see this one week as a start of a trend. Next week should definitely be better considering the solid slate of great catalog titles for Blu-ray that were released, but with no blockbusters on the calendar, we really aren't about to try and make any predictions.

Continue reading Nielsen VideoScan High-Def market share for week ending February 8th, 2009

Nielsen VideoScan High-Def market share for week ending February 8th, 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sat, 14 Feb 2009 10:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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13/02/2009 - Can Blu-ray Now Be Regarded As"Mainstream"?

Sales of Blu-ray discs have climbed to such an extent in Europe that the high-def format is now officially "mainstream".
At least that's according to the cross-industry trade body, Digital Entertainment Group Europe(DEGE).

13/02/2009 - Sony Plans Movie and Game on Blu-ray Disc

Sony is planning on creating a hybrid Blu-ray - with a game and movie on the same disc.
The move is being viewed as a way to boost the appeal of the Playstation 3 in the face of falling prices for Blu-ray players and the increasing popularity of games consoles such as Wii and XBOX 360.

10/02/2009 - Vudu Halves Cost Of Basic Player

The cost of VUDU's basic 250GB VUDU HD player has been halved to USD $150.
According to the on-demand internet provider the move is not a sign of looming financial problems. It stresses that the dramatic price cut is due to positive factors.

10/02/2009 - Screen Media plans lowered MSRP for Blu-ray releases

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At least someone has some sense when it comes to Blu-ray pricing as Screen Media, the indie studio home of such notable flicks as Battle in Seattle, Personal Effects and Lymelife, is releasing its first Blu-ray movies next month, with an MSRP roughly $10 less than most. A quick glance at Amazon reveals a preorder price that's $5 or $6 less than most mainstream new releases. Senior VP Suzanne Blech cites the price premium of Blu-ray (still $10~ for these movies) as being even harder to overcome for this studio's lesser known movies that typically feature established actors. Talking to Video Business, she also took into account the higher cost of Blu-ray authoring, but thinks the studio will be able to remain profitable even with lower prices, all we can do is hope that this trend is the one that catches on.

Screen Media plans lowered MSRP for Blu-ray releases originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 09 Feb 2009 20:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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07/02/2009 - Live At Last Blu-ray finally brings Stevie Wonder home with lossless audio

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The first ever live concert DVD from Stevie Wonder will be worth the wait, as his O2 Arena performance from last fall comes home in high quality. Featuring some of his biggest hits, a performance by his daughter can covers of Beatles and Rolling Stones songs, it's all captured on a 50GB Blu-ray disc in 1080i, with a lossless DTS-HD MA soundtrack. It makes sense that such a release should have the highest quality audio, fans can check it out March 10.

Live At Last Blu-ray finally brings Stevie Wonder home with lossless audio originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 06 Feb 2009 20:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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06/02/2009 - NPD Group says discs don't have to fear downloads... yet

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Blu-ray banner
Pretty much falling in line with Futuresource's predictions earlier this week, the NPD Group found that the 48-percent of respondents had purchased a DVD or Blu-ray disc, compared to 2-percent who had downloaded a movie or TV show. Download-only zealots who cry foul over the lack of titles available for purchase will find little consolation in the additional 2-percent who digitally rented content. Still, physical media could take a lesson from the new kid on the block, and we'd agree that getting rid of the numerous previews on discs to mimic the "just watch the content, already" performance of streams would be a good start. Prioritize that above including more BD-Live "features," please; based on what we've seen so far, we don't think that's going to be what really pushes people from DVD to Blu-ray, no matter what the poll numbers say.

NPD Group says discs don't have to fear downloads... yet originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 06 Feb 2009 06:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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03/02/2009 - Recession-busting $150 Blu-ray players coming this year

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Recession-busting $150 Blu-ray players coming this year
If digital distribution is going to be held off for another year, Blu-ray players are going to need to achieve some serious market penetration at a rather difficult time. VIZIO's $200 VBR100 should help when it releases in a few months, but could be quickly undercut by a predicted flood of $150 drives said to be inbound from a number of other industry players, including Lite-On. These "white-box" drives will probably be short on features, but so too were the cheap DVD players that killed off the VCR, and nobody thought twice about that. If all goes according to plan look for stacks of inexpensive drives to start appearing at whatever retailers are still in business later this year.

Recession-busting $150 Blu-ray players coming this year originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 11:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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02/02/2009 - HD NVD is China's home grown answer to Blu-ray, but does it have a chance?

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It's Monday, which apparently means time for yet another Blu-ray fighting Chinese high definition disc format, this time NVD. With China Blue HD barely out the door and EVD conspicuous only in its absence, HD NVD players apparently went on sale today in Wuhan, featuring 12GB of storage on a red laser disc format that -- unlike the Toshiba technology backed CBHD / HD DVD variant -- is not only Made in China, but Created in China, with the hope that owning their own IP can net 4-5 times the profit for its manufacturers. 80% of the world's DVDs and players are reportedly produced in China, so now production lines can switch to NVD HD cheaply -- stop us if you've heard this before. It's clear that these companies are chafing under the royalties of foreign tech, but until we hear something about content support in any major way, it's hard to believe this format war is even worth fighting. Us? We're still holding out for VCDHD.

Read - NVD: independent innovation to safeguard national economic security
Read - China's proprietary red-ray NVD makes its debut

HD NVD is China's home grown answer to Blu-ray, but does it have a chance? originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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02/02/2009 - Futuresource predicts physical media market will remain flat until 2012

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Futuresource chartAs we've seen, Blu-ray does seem to be growing its slice of the packaged media pie, but research firm Futuresource doesn't expect that pie to grow. Instead, Futuresource predicts that growth in the home entertainment arena will come on the backs of, you guessed it -- mobile and online distribution -- while increased Blu-ray revenue will just offset DVD's fade. The usual suspects of Blu-ray's marginal quality benefits and pricing disparity are offered up as reasons that Blu-ray won't increase packaged media consumption overall, but we think there might be something else to the chart. The slow overall growth of media consumption shows we're becoming saturated by existing content delivery (physical discs, online, mobile, VOD, DVRs); or we're seeing the death throes of physical media and the slow initial growth of its successor(s) -- what's your take?

Futuresource predicts physical media market will remain flat until 2012 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 02 Feb 2009 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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31/01/2009 - BlueStar looks to expand Blu-ray disc production and promote its Blue Book format

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BlueStar and BlueRay logos We've tried to look past the naming train wreck that is BlueStar Technologies ("blue" instead of "blu," known as "Blue Ray Technologies" in Spokane), but would a little consistency be too much to ask for? Anyways, the Blu-ray manufacturer is on a bit of a tear. Looking to spend down its latest cash infusion, it has announced plans to open up a plant in Rome and is eying a second US location in either California or Montana. The company is touting its eco-friendly processes, which is all well and good, but it's the Project Blue book hybrid disc that really intrigues us. BlueStar is touting its new format as pirate-proof, with faster transfer and larger capacity, so what's not to like? Well, besides the fact that we've seen "pirate-proof" promises go down in flames, we're not so sure that what Blu-ray needs is another format.

BlueStar looks to expand Blu-ray disc production and promote its Blue Book format originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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30/01/2009 - Netflix earnings call roundup: Testing Saturday shipments, 700k Blu-ray subscribers and even more streaming

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All week, we've seen stats, figures and speculation based on Netflix's earnings call leaking out, and here's a few more interesting notes gathered from around the Internet for those not glued to their speakerphone Monday. Checking in to the party was always talkative analyst Michael Pachter, suggesting that the Xbox Live / Netflix combo could bring more than 1 million gamers to Netflix over the next year, with the service becoming a "gold mine" for the video rental company. At the same time, while CEO Reed Hastings touted "millions" served by Watch Instantly streams, the number of Blu-ray subs rose to 700,000, up from 500k at the beginning of December. Whether you count that as a victory for digital distribution or old school discs, those still checking their mailbox will be happy to know the company is testing Saturday shipping in certain regions...as long as the USPS keeps mailing six days a week.

Read - Netflix testing weekend shipping
Read - Netflix: Blu-ray adoption slow than Internet movie streaming adoption
Read - Xbox Live is proverbial gold mine for Netflix says Pachter

Netflix earnings call roundup: Testing Saturday shipments, 700k Blu-ray subscribers and even more streaming originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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30/01/2009 - Magnavox NB530GMX Blu-ray player shows up in the wild

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Magnavox NB530MGX Blu-ray player
Our friends at Format War Central have spotted a new Blu-ray deck from Magnavox at their local Wal-Mart -- the NB530MGX. It's a Profile 1.1 player, just like last year's discount darling NB500 model, so this is probably just a new model designation for a Funai-sourced player with NB500 internals. Cynical, we know, but it certainly would fit with the nondescript appearance on the scene. Honestly, we can't hold it against Format War Central for not picking this up and doing a breakdown -- the Funai, Magnavox and Philips nameplates that might be tacked on to this player all fail to get us excited. The upcoming VIZIO VBR100 player looks better and better.

Magnavox NB530GMX Blu-ray player shows up in the wild originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 21:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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28/01/2009 - Panasonic offers up SC-BT200 and SC-BT300 7.1 Blu-ray HTIB systems

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Somehow, in the midst of the mayhem that was CES, we managed to gloss over a pair of swank HTIB systems from Panasonic. Sure, the DVD-based SC-PT770 and SC-PT670 units are all fine and dandy, but it's the Blu-ray-packin' SC-BT200 and SC-BT300 that really have our attention. Each bundle includes a 7.1-channel audio system with "wireless ready" rear speakers, an integrated iPod dock and a BD deck with the ability to connect to the internet and suck down BD-Live content. The only notable difference between the two sets seems to be the overall power ratings, with the BT300 cranking out 1,250 watts and the BT200 doling out "just" 1,000 watts. Both packages should be available this Spring for undisclosed prices.

Panasonic offers up SC-BT200 and SC-BT300 7.1 Blu-ray HTIB systems originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 06:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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28/01/2009 - Sony narrows the Blu-ray disc pricing gap

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Sony Blu-ray disc coupons
We've seen Blu-ray hardware prices falling, and now Sony is attacking the software side of the equation by putting a $3 dent in the Blu-ray vs. DVD pricing gap. Coming out in major metro area Sunday newspapers, the coupons for selected titles are a stab at boosting Blu-ray sales in the face of increasing competition from rental, VOD (video on demand) and internet distribution, not to mention the tough economic times that have consumers holding the purse strings tightly. It's kind of a perfect storm of challenges for Blu-ray, but the physical disc model still has some things going for it (for both consumers and studios); let's just hope this offer marks the beginning of a new trend for more studios and more titles. After all, people have to have something to fill those new HDTVs with, right?

Sony narrows the Blu-ray disc pricing gap originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 02:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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27/01/2009 - Dr. Strangelove to ride in on Blu-ray this summer

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Dr. Strangelove bomb
Oh sure, the Cold War is a distant memory for most of us, but the hilarity of Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, um, kills us even 45 years since its release. Which is all the more reason to keep an eye out for the 45th Anniversay Special Edition of the Stanley Kubrick classic starring a whole lot of Peter Sellers set to ship on June 16. The special features announced so far are a little thin (but do sound interesting), so we're hoping that more goodies find their way onto the disc by the time it releases -- there's got to be some great deleted scenes and outtakes that got left on the cutting room floor, especially with Peter Sellers filling so many roles in the movie.

Dr. Strangelove to ride in on Blu-ray this summer originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 27 Jan 2009 05:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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26/01/2009 - Reminder: CES schwag bag giveaway!

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You just knew we wouldn't let the deadline sneak up on you without a reminder, right? Just in case you missed our original post advertising the Engadget HD CES schwag bag giveaway, here's a hint on what to do now. Head on over, read up on the stipulations and drop your comment while you're there. Oh, and cross your fingers for luck. That's it!

Reminder: CES schwag bag giveaway! originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sun, 25 Jan 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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24/01/2009 - Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic Blu-ray disc includes early movie teaser

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Can't wait to see Watchmen when it comes out March 6? Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic is set to hit shelves on DVD and Blu-ray three days earlier and will include a sneak peek of the "Prison Break" scene from the motion picture. C'mon, after obsessively reading and re-reading the graphic novel and watching and re-watching every trailer you're going to let a mere $34.99 MSRP keep you from a high quality early preview of the movie? That the Motion Comic is included on the disc is probably just an added bonus to some.

Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic Blu-ray disc includes early movie teaser originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sat, 24 Jan 2009 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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23/01/2009 - Star Trek: TOS & Star Trek The Motion Picture Trilogy Blu-ray boxes decloak in Norway

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Rumors that Paramount was planning a Blu-ray release of the remastered Star Trek: The Original Series coinciding with the new movie this spring just got a lot stronger, with box art pictures for season one and a Star Trek: The Motion Picture trilogy consisting of the first three movies popping up today on Release.no. Through the magic of Google Translate we know these are due in Norway May 13 (along with Star Trek II, III, IV & VI in standalone editions on BD & DVD) and it's not unreasonable to assume they'll hit U.S. shelves around the same time. Of course, if you can't wait until then, or at least for some more official info from Paramount, we're sure there's an HD DVD player and boxed set in a bargain bin somewhere just waiting to be picked up.

