Big news yesterday in the HD DVD vs Blu-ray format wars. Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation SKG announced that they would exclusively support HD DVD on a worldwide basis over Blu-ray. This will include all movies distributed by Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Animation, DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Nickelodeon Movies, and MTV Films.

Why the commitment to HD DVD? According to the press release from Viacom, the companies made the decision based on an evaluation of the “current market offerings” which showed that HD DVD was “market-ready technology”, and had “lower manufacturing costs”.

The first HD DVD to come out from Paramount will be “Blades of Glory” on August 28th. Following this release will be “Shrek the Third”, and “Transformers”.

Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation, had this to say about the “Shrek the Third” release on HD DVD - “We decided to release “Shrek the Third” and other DreamWorks Animation titles exclusively on HD DVD because we believe it is the best format to bring high quality home entertainment to a key segment of our audience — families”.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: HD DVD, Paramount, DreamWorks

Blu-ray or HD DVD? That’s the big question these days when we’re talking about high definition video content. Well.. the folks at Axonix Corporation are saying - why not have both with their new MediaMax HD Entertainment Server. MediaMax HD is the first Media Server system to play via Cover Art or Metadata both HD DVD and Blu-ray movies. The system actually includes a MediaDeck 4 system and a MediaServer box with oodles of storage space. MediaMax HD DVD provides the following:

• Instant playback of media stored on it’s Media Server including HD and SD DVD movies, CD, MP3, and WAV music, photos, and downloaded music and movies via the Axonix NetPlay service
• Includes a MediaServer and one or more MediaDeck 4 HD Media Players which include either an SD, HD DVD or Blu-ray drive
• MediaMax interface allows you to browse your media collection utilizing vivid HD quality cover art
• Browse via metadata including Genre, Actor, Director, Artist, Album, Title, Favorites, or by Playlists
• Supports SD/HD DVD movies, downloaded movies, music CDs, downloaded WMA and MP3s, imported or ripped WAV, converted iPod music, Internet radio, JPEG photos, etc

MediaDeck 4 is $3495 with an SD DVD/CD drive; $4995 for the MediaDeck 4 HD DVD with integrated HD DVD drive, $5995 for the MediaDeck 4 Blu-ray  with integrated Blu-ray drive. All the MediaDeck 4 models support the playback of HD movies loaded on the MediaServer. MediaServers with up to 13 TBs of RAID 6 are available with or without HD or SD drive. The Spectra 2 SD 500GB Series MediaServer starts at $5795.

[Check it out]

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Onkyo has announced the launch of their first HD DVD standalone player in the form of the DV-HD805. The DV-HD805 will be available in the fall timeframe of this year and will support HDMI version1.3a.

Key features of the Onkyo DV-HD805 include:

• Supports Dolby TrueHD, dts HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital Plus, and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio
• Supports 24 frames per second playback
• Supports HDMI v.1.3a enabling Deep Color support
• Includes Ethernet port to for web-enabled content
• Includes on-board HQV Reon VX video processing chipset for video scaling to 720p, 1080i, 1080p

The DV-HD805 will be available at a price of $899 which seems a tad bit high for an HD DVD player considering third generation Toshibas are now under $500 dollars. Thanks to Gizmodo for the picture of the player.

[Check it out viz Gizmodo]

Technorati Tags: Onkyo DV-HD805, HD DVD player

Warner Home Video announced that “300″ was the fastest and highest selling high definition title in the market. Since July 31st, more than 250,000 copies of “300″ have been sold in either HD DVD or Blu-ray format. WHV now has six of the top 10 selling HD titles which include “300″, “The Departed”, “Superman Returns”, “Planet Earth - The Complete Collection”, “Batman Begins”, and “Happy Feet”.

Ron Sanders, President of Warner Home Video, is quoted as saying “‘300′ is an amazing film, and the high definition sales we are seeing underscores the positive business benefits of supporting both HD DVD and Blu-ray”. He goes on to say “This phenomenal response to ‘300′ is the latest proof that our approach makes the most sense in today’s market and has enabled Warner Home Video to continue to lead the market in high definition sales.”

Hopefully, more Hollywood studios will follow the steps taken by Warner Home Video (although this is highly unlikely at this time) in releasing content in both formats. There’s certainly plenty of room for both formats to succeed in this market.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: 300

As expected, Toshiba officially announced their third generation lineup of standalone HD DVD players yesterday with the introduction of three new units all priced under $500 dollars. Enhancements found in the third generation include 1080p/24 frames per second (24p) support and CE Link connectivity which allows the player to communicate and control another consumer electronics device via HDMI. The three new players are the entry level HD-A3, the mid-range HD-A30, and the new top of the line HD-A35.

All the new systems feature new cosmetic changes including rounded edges, slim chassis designs (only 59.5 mm tall), and high gloss, black acrylic face plates.

