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Blu-Ray and HD-DVD Recorder News

Current Archive

• Target to sell Blu-ray players in stores

  Target Corp., the nation's second-largest retailer, will start selling a Sony Blu-ray high-definition DVD player during the critical holiday shopping period and feature the player along with Blu-ray discs in store displays, dealing a potential blow to the rival HD DVD format.
  
  The move, which the companies will formally announce Thursday, is another step in resolving a format war that has kept confused consumers from rushing to buy new DVD players until they can determine which format will dominate the market.
  
  Target said it will sell the Sony BDP-S300 for $499 in October and display it along with Blu-ray DVDs from three studios, including Sony Corp. and The Walt Disney Co., at the ends of store aisles.
  
  The Target announcement comes five weeks after a decision by video rental chain Blockbuster Inc. to offer only Blu-ray titles when it expands its high-def offerings this fall.
  
  Blu-ray is backed by Sony, which developed it. Most Hollywood studios are releasing films either exclusively in Blu-ray or together with the rival HD DVD format, which is backed by its developer, Toshiba Corp.
  
  
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  Thursday, July 26, 2007

• Samsung's 3rd-gen and dual-format players

  Samsung has released more details about the company's third-generation Blu-ray player lineup, including a home theater-in-a-box system, and the Duo HD dual-format HD DVD / Blu-ray player. We learned about the two Blu-ray players earlier this month, and we can add to that info support on both players for 24 or 60fps playback at 1080p. The BD-P2400 also adds 7.1-channel output, with the BD-P1400 sporting 5.1 outs.
  
  The dual-format BD-UP5000 was also announced back in April, and now we know that it will play back both of the high-definition formats at 1080p and includes the HQV upconversion processor chip found in the BD-P2400. It includes the same feature set as the BD-P2400, with Blu-ray playback at 24 or 60fps, 7.1-channel out, and Dolby Digital Plus and DTS HD support. It also has HD DVD-specific features like local storage and picture-in-picture support, while staying fully compatible with both the HDi and BD-J interactive specs.
  
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• Arrival of a competitively priced internal Blu-Ray Writer

  Philips and Lite-On Digital Solutions (PLDS) have announced the arrival of a competitively priced internal Blu-ray disc drive, the LH-2B1S, in Europe.
  
  Lite-On was one of the first brands to release a Blu-ray disc writer to the market in November 2006. But, due to a global shortage of Blu-ray lasers at the time, prices started high and have remained that way…until now it seems.
  
  "Now that Blu-ray lasers are not in big shortage anymore and we have accumulated enough stock of the product, we can lower the price and still fulfill the growing demand," says Katrin Ackermann, European sales Manager for PLDS.
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  Wednesday, July 25, 2007

• Toshiba HD-A20

  With the first year of the format war under our belt, the second generation hardware is starting to hit the streets and we had a chance to spend some quality time with the new Toshiba HD-A20. The A20 fits nicely in the Toshiba HD DVD player lineup, offering 1080p60 output, the Silicon Optix Reon chip Anchor Bay ABT1018 chip and HDMI 1.3 without the price of the HD-XA2. It has been a year since we have had an HD DVD player to play with, and that was before all the firmware updates were released, but we won't let that stop us from comparing it to the A20.
  

  
  The A20 really feels like a consumer electronic device; very different than the A1. The remote is an improvement over the A1 as well, but we still wish it was back-lit like the XA1/XA2's. We're not sure why they even bothered to include composite cables, what is the point of composite cable on a HD movie player anyway? Lucky for us we had all the cables we needed to get things connected.
  
  
  
  After we got it connected, we were impressed that the component outputs defaulted to 1080i, this only makes sense considering almost every HDTV with component inputs supports 1080i. Our test TV is getting long in the tooth and doesn't have HDMI, so we used component for all of our tests.
  
  
  
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• Denon's new high end Blu-ray Disc player

  Denon recently announced their new high end Blu-ray Disc player, the DVD-3800BDCI. This $1999 monster is the first player to feature support for BD-ROM Version 1.1 which, among other things, allows for playback of picture-in-picture content. The DVD-3800BDCI also features the Silicon Optix Realta chipset, which provides enhanced video performance with upconversion and IP scaling to 1080p.
  
