Online high definition video streaming is finally here as ABC has launched a beta of their HD streaming player. The player, which is powered by Movie Networks, allows you to watch several ABC shows at a high definition resolution of 1280 x 720. You can check out the service now by going to this page and clicking on “Launch the Player”. You’ll need to install the ABC HD player and then select the HD streaming link to see the ABC shows available in HD.

The ABC HD player does have some minimum requirements that you’ll need to worry about. You’ll need a fast Internet connection (2 Mbps or more) and of course a pretty fast computer. A dual core processor with a 128MB graphics card and a large display is highly recommended by ABC.

Current shows available in HD include Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, Lost, and Ugly Betty. I took a quick look at Ugly Betty in HD and I must say the quality is quite good for online streaming content. It takes a few seconds for the entire video stream to reach it’s full throughput potential but the video quality upgrades gracefully as you pick up the throughput.

Congrats to ABC for paving the road to online HD streaming. You can read more about this on their development blog.

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Technorati Tags: ABC, HD streaming, HD Video

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

The folks at Akihabara News are reporting that Sharp will be the first company to market a THX certified television set in the form of the Sharp T-series. The new LCD lineup will feature a 65 inch model and a 52 inch LCD. Features of the new Sharp LCD HDTV sets include:

• 350 cd/m2 brightness
• 2500:1 contrast ratio
• 1920 x 1080 resolution
• 120Hz ASV panels
• 3 - 1080p HDMI ports
• 1 - DVI port
• 2 - Firewire ports
• IrSS and Ethernet ports

The 65 inch (LV-65TH1) is expected to go for $11,599 while the 52 inch (LV-52TH1) is expected to sell for $6873.

[Check it out via Ubergizmo]

Technorati Tags: Sharp LCD TVs, T-Series, THX certified LCD

Those of you who played arcade games in the early 80’s have to remember Dragon’s Lair. That was absolutely one of the coolest interactive arcade games ever made in those days. Now thanks to the folks at Digital Leisure, owners of HD DVD players will be able to enjoy Dragon’s Lair in it’s full high definition glory. Dirk the Daring will be making his HD DVD debut this August and the game will feature:

• Full 1080p HD video
• Interviews with creators Don Bluth, Gary Goldman, and Rick Dyer
• Full length visual commentary of the game
• 5.1 audio

Dragon’s Lair on HD DVD will be playable on both the Xbox 360 HD DVD player as well as standalone HD DVD players. The disc will be available starting on August 15th at many game and movie retailers as well as at www.digitalleasure.com. The game is already available on Blu-ray format (which introduced earlier this year). Digital Leisure plans on following up the release with the release of Space Ace and Dragon’s Lair II: Time Warp - both in HD DVD format.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Dragon\'s Lair, HD DVD, August 15th

Engadget is reporting that Hitachi will be introducing their first Blu-ray supporting video camcorders later this year. The new Wooo-branded camcorders will feature a 5.3 megapixel CMOS sensor capable of recording at full 1080p (1920 x 1080) and come with an integrated BD/DVD drive supporting 8cm discs. With an 8cm BD-RE/R media in place, the camcorder will be capable of recording up to 7GB of MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 video - roughly five times the amount of an 8cm DVD-RAM/RW/R disc.

[Check it out via Engadget]

Technorati Tags: Video Camcorder, Blu-ray

Warner Home Video is planning to release a “Best Of” box sets for both HD DVD and Blu-ray high definition media formats. Each box set will include four film titles ranging from new releases to old classics with three different volumes available in each high definition format. Film titles include “Lethal Weapon”, “Training Day”, “The Last Samurai”, “Blazing Saddles”, and “Goodfellas”. The box sets are expected to go on sale for approximately $85 dollars. The Warner Home Video “Best Of” box sets are slated for release on September 18th.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Warner Home Video, Best Of, HD DVD, Blu-ray

It looks like the upcoming Samsung dual format BD-UP5000 player will come out a bit sooner than expected. We originally reported the player was slated to come out in October but now Samsung has supposedly stated the Blu-ray/HD DVD standalone player will come out in Europe by the end of next month (August). Other rumors are stating that the Samsung BD-UP5000 could be priced as low as €400 ($548/£271). Again - that’s JUST a rumor. The BD-UP5000 will supposedly offer full interactive support for both Blu-ray and HD DVD titles which stands in contrast to the LG dual format player which fully supports Blu-ray but only plays the movie portion of an HD DVD disc.

