Believe it or not, we were getting pretty jazzed up that 1x HD DVD-R media was getting set to ship in late 2006, and here we are in 2008 wondering why we're just now getting to 2x. Regardless, Verbatim is finally gearing up to ship 2x-speed HD DVD-R/RW discs sometime this quarter, but for whatever reason, we're left to wonder just how much the firm plans on charging for said media. But yeah, it's pretty safe to say these won't run ya cheap.

If a couple of new HD DVD players weren't enough for you, Toshiba is also launching an ultrathin, highly portable HD DVD burner for playing back high-definition flicks and writing massive amounts of data to single or dual-layer HD DVD-Rs whilst on the go. The simply titled HD DVD-Writer is reportedly the brother of the HD DVD Super-Multi, which only supports CD, DVD+/-RW, and HD DVD-ROM. Both units supposedly measure in at just 5.04- x 4.96- x 0.51-inches and weigh 5.82 ounces, and best of all, they're said to be available right now across the pond for £200 ($403).

[Thanks, nfinity]

Granted, the majority of you probably haven't forked out just yet for a pricey HD DVD burner, but just in case you've got one in mind for the future, Ritek is readying the equally expensive media you'll have to pick up. According to DigiTimes, Ritek has "secured certification for its blank 2x HD DVD-R" discs, which would enable write speeds double that of its existing media. Additionally, the firm has reportedly obtained certification for blank BD-R discs as well, and while it's certainly late to that party, we'll take all the competition we can get.

Just after Verbatim announces that it's shipping 30GB dual-layer HD DVD-Rs our way, here comes some more news to slightly deflate that bubble. At an HD DVD presentation held at CES, at interesting PowerPoint slide caught our eye, as it (very briefly) described plans to "expand HD DVD disc capacity from 15GB to 17GB per layer, and moreover, to add a third layer as well, eventually resulting in a 51GB HD DVD disc. Aside from upping the ante on Blu-ray's capacity by a measly 1GB (currently, at least), it's also noted that "technical feasibility" has yet to be confirmed, and that standardization wouldn't occur until Q4 of this year at the earliest, but it's a novel idea to say the least. So if you're looking to pick up an HD DVD player right this moment, and can't wait to embrace all the potential compatibility issues with a drive never made to play these newfangled, triple-layered discs, have at it -- of course, all those conflicts rely on this pipedream ever being realized. It should be interesting to see how (if at all) the BDA addresses this potential new disc in their press conference later today, and if they'll pay any attention to possibly being leapfrogged in an area they currently lead. Pfft, and you thought the HD DVD / Blu-ray war was settled.

If you've already laid down your order for one of the HD DVD writers announced at CES, you're probably in need of just two things: HD DVD-R media and more cash. While we can't exactly help with the latter, Verbatim has just announced that it plans to start shipping 30GB HD DVD-R media to the North American market "when HD DVD writers become available." Considering those drives are now finding their way to shelves, we'd guess these writeable discs won't be too far behind. Parent company Mitsubishi Kagaku Media has been shipping these discs for months to Japan, and Memorex has likely been holding down the blank HD DVD market thus far in the US, but we're not complaining with a little head-to-head competition.

Hot on the heels of all this last minute, pre-CES HD DVD-related action is the SD-H903A, which Toshiba touts as "the world's first dedicated PC-based HD DVD burner" that writes "to all main optical discs." Aside from the obvious (albeit expected) hand-to-the-face to BD-Rs in that last claim, the burner does manage to write nicely to HD DVD-R (single and dual-layer at a measly 1x), DVD +/- R, DVD-RAM, DVD +/- RW, CD-R, and CD-RW. Additionally, it'll include an 8MB buffer, and if all goes well, should play back all your precious HD DVD titles without complication. While we've no idea how much coinage will be required to pick this (admittedly sluggish) drive up, sample shipments are scheduled to take off this month, and we should get a good look at just what it's capable of at next week's CES.

Did we miss something? Because we like HD DVD as much as anybody, but first Memorex and now parent company Imation has announced they are shipping HD DVD-R 1x single-layer HD DVD-Rs and we're not sure where -- outside of Japan -- to get a burner for them. We're sure these will satisfy your 36Mbps, 15GB at a time storage needs, but unless you've imported a Toshiba RD-A1, good luck getting data on them. Dual-layer packaging pictured, however those aren't available yet, only single-layer for $19.99.

While we're still waiting for Toshiba -- or anyone else -- to start selling HD DVD burners Stateside, one of the largest Taiwanese manufacturers, Lite-On, has announced they will begin producing HD DVD burners in March 2007. They're not picking a side however, as they've already begun making Blu-ray recordable drives. Digitimes notes Toshiba has been very active in courting Taiwanese manufacturers to the HD DVD side, we'll see if this bears worthwhile fruit. Luckily for HD DVD, considering the current price of most Blu-ray burners, for most consumers they may as well not be on the shelves either.

There isn't many devices that can utilize this media, but for those chaps that happen to have a Toshiba RD-A1 or NEC HR-1100A PC drive, this is great news. These Memorex discs are only the 15GB, single-layer flavor but that fits nicely with the recorders. We understand that some folks want to make their own HD DVD's but we don't understand cost-benefit of using these $20 discs for data back up when they cost just a few dollars less then a whole hard drive. These discs can mean pushing the high-def envelope even farther for indie filmmakers though, as they can hold up to 75 minutes of HD.

