China Blue HD crosses over to the UK, third Opium War inevitable
by Richard Lawler 
posted Oct 13th 2009 at 9:24PM
[Via Format War Central]
format posts
[Via Format War Central]
Nokia, Samsung, Toshiba and Sony align on Mobile High-Definition Link
by Darren Murph posted Sep 29th 2009 at 10:19AM
Fraunhofer IIS to push MPEG Surround as next big downloadable audio format
by Darren Murph posted Jan 5th 2009 at 5:52PM
China's Blu-ray rival lacks key manufacturer support
by Richard Lawler posted Dec 24th 2008 at 4:14PM
ATSC celebrates 25 years
by Darren Murph posted May 9th 2008 at 12:54PM
Toshiba pulling the plug on HD DVD already? - Yup it's over.
by Richard Lawler posted Feb 16th 2008 at 8:29AM 
Japan's NHK has followed up The Hollywood Reporter's earlier indications Toshiba was ready to dump its money-losing HD DVD business, with news that the company is prepared to cease manufacturing software and hardware, at a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. This caps the worst week ever for red, when HD DVD was dumped by Netflix and Wal-mart, pushed to the background by Best Buy and put on -- an apparently incredibly short -- deathwatch right here. Toshiba is mum on the subject right now, but we hear there's plenty of cheap players and movies in a dumpster around back of the HQ. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in; via Reuters; warning, Japanese read link]
Update: Along with an English translation of the NHK's article (Thanks sfditty!) comes additional confirmation from Reuters sources, it's a wrap. Toshiba is shutting down its DVD manufacturing facilities in Aomori Prefecture, Japan, while official word is expected "soon".
Over 100,000 standalone HD DVD players sold in North America
by Darren Murph posted Apr 18th 2007 at 8:47AM
Sure, moving 100,000 units doesn't seem all that extraordinary when you consider that Microsoft managed to foist off 92,000 of its own add-ons last Christmas, but the number does manage to garner a bit more respect when you realize that the Xbox 360 addition nor HD DVD PC drives are included in it. The North American HD-DVD Promotional Group is now claiming that sales of set-top HD DVD players have finally hit the 100k mark, presumably ready to smack down that Blu-ray supremacy talk and prove that the recent surge in disc sales was more than a well-planned fluke. Of course, claiming the feat really says nothing in the grand scheme of the ongoing format war, but we can officially start the countdown until the Blu-ray camp proudly trounces these figures and yet again claims momentary dominance.[Via TGDaily]
National Geographic's Relentless Enemies strikes DVD, Blu-ray and HD DVD in March
by Richard Lawler posted Feb 22nd 2007 at 12:56PM
National Geographic has announced it's releasing its first HD title, Relentless Enemies on DVD, Blu-ray and HD DVD formats, distributed by Warner Home Video on March 27. The 90 minute film, originally shot in HD, is National Geographic's highest-rated special to date. The network was pushed to release on high definition formats after surveys showed its content as what viewers would most like to see. We like watching lions and buffalo battling for survival as much as anyone, but with a $34.99 MSRP compared to the $19.99 DVD we hope they also start including some HD extras in future releases.VideoScan releases HD DVD / Blu-ray "charts," results still inconclusive
by Darren Murph posted Feb 1st 2007 at 11:25AM
Okay, so we're not waxing rhapsodic about a conspiracy theory just yet, but seriously, why can't the general public get a few hard numbers regarding the HD DVD / Blu-ray format war? Since both formats hit the market, we've all been wondering who would be the leader in terms of disc sales once the holiday season was behind us, and although Nielsen VideoScan has finally loosed the deets, we're still (relatively) in the dark. We've wondered exactly what was taking so long for these data to surface, but instead of VideoScan perfecting their report, it has apparently delayed the information only to release several inconclusive "charts" and "ratios" that, quite frankly, aren't what we all want. For whatever it's (not) worth, it looks like Blu-ray titles outsold HD DVD titles by a 2:1 margin during the admittedly slow first two weeks of 2007, but overall, we're still stuck analyzing Amazon's sales figures while trying to piece together the truth. Still, if you're more interested in having the best of both worlds regardless of which is on top (or still around) in a couple years, you know where to go.[Thanks, Jed]