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If you don’t subscribe to Home Theater Mag, then you might be interested in reading this article entitled “Blu-ray and HD DVD Face Off“ over on their website. The article first appeared in the June 2007 edition of the magazine and essentially covers the backgrounds of both Blu-ray and HD DVD. They then compare three different high definition players - the Tosiba HD-XA2 HD DVD player, the Panasonic DMP-BD10 Blu-ray player, and the LG BH100 Blu-ray/HD DVD player. If you’re not familiar with either Blu-ray or HD DVD, then you should definitely give this article a look over as it gives some great background high level information on both formats and the state of affairs of the format wars as it stands now.

Here’s a blurb from the article:

Until the average consumer can buy the cheapest player on the market and rent a disc without looking at the label (”What do you mean this disc won’t play in my player?”), neither format will gain mass acceptance. Regardless, this is going to drag out over years, and there is no possibility that either format (or both combined) will grow as fast as DVD. If Sony, et al, and Toshiba are lucky, they’ll grow faster than VHS.

[Check it out]

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This is a re-posting from Krunker.com. CamcorderInfo has published a comparison between the Canon TX1 and the Sanyo VPC-HD2 - both of which offer high resolution still images and 720p video recording capabilities. The TX1 is marketed more as a digital camera than an HD video camcorder while the VPC-HD2 is marketed more as a camcorder than a camera. Before getting to the verdict, here are the important specs to both cameras.

The Canon PowerShot TX1 features:

• Small form factor
• 7.1 megapixel resolution
• 10x optical zoom lens
• Proprietary Optical Image Stabilizer Technology
• DIGIC III Image Processor with improved Face Detection Technology and Red Eye Correction
• 1280 x 720 HD movies at 30fps with Face Detection, stereo sound, and 1080i component video playback
• 1.8 inch Vari-Angle, Wide-View LCD with scratch-resistant, anti-reflection, anti-fingerprint coating
• Sensitivity range up to ISO 1600
• All metal construction with built in lens cap
• Print/Share button for easy direct printing and downloading

The Sanyo VPC-HD2 features:

• 720p HD video recording (1280 x 720 at 30fps)
• 7 megapixel resolution
• 10x Optical Zoom Lens, 10x Digital Zoom lens
• Rotating 2.2 inch LCD screen
• SD or SDHC memory card support
• HDMI output
• Records in MPEG-4
• 9 image display function
• Simultaneous shooting of 7 megapixel still images and HD video
• 48kHZ, 16 bit 2 channel sound for AAC-LC encoding
• Image stabilization feature

Here’s the verdict from CamcorderInfo:

Overall, we have to side with the Canon TX1 as the victor. It’s far from perfect, but it’s a promising step in the right direction.

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Technorati Tags: Canon TX1, Sanyo VPC-HD2, HD Digital Cameras

The History Channel in HD is now a part of Comcast’s HD On Demand Programming (and yes, I’m a wee bit jealous of that since I have Time Warner Cable here in LA). Comcast now has four programs from History Channel HD located under the “News and Info” section of the HD On Demand menu according to TVPredictions.com. The items include:

• Three six-minute previews of episodes of Dogfights
• A full length episode of Dogfights entitled “Jet vs. Jet”

Comcast also added previous episodes of TNT’s Closer in HD which starts Kyra Sedgwick. Comcasts expects to increase its HD On Demand lineup to 200 hours of programming by the year end - up from 100 hours of programming at the end of 2006.

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Technorati Tags: Comcast, HD On Demand, History Channel in HD, TNT HD