Sony NEC Optiarc BD-M100A PC Blu-ray drive

Sony NEC Optiarc has unveiled its first PC Blu-ray burner. The BD-M100A drive can burn single and dual-layer Blu-ray discs at double speed, and can handle both write-once (BD-R) and rewritable (BD-RE) Blu-ray discs. It's also fully backwards compatible...

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Posted by Staff on 29 May 2007

ICT anti-piracy measure doomed? Cue wild cheering

One of the nastier capabilities of both Blu-ray and HD DVD allows for content holders to force image quality degradation onto users whose TVs aren't quite up to snuff. The original plan was simple: if a TV lacked a secure...

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Posted by Staff on 28 March 2006

LG confirms Blu-ray/HD-DVD player

No mention of "Ultra-Multi", but LG has confirmed their plans to build a combination HD-DVD/Blu-ray player, and make it available this fall. What this will do for the next generation DVD market however, is unclear. The analyst quoted in the...

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Posted by Staff on 22 March 2006

Sony BDP-S1 Blu Ray player now on Amazon

The player resembles an old style laser disc player and feels out of place in when compared to other $1000 equipment which one may have on the shelf. We also thought that the blue color was a bit out of...

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Posted by Staff on 22 March 2006

Older HDTVs only display 25% of full Blu-ray / HD DVD resolution

If you have an older HDTV, it will be unable to display full resolution because their analog component-video connections have no copy protection. The Advanced Access Content System (AACS) standards don’t allow for full HD signals to be output over...

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Posted by Staff on 27 February 2006

Sony PS3 1080p and BluRay confirmed

The PlayStation®3 will include BluRay™, the high definition DVD technology, and support games in resolutions of up to 1080p, (the highest supported standard on the market.) Via Kotaku...

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Posted by Staff on 20 February 2006

Quixun 42" Full HD TV - without HDMI

Well, this 42" TV looks very interesting at first sight with its Full HD (1920x1080), 800:1 ratio, 550cd/m2 brightness, 12ms LCD screen, 178 degrees viewing angle and 1700 EUR price. HD on a 42" panel at such a price sounds...

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Posted by Staff on 4 February 2006

Samsung's SP-P300ME pocket-sized projector

Featuring a Carl Zeiss lens and weighing under 660g, Samsung’s SP-P300ME is one of the smallest and brightest DLP LED mobile projectors on the market. Promising high performance, superior style and superb mobility, the SP-P300ME looks set to be the...

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Posted by Staff on 25 January 2006

Pioneer interview discusses Blu-Ray and their Elite BDP-HD1 Blu-Ray player

AP: An Elite model - the BDP-HD1. A very high-end product. Featuring 1080p output and compatible with DTS HD and the latest audio standards. So it's really designed to appeal to the performance people - the folks that are really...

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Posted by Staff on 20 January 2006

Sony BDP-S1 Blu-ray player

Sony Electronics today unveiled a variety of Blu-ray Disc™-based products, offering a host of new high-definition entertainment possibilities. U.S. product introductions will begin this spring and gather momentum over the summer with the introduction of a home player. BD technology...

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Posted by Staff on 18 January 2006

TDK's Quad-layer Blu-Ray Disc Showcased at CES

The prototype 100GB bare Blu-ray Disc doubles both the capacity and recording speed of the current Blu-ray Disc specification. A single, prototype 100GB Blu-ray Disc can store approximately 9 hours of high definition video on a single side. TDK?s disc...

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Posted by Staff on 11 January 2006

Hollywood Considers Dual Format Heresy

Hollywood studios are mulling over the once-dreaded prospect of dual movie-formats following Microsoft's announcement of a HD-DVD drive for Xbox 360. Via Next Generation...

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Posted by Staff on 9 January 2006

Samsung's Blu-Ray player

The BD-P100 will be, the company claims, the first Blu-ray player to hit the market in March. Speak to anyone at the Pioneer side and they'll tell you the same thing about their player, but either way we don't expect...

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Posted by Staff on 9 January 2006

Blu-ray Disc Format Specifications Completed

The Blu-ray Disc Association announced today that the format specification is complete and that licensing is ready to begin for BD-ROM, BD-RE and BD-R. The completion of the specification now enables content providers and manufacturers to begin the process of...

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Posted by Staff on 9 January 2006

Early looks at the first HD DVD and Blu-ray players, and an Xbox surprise

First, there's the HD DVD drive that we weren't sure we'd ever see. During his CES keynote last night, Bill Gates let his head of marketing, Peter Moore, introduce an external HD DVD player for the Xbox 360: "The new...

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Posted by Staff on 8 January 2006

Blu-ray vs HD DVD: Heavyweight title bout

The story that's dominating CES this year is the standards war around high-definition DVD, and this is no longer a phony war: both Blu-ray and HD DVD players will arrive in less than six months  What's clear from talking to...

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Posted by Staff on 8 January 2006

BD-1000: first U.S. Blu-Ray player

Samsung certainly isn't feeling blue about the new high-def DVD formats. In fact, they're touting their BD-1000 Blu-Ray player here at the big show even though we don't have any Blu-Ray movies with us. We're not sure if the...

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Posted by Staff on 4 January 2006

CES 2006: LG set to be one of the first with a Blu-ray player

LG also confirmed that it is going to be one of the first makers to debut a Blu-ray player in the US. Due in the second quarter the BD199 plays back both Blu-ray discs and standard DVDs. It also...

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Posted by Staff on 4 January 2006

BD Cases

You know, it never occured to me that Blu-ray Discs might get a different case than DVD’s. But that looks to be the case (ha ha). Just check out this article from the Inquirer for a picture of the...