[Via Indy Star]

Star Trek: TOS & Star Trek The Motion Picture Trilogy Blu-ray boxes decloak in Norway originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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22/01/2009 - Sony Takes On Pirates By Opening Blu-ray Plant in China

Sony is turning its sights on the growing high-def market in China with the opening of a Blu-ray manufacturing plant in Shanghai.
The new plant will produce 500,000 of the high-def discs per month specifically for the domestic market.

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.

22/01/2009 - Hardware Confusion A Barrier To Blu-ray Uptake

With prices of Blu-ray players and discs falling, the high-def format appears to be making some headway after a hesitant start.
But public ignorance of what hardware is required to fully enjoy Blu-ray is preventing even greater uptake, according to the British Video Association.

17/01/2009 - Honestech's conversion software takes VHS memories to Blu-ray media

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If Panasonic's BD70V had a Blu-ray burner in it, this here software would be a lot less relevant. As it stands, however, you'll still need a middleman of some sort if you plan on getting that grainy VHS footage onto those newfangled BD-Rs. To that end, Honestech is providing a new version of its VHS to DVD Deluxe software (v4.0), which provides the means for transferring VHS, HDV, C-VHS and Beta (seriously!) content to DVDs or Blu-ray Discs. $79.99 gets you the program, the VIDBOX interface hardware, a USB cable and the ability to get your mother and her decade-old home movies off of your back.

Honestech's conversion software takes VHS memories to Blu-ray media originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sat, 17 Jan 2009 02:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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15/01/2009 - CyberLink bundles Media Server 2 with JVC's NX-BD3 Blu-ray HTIB

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You know, we're actually kind of shocked that more companies aren't doing this, but CyberLink and JVC may have just started something without even being aware of it. Rather than trying to push daunting Blu-ray HTIB systems and media server software separately, these two decided it'd be easier to sell a setup in which the consumer was assured that their media would integrate seamlessly right out of the box. The so-called digital home entertainment network solution bundles CyberLink Media Server 2 with JVC's NX-BD3, and given the DLNA certification, there's nothing holding you back from streaming in networked media for playback on the system. Windows Home Server baked into your next HTIB? It could happen, folks.

CyberLink bundles Media Server 2 with JVC's NX-BD3 Blu-ray HTIB originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 23:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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14/01/2009 - Quantum of Solace to be released on Blu-ray on March 24th

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Quantum of SolaceThe latest Bond movie will be hitting shelves worldwide on March 24th and is packed with plenty of extra features. The BD50 disc will be encoded with AVC and features a DTS-HD MA 5.1 sound track. There are also plenty of HD extras on the disc, which is a nice break from the norm. A quick look at the releases due in the comming month makes us think this will be the first big hit of 2009.

Quantum of Solace to be released on Blu-ray on March 24th originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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11/01/2009 - Hands-on with Panasonic's new Blu-ray decks

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Hands-on with Panasonic's Blu-ray decks
We've heard about Panasonic's new Blu-ray players a couple of times now, but we put our mitts on them today. The DMP-BD60 and DMP-BD80 on the low and high side of the line, respectively, are solid players and also add in the VIERA Cast capability we heard about, but we'll be honest -- we really came to see the DMP-BD70V. This omnivorous deck will gobble up your old VHS tapes, DVDs and Blu-ray discs and upscale them to 1080p glory.

Hands-on with Panasonic's new Blu-ray decks originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 20:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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10/01/2009 - Nielsen VideoScan High-Def market share for week ending January 4th, 2008

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Nielsen VideoScan

The fourth quarter was very good to Blu-ray and from the looks of this, the so called fifth quarter is going to be even better. According to the Nielsen VideoScan numbers, courtesy of Home Media Magazine, the market share of the top 20 titles for Blu-ray set a new record at 16 percent -- previous record was 14 percent the week The Dark Knight was released. The real encouraging part of these numbers though is the fact that only one new release made the top 10 (Eagle Eye), while the rest were more than likely new Blu-ray owners burning through their gift cards. Of course this begs the question of what will happen after the gift cards run out, but we believe that once you go Blu it's nearly impossible to go back to DVD.

Nielsen VideoScan High-Def market share for week ending January 4th, 2008 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 13:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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09/01/2009 - D-BOX's GPH-120 Hybrid Motion system lazes its way into living rooms

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D-BOX GPH-120 Hybrid Motion system
We didn't think we'd see the day that D-BOX's motion chairs would find a way into homes, but between video gaming and Motion Code on Blu-ray, it looks like it's going to happen. The GPH-120 Hybrid Motion system is a reclining theater and gaming chair that will carry a $2,9999 price tag. Not cheap, but motion actuators that can roll, pitch and move your head to the tune of 2Gs might provide more immersion than some 3D efforts we've seen and without the funny glasses. Plus, we're thinking any feelings of nausea might be more intentional, too.

D-BOX's GPH-120 Hybrid Motion system lazes its way into living rooms originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 17:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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09/01/2009 - No lie, Disney spells out its Blu-ray plans for 2009

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Disney logoAt 70-years old, it's hard to think of Pinocchio as a boy anoymore, but he'll be coming to life on Blu-ray as part of Disney's 2009 Blu-ray releases. Approximately seven titles will be released in the Blu-ray+DVD combo packs that families love for portability, including classics that will get the Platinum Edition treatment, like "Pinocchio: 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition" and "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Platinum Edition." All in all, the Mouse will be turning more than 30 titles loose in North America on Blu-ray, with about 14 packaged with a DisneyFile digital copy for the kids' viewing enjoyment. If you (or your kids) need to know what to watch for, hit the link for details.

No lie, Disney spells out its Blu-ray plans for 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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

08/01/2009 - Panasonic Takes Blu-ray Portable

Panasonic has unveiled the first portable Blu-ray player at CES in Las Vegas.
The DMP-B15 features an 8.9-inch WSVGA display and along with the ability to play Blu-ray discs it also has access (via
Ethernet connection to the Internet) to VIERA CAST. Fully Profile 2.0 (BD-Live) compliant it also features an SD card.

08/01/2009 - VIZIO jumps into the sub-$200 Blu-ray player ring with its VBR100

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VIZIO logo
Never mind that VIZIO is breaking from its discount-market image, the combination of a known brand name and $199 pricetag for its VBR100 Blu-ray player is the one-two punch here. The company is showing off this new 2-inch thick (not the slimmest, but not exactly portly, either) Blu-ray deck at CES this week, and the feature set is pretty encouraging. The upconverted DVD feed coming out of the HDMI jack can be switched between 720p, 1080i and 1080p, but even more importantly, the unit's 7.1-analog jacks around back can output decoded Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA. Set for release in April for a penny under $200.

VIZIO jumps into the sub-$200 Blu-ray player ring with its VBR100 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 07:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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08/01/2009 - Blu-ray moved 63.2 million units in 2008
The Digital Entertainment GroupThe Digital Entertainment Group released a few numbers from 2008 that caught our attention. The most notable is that while the shipment of DVD units -- whatever that means -- was down almost 15 percent in 2008 to 1.4 Billion, Blu-ray shipments were up 250% to 63.2 million. Overall this still only works out to about 4.5 percent market share for Blu-ray in 2008, but this is still moving in the correct direction for HD fans. This works out to about 6.3 units sold per player since the DEG also says there are now 10 million Blu-ray players (including PS3s) out there with 3 million of them being sold in the 4th quarter.

Blu-ray moved 63.2 million units in 2008 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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08/01/2009 - Eyes on Memorex's new MVBD-2520 Blu-ray player

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Memorex MVBD-2520 Blu-ray player
Plenty of budget-priced Blu-ray players make their cost-saving apparent in looks alone, but Memorex's forthcoming MVBD-2520 Blu-ray player got a good dose of design. Nothing jaw-dropping, but it won't pull down the overall look of your equipment rack, either. It's a shame that the 7.1-channel analog outputs didn't make it to the back panel, though.


Eyes on Memorex's new MVBD-2520 Blu-ray player originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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07/01/2009 - JVC's 42-inch LT-42B300 LCD HDTV includes built-in Blu-ray player

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So we heard that Sharp would be bringing a few Blu-ray-infused HDTVs to CES, but it's JVC breaking one out first. Here in Vegas, the company has introduced the 42-inch LT-42B300, which packs a 1080p panel, integrated ATSC-QAM tuner, a 5-band equalizer, dual 10-watt speakers, three HDMI inputs (with CEC) and an inbuilt Blu-ray player to boot. It'll be ready for consumption this June at an undisclosed price.

JVC's 42-inch LT-42B300 LCD HDTV includes built-in Blu-ray player originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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07/01/2009 - JVC finally brings its Blu-ray products to America

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JVC NX-BD3 Blu-ray HTIB
Over here in the US, JVC fans have had to watch with lustful eyes at all the JVC Blu-ray products in the rest of the world, but no more. Today JVC has announced both a stand-alone Blu-ray player and a 3.1 home theater in a box. The XV-PB1 Blu-ray player will be available in March for $299 and as you'd expect, it will support BD Live content as well as playback AVCHD videos you create on your HD camcorder. We assume the new TH-SB100 is US version of the NX-BD3 previously available in Europe (pictured above) which is of course a BD Live player, but we're sad to say there's no mention of any support for DTS-HD or Dolby TrueHD. Nevertheless it will be available in April for $699.

Read - JVC XV-PB1
Read - JVC TH-SB100

JVC finally brings its Blu-ray products to America originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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04/01/2009 - Redbox CEO talks up DVD rental business, streaming competitors

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Redbox -- the outfit that makes its ends by offering consumers $1 DVD / Blu-ray rentals in kiosk stations positioned at grocery stores, Walmarts and other retail outlets -- has let its CEO out of the corner office long enough to speak with VideoBusiness. With B&M rental outlets feeling the pain from by-mail / online alternatives, VB questioned whether Redbox's business model was viable. Gregg Kaplan noted that the model was indeed viable and profitable, harping on the fact that many families are redirecting out-of-home entertainment dollars to at-home entertainment. He's also publicly confident that the business will continue growing "at a brisk pace," and given that its market share currently sits at just 5% to 10%, it definitely has the room to grow. We have to say, Redbox has it pretty good. While many are too lazy to make a trip to the video store, it's actually convenient to grab a flick while you're out grabbing produce; hit the read link for the full interview.

Redbox CEO talks up DVD rental business, streaming competitors originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 19:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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31/12/2008 - Denon's DVD-A1UD universal Blu-ray player gets priced / dated for UK: £3,299 in March

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Denon's format-lovin' DVD-A1UD universal Blu-ray player has already notched prices and release dates for Japan and America, and now those in the UK can start counting their pounds as they await a launch of their own. The beefed-up deck -- which handles Blu-ray Discs, DVDs, SACDs and DVD-Audio discs -- is slated to go on sale this March in the UK for a stiff £3,299 ($4,808), and to-be buyers can go ahead and start thinking about whether they prefer silver or black.

Denon's DVD-A1UD universal Blu-ray player gets priced / dated for UK: £3,299 in March originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 31 Dec 2008 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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27/12/2008 - Poll: Did you go Blu in 2008?

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At the front end of this year, we made ten bold (and mostly not serious) predictions for the format war in 2008. Comically enough, a few of 'em actually came true. Most notable was the fall of HD DVD and the rise of Blu-ray, and while it has only been a matter of months since Blu became the lone high-def physical format, quite a lot has happened. Prices of players went higher, then lower, while digital downloads have emerged as a real threat to the format in the long-term. The question that's burning on our mind here at the tail end of '08 is this: did you go Blu-ray this year? If you didn't, what are you waiting for? Prices to fall? More movies to appear? Are you opting for a digital download service instead? Spill your tale in comments below.

[Image courtesy of SonyInsider]

View Poll

Poll: Did you go Blu in 2008? originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sat, 27 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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24/12/2008 - China's Blu-ray rival lacks key manufacturer support

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HD DVD's strike from beyond the grave may be falling short before it even gets started, as Digitimes reports no Taiwan drive manufacturers have joined the China Blue HD team so far -- and according to the always talkative anonymous sources, there's little optimism they will. Unfortunately the manufacturer support stage is where VMD, EVD and FVD failed before it and with no Hollywood support and cheaper Blu-ray hardware on the way, it's hard to see how CBHD will ever have much impact.

China's Blu-ray rival lacks key manufacturer support originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 16:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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23/12/2008 - OEM Blu-ray deck manufacturers in China / Taiwan slammed from price drops

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Whoa, shocker of the century here. DigiTimes has it that OEM Blu-ray Disc player manufacturers in China and Taiwan are seriously feeling the burn after a number of companies decided to deeply discount their decks in order to get them moving from store shelves. Imagine that, right? What's interesting is that the source also mentions that these very OEM companies "have received almost no orders from the US so far in December," signaling that current inventory channels are likely clogged up. Eh, they can gripe and moan all they want about their dwindling profit margins, but we the consumer are quite thrilled with all this price slashing. Can we get an amen from the congregation?