  Denon Electronics, a world leader in high-performance home entertainment products, today announced the upcoming introduction of two groundbreaking DVD products, the new reference-standard DVD-3800BDCI BD-ROM Profile 1 version 1.1 Blu-ray Disc Player and the DVD-2500BTC BD-ROM Profile 1 version 1.1 Blu-ray Disc Transport.

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• PlayStation 3 sales more than double in United States

  
  Sales rocket following price drop in the region. Following the $100 price cut in the US on July 9th, sales of PS3 hardware have shot up by 135 per cent according to reports from Wal-mart, Best Buy, Target, Circuit City and GameStop – the firm’s five biggest retailers.
  
  June NPD figures show that the PS3 sold 98,500 in the US during June, compared to 81,600 units in May, reported Next Generation.
  
  The firm also enjoyed a 21 per cent increase in PlayStation brand sales prior to the price drop, while PSP hardware sales were up 31 percent year-on-year to 290,108 units, following a price drop of its own earlier this year.

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  Tuesday, July 24, 2007

• HD DVD Consumer Electronics Player Firmware Updates

  To add new features, improve compatibility, address security concerns and correct internal programming issues, manufacturers periodically issue firmware updates to HD DVD players, drives and recorders. Generally speaking, it is advisable to use the latest available version.

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• Sony offers revenue-sharing deals to promote Blu-ray

  
  

  Beginning in September, Sony will make all of its new releases and select catalog titles on Blu-ray available under the agreement, which expands the studio's DVD revenue-sharing deal with Rentrak. Neither Sony nor Rentrak would disclose terms of the deal.
  
  “We think it’s important to the expansion of the format to make sure that the rental component of the Blu-ray launch is covered, and now it is,” SPHE president David Bishop said. “Virtually all retailers can have Blu-ray on a revenue-sharing basis. We think it’s important to the retailer, so they are perceived as being on the cutting edge of new technology.”
  
  Marty Graham, president of Rentrak’s pay per transaction division, said the deal could accelerate high-def adoption because more rental retailers are likely to enter the business earlier in the format’s lifecycle.

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  Monday, July 23, 2007

• Toshiba's "Perfect Offer"

  Toshiba America Consumer Products, L.L.C. ("Toshiba") announced it has extended its highly successful 5 free HD DVD disc promotion, "The Perfect Offer" until September 30, 2007. "The Perfect Offer," a strategic promotion started last year by Toshiba to encourage purchase of Toshiba HD DVD players, has been met with overwhelming demand and consumer response and has contributed to strong sales of Toshiba HD DVD players. As a result, with the purchase of any Toshiba HD DVD player, consumers will continue to be able to select five HD DVD titles for free, from a selection of 15, via a mail-in offer.
  
  Consumers have spoken -- price matters. Toshiba recently announced that it is lowering prices on HD DVD players to a level that took standard DVD players three years to reach. With HD DVD, consumers can get high definition 1080p resolution at the best value in the market today. Toshiba's 1080p HD- A20 is only $399 (MSRP), and for the best value in high definition, Toshiba's 1080i HD-A2 is only $299 (MSRP). The combination of an HD-A2 or HD-A20 HD DVD player and up to $150 worth of free movies is a value that is unmatched by any other competitor.
  
  The extension of "The Perfect Offer" comes at a great time for consumers as studio partners have recently announced HD DVD movie titles that include web-enabled network capabilities. Purchasers of Toshiba HD DVD players can enjoy the most extensive interactive features in the market today via this technology. Whether an individual is planning to purchase HD DVD or already has, every Toshiba HD DVD player will be able to provide web-enabled interactive features through a firmware update.

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• BLU-RAY Copy Master II

  
  

  Copy Master introduces the newest member of the Copy Master II duplicator line: Copy Blu™.
  
  Copy Master is a manufacture of the highest quality and most reliable standalone duplication equipment on the market today. The Copy Blu™ offers reliable duplication for all of your Blu-Ray discs as well as lightning fast duplication for DL DVD+/-R, DVD+/-R, & CD-R discs. When you value your project enough to use BLu-Ray discs, make sure your duplicator is strong enough to handle the job, make sure your’re using the COPY BLU™!

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  Thursday, July 19, 2007

• BLU-RAY SharkCopier

  If you plan to take advantage of the added capacity and better video quality possible with Blu-Ray discs, you need a duplicator that will not wilt under the pressure. Vinpower Digital introduces the newest member of the SharkCopier™ duplicator line: Shark Blu™.
  
