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

by Richard Lawler posted Nov 12th 2008 at 9:03AM

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

Blu-con 1.0 talks where Blu-ray has been, is going

by Richard Lawler posted Oct 2nd 2008 at 8:14AM

Billed as a one-day summit for Blu-ray developers, marketers and producers, Blu-con 1.0 will feature "experts" (whether that includes the many people who have so thoughtfully and eloquently shared their opinions in our comments since the start of the format war we have not been able to determine) discussing the various issues and opportunities presented by the format. The $325 ticket price for the December 8 event shouldn't be much of an issue, the conference is only open to DEG members, sponsors and invited guests, we'll wait and see if anyone comes out of it with the secret to lower priced Blu-ray players or more interesting uses for BD-Live.

Polycom ships HDX 4000 / 8000 HD video conferencing systems

by Darren Murph posted Dec 11th 2007 at 9:11PM


Remember that snazzy HD video conferencing system that Polycom introduced back in July? That very system is finally shipping alongside its beefed up sibling, the HDX 8000. Each of the "video collaboration solutions" enables users to see distanced colleagues in high-definition, and both flavors come with HDX Version 2.0 software that features Lost Packet Recovery (LPR) technology. Apparently, the 4000 series is geared towards executive desktops, offices and small meeting areas, while the 8000 lineup fits best in conference rooms, class rooms and large meeting areas. Nothing like blowing a little (if you consider $9,999 to $13,999 to be "little") of that extra revenue on jazzing up the office, right?

CEDIA 2007 roundup

by Darren Murph posted Sep 8th 2007 at 12:30PM Featured Story


CEDIA 2007 was bigger, louder and more pixelated than ever, and as always, we were live from the Mile High city to bring you (just about) everything the show had to offer. In case you blinked along the way, here's a rundown of our coverage, and don't forget to check out the rest after the break:
Hands-ons

Continue reading CEDIA 2007 roundup

Sony Playstation 3 Conference Details

by Richard Lawler posted May 8th 2006 at 10:07PM


Lets get down to the facts.
  • $499 w/20GB HDD, $599 w/ 60GB HDD in the United States
  • No new details about Blu-ray movie playback or drive speed
  • Japan launch date: November 11
  • US Launch date: November 17
  • 2 million PS3s to ship in "launch window"
  • Accelerometer in a wireless dual shock controller, much like Nintendo's, no rumble support
  • Showed Gran Turismo HD: a special version using GT4 models rendered at 1080p and 60fps
Well there it is folks, don't forget to check out Joystiq for the moment to moment updates, although they are likely to slow down momentarily as Sony's last announcement was that they had playable PS3 games onsite. Now I suppose the question is why would anyone buy an HD DVD player for $500 when they can get a PS3 for the same price. Did anybody else check out the stream (via Gamespot.com or E3insider.com), what were your impressions?

Continue reading Sony Playstation 3 Conference Details

Playstation 3: Coming to North America (and the world) in 2006

by Richard Lawler posted Mar 15th 2006 at 2:40AM

PS3 Coming to America in 2006Check out Joystiq's continuing updates of Sony's Playstation Conference for more information, but lets get down the key facts:
  • Worldwide (Asia, Europe, North America) launch in early November
  • 1 million units shipped every month, total of 6 million shipped by the end of 2006
  • 100% backwards compatible with existing PS1 & PS2 titles, will upconvert to HD resolutions
  • Latest HDMI connectors (1.3?)
  • 60GB HDD "required", supports Linux, acts as a media server
  • All PS3 games will ship on Blu-ray discs to prevent piracy
  • PS3 online service will feature matchmaking, downloads; free "basic" service
  • Developers will get final kits in June
  • PS3 is "4D"
  • The conference is over, no games, no price announced
Well there we have it, more hardware details, and still so many questions. But at least it is launching in 2006, I don't know if we could survive another Christmas without "true" high definition. One thing is for sure, just when it looked like Sony might be slipping, they have come back with a big plan for continued worldwide dominance. Anyone want to place odds on if they can pull it off?




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