Features of the HD-A3 include:

• 1080i output
• MSRP of $299.99 and due October 2007

Features of the HD-A30 include:

• 1080p output
• 1080p/24p support
• CE-Link allowing two way control between HD DVD player and a TV via HDMI
• MSRP of $399.99 and due September 2007

Features of the HD-A35 include:

• 1080p output
• 1080p/24p support
• CE-Link allowing two way control between HD DVD player and a TV via HDMI
• Deep Color via HDMI
• 5.1 channel analog output
• High Bit Rate Audio (up to 7.1 channel) via HDMI - bypasses the player’s internal audio processor and sends the signal to a 7.1 capable receiver
• MSRP of $499.99 and due October 2007

[Check it out via PC Magazine]

Technorati Tags: Toshiba, HD DVD players, HD-A3, HD-A30, HD-A35

Toshiba is set to release their third generation HD DVD standalone players on October 1st. You can expect three new models to come from Toshiba - the HD-A3, the HD-A30, and the high end flagship model, the HD-A35. Not much on details as of now but the HD-A3 is expected to sell for $299, the HD-A30 for $399 and the HD-A35 for $499. More models and lower prices to help put the pressure on the Blu-ray camp.

[Check it out via Ubergizmo]

Technorati Tags: Toshiba HD DVD players, HD-A3, HD-A30, HD-A35

If you’re wondering where things stand between Blu-ray and HD DVD currently, check out this comparison chart published by News.com whcih shows background information, and some early sales figures for the two competing formats. The numbers are interesting and of course somewhat misleading right now as Blu-ray is integrated into the Sony PS3 console. What is evident is the role the game consoles are playing in helping users choose a high def format. HD DVD has the slight edge when it comes to standalone players sold but Blu-ray has the edge in content availability of course and in backing.

[Check it out]

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Samsung has announced four new Blu-ray products that are all due to launch later this year - one of which is the highly anticipated BD-UP5000 Duo HD Player which supports both Blu-ray and HD DVD media formats. The other three product announcements involve systems that play back only Blu-ray formats so let’s get to the details.

The Samsung BD-UP5000 Duo HD player has the following specs according to PC Magazine:

• Support for Blu-ray and HD DVD
• HQV (Hollywood Quality Video) processing
• 1080i to 1080p HD deinterlacing
• Support for HDi and BD-Java-based interactive menus

All great stuff but it appears we were all off the mark when it came down to pricing and timing. The Samsung BD-UP5000 Duo HD Player will come out during the fourth quarter of this year for a price of $1049. So much for the $500 dollar pricing that many suspected this player would come in at.

On the standalone front, Samsung will be releasing a third generation Blu-ray player in the form of the Samsung BD-P1400 which features:

• Blu-ray playback only
• Supports lossless DTS HD and Dolby TrueHD
• Supports 5.1 audio
• Ships in September for a price of $549

A higher end Blu-ray player coming from Samsung is the BD-P2400 which features:

• Blu-ray playback only
• HQV video processor - upscale DVD to 1080p over HDMI
• Supports lossless DTS HD and Dolby TrueHD
• Supports 7.1 channel audio
• Ships in October for a price of $649

Finally, Samsung is introducing a new home theater system called the HT-BD2 Home Theater Solution with Blu-ray. As the name implies, the all-in-one home-theater-in-a-box supports Blu-ray playback and comes in a piano black finish and blue LED accent lights. There’s also an active subwoofer with five tower and two satellite rear speakers. The system supports DTS HD and Dolby TrueHD. This system is due in the fourth quarter for a price of $1499.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Samsung, Blu-ray, BD-UP5000 Duo HD Player, BD-P1400, BD-P2400, HT-BD2 Home Theater Solution with Blu-ray

There’s a funny article over at ExtremeTech written by Loyd Case detailing his latest home theater endeavors. Loyd decided to try out a new HDTV set - the Sony KDS-55A2020 - and in doing so, fell into the upgrade nightmare that I ran into earlier this year. You get a 1080p capable display and you end up wanting to go 1080p throughout the system. So Case went from just upgrading his television set to getting a new HD DVD player.. and then a new Blu-ray player.. and then finally, a whole new receiver in the form of the Onkyo TX-SR875.

Earlier this year, I went through nearly the same type of upgrade nightmare. I decided to get a new 1080p Samsung LCD HDTV monitor.. but in doing so, I realized I really should upgrade my receiver to support HDMI connections. Of course, now that I have a 1080p display, I’m looking into getting a new Blu-ray player (since I already have am HD DVD player in the form of the Xbox 360 HD DVD player). One upgrade begets another doesn’t it? Well enjoy the read!

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Home Theater Madness, Home Theater Systems, ExtremeTech

It appears that someone at Shuttle has finally decided to fulfill my deepest desires for a small form factor PC - namely to have a barebones XPC system feature an HDMI output and support for HDCP. That’s right - that’s exactly what you get with the Shuttle XPC barebones system SG33G5M. This G5M based SFF beauty supports the latest Intel dual core and quad core processors and comes with a beautiful VFD display in the front. It screams “HTPC” all over and most of all, it comes with HDCP support which means you’ll be able to playback your protected high definition content on an HDCP enabled display. Right now, it appears the barebones system is available in Europe but you can bet the system should make it to the US sometime this year. There is a non VFD display Shuttle XPC with HDMI support here in the US but it’s a bit boring looking and it’s not clear whether it supports HDCP. Check out Krunker for additional information on this.

[Check it out via Krunker]

Technorati Tags: Shuttle, SG33G5M, HDMI with HDCP