  Vinpower Digital is a manufacture of the highest quality and most reliable standalone duplication equipment on the market today. The Shark Blu™ offers reliable duplication for all of your Blu-Ray discs as well as lightning fast duplication for DL DVD+/-R, DVD+/-R, & CD-R discs. When you value your project enough to use BLu-Ray discs, make sure your duplicator is strong enough to handle the job, make sure your’re using the SHARK BLU™!

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• Blu Ray Sales Falling whereas HD DVD Numbers growing

  The Home Media Expo 2007 is underway this week in Las Vegas and HD DVD has used the forum to show off their latest sales numbers as compared to Blu-ray’s. According to the Neilson Netratings,HD DVD player sales are up 37% from Q1 to Q2 of this year, and software sales are up 20%. Blu-ray sales on the other hand have dropped significantly over the same time period however, with player sales dropping 27% and software sales down 5%.

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• BDC-202 Blu-Ray Combo Drive Pioneer

  
  

  Pioneer announced the new BDC-202 combination Blu-ray Disc BD-ROM computer drive with enhanced DVD and CD writing and reading capabilities.
  
  The newly designed Pioneer drive offers playback of BD-ROM discs allowing users to view Blu-ray Disc high definition programs directly on a properly configured computer. The Pioneer BDC-202 can play multiple Blu-ray Disc formats, as well as provide high-speed reading and writing of DVD and CD formats.
  
  With a focus on BD-ROM playback, the new Pioneer combination computer drive will be a significant contributor in the emergence of the Blu-ray Disc format for both professional and consumer use on computers. In addition to BD-ROM playback, the BDC-202 allows users to access and transfer A/V and data files rapidly to DVD and CD. With up to 50GB of storage capacity, the Blu-ray Disc format allows for copious amounts of high definition video and audio content on a single disc, including advanced interactive features and extensive bonus materials. The BDC-202 drive allows computer system builders to provide a cost effective playback solution for advanced Blu-ray content as well as DVD and CD recording and playback.

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  Wednesday, July 18, 2007

• BD at the top in European sales

  Lack of console and PC hardware figures are " misleading and misrepresentative". Following on from last week's claims by the European HD-DVD Promotional Group that HD-DVD now has 74 per cent market share, the Blu-ray Association (BDA) has hit back at the lack of console-influenced figures.
  
  It claims that the European HD-DVD Promotional Group's failure to include figures of both PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC drive sales is "misleading and misrepresentative" of market trends and distorts who the real market lead is.
  
  The BDA however did conceed that HD-DVD "does have sales advantage for several reasons", although did not go into details.

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  Tuesday, July 17, 2007

• The Predicted Death of HD DVD

  
  

  Marketing boss Peter Dille suggests 360 ‘doesn’t even work’. SCEA’s VP of marketing Peter Dille has predicted that HD-DVD will be obsolete “in a matter of months”, and attacked the build of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 – following an admission by the Seattle firm that it had seen an ‘unacceptable’ number of faulty machines.
  
  Dille also condemned his rival’s history in the console market and questioned the long-term potential of the Xbox 360.
  
  Speaking to Gamasutra at the E3 expo, Dille said:
  "I don't want to be argumentative, but I take issue with Microsoft either having a long tail, or being profitable, because they've never done either. They've never made a dime in this business.
  
  

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• New Euro PS3 bundle

  
  

  No price cut in Europe, but high value pack launched. SCEE earlier this morning announced the launch of a new value ‘Start Pack’, comprising a PS3, two first party games and two Sixaxis controllers.
  
  
  Available with immediate effect, priced at Euro 599 (£425), the two titles available in the pack will vary from country to country, but are likely to mainly comprise Resistance: Fall Of Man and Motorstorm.
  
  SCEE has chosen not to adopt a similar strategy to the US, which has cut the price of the 60GB version by $100, at the same time introducing an 80GB model. The saving offered by the Starter Pack, however, equates to around £115.

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• Firmware Updates for BD Players, Drives and Recorders

  To add new features, improve compatibility, address security concerns and correct internal programming issues, manufacturers periodically issue firmware updates to BD players, drives and recorders. Generally speaking, it is advisable to use the latest available version.

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  Thursday, July 12, 2007

• World's First 4x Write-Once Blu-ray Discs by Panasonic

  
  

  
  Panasonic, the leading brand by which Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. is known, announced today that the company will globally introduce Write-Once Blu-ray Discs (BD-R) with 4x writing speed. The new discs will be available in both 25GB and 50GB, which will be introduced in the market this July and September, respectively.
  