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Posted by Staff on 4 January 2006

Fate of high-def DVD may lie with Microsoft

EETimes.com - Fate of high-def DVD may lie with Microsoft: Several industry sources last week told EE Times that Microsoft is muscling into the optical-disk fray by leveraging its operating-system clout to bundle HD-DVD within Vista, the company's next-generation OS....

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Posted by Staff on 1 January 2006

Blu-ray, HD-DVD Camps Risk Alienating Consumers

The New York Times ran an interesting piece earlier this week arguing that if the backers of Blu-ray and HD-DVD can't agree on a single format, next-gen DVD adoption could be severly compromised in favor of technology such as...

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Posted by Staff on 29 December 2005

Blu-ray First to Market?

It looks as though the race to be first to deliver a blue-laser, high-definition DVD player to the market may be won by the Blu-ray camp. Toshiba had announced that it was going to ship a drive based on...

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Posted by Staff on 29 December 2005

Blu-Ray DVD player coming from LG in 2nd quarter

And here we go! The race for high capacity optical disc players is starting. LG is going to be one of the first out of the gate with the BD199, their first Blu-Ray disc player. They plan to have...

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Posted by Staff on 19 December 2005

HP goes dual-format, will support HD DVD

HP had been threatening to go HD DVD if Sony didn’t add in mandatory managed copy and iHD to the Blu-ray spec, and they’ve now announced that they will support both formats. Sony did add managed copy, which allows...

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Posted by Staff on 18 December 2005

HP backs both rivals in DVD horse race | CNET News.com

HP backs both rivals in DVD horse race | CNET News.com: Hewlett-Packard has announced it will support both contenders to be the next generation of DVDs, a change of tack that could raise the chances of an expensive format war.The...

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Posted by Staff on 17 December 2005

TDK starts sample production of Blu-Ray disks

Goodbye cartridges. Hello disks! TDK has finally moved Blu-Ray disks out of the cartridge stage thanks to their hard protective coating that minimizes scratches. These are just a sample of the production, as they are waiting for their license...

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Posted by Staff on 13 December 2005

Pioneer Blu-ray Disc Drive

Looks like Pioneer will be the first to bring a PC-based Blu-ray disc drive to market with its BD1.5. We don't have much more information than the fact that it will be internal and shipping sometime next year. Pioneer...

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Posted by Staff on 9 December 2005

Panasonic trials Blu-ray disc production

Long ago we lost count of the score in the Blu-ray versus HD DVD format war, but Microsoft’s decision not to back HD DVD technology, as was once rumoured, in the Xbox 360 when Sony will be using the...

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Posted by Staff on 9 December 2005

Father of DVD Not Happy With Prodigal Son

With a nickname like "The Father of DVD," I guess Warren Lieberfarb can say pretty much anything he wants about the format these days. And yesterday, he gave a surprising speech in which he blasted Blu-ray. Taking the next-generation...

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Posted by Staff on 9 December 2005

Blu-Ray bonus content underwhelming

Can someone remind me again why Blu-Ray is going to win this format war? Actually, there are plenty of good reasons, but news like this makes it seem like Blu-Ray is losing a game of "Mother May I?" To...

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Posted by Staff on 3 December 2005

Holograms vs Blu-ray

I’ve been seeing it in the news a lot recently. Holographic technology will make Blu-ray and HD DVD obsolete before they even start! Holographic technology will store the world and the moon on one disc! Holographic technology will floss...

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Posted by Staff on 3 December 2005

Fox sez Blu-ray Wins

Fox's big fancy pants co-chairman has said he sees Blu-ray technology winning the race for the next-generation media format. Supposedly Blu-ray has the lead thanks to widespread Hollywood support, the release of the popular Sony PlayStation 3 consoles and...

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Posted by Staff on 3 December 2005

HD DVD and Blu-Ray Already Outdated?

Blu-ray and HD DVD may become non-existent with the new HVD coming into play. HVD is the holographic versatile disc which has been in the making for nearly 20 years and it is finally going to happen, maybe. The...

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Posted by Staff on 30 November 2005

Blu-Ray does DVD-R?

No it's not the title to the last tech-p0rn feature, but it might be a reality. Mike Curtis over at HD for Indies points out something VERY interesting that appears likely as an addition to the Blu-Ray specification. DVD-Rs...

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Posted by Staff on 29 November 2005

Warner Bros. softens on HD DVD, says it'll do Blu-ray, too

October is shaping up to be a cruel month for Toshiba and the rest of the HD DVD gang. Last week Paramount confirmed that they were softening their support for HD DVD and would be releasing movies in both...

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Posted by Staff on 29 November 2005

Paramount embraces Blu-ray--Warner expected to make similar move this week

Although Paramount will continue to support Sony's rival, the HD DVD platform from Toshiba, the studio is the first to end its singular commitment to one format, which both sides had hoped would give the industry its best chance...

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Posted by Staff on 29 November 2005

2005 HDTV Report, Part 11: High Definition DVD

This part summarizes the main aspects of Hi Def DVD, such as formats, studio support, types of discs, competition from China, introduced models, copy protection, audio and video codecs, etc. The complete review of the State of the High...

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Posted by Staff on 29 November 2005

Blu-ray propaganda

Firstly don't take any of this as a condemnation of Blu-ray, just some observations on how press releases can be potentially misleading. A few days ago I received a press release stating "MGM to Support Blu-ray Disc Format" I thought...

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Posted by Staff on 29 November 2005

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