Richard Doherty, from the infamous Doherty family and Microsoft’s program manager for Media Entertainment Convergence, slung some proverbial poo at both the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray loving manufacturers and studios. With one quick exhale of his M$ paid voice, he claimed that both formats, as well as any other optical format that is out or may come out in the future will become obsolete in five years.

I showed up just in time to scream “No Shit!” and then ran away into my troll house to wait for the next obvious statement to be spewed from someone’s mouth. Dick went on to say that at Microsoft, they would rather HD content was not on a disc at all, and also added that for the time being they are supporting HD-DVD because it has better interactive content (and Toshiba makes their XBOX 360 hardware, there is an HD-DVD add-on for the 360, the PS3 has a Blu-Ray drive, and Microsoft hates Sony- but they didn’t mention these parts).

Now that the future of disc formats is settled, and before I go back to my trollhouse for some trollhouse cookies and such, I will make another outlandish claim about the future of tech: In five years, today’s processors will be considered ancient and slow when compared to current micro computer processors.

Let’s see how that one turns out.

[Via about-electronics]

Sony has updated their Blu-Ray disc player product lines with a lower-priced bargain player that still supports all the wonderful features of high definition media. Along with the price drop comes the fact that this is now the cheapest Blu-Ray player, as the $499 20GB PS3 has been phased out of existence.

More info inside!
(more…)

Hewlett-Packard has decided to put the LG Super Multi Blue, otherwise known as the optical drive model GGW-H10N that can write on Blu-Ray discs as well as read both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, into some of their upcoming desktop models, most notably inside the Pavilion.

The other options that HP is considering as far as hardware changes go for their PC line-up include:

Other upgrade options that HP plans to add on Wednesday include a cable tuner, graphics cards, and machines with Intel Quad-core processors (Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q6600).

With an additional price of anywhere between two full companies and a full battalion ($500 -$1000 for those that don’t know military organization), the inclusion of a dual-format HD drive is not an easy choice. The best option is still probably patience, since the unfortunate demise of one format will mean the eventual solidarity of the other.

[Via ars technica]

Hooray for continuing to format war! Just as we began to see one format (Blu-ray) begin to show signs of pulling ahead we get the news that another set-top player manufacturer is preparing to make a dual format player. Samsung has now decided the time is right to help keep 2 formats in the marketplace. Time will tell if it plays both formats natively or in some weird emulated way like the last dual-format player.

Samsung says they’ll have the player ready for the holidays, but no word yet on features or price.

The newly enhanced Nero, aptly named Nero 7 Ultra Edition Enhanced debuted at this year’s NAB conference in Las Vegas and the newest addition adds a slew of HD extras, but they’re going to cost you … maybe.

“Nero users can now author their video content onto Blu-ray Discs (BD-R and BD-RE) featuring sophisticated menus, and can play the authored discs on their PCs, and via Blu-ray players.”

But Nero, what about HD-DVD?

“Because Nero is committed to supporting the full range of HD formats, the company has also released a new plug-in that enables HD DVD playback with the Nero ShowTime application.”

Ahh, I see and how much is this whole enchilada going to set consumers back?

Nero 7 Ultra Edition Enhanced is currently available at retail for $99.99, and via download from www.nero.com for $79.99. Current Nero 7 owners can download the update free of charge. The additional HD-DVD plug-in costs $24.99.

Well, you drive a hard bargain but if you don’t mind, I’ll just sit this one out, at least until the dust settles on this whole format war.

Not exactly a gadget, but if you’ve got one of those new-fangled Blu-Ray players or a PS3 around now’s the perfect time to boost the ‘ol library. Amazon is running a 50% off sale on over 40 titles, and there’s actually a few decent ones in here. Black Hawk Down, House of Flying Daggers, Memento and more than a few others.

No time limit on the sale, I guess it’ll be there till they’re gone.

[Via TheLastBoss]

Everyone’s favorite pre-loaded Windows DVD viewing/burning/ripping/microwave-oven/copier just got it’s circular groove on Windows Vista and your next PC. The latest DVD Suite, numero cinco, comes with handy features such as HD editing capabilities, Blue-Ray and HD DVD support and other nifty surprises like playing movies. DVD Suite 5 is already available for purchase online, but you can give the whole package a test run here or just wait until you pick up your next pre-built PC before giving it a go.

Ugh, as a DVD author I can’t even explain what a huge pain in the ass it is with the one established format out there (DVD) and the 2 HD versions (HD-DVD and Blu-ray). Each is programmed completely differently, need different encodes, and they all have different specs on what they’re capable of. To release on all formats the disc is done 3 times, with no overlap.

So why did I bother telling you this? Because this week, with no end in the format war in sight, steps were taken to ensure both will succeed in the marketplace. Toshiba announced a 51GB, 3-layer disc, still in development. This follows up the January announcement of a disc with HD-DVD on one side and Blu-ray on the other. But wait, There’s more!

New Medium Enterprises announced a format that can handle true HD using standard red-laser technology. Versatile Multilayer Disc (VMD) can do dual-format so as to solve the newer blue-laser market but it also offers enough capacity for HD with a red-laser with a new VMD format.

NME has been working quietly and quickly to secure region deals around the globe and have partnered with a company called PC Rush to produce low-cost dvd compatible VMD players for around $200, significantly less than any of the current HD-DVD or Blu-ray players.

What we as consumers (and me as a programmer) need is a single format, not a 3rd. Adding another format adds a huge amount of expense into the creation and manufacturing of these DVD’s. And the movie studios aren’t going to eat that difference, they’re going to pass it onto the consumers.

File this in the category of “desperate ideas,” Sony is hoping that their Australian launch of the PS3 (due on March 23rd for all your aussies) will go over a bit more smoothly if they give away a Blue-ray Disc version of Casino Royale, for the first 20,000 Australian buyers.  I wonder if they will hit 20,000 buyers before I see it in the bargain bin at Wal-Mart for $1.99.

Sony has already offered similar deals to American and Japanese customers with their offer of free downloads of the GranTurismo PS3 game, as well as a copy of Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.  Apparently Sony doesn’t think Australians have a sense of humor.

Sounds like yet another crappy idea from the company that brought us the PSP - AKA the gaming machine that claims to do everything but really does nothing, and the PS3 - AKA the 600 dollar paperweight.

[Via USA Today]

According to Home Media Magazine the statistics show that about 38% of hd movies were hd-dvd while the remaining 62% were blu-ray. One suggested reason for the numbers are PS3 sales which despite being poor for a video game console are excellent compared to hd-dvd players (687,000 vs. 175,000). Another suggested reason is that hd-dvd movie releases have slowed to a crawl while new blu-ray titles consistently appear. It’s also suggested that in 2009 blu-ray will become the standard while hd-dvd is seen as a transition format to get us there.

To be honest, ever since they made the 51 Gb triple layer hd-dvd from Toshiba I’ve wondered how blu-ray even stands a chance since new equipment has to be used to produce them. It might just be the preemptive declarations of blu-ray as the winner that have given it a fighting chance.

[Via Dailytech]