  In conjunction with the launch of 4x BD drives, the new discs have the capability of 4x speed writing and reading, allowing users to handle large amount of data or High Definition content with greater convenience. Panasonic is the first company to announce the market introduction of 4x BD-R Discs as of July 3rd, 2007.
  
  Since introducing the world's first dual layer 1xBD-RE Disc in 2004, Panasonic has continued to lead the market and develop the Blu-ray Disc technologies to meet the growing demand for high-speed reading and writing of massive volumes of data. The new 4x Discs have the maximum data transfer speed of 144Mbps, which means they can copy a 1GB folder in just one minute, while a DVD-RW(2x data transfer speed) needs 6 minutes.

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• Third Generation Blu-Ray Players

  
  Samsung has dropped its "Holidays in July" bomb on the good people of Earth, and within that treasure trove are a few little gems, like the company's new Blu-ray duo, the BD-P2400, and kid sister BD-P1400. Both players feature Blu-ray playback at native HD resolution (1080p / 1080i / 720p), handle HD video at 1920 x 1080, and up-convert standard DVDs to 1080p via HDMI.

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• Equal promotion for Blu-Ray and HD DVD

  
  

  Retailers seek to promote HD DVD / Blu-ray titles equally. How things have changed in just a few short months.While we once groused over retailers not devoting enough attention to high-definition film, it wasn't too long before the SACD and DVD-A kiosks were canned (hey, it's our best guess, anyway) and HD DVD / Blu-ray titles received expanded exposure.

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  Monday, July 09, 2007

• First Blu-Ray Player Announced by Sharp

  
  Sharp Electronics has announced that they will release their first Blu-ray player, the BD-HP20S, this fall.No price has been set, but we do know some hardware specs. The player will output 1080p at 24fps (and 60fps) and supports Dolby TrueHD. Additionally, the player will come equipped with HDMI v1.3 as well as 5.1 analog outs.

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• Blu-Ray and HD DVD War

  
  

  Following a dry spell in the first quarter of this year, the HD DVD camp rebounded in Q2 to release more high-def titles than its next-gen rival i.e Blu-Ray.
  According to industry tipsheet The DVD Release Report, 70 HD DVD titles hit store shelves during the period from April 1 through June 30, compared to 63 Blu-ray titles in the same timeframe. That's quite a jump for HD DVD, which got trounced in the same metric by Blu-ray over the first three months of the year, releasing only 29 titles (compared to Blu-ray's 69). HD DVD backers have pointed to the format's dearth of new releases in the early part of the year as a primary reason for what quickly became a widening sales lead for Blu-ray.

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  Friday, July 06, 2007

• Optical Disc Burning

  
  

  In computing, optical disc authoring, including DVD authoring, known often as burning , is the process of recording source material—video, audio or other data—onto an optical disc (compact disc or DVD).
  
  
  
  

  Process

  
  To create an optical disc, one usually first creates a disk image with a full file system designed for the optical disc, and then burns the image to the disc. The disc image is a single file, built and stored on the hard drive, which contains the entire information to be contained on the disc.
  
  Many programs create the disc image and burn in one bundled operation, so that end-users often do not know the distinction. However, a useful motivation for learning this distinction is that creating the disc image is an "expensive" (time-consuming) process. Most disc writing applications will silently delete this image from the "temporary directory" in which it was built unless users instruct the disc burning application to preserve the image, which can then be used for creating further copies of the same image without the need to rebuild the image each time.
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• Blu Ray Technology

  

  The name Blu-ray Disc is derived from the blue-violet laser used to read and write this type of disc. Because of its shorter wavelength (405 nm), substantially more data can be stored on a Blu-ray Disc than on the DVD format, which uses a red, 650 nm laser. A single layer Blu-ray Disc can store 25 GB, over 5 times the size of a single layer DVD at 4.7 GB. A dual layer Blu-ray Disc can store 50 GB, almost 6 times the size of a dual layer DVD at 8.5 GB.
  
  
  
  Blu-ray Disc is similar to PDD, another optical disc format developed by Sony (which has been available since 2004) but offering higher data transfer speeds. PDD was not intended for home video use and was aimed at business data archiving and backup.
  