[Image courtesy of HDTVUK]

OEM Blu-ray deck manufacturers in China / Taiwan slammed from price drops originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 22 Dec 2008 21:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.

22/12/2008 - Blu-ray Growing In Popularity - Except With Yahoo

It's fitting that after a roller-coaster year for Blu-ray the high-def format should end 2009 on a high AND a low.
With sales in the US encouraging, a poll by Zogby International shows that Blu-ray players are one of the most wanted holiday gifts this season for HDTV owners.
The high-def players are only beaten by consumers looking for a second HDTV.

20/12/2008 - First Blu-ray Disc / DVD hybrid announced in Japan

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It sure took long enough to happen, but one of HD DVD's biggest benefits has finally made it over to the Blu-ray side. Yep, we're talking about a Blu-ray / DVD hybrid disc, with a single-layer of Blu on one side and a standard DVD on the other. Not surprisingly, the action's going down first in Japan, with Code Blue emergency helicopter doctor Blu-ray BOX (yes, seriously) as the first hybrid title. There's no word on when (or if) this technology will make it to US soil, but the sooner the better -- nothing like a little inbuilt backwards compatibility to ease the mind.

[Via CDRInfo]

First Blu-ray Disc / DVD hybrid announced in Japan originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 22:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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17/12/2008 - XStreamHD Beams "Blu-ray" Quality Video Direct-to-Home

XStreamHD has successfully tested a transport system that delivers Full HD movies, music, and games directly to subscriber homes via satellite.
The system, tested on the AMC-16 satellite at 85 degrees west longitude, will be able to provide content throughout North America.

16/12/2008 - Epson trots out tiny ST120 HTPC, finds room for Blu-ray / TV tuner

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Man, talk about a much needed refreshing. Last we recall, Epson was eliciting "awws" from window shoppers who just couldn't get over how delightfully cute its Endeavor ST100 micro PC was. Fast forward two years, and here we have the equally tiny (albeit entirely more useful) ST120. The all-black box comes equipped with a 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo P8400 CPU, 1GB of RAM, 80GB of hard drive space, an HDMI output, a Blu-ray writer and a digital TV tuner. Too bad the loaded configuration we just spouted off rings up at ¥137,500 ($1,531), but those with less lavish lifestyles can opt for a DVD model that starts at "just" ¥65,100 ($725).

[Via Engadget Spanish]

Epson trots out tiny ST120 HTPC, finds room for Blu-ray / TV tuner originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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15/12/2008 - Bizarre survey finds digital copy preferable to downloading

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Maybe we're just off our rocker, but we can't figure out what NPD Group hoped to actually discover from this here survey to save our lives. Apparently these folks asked around 1,500 movie buyers (read: clearly not movie thieves) if they preferred purchasing a video that included digital copy or simply downloading it from the internet. Shocker: 79% said they favored the digital copy, while only 21% confessed that they'd rather get a low quality rip from a shady website that could potentially infect their computer with some rare strain of virus. Seriously, what's the point? If you're buying a film in the first place, why wouldn't you want the studio to do the hard work for you and include a portable copy? At any rate, this groundbreaking poll also revealed that 38% of those interested in digital copy "appreciated having a physical disc as a backup," while 27% admitted that they would be "more inclined to buy a portable device in order to take advantage of the digital copy feature." Moral of the story? Let us know, will you?

Bizarre survey finds digital copy preferable to downloading originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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11/12/2008 - Bright Day For Dark Knight Blu-ray Sales

Warner Brothers' The Dark Knight has eclisped Iron Man to become the fastest selling Blu-ray Disc movie of all time.
Approximately 600,000 Blu-ray copies of the movie sold on the first day in the US, Canada and UK.
This represent 20 per cent of the total three million copies sold during the first 24 hours.

11/12/2008 - HD Video Download Service Allows Blu-ray Recording

Japan is to get the world's first HDTV video download service that allows users to export high-def content from HDDs to Blu-ray Disc.
Tsutaya online provides video content from a server to compatible digital home appliances and allows the content to be copied on Blu-ray Disc, iVDR-S and memory cards.

10/12/2008 - Netflix Beats Blu-ray Target - Hopes High For 2009

Netflix has reached its target of 500,000 Blu-ray subscribers ahead of schedule.
The retailer's chief financial officer Barry McCarthy said subscribers had added the option of paying an extra USD $1 to receive Blu-ray Disc titles at a quicker rate than Netflix forecast in October.

10/12/2008 - Japan Grasps Blu-ray - US Starts To Get Taste

Blu-ray players bucked generally weak Black Friday sales in the US - helped considerable by average prices dropping to USD $200, according to DisplaySearch.
Stripping out sales of Sony's PlayStation 3, the researchers report that US Blu-ray Disc player revenue "more than tripled from a year earlier" during the week of Thanksgiving and Black Friday .

10/12/2008 - Blu-ray recorders surpass 50% market share for all DVD recorders in Japan

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Okay, so having half of the DVD recorders in Japan be of the Blu-ray variety is pretty impressive in and of itself, but considering that this same statistic sat at 30% in late October (with players included), we can't help but be floored. Going back to October 2007, BD recorders made up just 10% of the market, and perpetually falling prices are thanked for the rapid increase over the past year and change. Additionally, new research has found that "Blu-ray Disc recorders are replacing DVD recorders 1.5 times faster than DVD recorders replaced VHS recorders," and not surprisingly, the availability of low-cost HDTVs is credited with helping to speed the transition. Just imagine these figures post-Christmas.

Blu-ray recorders surpass 50% market share for all DVD recorders in Japan originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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09/12/2008 - Mitsubishi's DVR-BF2000 Blu-ray DVR up for grabs in Japan

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Mitsubishi DVR-BF2000 Blu-ray DVR
With all the talk of Blu-ray stalling out, it's easy to see why Blu-ray DVRs haven't been something that manufacturers have even tried to sell the American public. Over in Japan, things are a little different -- just take Mitsubishi's DVR-BF2000 Blu-ray DVR model, for example. The hefty sum of ¥178,000 ($1900 US) nets you a DVR with a 500GB hard disk, dual tuners and a disc burner that can write out on BD-R/RE media and DVD-R/RW for when you don't need such capacious archiving. The unit also has some automatic editing features for cutting out those pesky commercials you don't need to store on your shelf. With these kind of features, we'd at least like to see these offered up here in the US -- they certainly won't get cheaper until they're available -- but we're not holding our breath.

Mitsubishi's DVR-BF2000 Blu-ray DVR up for grabs in Japan originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 22:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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08/12/2008 - SPHE's David Bishop talks Blu-ray, some tidbits crazier than others

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Just in case interviews with Stan Glasgow and Jay Vandenbree weren't enough, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment's president David Bishop is eager to give you more. In a recent sit-down with Home Media Magazine, the exec noted that Blu-ray players had hit their "sweet spot" in terms of price; of course, one must remember that Sony adores keeping prices high for the sake of the industry, so we'd be hesitant to take that seriously. Moving on, he also noted that SPHE wasn't apt to "change pricing" for its Blu-ray Discs anytime soon, which means it won't change it until market pressures dictate otherwise. Finally, he proclaimed that a 150% growth rate for Blu-ray movies would be about right for 2009, and he pointed out that January 2009 would be a particularly important month for it. The full interview is just a click away, but remember, pop your skeptic hat on before diving in and taking things at face value.

[Via The HD Room]

SPHE's David Bishop talks Blu-ray, some tidbits crazier than others originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 17:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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06/12/2008 - Thanks to Black Friday sales, Blu-ray players should outpace the CEA's expectations

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News flash folks; when price of adminission to the latest technology drops, more people adopt it. This is at least according to the recent post-Black Friday CEA Web Cast -- that our friend Mari with Zatz Not Funny attended. According to the CEA, the sales of sub $250 prices of Blu-ray players was finally brisk enough that the CEA expects that more than 2.75 million units (previous expectation) will be shipped during 2008. Of course this doesn't mean that anyone is actually buying movies, but it's a good first step right?

Thanks to Black Friday sales, Blu-ray players should outpace the CEA's expectations originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 21:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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05/12/2008 - Pioneer 400GB Blu-ray discs will play on PS3

There are undoubtedly pros and cons to having a single optical disc that can pack in 400GB of data - movies, music...whatever you can throw at it.
Pioneer is preparing for release a 16-layer Blu-ray disc that not only offers this colossal storage capacity but will play back on most current standalone Blu-ray players, including the Sony PlayStation 3.

01/12/2008 - Loewe hints at Blu-ray-infused LCD HDTV by 2010

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While most of the big boys are in a foot race to see who can pump out a legitimate big screen OLED TV the fastest, little ole Loewe is perfectly content with LCD. According to the company's CEO, Frieder Löhrer, he watches "all of the techniques that are on the market, almost on a daily basis," but was quick to dismiss that admittedly mesmerizing laser technology implemented by Mitsubishi as being too "inefficient and ineffective." When questioned on the possibility of joining a few other select firms in producing a Blu-ray-infused HDTV, he stated that he "could not say no," and he continued on to say that "it's a technique that we foresee not for the year 2008, but [probably] for early 2010." Hey, he never said he was trying to beat everyone else to the punch, right?

Loewe hints at Blu-ray-infused LCD HDTV by 2010 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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01/12/2008 - Samsung Blu-ray Players First To Offer Netflix HD

Blockbuster may be hinting at offering its download service on Blu-ray players - Netflix is actually doing it.
From next week two Samsung Blu-ray players are to provide Netflix videos in high definition.

28/11/2008 - Plextor announces four new optical drives, 6x Blu-ray readers included

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Not interested in Qflix, huh? No worries, as Plextor has four others for your consideration. Up first is the PX-610U 8x slim external USB Super Multi Drive for both Mac and PC, which requires no AC adapter and comes bundled with Roxio burn software. Next are the 6x PX-B310SA (internal SATA) and PX-B310U (external USB) drives, both of which read Blu-ray Discs at 6x and burn blank DVDs at an undisclosed (but undoubtedly zippy) rate. Batting cleanup are the 22x PX-850SA (internal SATA) and PX-850A (internal PATA) Super Multi drives, which forgo the whole BD-compatible thing and stick strictly to DVD. Each of the units should be available now, though pricing remains a mystery. Nothing like a little anticipation, right?

Plextor announces four new optical drives, 6x Blu-ray readers included originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 28 Nov 2008 16:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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27/11/2008 - Growth Towards 3D HDTV Gains Pace

Panasonic has submitted a proposal for a 3D Blu-ray standard to the Blu-ray Disc Association.
The submission comes as Korea's LG announces its intentions to bring 3D TVs to some markets in 2009.

27/11/2008 - Onkyo's DV-BD606 Blu-ray player goes to Europe, drops to amateur status

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Onkyo DV-BD606 Blu-ray player
Onkyo has turned the DV-BD606P "professional" Blu-ray player loose on the European shores, but with a subtle difference. Our friends overseas will get the DV-BD606, sans "P" (professional) and rack-mount ears. Sounds like an athlete who just didn't quite pan out, doesn't it? Other than that, your £400 ($615) nets you the same uninspiring Profile 1.1, DTS-HD MA, Dolby TrueHD, HDMI 1.3a, DVD upconverting player we got over here in the US. That's right -- pay a little more, get a little less. Somehow, we think that even this is going to be a tough sell no matter where it shows up, and the SD card slot up front and me-too DivX support won't change that.

Onkyo's DV-BD606 Blu-ray player goes to Europe, drops to amateur status originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 27 Nov 2008 02:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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21/11/2008 - Blu-Ray Takes On Pirates And Old HD Rival In China

Blu-Ray discs will go on sale in China for the first time today - officially that is.
While it's been possible to buy dubious pirated version of the high-def format for some time, today marks the start of what is expected to be a major push by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment into the vast Chinese market.

20/11/2008 - Netflix CPO gets technical about encoding for streaming

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Go on, confess. If you're reading this now, chances are you have at least a passing interest in learning how all of this glorious streaming content actually gets to your TV set / computer while still managing to look at least halfway decent. If you're willing to be honest with yourself, there's a lot in the read link that you'll love. Without going too in-depth here (wouldn't want to scare anyone off, you know?), Netflix's Chief Product Officer covers the basics of first- and second-generation encoding as well as how it handles the wonderful high-def encodes that are used to deliver Watch Instantly content to the Xbox 360. Oh, and now that the New Xbox Experience is live, you can chime in below and let us know if all that hard work that's being done behind the scenes is paying dividends on your HDTV.

[Via CNET]

Netflix CPO gets technical about encoding for streaming originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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19/11/2008 - How will Xbox's streaming HD Fare Against PS3's Blu-ray?

For a while now, Sony's PS3 has done very well out of being the best Blu-ray player in its price range - oh, and you can play games with it too.
So it will be interesting to see how it fares now that Microsoft's Xbox is offering US users streaming HD content from Netflix.
That, and the fact that Blu-ray player prices generally are falling, may have some impact on the Sony console.