Samsung drops price on BD-P1000, edges closer to HD DVD
by Darren Murph posted Jan 3rd 2007 at 9:29AM
In the wake of Toshiba hinting at forthcoming price drops on its stand-alone HD DVD players at CES, Samsung has apparently figured out that it can't keep on charging a cool grand (though the price had already fallen a bit "unofficially") for its own high definition unit and remain attractive. As fence-sitters weigh their options and realize that they can get a console and Blu-ray player together for around $500, it only makes sense that we see a (somewhat) healthy price drop on Samsung's BD-P1000. Effectively immediately, the MSRP has been slashed from $999 to $899, putting wholesale prices closer to the $500-$800 range, which should help draw attention from potential buyers who were previously turned off by price. Of course, this theoretical price leveling might not last for too long if Toshiba's whispers prove to be true, but at least we're seeing the prices of stand-alone players dip down from their previous home in the stratosphere.Survey points to Blu-ray negativity, attributed to Sony's "heavy handed" approach
by Darren Murph posted Dec 7th 2006 at 11:16AM
While some folks just can't make up their mind, and other have already leaned one way or the other, a recent independent survey points to Sony's format being the one losing ground and interest, but we can't say we're surprised. Betamax, ATRAC, MiniDisc, and UMDs were all crafted by Sony, and all fell (basically) flat before ever really catching on, and it seems the costly Blu-ray format may be headed for the same fate. Cymfony, a market influence analytics company, found that "positive discussions" about HD DVD were "46-percent higher" than talks about Blu-ray, with over twice as many post authors being "impressed with HD DVD" rather than "impressed with Blu-ray." A good deal of the negativity shown towards Blu-ray was attributed to Sony's "heavy handed" approach of forcing Blu-ray upon PlayStation 3 owners, not to mention the notoriously delayed (and pricey) standalone players. Although it's still far too early to tell which format will rise victorious (you know, since peace talks have all but ceased), there's no denying the high costs associated with both next-generation discs, but Sony's track record with these proprietary ideas definitely doesn't bode well for it.[Via TechDigest]
HD VMD format gets support from German film distributor
by Richard Lawler posted Nov 29th 2006 at 1:20PM
[Via Home Media Retailing]
Sony shipping 50GB dual-layer Blu-ray BD-R discs
by Richard Lawler posted Aug 16th 2006 at 9:44AM
[Thanks, plaque monster]
Too little too late? Toshiba "still seeking" Blu-ray and HD DVD unity
by Richard Lawler posted Jun 27th 2006 at 2:44AM
We're not sure how to take this. Just as Blu-ray launches, with its own HD DVD players having already been on store shelves for some time, now Toshiba wants to hold out the olive branch again. Even as Blu-ray struggles with underwhelming launch titles and delays, they still hold the trump card of higher capacity, possibly higher burning speed, and more movie studio support. Maybe Toshiba sees this as the best time to cut a deal, maybe not. We already have reports that they are spending a lot of money to make sure HD DVD gains acceptance, but what is the long term strategy?Sony's Blu-ray blanks on the way; 50GB in June
by Richard Lawler posted May 7th 2006 at 11:44AM
Not to be forgotten in the BD-R and -RE party is Sony themselves, who have announced they are shipping single-layer recordable Blu-ray discs, with dual layer versions to follow in June, The pricing follows the model set by TDK, $20/$48 for BD-R single/dual and $25/$60 for BD-RE single/dual layer respectively. With the burners going for about $850, we'll take a raincheck, unless someone really needs to back up all their episodes of mariposaHD.
[Via Engadget]