  

  
  
  Technical specifications

  
  
  * About 9 hours of high-definition (HD) video can be stored on a 50 GB disc.
  * About 23 hours of standard-definition (SD) video can be stored on a 50 GB disc.
  * On average, a single-layer disc can hold a High Definition feature of 135 minutes using MPEG-2, with additional room for 2 hours of bonus material in standard definition quality. A dual layer disc will extend this number up to 3 hours in HD quality and 9 hours of SD bonus material.
  
  
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• Blu-Ray sales boosted by PS3

  
  

  Sales of Sony’s hi-def movies pass the 180,000 mark in Europe. With Sony’s high definition Blu-Ray format seemingly pulling away from Toshiba’s rival HD-DVD standard in the current hi-def war, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has announced that European Blu-Ray sales have enjoyed a sharp rise since the arrival of PS3.

  
  
  
  

  Tech Digest reports that over 180,000 Blu-Ray Sony movies have now been sold in Europe, with sales climbing by over 1000 per cent since Sony’s PlayStation 3 hit the market in March.
  
  
  "The launch of the PS3 had a tremendous impact on Blu-Ray software sales across the board," Sony Pictures’ executive VP Matt Brown stated. "Recent sales figures are a clear indication that the PS3 is seen as an entertainment device."
  

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• Toshiba: HD DVD Delivers Advanced Content and Interactivity

  
  

  Today at its summer press event, Toshiba America Consumer Products, L.L.C. ("Toshiba") announced that HD DVD is bringing a whole new world of high definition entertainment to the hands of consumers. Delivering on the promise to provide advanced content and interactivity, new HD DVD titles with web-enabled network capabilities now allow consumers to easily access additional content and bonus features, as available, to enjoy their favorite HD DVD movies like never before. Current users of Toshiba HD DVD players can enjoy the web-enabled network capabilities by updating to the latest HD DVD player firmware, now available from Toshiba.
  
  Since the launch of HD DVD, all of Toshiba's players have offered advanced interactive functionality including picture-in-picture video and audio commentary, which have already been available on many HD DVD movies. Now Toshiba takes interactivity to the next level. The company's latest firmware update supports improved network connectivity for downloading web-enabled network content and is another example of the company's commitment toward achieving the ultimate home entertainment experience. No other high definition home entertainment format currently matches the features offered by Toshiba and the HD DVD format.
  

  
  
  

  This story continues here! on ProBurner

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  Tuesday, July 03, 2007
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• Content Protection Licensing Program launched by BD+ Technologies

  
  

  
  BD+ Technologies, LLC, the licensor of BD+, the exclusive added layer of content protection for movies and other premium entertainment released on the Blu-ray Disc standard, announced today the completion of its licensing program.
  
  The program includes the BD+ Specifications and Agreement for BD+ Adopters (Player/Chip Manufacturers), as well as BD+ Content Participants and authorized BD+ code developers. Sample copies of all new license documents, as well as other related information, are available here.
  
  BD+ is a Virtual Machine-based content protection technology created exclusively for the Blu-ray Disc format. The technology features have already been implemented into all Blu-ray Disc players in the marketplace, however updated technical specifications are now available.
  
  “Fox has vigorously fought against piracy for years and the adoption of BD+ as part of the Blu-ray Disc specification, and an enhancement over and above AACS, was a key factor in our decision to publish on the format,” noted Mike Dunn, President Worldwide, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. “This added layer of content protection gives Blu-ray yet another distinct competitive advantage.”
  
  
  

  
  

  This story continues here! on Proburner

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• Samsung - Blu Ray DVD Player

  
  
  

  Samsung BD-P1000 - Blu Ray 1080P DVD Player

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Previous Posts

Target to sell Blu-ray players in stores
Thursday, July 26, 2007

Samsung's 3rd-gen and dual-format players
Thursday, July 26, 2007

Arrival of a competitively priced internal Blu-Ray...
Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Toshiba HD-A20
Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Denon's new high end Blu-ray Disc player
Wednesday, July 25, 2007

PlayStation 3 sales more than double in United Sta...
Tuesday, July 24, 2007

HD DVD Consumer Electronics Player Firmware Update...
Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Sony offers revenue-sharing deals to promote Blu-r...
Monday, July 23, 2007

Toshiba's "Perfect Offer"
Monday, July 23, 2007

BLU-RAY Copy Master II
Thursday, July 19, 2007

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