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.

12/11/2008 - HD-3 conference eliminates "Blu-ray in trouble" rumor gremlins -- by pouring water on them

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Panelists at Home Media Magazine's third annual high definition conference found plenty in Blu-ray to be positive about, according to the magazine's own report, so they may be somewhat surprised to see co-sponsor Hollywood Reporter's less optimistic "Economy grinch may pinch Blu-ray" headline as the most syndicated report we found this A.M. Not exactly another Blu-ray is dead exaggeration, but not exactly how the industry wants to represent itself coming into a very important holiday season. With Blu-ray player prices diving, a slew of blockbuster titles on the way and shelf space expanding, the perception of Blu-ray as a niche format should be dwindling, but Home Media Mag publisher Thomas Arnold blames analysts and reporters who "don't understand our business" for putting Blu-ray in their crosshairs. At least per our poll, 55% of you are continuing as normal or increasing purchases, at least for some, there's just no substituting for quality.

Read - Economy grinch may pinch Blu-ray
Read - At HD-3, Myths Dispelled About Blu-ray Disc

HD-3 conference eliminates "Blu-ray in trouble" rumor gremlins -- by pouring water on them originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 12 Nov 2008 09:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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11/11/2008 - When Will Wii Go HD?

Nintendo's lead game designer, Shigeru Miyamoto, has been making comments that suggest Wii could go HD sometime soon.
The ability to support true next-gen graphics on HDTVs is one area the Wii falls down on compared to competitors Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3.

10/11/2008 - JVC's HTIB NX-BD3 gets reviewed, passes muster

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JVC NX-BD3 Blu-ray HTIB
Even after the street adjustment to £500 ($782), JVC's recently-announced NX-BD3 may not be the cheapest Blu-ray HTIB, but the crew at TrustedReviews found a lot to like with the package. The 2.1-channel starter system -- there are taps for four speakers even though you only get a L/R pair in the box -- has good aesthetics, solid video performance that holds its own next to the Pioneer BDP-LX71, and audio that keeps up with the visuals. Pity that Dolby True HD and DTS-HD MA didn't make the cut, though. Ah well, hopefully this deck's claim as the first dedicated Blu-ray deck with DLNA 1.5 support will ease the sting as you pull content from across your abode through the deck's ethernet jack. All in all, it's a better use of that port than BD-Live features, we say.

JVC's HTIB NX-BD3 gets reviewed, passes muster originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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07/11/2008 - VidaBox RackServer and RackClient v2 go without heads, HD DVD

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VidaBox RackServer, RackClient v2
Either HD DVD fell off of VidaBox's worklist or simply got left off the press release, but the new RackServer and RackClient v2 from the company have other features that will appeal to well-heeled HD connoisseurs (and their no doubt completist libraries). The RackServer will eat up 4U of space, but you'll get "1-step archiving" of unencrypted CD, DVD and Blu-ray discs in return. Since you can rip from up to five discs at once (with drive extenders), the 2-7TB storage (expandable to a crazy 16TB in a separate chassis) will come in handy. Once you've got all that ripping done, the RackClient v2 will spit out the bits from unencrypted Blu-ray, DVDs and other media, including the DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD audio you paid so dearly for. We don't even have the heart to ask about pricing.

VidaBox RackServer and RackClient v2 go without heads, HD DVD originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 07 Nov 2008 09:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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06/11/2008 - Fox bringing Sideways, Donnie Darko to Blu-ray in February

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Man, February's gearing up to put a hurtin' on your wallet. Alongside long-awaited titles like Passion of the Christ and Napoleon Dynamite, Fox Home Entertainment is scheduled to drop another duo that should move quite a few units. The cult classic Donnie Darko will finally get the Blu-ray treatment it deserves on 2/10, while the niche comedy Sideways arrives on Blu a week earlier. Details are all but non-existent outside of that, but you can expect MSRPs of $34.95 and $29.99, respectively.

Read - Donnie Darko
Read - Sideways

Fox bringing Sideways, Donnie Darko to Blu-ray in February originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 05 Nov 2008 22:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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05/11/2008 - Sony turns CDs blue with new Blu-spec CD standard

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Got a good marketing hook? Great, give it a nice thick slather across some related bits of your consumer electronics and prepare to rake in the cash. With MD and SACD formats not exactly dominating the audio masses, Sony's back with a new format by the name Blu-spec CD. It takes advantage of (you guessed it) Sony's Blu-ray Disc technology to press new high-quality discs while somehow maintaining compatibility with regular ol' red-laser CD players. How? No idea, really -- it's some kind of secret, proprietary Sony magic hidden deep inside of Google's Japanese-to-English language translator. Perhaps an English press release will be issued later in the day. It does seem that Sony will kick out about 60 Blu-spec CD classics (Miles Davis' Kind of Blue for example) in December ranging in prices from ¥2,500 (about $25) to ¥4,200 ($42). Ouch.

[Via Impress]

Sony turns CDs blue with new Blu-spec CD standard originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 05 Nov 2008 01:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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04/11/2008 - Walmart downsizing shelf space for music CDs, giving more to Blu-ray

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Remember the days of watching big box retailers like a hawk to see if more shelf space was being given to Blu-ray or HD DVD? Yeah, epic times. Now, however, a new report is suggesting that Walmart may be giving more of its packaged media space to Blu-ray Discs rather than music CDs. The reason? A 23% decline in CD sales during the first four weeks of Q4. According to Richard Greenfield, analyst with Pali Capital, he believes that Wally World is "increasing its exposure to consumer electronics, video games and Blu-ray, and reducing floor space devoted to CDs and standard DVDs." Furthermore, it's bruited that John Fleming, chief marketing officer with Walmart, insinuated that "electronics would be getting space expansion in stores due to the decline in physical packaged media." We'll be keeping an eye out to see if we spot any shifts in our local Walmart stores -- won't you do the same?

[Image courtesy of TeamSugar]

Walmart downsizing shelf space for music CDs, giving more to Blu-ray originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 03 Nov 2008 23:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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03/11/2008 - Passion of the Christ making expected Blu-ray debut in February 2009

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We already saw that Sound & Vision felt that Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ should be loosed on Blu-ray, and lo and behold, here we have confirmation that it will indeed be going Blu. On February 17th of next year, the film will be released in a "Definitive Edition" that offers up a 2.4:1 1080p video presentation and a 5.1-channel DTS-HD Master Audio track. As predicted, the audio will be in Aramaic for both the theatrical cut and the uncut version. This edition will also include "several new extras not found on the previous DVD edition including a pair of featurettes and four audio commentaries," and the exhaustive list is hosted up in the read link below. Per usual, the MSRP on this one sits at $34.99.

Passion of the Christ making expected Blu-ray debut in February 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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03/11/2008 - Shoppers To Be Tempted With Reduced Price HDTVs And Bundled Blu-rays

Greatly reduced HDTV price tags and packages bundling sets and blu-rays are among the retailing treats likely to be on offer to US shoppers this holiday season, according to DisplaySearch.

03/11/2008 - UFC making Blu-ray Disc debut with ULTIMATE COMEBACKS

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Ultimate Fighting Championship has been dishing out big tickets in HD for some time now, so it follow logic that the company would make its first foray into the Blu-ray realm soon. Thankfully for fans, soon is today. First Look Studios and UFC are jointly announcing the very first UFC film to be released on the lone high-def physical format (that anyone respects, anyway): ULTIMATE COMEBACKS. The film will contain over two hours of footage, with feature bouts including Pete Sell vs. Scott Smith, Alessio Sakara vs. Drew McFedries, Martin Kampmann vs. Drew McFedries and Renato Sobral vs. Jason Lambert (just to name a few). Heck, you'll even find 5.1-channel Dolby Digital surround sound bundled in as well. Look for this one to hit the streets on November 18th for $24.98 (MSRP), while UFC's THE BEST OF 2008 is on track for a March 2009 release.

[Thanks, Anthony]

UFC making Blu-ray Disc debut with ULTIMATE COMEBACKS originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 03 Nov 2008 09:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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30/10/2008 - Denon's DVD-3800BD Blu-ray player slips to December for UK enthusiasts

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Denon DVD-3800BD Blu-ray player
It's not like we think that a pricey high-end Blu-ray player is what's holding the format back right now (quite the opposite), but for the handful of lucky Brits out there waiting for the Denon DVD-3800BD, you've got another month to save up your £1600 ($2600). The 10-bit Realta-packing, 12-bit video DAC behemoth that promises to do high end justice to both your video and audio is now set for December availability in the UK, just in time for the holidays. And being the gift that keeps on giving, you can expect a firmware upgrade disc to boost you from Profile 1.1 to 2.0, too.

Engadget HDDenon's DVD-3800BD Blu-ray player slips to December for UK enthusiasts originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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30/10/2008 - The rumors of Blu-ray's death are greatly exaggerated

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Blu-ray logoJust like clockwork, whenever the world of digital downloads has some big news, many so called technologist start proclaiming the death of physical media; meanwhile, those who actually understand the business can't help but laugh. Those who proclaim the death of Blu-ray will one day feel as silly as those who proclaimed the death of VHS in the 90's because of the birth of VOD, because here we are over ten years later and JVC just now stopped producing stand-alone VHS decks and combo units still sell -- why, is beyond us though. The reality is that little shiny discs aren't going anywhere anytime soon, and because of the similarities between DVD and Blu-ray -- and CDs for that matter -- the possibility of Blu-ray becoming the next LaserDisc isn't likely. This is because unlike LD -- which was a very successful format by Hollywood's measure -- Blu-ray players will soon (12 to 18 months) push DVD players completely out of the market as the prices continue to diminish. While at the same time, most Blu-ray players play DVDs better than DVD players do. But regardless of DVD vs Blu-ray, what these technology pundits really mean is that the age of digital downloads is upon us and that physical media is dead. And while everyone knows that the death of physical media is inevitable, the time frame is really what's in question. We could just as easily make our own predictions, but instead of taking the risk of looking stupid, we'll quote Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix, who when asked if all the new streaming services would negatively affect its business, responded with "the typical streaming customer differed from the typical DVD subscriber; so comparing the two wouldn't make sense."

Engadget HDThe rumors of Blu-ray's death are greatly exaggerated originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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18/10/2008 - Nielsen VideoScan High-Def market share for week ending October 12th, 2008

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Once again Iron Man topped the Nielsen VideoScan charts courtesy of Home Media Magazine, but that is the most surprising news this week. Although Sleeping Beauty isn't exactly the quintessential example of a Blu-ray demographic title, we expected it to garner more than a nine percent of DVD's market share. For starters has mass appeal, but more importantly, the Blu-ray version included the DVD as well. Considering you got all that for about $10 more, it lead us to believe it'd sell better on Blu-ray then it did. Obviously the combination of getting both versions for a few dollars more wasn't as popular as many expected. We're not saying say Blu-ray had a bad week though, because the revenues for this week were only second to last week (all time). We do expect next week to be better though, because Kingdom of the Crystal Skull should sell pretty well. Sure, it won't sell anywhere near as well as Iron Man did its first week, but that isn't saying much though, as Iron Man is the current record holder. A record it will continue to hold until December 9th when the Dark Knight is released.

Continue reading Nielsen VideoScan High-Def market share for week ending October 12th, 2008

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16/10/2008 - Dreamworks (& Steven Spielberg) sign distribution deal with Universal

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Finally separate from Paramount, DreamWorks doesn't appear to have wasted any time inking a seven year distribution deal with Universal. While we shouldn't expect anything to change too drastically -- the deal kicks in next year, with the first Universal-distributed DreamWorks flicks likely hitting theaters in 2010, while Paramount hangs onto sequel and remake rights for films it's already distributed -- it does mark one change that could have an effect on the high definition landscape: the return of Steven Spielberg (quoted saying "Universal has always been my home base, so this agreement starts a new chapter in what has been a long and successful association") to Universal. After several Spielberg movies were erroneously listed as Coming Soon to HD DVD, we're still waiting for Jurassic Park, E.T. and Jaws on high definition discs. If they're not already in the works, lets hope someone (where is Michael Bay when we need him, since Jeffrey Katzenberg's never going to bring it up) thinks to mention this to Mr. Spielberg before the ink dries on the new deal.
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14/10/2008 - No Blu-ray For Macs - For Now

Steve Jobs quashed suggestions that Apple would upgrade its Mac OS X Leopard to allow Blu-ray because of the cost of licensing and drives.
Speaking at today’s today's notebook keynote, Jobs said: "Blu-ray is just a bag of hurt. I don't mean from the consumer point of view.

14/10/2008 - Hancock streaming home to BRAVIA HDTVs ahead of Blu-ray release for $9.99

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Tired of watching Amazon Video on Demand, Dailymotion and YouTube videos on your BRAVIA Internet Video Link? Coming through on its promise to send Hancock to Sony HDTV owners first, Sony Pictures is offering the flick (in 720p or 480p, depending on bandwidth) for $9.99 starting October 28 through November 10, and even throwing in a free Blu-ray copy after it's released November 24. We'll have to wait and see if the Hancock At-Home Premiere is a one of a kind promotion (note: the stream is "valued" at $29.99) or a regular benefit to owning a BRAVIA and accompanying $299 add-on, but we can't help thinking this would be alot more interesting if it were offered over the PlayStation Network.