After a slight delay, the Toshiba RD-A1 HD DVD burner is finally available in Japan. This is the first recorder for the format, which besides being the approximate size of an aircraft carrier also has a 1TB hard drive to save broadcast TV via either of its tuners. Once you've got it on the 1000GB HDD, you can burn it in MPEG-2 format to 15GB or 30GB HD DVD-Rs, which your good friends at Mitsubishi and Hitachi/Maxell will be more than happy to provide. If that sounds like too much work you could always stream the content to DLNA compatible equipment like your Qosmio laptop. Finally, this is the first standalone HD DVD player that plays back at full 1080p resolution. At 398,000 yen ($3,407 US, down from $3,466 due to the exchange rate), we'll have to wait and see if this fares well in burner-crazy Japan against Blu-ray recorders that have been on shelves there for several years now but slow to take off so far.

Even though HD DVD burners are still off in the distance, you can make a DVD that will play back 720p or 1080i content on your HD-A1 or HD-XA1 with your existing DVD-Rs. The guys over at AVSForum have been working on this since the the Toshiba HD-A1 player launched, and they've pretty much got it down to a science. Particularly given the lack of content available so far on the format, many people have .ts files, HDV content, or mariposaHD episodes  they'd love to play back from a single shiny platter. They've boiled the process down to a few steps that anyone familiar with DVD burning should be able to follow.

Basic Steps for Creating HD DVDs:

1. Capture a high definition MPEG2 video to your computer.
2. Convert the video file from .ts, .tp or .m2t transport stream format to program stream format using Womble MPEG2VCR.
3. Create an HD DVD folder on your computer using Ulead Movie Factory 5.
4. Burn the HD DVD disc using Nero Burning ROM.

For more details and list of necessary software check out the thread, currently this walkthrough is PC-only, although WiFiSpy also notes he is working on a Mac version so that shouldn't be too far off. With a guide like this, all you need is a DVD-R, a sharpie and a Qosmio laptop to recreate the Sony Blu-ray incident. Or you can take that old rip of The Fifth Element you've got laying around and see if you can do a better job at a lower bitrate. The possibilities are endless.


[Thanks for the tip WiFiSpy!]

We've seen HD DVD-R and HD DVD-RW media announced repeatedly over the last few weeks, now we can see the -- huge -- box you can put it in. While standalone recorders aren't the biggest market here in the US, we've heard they are very much in demand in Japan and this should definitely satisfy. The RD-A1 will debut in Japan on July 14, for a cool 398,000 yen ($3466 US). Reuters reminds us that Sony has had Blu-ray recorders available in Japan since 2003, although at a starting price of 450,000 yen ($3916 US).

Interestingly, this device will output 1080p via HDMI, unlike Toshiba's HD-A1 and HD-XA1 HD DVD players. The RD-A1 also uses Toshiba's existing "RD Engine" hard disk drive recording system to record content from 1 analog and 1 digital tuner (simultaneous recording is supported) to the 1TB hard drive, edit to your liking, then burn to either a 15GB single-layer or 30GB dual-layer HD DVD-R (no -RW) disc. Interestingly, it does not support recording in newer codecs like VC-1 or MPEG-4, only MPEG-2. As early Blu-ray releases suggest, even a dual layer HD DVD may not have the space to provide ideal video quality, although there will be no PCM soundtrack to take up additional space. You can also stream content to DLNA equipped devices like Toshiba's Qosmio laptop. An undocumented feature is the ability to drop it on any small children or Wicked Witches of the East you want to get rid of , because the thing is enormous. No word on US availability yet.

HD DVD-Rs are on the way, with Maxell/Hitachi and Mitsubishi/Verbatim announcing shipments to Japan in July, and September in the US, now Advanced Media, better known as RITEK or RIDATA, has announced they will ship single-layer HD DVD-Rs to the US in late July. Other than the 15GB discs next month, they will release dual-layer 30GB HD DVD-Rs and single-layer HD DVD-RWs sometime in the fourth quarter.

We're still left guessing as to the burning speed supported by the discs as that is not mentioned in the press release. There is also no specific price mentioned, but we can expect HD DVD recorders to become available around the same time as the media.

According to this article from TWICE, the US division of Maxell is planning on releasing HD DVD-R and -RW discs in September (July for Japan), and shipping Blu-ray BD-Rs and BD-REs in August. They haven't announced a price for either yet. Also notable was the quoted VP's concern over the complexity of a format war and how many returns they had of recordable media in the early days of DVD. They don't anticipate the market to be profitable until at least 2007 and are focusing on consumer and retail education to ease the transition. Finally, they consider hardware pricing the most important factor in consumer acceptance of new technology.

Very interesting words, we can assume HD DVD burners will be available come September, but who, what price and what speed?

Hitachi and Mitsubishi have both announced today that (in Japan at least), they will be releasing single layer HD DVD-Rs, with RW and dual layer blanks to come later this summer. Still no recorders announced, but with their importance in the Japanese market and media now scheduled, they can't be very far off. Impress approximates the price at about 2,000 yen ($17.75 US), which is about  the same price as single layer Blu-ray media. What the press releases don't seem to say is whether this media is 1X or 2X speed rated; because of the difference in the specifications 1X (36.55mbps) media could still play HD DVD content, but would be a slower burner than the Blu-ray drives that are coming out rated at 2X (72mbps) or higher. Impress only mentions the Hitachi as being 1X.

[Via Impress Watch]

Read - Hitachi HD DVD-R/RW
Read - Mitsubishi HD DVD-R/RW