[Via PR Newswire]
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13/10/2008 - Blu-ray For Macs?

An upgrade to the Mac OS X Leopard that would allow Blu-ray is one of the more interesting rumors circulating ahead of Tuesday’s Apple event.
Currently at 10.5.5, it could be that version 10.5.6 would allow Blu-ray discs to be handled without the need for third-party software add-ons, and would then allow Apple to add Blu-ray drives to its machines.

11/10/2008 - Nielsen VideoScan High-Def market share for week ending October 5th, 2008

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What a week for Blu-ray where -- according to Nielsen VideoScan data from Home Media Magazine -- revenues were an all time high and over twice as much as any other week, ever. Looking at the top twenty it's very apparent this was due all in part to Iron Man, which sold like 20 times more copies than any other release. Iron Man was also able to steal 17 percent of the sales from DVD, which is the highest we've seen from any other day-and-date non-boxset release, ever. This is a great start to the fourth quarter for Blu-ray and while next week has doesn't have any titles anywhere near as popular as Iron Man, it does have a wider array that will appeal to a broader audience. This combined with the historical tread that shows that home media sales are up during poor economic times, should make for a very Blu Christmas.


Continue reading Nielsen VideoScan High-Def market share for week ending October 5th, 2008

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09/10/2008 - Iron Man Blu-ray review roundup

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Considering that Iron Man is the best selling Blu-ray Disc of all time, it makes sense that there are countless reviews of it out on the web. If you've somehow held back from picking up a copy of your own, you'll be glad to know that pretty much everyone in existence agrees that this film rocks. The most noticeable positive was the absolutely outstanding video transfer, making this flick one you'll undoubtedly pull out when trying to wow your friends with your system's capabilities. Amazingly enough, critics on the whole were even more impressed with the audio, with TweakTown going so far as to say that the soundtrack " almost single-handedly justifies the cost of a home theater." The only real knock that we could find was that blacks fell a tad flat in a few scenes, but really, that's neither here nor there. The critics have spoken, and this is a must-own title for any BD fan.

Read - DailyGame
Read - HighDefDiscNews
Read - Film School Rejects
Read - TweakTown
Read - DVDTalk
Read - Monsters And Critics
Read - IGN
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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?

08/10/2008 - Iron Man's Blu-ray release manages 20 percent of DVD's market share

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Iron ManAt this point it seems that the only one not talking about how well Iron Man sold on Blu-ray is Paramount, as Adam's Research tells Video Business that the Blu-ray version of Iron Man managed to take 20 percent of the market share away from DVD. This number confirms our estimates that Blu-ray market share has doubled since HD DVD demise. The previous record holder, I Am Legend, that was released around the time HD DVD called it quits, only manged 9 percent. We have to say that this even exceeds our expectations though, and although there is no doubt that this title fits in the Blu-demographic, it once again is some indication that the future might just be Blu after all.
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07/10/2008 - Sanyo Laser Could Double Blu-ray Discs' Capacity

Sanyo has announced that it has developed a blue-violet semiconductor laser capable of outputting 450mW.
The company said this allows it to read and write data on discs with up to four data layers at speeds of 12X.

02/10/2008 - VUDU Offers HD Rentals That Rival Blu-ray

VUDU has launched a new video format that rivals Blu-ray.
Called HDX, it delivers full 1080p at 24 fps to screens 40 inches and up via web distribution using VUDU’s TruFilm compression technology.

02/10/2008 - Disney brings home Circlevision 360 on The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Blu-ray disc

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Save yourself a trip to Epcot Center, Circlevision 360 is coming home on the new The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Blu-ray disc. Using Blu-ray Java in place of a circular nine-screen projector setup, viewers can look around a 360-degree set and call up video and text highlights on specific angles. American Journeys and O Canada O Canada might never come to the home theater but that shouldn't stop you from enjoying the best in 1960's Disney technology from the comfort of your living room.

[Image Courtesy of Walt Dated World]
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01/10/2008 - Sigma Designs unveils its latest SOC for Blu-ray players

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Sigma SMP8644 demo
Although you may not have heard of Sigma Designs, if you own any High-def gear, some it probably uses a Sigma chip for the heavy lifting. At CEATEC this week Sigma was showing off its SMP8644 SOC which promises to make the next generation of Blu-ray players load discs faster and perform better when rendering all that BD-J interactive content. And although it wasn't mentioned, we'd be willing to bet that the new chip can do all of this while at the same being cheaper then its older brothers.
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30/09/2008 - Dark Knight To Be Warner Bros' First BD-Live Release

The Dark Knight is likely to be the biggest Blu-ray release of the year – if not ever.
So it’s appropriate that Warner Bros has decided to make the Batman tale its first BD-Live capable release.

30/09/2008 - Blu-ray releases on September 30th 2008

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We are finally getting our first Summer blockbuster in time for the holiday season, after some rumors of delays, as Iron Man is set to hit the shelves tomorrow. This is the first title to be released in some time that is expected to once again raise the Blu-ray bar and be the best selling titles to date. But this isn't the only news this week, for starters Discovery has its latest title, When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions, which we expect to sell well, but nowhere near what Planet Earth did. Universal has a decent slate as it has a few catchup titles HD DVD and DVD fans have been enjoying for some time like Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Halloween is very obviously right around the corner as all the horror flicks are being released in droves this week, like the famous Dawn of the Dead and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Another catalog we look forward to enjoying for the first time all over again is The Sixth Sense. Noticeably absent from the list this week is two Olympic titles like the Opening Ceremonies and a Michael Phelps special, that are only available on DVD. Looking forward, next week is the first time Disney is going into the vault and releasing a classic on Blu-ray with Sleeping Beauty, and there are a bunch more horror movies on the schedule as well.

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29/09/2008 - "Better-Then-Blu-ray" Movies For Select SIM2 Few

SIM2 has teamed up with the US's Entertainment Experience, LLC to offer just-released movie blockbusters as part of a better-than-blu high-def home-cinema package.
hdtv.biz-news.com spoke to the high-performance HD projector specialists to find out why they've launched what appears to be yet another HD format when the public is still wavering about Blu-ray.

23/09/2008 - General Electric To Make Premium HDTVs

After a 20-year gap, General Electric is returning to television-set making in partnership with a Taiwanese company to launch high definition TV sets.
Among the joint venture’s various intentions are plans to produce a Blu-ray Disc player with BD-Live capability.

19/09/2008 - VOD Will Reach Blu-ray Quality - And Beyond


The Blu-ray Disc Association doesn’t take kindly to satellite and cable providers claiming their products deliver high definition picture and sound “equal” to that delivered by Blu-ray Disc.
hdtv.biz-news.com spoke to video compression provider ATEME about its plans to deliver video of Blu-ray quality and beyond

19/09/2008 - Struggling Toshiba looks for help from LCDs, not Blu-ray

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As with scads of other mega-corps attempting to keep their chins up while the global economy decides what it wants to do, Toshiba has announced that it is now forecasting a $468 million net loss in the first half of 2008. Interestingly, it's being reported that the firm is looking to its LCD HDTVs for growth as its chip business struggles, with plans to grab over 10% of the worldwide LCD TV market by 2011. For whatever reason, the outfit is still refusing to play ball with the lone remaining high-definition movie format, with Corporate Senior Vice President Yoshihide Fujii proclaiming that it has "no intention of adopting Blu-ray for [its] DVD players and recorders." Quite honestly, Tosh's refusal to go Blu is beyond the point of comic relief -- now, it's just downright perplexing.

Read - Toshiba dips into the red
Read - Toshiba counts on LCD TV growth
Read - Toshiba again refuses to go Blu
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14/09/2008 - Toshiba's XD-E500 upconverting DVD player caught in stores

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We'll apologize on our tipster's behalf for the quality of this shot, but evidently, he wasn't able to pass it through Toshiba's completely mind-boggling XDE upscaling technology before forwarding it onto us. Anyway, we reckon you can get the point -- the XD-E500 upconverting DVD player is filtering into stores, so those looking to make their current DVD collection look its best should probably take notice. Or not, whatever.

[Thanks, Philip]
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13/09/2008 - Blu-ray Discs popping up in Red Box rental kiosks

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DVDPlay already announced its intentions to start stuffing Blu-ray Discs into its movie rental kiosks earlier this year, and we've been waiting ever since to hear a similar announcement from rival Red Box. Today, we're still waiting for said announcement, but we've received a report from the wonderfully named Aloha, Oregon that at least one Red Box movie rental kiosk has a Coming Soon flyer for Speed Racer on BD. When our tipster contacted Red Box concerning the discovery, the representative did affirm that if Blu-ray was shown, Blu-ray was on the way, though we aren't sure if they'll cost more than the $1 DVD rentals. Keep an eye out at your local kiosk and let us know if you see the same.

[Image courtesy of CashCrater, thanks Mike]
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11/09/2008 - Blu-ray disc or three hour HD download?

Much has been made of the role the high cost of Blu-ray Discs has played in hampering the high def format's uptake.
Yet if reports from Engadget are borne out, VUDU is shortly to offer HD downloads " equal in quality to Blu-ray movies"

05/09/2008 - Integra quietly launches DBS-6.9 Blu-ray player at CEDIA: hands-on

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If you'll recall, Integra surprised at last year's CEDIA by trotting out its DHS-8.8 HD DVD player; this year, the company has quietly (silently, in fact) released its plainly styled DBS-6.9 Blu-ray deck. While the design may not suit your fancy, it's far from being the ugliest BD player at the Expo, and reportedly, the Profile 1.1 unit will retail for a buck under $600 whenever it decides to ship. We can already tell you're uninterested based on the price alone, but feel free to peruse the gallery if you're hungry for pics.

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05/09/2008 - Hands-on: Sony shows off prototype 400-disc Blu-ray Mega Changer

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Once again, Sony's booth was front and center upon entering the CEDIA floor, and while most everything there was as advertised, this one particular unit stuck out. Yeah, maybe it just caught out eye because it's around the size of a small refrigerator, but upon speaking with a company representative, we learned that it's actually a 400-disc Blu-ray Mega Changer. The unit on hand was simply there for demonstrative purposes, but Sony intends to launch the BD-Live-capable, RS-232 port-packin' beast in early 2009. There's no word on whether it will ever interface with HTPCs, but we wouldn't count on it. Tap the gallery for a closer look.

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02/09/2008 - Criterion Blu-ray debut delayed until November

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Criterion's firmed up its release plans, backing off the initial October projections and announcing the first five flicks to get the C stamped on their Blu-ray case. Included are three classics already out on Criterion DVD due November 18 - The Man Who Fell to Earth, The Third Man and The Last Emperor. The following week Bottle Rocket and Chungking Express hit day and date with their DVD counterparts, all for the promised MSRP of $39.95 (tagged $31.96 in the Criterion store.) Original aspect ratios, BD-50 dual layer discs and the company's usual care and attention to detail, of course, are part of the package, the only question is whether you can wait one more long month.
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01/09/2008 - How Do You Turn a PS3 Owner Onto Blu-ray? With a Remote

Reports on Blu-ray’s progress – and difficulties – on the road to becoming the mass-market video format are legion.
Monica Juniel, vice president of international marketing for Warner Home Video, added an interesting statistic into the mix during her presentation at IFA 2008 in Berlin last week.

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.

28/08/2008 - JVC's NX-BD3 system enters the Blu-ray HTIB arena

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JVC NX-BD3 Blu-ray HTIB
The appearance of Blu-ray HTIB systems under a number of brands is an encouraging sign that the format is at least trying to move into the mainstream living room, and now JVC's thrown its hat into the ring with the 2.1-channel NX-BD3. Of course, simply pulling bits off of Blu-ray discs isn't enough entertainment value these days, so the system also sports DLNA support, a 200-Watt powered sub and a 4x55-Watt amplifier (leaving you two channels to grow into). At £799 ($1,465) for a 2.1-channel setup, you might expect to get the latest and greatest in Blu-ray tech, but Profile 2.0, DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD didn't make the cut -- let's hope some sort of "market adjustment" happens between the time this appears next month and when it crosses the pond.

[Via Electronista]
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27/08/2008 - Full HD broadcasting claims mislead consumers

Satellite and cable providers on both sides of the Atlantic have recently claimed they are offering full HD - or 1080p - programming.
The Blu-ray Disc Association is objecting to these claims of equality, suggesting the comparisons are irresponsible and misleading, and says it will take “appropriate action”.

25/08/2008 - Panasonic intros DMR-BR360V Blu-ray / VHS combo player

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Blu-ray and VHS together at last -- so crazy it just might work? Probably not, but if you're still clinging to a library of tapes and haven't been able to bring yourself to upgrade or transfer them to a more 21st century-friendly format, you'll no doubt be happy to know that Panasonic has now introduced the combo player of your dreams -- in Japan, at least. For maximum combo-ness, the DMR-BR30V also boasts a 320GB hard rive to boost your recording options, along with both digital and analog TV tuners, a USB port, and an SD card slot. For those ready to make a clean break with their past, Panasonic also has three VHS-less models with hard drives of various sizes, each of which are also apparently exclusive to Japan for now. Just don't expect any of them to come cheap, as the DMR-BR360V leads the way with a price tag of ¥160,000, or just about $1,500.

[Via OhGizmo!]
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22/08/2008 - Razor Digital reveals new line of Blu-ray documentaries

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We'd say Discovery still has the whole "pretty Blu-ray" thing all wrapped up, but Razor Digital's looking to get a piece of the pie with its latest lineup of Blu-ray documentaries. By teaming with MagicPlay, the outfit has re-mastered a number of pieces originally shot on 70-millimeter film and released in IMAX in order to wow consumers in their own homes. The new flicks include Bears, Wolves, Ocean Oasis, Great North, Guge: The Lost Kingdom of Tibet and Emperor of the Seas. Best of all, they each retail for under $24.99, so fetching some new showcase material won't completely shatter the bank.
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20/08/2008 - PC disc drives to boost Blu-ray growth

Blu-ray Disc drives installed on PCs are expected to help “convert” more consumers to the format, with growth forecast at 117 per cent annually through 2013.
According to the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a report from IMS Research shows that non-broadcast HD video households are expected to increase 90 per cent annually through 2013, reaching 38 million homes worldwide.

20/08/2008 - Firefly 3-disc Blu-ray set coming November 11

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That sound you just heard was millions of Browncoats exhaling, because the Firefly Blu-ray boxed set hinted at back in April is finally nearing release. All those still reading and not already frantically preordering the $89.98 MSRP set or repaying their oxygen debt have quite a bit to look forward to. Due November 11, Fox is bringing Joss Whedon's series home complete with new-for-Blu-ray commentary and cast reunion featurette to go with the 1080p video (in correct 1.78 aspect ratio) and DTS-HD MA soundtrack. So now that it has a date, what do we do? Probably not talk quite so much.
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18/08/2008 - Microsoft claims first with native Blu-ray support

Microsoft has announced that it is the first operating system developer to more completely incorporate Blu-ray support into its platform, with the addition of the Windows Feature Pack for Storage.
This will allow Windows XP, Vista, Server 2003 and Server 2008 users to burn Blu-ray discs directly from the OS without the need for usually expensive third party applications.

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.

15/08/2008 - Netflix shipping woes fixed, rentals flowing freely again

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Stellar news, Netflix users -- those shipping issues that have been plaguing certain customers for a few days now are finally fixed. Currently, the company is still investigating the root cause as it attempts to ensure such a problem doesn't crop up again, but for those who've been adversely affected this week, you can look forward to a bit of compensation. No, we're talking a personalized "I'm sorry" letter in the mail, but existing users will get 15% off their next bill and folks within their trial period will get another week on the house. Party on, dudes and dudettes!

[Image courtesy of Homotron]
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15/08/2008 - Funai announce LCD TVs with built in Blu-ray


Funai is to launch an LCD TV with an integrated Blu-ray player in a move that is certain to widen the appeal of the format with consumers.
Sony recently said that it plans to put Blu-ray into a variety of CE products.

15/08/2008 - Paramount to offer $10 rebate for select Blu-ray Disc upgrades

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Who knows, maybe this holiday season will be a decent time to stock up on Blu-ray Discs. Exactly one month after hearing that Warner would be lowering the BD price bar this winter on a slew of its titles, in comes word that Paramount Home Video is preparing a promotion of its own. Reportedly, the studio will be offering movie collectors a $10 rebate when they upgrade select DreamWorks and Paramount DVDs to Blu-ray Discs. Blu-ray copies of Transformers, The Godfather, Old School, Stardust, Sweeney Todd and Zodiac will be eligible for the rebate, with the purchase having to be made by December 31st, 2009. For all the fine print (there's not too much), the read link has you covered.

[Via CDFreaks]
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15/08/2008 - Netflix shipping systems act a fool -- have you been delayed?

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We fully understand that we're a few days late in posting this up, but seriously, we figured Netflix would fix whatever's been ailing its shipping system well before now. Days after we heard the first reports of users getting an atypical warning when viewing their queue alerting them of possible shipment delays, tips are still flowing in from frustrated users. The message asserts that the company is "still experiencing issues with its shipping systems," though it gives no estimated time for a fix to be implemented. Have you been bitten by the Netflix delay bug? Have your titles continued without so much as a hiccup? Let us know in comments below.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
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11/08/2008 - Hitachi reveals Blu-ray / HDD / SDHC DZ-BD10HA high-def camcorder

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Far from being the first Blu-ray hybrid camcorder from Hitachi, the DZ-BD10HA ups the ante even further by tossing in a third format. Yep, this Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) camcorder can record to BD, SDHC or the 30GB hard drive. Additionally, you'll find a 7-megapixel CMOS sensor, push-of-a-button dubbing from HDD / SDHC to Blu-ray, a host of editing functions, a transcoding feature to transfer HD videos to vanilla DVDs, face detection and optical image stabilization for good measure. The pain? $999 when it lands in North America next month.
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08/08/2008 - Comcast mulling Blu-ray purchases after VOD fun is over?

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Not that a survey necessarily assures us that this will happen, but Comcast is at least thinking about offering its subscribers the option of buying a DVD or Blu-ray (HD DVD is mentioned, though we're hoping its an egregious oversight) once a video-on-demand movie is finished. No specific prices look to be hammered out just yet, but the questions revolved around how many discs users would buy at given price points or how many they'd buy if the cost of the VOD rental was discounted. Interestingly enough, rival Cablevision has been doing this with new release DVDs since February, though we're not sure if Comcast would be looking to Popcorn DVDs On Demand for its iteration of the service. Even if this does launch, would any of you buy your flicks in this manner?

[Thanks, Nathan]
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05/08/2008 - Sony unveils trio of BRAVIA HTIB systems

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We'd already been formally introduced to Sony's HT-IS100 HTIB, but it -- along with the DVD-based 5.1-channel DAV-IS50 and the HDD-infused HTD-890IS -- have just been made official over in Europe. The low(er)-end DAV-IS50 arrives with 450-watts of amplification, a slot-loading DVD / CD / MP3 Disc player with 1080p upscaling, built-in AM / FM radio, wireless rear speakers and Sony's own BRAVIA Sync. The HTD-890IS spices things up with a 160GB hard drive, digital / analog TV tuners, a Digital Media Port, support for wireless rear speakers, two USB sockets and one-touch dubbing from camcorders or the HDD to blank DVD media. Mum's the word on pricing, but don't plan on any of the sets being a runaway bargain.

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31/07/2008 - First Blu-ray Disc player with streaming movies

LG Electronics and Netflix are to launch the first Blu-ray Disc player that will have the ability to instantly stream movies and TV episodes from Netflix directly to the TV.
The LG BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player, which is to be launched in the autumn, will play high definition Blu-ray discs and up-convert standard DVDs to 1080p.

29/07/2008 - Forbes tells the inside story of how the format war was won

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Blu-ray vs HD DVDIn a recent Forbes article about the big turn around at Sony, we found the the moves it took to ensure Blu-ray would win, to be the most interesting. According to the article, the Paramount move (understandably) had the BDA scrambling, which was evidently enough of a stressor to motivate all the divisions of Sony to work together towards a common goal. Among other things, the gaming division drop the price of the PS3 and the movie studio had to give away Blu-ray movies with the PS3. Overall there's nothing new in the article if you've been following it all along, but asside from a few obvious mistakes -- Blue-ray and HD-DVD Forbes, really? -- it is interesting to get an inside perspective to the series of events that will always hold a special place in our gadget lives.
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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.

26/07/2008 - Netflix CEO says Blu-ray premiums coming "very soon"

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Netflix taketh away, and Netflix giveth. Netflix is about to taketh once more (this time from your wallet), with CEO Reed Hastings noting on a recent conference call that the promised Blu-ray premium would be instituted "very shortly." Specifics weren't mentioned, but we are hearing that the new pricing will be applied across its entire subscriber base "based on how the tests go." Hastings did note that BD rentals still make up a "very low" percentage of rentals, but of course, that will obviously change as time progresses. Any guesses as to how much said "premium" will be?

[Image courtesy of WorkItMom, thanks Dan]
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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.

25/07/2008 - The Ultimate Matrix Collection to make Blu-ray debut on October 14th

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We've already Windexed our spectacles and hit refresh a time or two, and yes, The Matrix is finally -- finally! -- headed to Blu-ray. We've wondered when we'd see this go down for what seems like eons, but thanks to new data (including box art) over at DVD Active, Warner Home Video will finally loose The Ultimate Matrix Collection on BD on October 14th. The $129.95 set will include seven discs, though we're not certain what extras will surround the films themselves just yet. Start saving those pennies, you know you'll want this one.

[Thanks, Alex]
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24/07/2008 - Hitachi's new DZ-BD10H camcorder pairs Blu-ray with a 30GB HDD

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We're not saying it can't be done, but you should have some considerable trouble managing to run out of room for your expertly-shot, highly-narrative vacation antics with Hitachi's new DZ-BD10H camcorder, which records 1080p HD video to Blu-ray discs or to its built-in 30GB hard drive. There's even an SD slot, which we aren't positive you can record video to, but it's a fair guess. Other specs include a 2.7-inch LCD and a 10x optical zoom. Price should be around $1,500 when it hits Japan on August 9, but no solid word on a US berth just yet.
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23/07/2008 - Japan warming to Blu-ray, sales break six-figures in June

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With royalty fees just around the bend for Blu-ray recorders in Japan, it seems as if locals are snapping up units left and right before the taxation is enacted. For the first time in a single month, shipments of recorders and players based on Blu-ray Disc broke the six-figure mark in June 2008 with 122,000 units. That's coming from data reported by the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA), which shows a notable increase from the 82,000 units shipped in May. Analysts are expecting the numbers to rise further in the coming months, as the Beijing Olympics draw near and many Japanese citizens spend their mid-year bonus on high-def wares. Still, it's not like folks in Japan are getting any stellar deals; the cheapest BD deck there is Sharp's BD-AV1, which still demands around ¥44,800 ($420). Just imagine those sales figures if there were a few reasonably priced players to choose from.

[Image courtesy of DayLife]
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22/07/2008 - Industry professionals chime in with preferred demo material

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Okay, so there are a few titles out there on Blu-ray, DVD and / or CD that simply shine. Those are undoubtedly the ones you bring out when looking to wow onlookers who are checking out your setup for the first time. But wouldn't you like to know which titles industry professionals use to seal deals and land clients? Thanks to a feature over at CE Pro, now you can. Bigwigs from SpeakerCraft, Richard Gray's Power Company and the Imaging Science Foundation were questioned about their favorite source material, and just to name a few, Cars, Casino Royale, The Fifth Element (the remastered version, obviously), Vertical Limit and Contact (DVD) made the cut. Hit up the read link for the full list.
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17/07/2008 - New chip will lead to cheaper Blu-ray players

NEC is banking on the world’s first chip that combines signal processors with memory that controls graphics, audio and other functions to double its sales of Blu-ray hardware in the next two years.
The company expects the EMMA3PF chip to raise its revenue from Blu-ray products to US$378 million in the year ending March 2011.
NEC plans to increase its share of Blu-ray products by offering deep price cuts, which other companies have started and are necessary for the market to grow.

16/07/2008 - "Best way to buy a Blu-ray player" isn't getting cheaper

Sony’s Play Station 3, with its integrated Blu-ray disc (BD) player, has given many millions of consumers their first taste of the high definition format.
But hopes that the makers of the video game console would give Blu-ray a further boost have been dashed by Sony Chairman Howard Stringer.
The Sony chief claims Microsoft’s decision to cut the price of its Xbox 360 by US$50 is evidence that it’s falling behind the PS3 in overall sales.

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.

15/07/2008 - Warner set to lower Blu-ray Disc prices for the holidays

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Not that it's really any surprise, but one particular studio is taking a stand and looking to lower Blu-ray Disc prices. In an effort that's far too late (but quite welcome) by our estimations, Warner Home Video will reportedly be launching an initiative in Q4 2008 that will "essentially enable retailers to order participating catalog titles for around $11." For the consumer, this means you can look forward to seeing older titles like The Fugitive, Enter the Dragon, Clockwork Orange, The Shining, The Aviator, Road Warrior and Swordfish with price tags much lower than the traditional $20 to $25. Newer releases won't be promoted quite as heavily, but prices on those are still expected to be lower than what we've been seeing. Now, if all the other firms would follow suit (and BD player manufacturers would get those sub-$200 decks on shelves), we'd be all set.
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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.

08/07/2008 - Blu-ray step away from being HD format for China

China is now a step away from adopting the Blu-ray Disc format, which, when it happens could be the spark that leads to the global rise of Blu-ray.
First, the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) has announced that DigiRise Audio (DRA), a locally-developed Chinese audio codec, has passed an important technical evaluation, and is now on its way to being adopted into the format.
Then it was announced that CESI Technology Co. Ltd, a contributor member of the BDA, has been designated as the first official Blu-ray Disc Test Centre in China.

08/07/2008 - Singulus Blu-ray duplicator sales beat predictions

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Singulus has announced that even its "significantly" raised sales projections for Blu-ray duplication machines may have been to low, after exceeding its own sales forecast for the first half of the year, while predicting more orders coming soon. The manufacturer is aiming to take over 65 percent of the market, and already sold 31 production lines this year. Nearly three years after launch that number doesn't seem incredibly high, but if Singulus is happy, who are we to stand in the way?
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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.

04/07/2008 - Panasonic DMP-BD30K Blu-ray player goes under the knife

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FormatWarCentral dissects Panasonic DMP-BD30K Blu-ray player
Our good friends at FormatWarCentral has kicked off a new Blu-ray player undressing series with the recently-updated Panasonic DMP-BD30K. Not a lot of big surprises behind the sheet metal kimono -- there's a lot of air inside the chassis. Click on through for photos of the sparsely populated circuit boards, which are a pretty good indication that the engineering and design of these Profile 1.1 players are pretty mature. All that empty space also bodes well for some price-cutting possibilities, we hope. Of course, the real excitement will come as more players go through the FormatWarCentral lab -- rebadgers/rebranders, beware!

[Image courtesy FormatWarCentral]
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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”.

01/07/2008 - Onkyo to ship first Blu-ray player in late 2008

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In case you needed something stamped from Onkyo itself in order to believe that a Blu-ray player was on the way, here's your sign. Said outfit has just announced that a currently unnamed BD player (its first, in fact) will hit the "international" market in late 2008. Unfortunately, details beyond that are scant, as all we're told is that it'll play nice with Onkyo's AV receivers, pack an HDMI port and decode Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio formats. Additionally, we aren't notified of whether Onkyo has any plans of bringing the elusive deck stateside, and we haven't a clue about pricing. But hey, you can go ahead and circle all of Q4 to be on the lookout.

[Via Electronic House]
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01/07/2008 - Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy on Blu-ray September 16th

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It's quite possible that you're not really taking a long, hard look at what's coming up in September, but for those acutely aware of what's taking place, you can easily see that said month will be a total drain on the wallet. Shortly after hearing that masterpieces such as The Godfather trilogy, Kill Bill 1 & 2 and Transformers (okay, so maybe the latter hasn't reached masterpiece status just yet) would be hitting in September, now we've got the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy arriving as well. On September 16th, fans of Mr. Depp and Mr. Sparrow alike will have the opportunity to acquire the six-disc set for $82.99, which will include a 1080p presentation of the features and the same supplements found on each of the individually released discs. Just to clarify, what you're seeing here is a repackaging of the titles already out there, so folks who have already snagged all three individually won't find anything new in this.
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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.

27/06/2008 - Weinstein to finally go Blu in August with The Mist

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The MistTheWeinstein Company is the big studio that everyone seems to forget. Back when HD DVD vs Blu-ray was really cranking, it was common to create tables listing which studios were on what side, and somehow despite a pretty good selection of movies, everyone always forgot about Weinstein. Weinstein started out all Red all the time, but later its titles went MIA from the HD media world completely, which has left many wondering how long it would take before every major studio was releasing titles on Blu-ray. Now with less than thirty days to go until Universal goes Blu, we've learned that on August 5th, when The Mist is released, HD fans everywhere should finally have access to movies from every major studio in Hollywood for the first time ever.
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26/06/2008 - First region free Blu-ray players available

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Look no further for the follow-up to last year's multi-region Blu-ray players, with Bluraymods.com advertising a completely region free Panasonic DMP-BD30, available in either pre-modified or DIY kit formats. That's all 6 DVD regions and three Blu-ray regions for those keeping count, and it claims to still work with any firmware updates. The good news for import lovers is a price of €499, considerably less than previous hardware, or €69 for a mod kit. We're still not sure how well this will play with future DRM updates, but taking the leap appears to be getting cheaper and more convenient.
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25/06/2008 - Sony unloads two new VGX-TP1 media center PCs

The tried-and-true circle PC is back, this time with even more potent hardware under the hood to keep your media churnin'. First up is the VGX-TP1D, which features a white motif, 2.1GHz Core 2 Duo T8100 processor, 2GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, GeForce 8400M GT graphics card, integrated WiFi, a dual-layer DVD writer and HDMI / VGA outs. The black VGX-TP1DQ / B steps it up by including a 500GB hard drive and a Blu-ray burner to boot. Both units also boast four USB 2.0 ports, 4-pin FireWire, a multicard reader, TV tuner and a wireless keyboard. Look for each to land in just over a fortnight (in Japan) for ¥150,000 ($1,392) / ¥200,000 ($1,856), respectively.

[Via AkihabaraNews]
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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.

24/06/2008 - Samsung launches Blu-ray resource center

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Samsung's been pretty good about keeping its HDM players up to date with the latest protocols, and now it's launching a dedicated site to keep prospective consumers and current owners alike informed about the Blu-ray format. The aptly-titled Blu-ray resource center is split into two sides, one of which includes topics for existing BD addicts and one with information for those "looking to buy Blu-ray." Interestingly, the forum packs some pretty noteworthy questions, with the latest explaining how upconverted DVD just isn't as good as bona fide Blu-ray. Head on over and swallow some knowledge -- just be sure to watch for falling propaganda.
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23/06/2008 - Savor the carnival atmosphere of Cirque Du Sole as Blu-ray brings the excitement of the big top into your living room
Sony Pictures has announced that it is bringing one of the world famous Cirque Du Soleil’s performances to Blu-ray later this year.
“Cirque Du Soleil: Corteo”, by the celebrated troupe that has thrilled audiences on five continents, is due to be released on September 2nd.
Sony said disk would capture all the magic of the performance in stunning high definition. No specs or special features have been announced at this time.
The move is the latest digital venture by the circus, which has been seen by close to 80 million spectators in over 200 cities.

18/06/2008 - Japanese government to levy royalty fees on BD-Rs / Blu-ray recorders

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We just can't see this one going over well. Reportedly, Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry and the Education, Science and Technology Ministry have jointly decided to administer royalty fees on all blank Blu-ray Discs (BD-R / BD-RE) and Blu-ray recorders. According to the entities, such a system is necessary to "compensate copyright holders for the increase in copying by individuals due to the development of new digital technologies." It was also noted that there was some disagreement on whether all HDD-based recorders should be taxed (not to mention those oh-so-innocent portable media players), and further "discussions" could make the fees applicable to even more hardware. Tax everyone for the actions of a few -- sounds like a totally infallible plan, no?
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18/06/2008 - Kill Bill Volumes 1 and 2 headed to Blu-ray on September 9th

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Better start saving those pennies folks, because September is apt to drain your wallet dry. Not only do we have Transformers launching in Blu-ray format on September 2nd, but we now know that both volumes of Kill Bill will be arriving in Blu cases a week later. According to an insider with access to Disney's retailer website, both flicks will be available on September 9th, and Amazon already has place-holders up for the both of 'em. Can anyone say "must buy?"

[Via Audio/Video Revolution]
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17/06/2008 - Blu-ray Only to release classics on BD for under $12

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Back in the day, Toshiba was actually looking to spark up some sort of price war by snipping a couple dollars from the MSRP of HD DVDs. Now that Blu-ray is standing alone, however, it looks as if a startup distributor will be the one to finally shake some low-cost Blu-ray titles out. Reportedly, Blu-ray Only is gearing up to launch a line of BD flicks this August which will sell for around $11.98 apiece, and the first two titles will be The Last Time I Saw Paris and Beat The Devil. Granted, we aren't certain that each release will be under $12, and we aren't sure if each title will be a classic, but we are told that the firm won't be busting out any high-dollar discs. We'll be keeping an ear to the ground for future developments, as we certainly like the sound of things thus far.

[Thanks, xdragon]
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13/06/2008 - Sony DADC to expand Indiana Blu-ray manufacturing plant

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Terre Haute, Indiana is home to Sony's only Blu-ray Disc manufacturing facility in the entire United States, and while just north of 1,100 people are employed there now, another 85 will soon be joining the staff as finalized expansion plans are hammered down. The $113 million effort will add to its nearly 1 million-square-foot facility, though we aren't given specifics regarding how many more discs the plant will soon crank out. We hear you can even wear funny masks there, though.
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13/06/2008 - Universal's first Blu-ray Disc cover revealed

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It won't be long now, folks. July 22nd is just around the corner, and now, you won't even have to wonder what The Mummy Returns cover art will look like. This first shot of the box sees Universal's logo shrunk down and slapped on the spine, while "The Perfect Hi-Def Movie Experience" will presumably be pasted on every single BD release from the studio. Riveting, no?
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12/06/2008 - Wireless high definition transmitter removes clutter of cables

Monster Cable has unveiled a transmitter that wirelessly sends HD video signals from a device such as a Blu-ray player to a high definition TV up to 10m away.
The transmitter sends the video signal using ultra-wideband, or UWB, technology from Sigma Designs Inc.
It will also upscale non-HD signals to high-def resolution before displaying on screen. A receiver plugs into a HDMI port on the back of the TV.
To back up the short-range wireless capability, the boxes can also connect via coaxial cable to reach each other in different rooms, up to 110m away.

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.

12/06/2008 - Netflix tidbits: DVD business could peak in a decade, Mac streaming on the way

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Given Netflix's blatant plunge into the world of online content delivery, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the outfit's execs understand that physical media is at risk. Sure, DVD rentals far outnumber online rentals today, but Netflix is assuming that its DVD business could peak in around five to ten years. In a brief interview this week, CEO Reed Hastings told investors that "everybody peaks sometime," but he did note that Blu-ray was apt to make the "DVD ecosystem stronger." Even though the company is definitively moving at least some of its attention to online streaming, it's still quite aways from delivering a "standalone streaming service." On a slightly different note, we also learned that Intel-based Macs would be able to tap into the firm's "Watch Now" service "later this year," but unfortunately, it didn't get any more specific than that.

[Image courtesy of ANPark]
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12/06/2008 - Paramount launches Blu-ray support site

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Paramount's Blu-ray support site
Now that the Paramount is back onboard the Blu-ray train, it's going above and beyond in its efforts to fuel the format by creating a Blu-ray support website. Insert the joke of your choice about "life support" being more accurate; we still think Blu-ray is coming along fine. Paramount's new website will, naturally, promote the studios releases (complete with links straight to corresponding pages on Amazon), but also adds bits like new player announcements. A big chunk of the page is set aside for a "Coming Soon" Flash player, so expect to see some content poured in there, well, "soon." Given the growing pains Blu-ray is experiencing, we'd choose to remove the non-functional Flash player, but overall we applaud Paramount's effort. And yes, title announcements will buy a lot of forgiveness in our book as well!

[Thanks, Dave C.]
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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.

11/06/2008 - Warner Bros. to trim theatrical slate, focus on Blu-ray / VOD

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Although it was tough to see then, the writing has been on the wall in hindsight. After Warner Bros. absorbed New Line Pictures, characterizing it as a "redundant infrastructure," it's now looking to focus less on cranking out blockbuster theatrical releases and more on pushing Blu-ray / VOD adoption. Jeff Bewkes, president and CEO of Time Warner Inc., has noted that the studio will trim its theatrical slate in half from two years ago, as it hopes to garner more profits by simply "building wider consumer adoption of Blu-ray" and expanding day-and-date VOD releases. Even more interesting was Bewkes assertion that the "expansion of Blu-ray, VOD and related improvements in electronic distribution by moving away from physical DVD would help grow filmed entertainment." After looking at a few motion picture budgets, it's pretty easy to see why distribution looks so delicious. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

[Thanks, xdragon]
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06/06/2008 - Sony's PlayStation 3 gets re-reviewed: Blu-ray abilities smiled upon

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It may be tough to remember back, but when Sony's PlayStation 3 launched well above the price of its two rivals, many were immediately turned off. Reviewers everywhere panned the system for being too pricey, forcing Blu-ray upon the unsuspecting public, and being quite limited in home theater applications. Fast forward to today, and everything has changed. BD is the sole next-gen format, Sony has slashed the price, and its internal components have enabled it to keep up with the Profile changes while standalone decks get left in the proverbial dust. The folks over at AnandTech took the time to sit back down with the PS3 now that the tables have turned, and unsurprisingly, they found a lot more to like this 'go round. For HD aficionados in particular, the console is simply hard to ignore, as it still stands as the "most affordable fully-featured HD disc player on the market." Check out the full re-review below to see if Sony's latest console really is your best bet.

[Via BLORGE]
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06/06/2008 - All four Jack Ryan movies will go Blu on July 29th

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The Hunt for Red October
There are some times in our life when being wrong is awesome, and when we told you last week that only two of the Jack Ryan movies would be available on Blu, it was one of those times. Usually the first movie in a franchise is the best, and that is true in this case with The Hunt for Red October, which will be available in HD along with Clear and Present Danger at the end of July. We are however concerned that no details have been announced yet, as this title has seen its fair share of issues and we'd feel much better if Paramount gave us reason to believe all the issues were ironed out.
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06/06/2008 - SonyNEC Optiarc projects sub-$100 Blu-ray optical drives by year's end

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If you'll recall, SonyNEC Optiarc was the same company that suggested BD prices would be halved by 2008 from what they were in late 2006, and while stickers are still relatively high on standalone decks, the prediction actually wasn't too far off. A new report from Tom's Hardware notes that the aforementioned outfit is expecting Blu-ray combo drives "to reach the $100 line before the holiday season." For around $50 more, it reckons you'll have access to slim-line notebook drives that handle the same duties. Granted, there's no real confirmation surrounding the assertions, and we'll be the first to blindly hope such wishful thinking comes true, but we'd say BD prices in general have a whole lot of falling to do in six short months for this one to even stand a chance.

[Via TechDigest]
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05/06/2008 - CyberLink's latest PowerDVD update smooths Blu-ray playback

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We can't imagine Nick is the only one out there who struggled with getting PowerDVD to handle Blu-ray Discs correctly, so if you've been letting said application collect digital dust while longing for it to function as advertised, take note. CyberLink has just shot out the latest update to the program, and according to our resident tipster, it's a game-changer. It enables hardware acceleration for H.264 encoding, enhances disc load time, reduces memory consumption and makes playback a good bit smoother overall. For PowerDVD 8 Ultra users, this one seems like a surefire download. Hit the read link to get it on!

[Thanks, Nick]
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04/06/2008 - Wal-Mart throws in $100 gift card with Blu-ray player purchase

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Given that $100 at Wal-mart is essentially as good as cash, we can only imagine how titillating this offer may seem for Blu-ray holdouts. Announced today, the mega-retailer will be offering a $100 gift card with the purchase of any Blu-ray player from June 8th through 14th -- and yes, Sony's PlayStation 3 is included. In case this wasn't enough to maybe-possibly get the general public to actually pay attention to the format, Wally World will also sell "select" BD titles for $15 starting on the 8th. Since the format war ended earlier this year, we've seen report after report proclaiming that Blu-ray adoption just wasn't taking off here in America, but with a theoretical net price now close to $200 (albeit for a few days only), we can certainly see the masses taking notice at long last.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
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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.

01/06/2008 - Australian market first to get recordable Blu-ray player outside of Japan

Panasonic is to roll-out sales of a range of Blu-ray recorders in Australia, making it only the second country after Japan to receive the devices.
A 500GB Twin High Definition Tuner and VIERA Link model is to go on sale this month as well as various lower-spec recorders, the first 46” plasma TV and new 37” Full HD LCD TV models.
Paul Reid, Panasonic Australia’s Director for Consumer Electronics Group, described the move as a “significant breakthrough” for Blu-ray.

31/05/2008 - Poll: Are you replacing your DVDs with Blu-ray Discs?

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Nielsen VideoScan
In seems that in the recent weeks just about every new Blu-ray title released has been a older catalog title and it's pretty obvious by looking at each week's Nielsen VideoScan numbers that the older titles just don't have the same appeal as the new releases. But we wonder, is this because most people have already seen the movie, or is it because many scoff at the idea of replacing a perfectly good DVD for a Blu-ray Disc? Personally, we love to enjoy our old favorites again on Blu-ray, it's like seeing the movie for the firs time all over again, but honestly considering the MSRP for some of these older titles -- we're looking at you Fox -- we tend to rent more than buy.
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30/05/2008 - Toshiba knows no shame, plans to release super-resolution DVD player

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Nothing too notable here -- just that Toshiba is apparently fixing to unveil a brand new DVD player in the age of Blu-ray that will be "capable of producing high-resolution images from regular DVDs." As you're laughing heartily, ponder this: are we looking at a simple upconverting DVD player? Or will that Cell-based SpursEngine chip bring "super-resolution" to a standalone deck? According to unnamed sources cited by Daily Yomiuri Online, the planned release "signifies an effort to recover from a humiliating setback suffered in March after announcing its decision to withdraw from its HD DVD business." We really cannot fathom why Tosh would even dream of fighting BD with souped-up DVD, but reportedly, it plans on marketing the unit "as a device with which consumers can enjoy a broader array of content than is available in the Blu-ray format." Congratulations Toshiba -- we thought it couldn't get any lamer than HD VMD, and you handily proved us wrong.

[Via VNU Net / Yahoo, image courtesy of DangerousIntersection]
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30/05/2008 - Blue Underground goes Blu-ray, announces initial slate of releases

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Fitting, isn't it? Blue Underground, a well-respected distributor of cult / horror films, has decided to start releasing projects on Blu-ray Discs. Additionally, we now know the first half dozen flicks that it plans on releasing: The Final Countdown, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, The Stendhal Syndrome, Maniac, Vigilante and Fire and Ice, though we're sure hits like Uncle Sam, Dead and Buried and Two Evil Eyes won't be far behind. Each disc will boast 1080p transfers, 7.1 DTS-HD / Dolby TrueHD audio tracks, D-Box Motion Code (on select titles) and a plethora of extras. We're still curious to see how the transfers turn out, but this is certainly good news for underground horror fanatics.

[Via DVDTalk, thanks Don]
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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.”

30/05/2008 - First Blu-ray record, Divertimenti, released

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Divertimenti Blu-ray recordFans of high-def audio rejoice: The first Blu-ray recording has been released. Fans of anything other than Divertimento, hold your horses: The first release is from Thondheimsolistene, an orchestra from Norway. "Divertimeni", as it is called, will be released by the 2L label in full HD audio glory along with a SACD track for those not on the Blu-ray bandwagon just yet. Formats include 2.0 LPCM, 5.1 LPCM, 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio, 5.1 Dolby True HD, 5.1 Dolby Digital at 48KHz, and it has been confirmed to work just fine on the PS3.

[Via MiC]
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29/05/2008 - Jack Ryan to finally go Blu in July

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Jack Rayn Collection Blu-rayJack Ryan fans have been teased by Paramount for almost a year now -- first The Jack Ryan Collection was announced for both formats, then only for HD DVD. When it was finally released it was a disaster and was recalled. Now here we are almost a year later and according to DVD Town, only two of the four movies will be available on Blu-ray on July 29th. To make things worse, the best movie in the series, The Hunt for Red October is MIA and there's no mention of when we may see it. Don't get us wrong, we like all four movies, and we're glad we'll get to see Patriot Games and Sum of all Fears in HD, but exactly how long does it take to remaster four movies in HD and press a few Blu-ray Discs?
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28/05/2008 - LaCie doubles external d2 Blu-ray burn times to 4x

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Not like 4x Blu-ray burners are anything special, but if you've got a special place in your heart for anything designed by Neil Poulton, this one's for you. LaCie has just announced that it's doubling the burn speed of its tried-and-true d2 external writer, enabling owners to toast BD-Rs at 4x. It'll also handle BD-REs (2x), DVD±RW DLs and CD±RWs, and it can interface with your computer via USB 2.0 or FireWire 400. The pain? $649.99 -- and that's before you go shopping for optical media.

[Via Engadget Spanish]
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28/05/2008 - Panasonic launches twin-tuner Blu-ray / DVD recorders in Australia

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Panasonic already dished out a slew of Blu-ray / HDD recorders in Japan (no shock there), but folks in Australia are pretty flippin' excited to be second in line to receive said goods. For whatever reason, Panny has decided to roll out a June-bound 500GB twin-tuner BD recorder along with a handful of lesser recorders in the Australia region before any other locale save for Japan. The model numbers have been gently tweaked (DMR-BW500, DMR-EX88, DMR-EX78 and DMR-EZ48V, for starters), but everything else looks to be the same. Check the links below for lots more on Panasonic's latest onslaught.

Read - Panasonic's DMR-BW500 Blu-ray recorder
Read - Panasonic DVD recorders
Read - Panasonic's SC-BT105 HTIB
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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.

28/05/2008 - Lord of the Rings Trilogy headed to Blu-ray?

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Now that we've already got one particular trilogy on our BD radar, it's only fitting that yet another blockbuster trio hit the screen. According to PSU, Peter Jackson has stated outrightly that he is "working on a Blu-ray version of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy with Warner Bros. at the moment," and although he confessed that a release date wasn't available, we are told not to expect it anytime this year. Reportedly, the comments were divulged while chatting about the forthcoming Hobbit, and while we're undoubtedly stoked to hear the news, we can't help but feel somewhat crushed that Profile 4.0 may very well be out and about before this collection ever lands. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

[Image courtesy of Britannica, thanks Justin]
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27/05/2008 - Onkyo readies £500 DV-BD606 Blu-ray player for October release

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We're not exactly savvy on what's so special about October 2008, but Onkyo has just become the second manufacturer in the last week to announce a Blu-ray player that will ship in that month. Granted, the firm hasn't made this official or anything just yet, but according to an on-the-scene report from WhatHiFi, the outfit is indeed moving forward with plans for a £500 ($990) Profile 1.1 Blu-ray player -- just as was rumored earlier this year. Regrettably, that's all that we know outside of its model number (DV-BD606), but it is apt to be a part of a "three-strong" video-player lineup when it surfaces this Fall. For those interested, you can hit the read link for a few juicier tidbits about the company's forthcoming receiver lineup, but you'll go hungry searching for more details on this here unit.

[Thanks, Jimmie]
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27/05/2008 - First single-chip processing LSI developed by Panasonic for Blue-ray Disc players

Panasonic has announced that it has developed the first single-chip signal processing LSI for Blu-ray Disc players that can both read the disc and decode the content.
Previously these functions were performed by separate front end and back end LSI in addition to seven external memory chips.
By combining the functionality into one chip, 50 per cent less space is required and 25 per cent energy is saved.
As a result of the single chip solution, manufacturers will be able to make smaller Blu-ray players that consume less energy.

27/05/2008 - Plastics breakthrough could help cut cost of Blu-ray players

Scientists have moved a step closer to producing electrically-powered plastic laser diodes that could be used in Blu-ray players.
Currently the laser diodes in such consumer optical storage devices are made out of inorganic semiconductors like gallium arsenide, gallium nitride and other semiconductor alloys related to them.
Now, researchers at Imperial College in London have demonstrated a class of plastic semiconductor materials that may allow the low-cost manufacture of electrically-powered plastic laser diodes.
As well as reducing the cost of devices such as Blu-ray players the development could allow plastic laser diodes to operate across a much more substantial wavelength range.

24/05/2008 - Samsung continues re-structuring following management changes
Samsung’s home-theater, DVD and Blu-ray-player businesses will be merged with the TV section as part of moves to change the way it operates.
Samsung Electronics Co, the flagship company of South Korean conglomerate Samsung Group, said the re-organisation within the digital-media division was part of a wider re-structuring.

24/05/2008 - Blue Ray Technologies expansion includes Hollywood plant to serve new BD and HD demand

Blue Ray Technologies is planning to open multiple Blu-Ray disc production facilities across the U.S, starting with a facility near Hollywood to be close to the indie and major studios that have now all adopted Blu-ray.
The new facilities are designed to be capable of handling the next generation of movie and game discs, Blue-ray 2.0, which gives an interactive web dimension to the consumer, and offer up to “five layers of entertainment”, according to BRT founder Erick Hansen.

24/05/2008 - Chinese manufacturers given approval to produce Blu-ray discs

Eleven Chinese disc manufacturers, including TCL, Malata and Desay, have been authorized by Blu-ray Disc Association to produce Blue-Ray discs, CDs, and disc players next year.

23/05/2008 - Denon adds DVD-1800BD Blu-ray player to lineup

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Denon adds DVD-1800BD Blu-ray playerDenon has introduced the DVD-1800BD Blu-ray player to the low side (relatively speaking) of its lineup. As we've seen from high end makes lately, this unit continues the trend of a Profile 1.1 feature set at a price point that's sure not to "dilute" the brand luster. The DVD-1800BD is expected to ship in October with an MSRP of $749. Depending on whether you're a "glass half full" or "glass half empty" sort of person, it's $450 cheaper than the next-up-the line DVD-2500BTCI (pictured) or $350 more expensive than a PS3. Either way, it's pricey for Profile 1.1 player that does not have onboard decoding of DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD (but does output the bitstreams). We might cut this unit some slack if it were shipping immediately, but an October date makes us think this will be for Denon loyalists only.
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20/05/2008 - Hitachi intros DZ-WR90 Blu-ray burner for hard drive-based camcorders

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It looks like those wanting to churn out some high-definition media away from their computers now have a new option to consider courtesy of Hitachi, which has just introduced its DZ-WR90 Blu-ray burner designed to be used with hard drive-based camcorders equipped with an eSATA port (which Hitachi just happens to make). That combo will apparently let you burn three hours of full-res footage onto a Blu-ray disc in one and half hours flat or, if you prefer, you can also cram an hour of 720 x 480 video onto a plain old DVD. No word on a price just yet, but you can apparently look for this one to hit Japan in mid-July.

[Via Slash Gear]
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