Format War Central

HD DVD Still Seeing Releases in 2010

Mehar Gill — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:24:03 +0000

If you’re still holding onto your HD DVD players you are definitely in luck this year, DeadLands 2: Trapped is now available for preorder on the HD DVD format through online retailer Anthem DVD. The unrated Zombie horror film will cost you roughly $29.95. The description is as follows,

Bio-Weapon on the residents of a small Maryland city is brings down a world of Horror for 6 strangers that take refuge in a large theater cineplex.

IN ONE NIGHT, ONE TOWN WILL FIGHT AGAINST AN ENEMY…THAT NEVER STOPS, SHOWS NO EMOTION, NO REMORSE,AND IS ALREADY…DEAD!

Another release to add to your wishlist is the critically acclaimed Kazakhstan film Tulpan which releases on HD DVD April 12th, 2010. It is possible that the company behind the release (Drakes Avenue Pictures) could look into future releases on the format. We’re still looking for a retailer that allows you to preorder the film for those interested.

[Via DVD Review]

CBHD Breaks 100 Release Barrier, Paramount Pledges Support

Mehar Gill — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:25:33 +0000

The CBHD group at a press event held this month has announced that CBHD since launching in September of this year has broken the 100 title release mark and plans on reaching 1000 by the end of 2010. It should also be noted that Hollywood’s Paramount has pledged support for the format some time between now and when Universal/National Geographic had done so. Other film companies such as China’s own Guangdong Philip Arts have also pledged support for the CBHD format.

The CBHD group also revealed that the format will no longer be just about movies, TV shows, concerts, government films, educational films, corporate films, product films and other television programs, will also make their way to the format.

Prototypes showcasing flat panel displays with built in CBHD functionality were also on display at the event, they prototypes are expected to go into production sometime next year. Unspecified price cuts on CBHD players were also hinted at. The CBHD expects 2010 to be a big year for the format as such are doing as much as possible to meet demand and help the format appeal to the masses.

In commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Chinese Revolution, a limited edition CBHD disc entitled “The 60th Anniversary of National Day Military Parade” has been included with all CBHD players. No indication as to what the film is about was given although we assume it is simply HD footage of the anniversary day parade.

[Via Zol]

Editor’s note: Please keep the comments related to the CBHD format only…. We dont want this post to turn into a China related flame war. TIA.

Universal Studios and National Geographic Announce Support for CBHD

Mehar Gill — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 05:49:25 +0000

Universal Studios and National Geographic have announced their support for the CBHD format, making Universal the second major Hollywood studio to support the format. Warner was the first major studio to support CBHD. As we have covered before, CBHD is currently outselling Blu-ray with a margin of 3:1 in China.

Also of note, 8 manufactures have requested to join the CHDA, these range from TV manufactures to vendors. The CHDA believes CBHD’s only current weakness is the lack of manufacturer support and believe the 8 companies who applied will help alleviate this situation. The CHDA made bold claims by saying thanks to Blu-ray’s high price the format war was essentially a “game no one played.”

We previously speculated more Hollywood studios would start pledging support for the CBHD format, it will be interesting to see if the format spreads into other Asian territories like the CHDA previously hinted at.

[Via Guangzhou Daily]

CBHD Leads Marketshare over Blu-ray in China

Mehar Gill — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 23:30:49 +0000

CBHD seems to be doing much better against rival Blu-ray than its ill fated predecessor HD DVD. A recent report by a Japanese news station looking at CBHD format and its competition with Blu-ray confirms CBHD has a 3% market share lead on Blu-ray. The CBHD format launched in the first half of 2009, Blu-ray launched in China mid 2008.

Given how the “documentary” itself is in a language foreign to us, we were only able to collect so much from the report. The video documentary is available here. The documentary also reveals the final casing used for CBHD discs, they are similar to the HD DVD cases with a black tint instead of red, much more appealing in comparison to the slimeline cases shown earlier.

Is this finally Toshiba/HD DVD’s big break? Failing to find success in North America, perhaps finding a niche market is what they needed? It would also mean a new era of physical media in China considering the low licensing fees and a possible government backed standard format in the region signifying the end of the format wars in the region. The only Hollywood studio supporting CBHD is Warner Brothers, perhaps this will encourage more studios to “jump in”?

CBHD Players Ship In China, Format War Begins

Mehar Gill — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 12:10:47 +0000

Chinese manufacturer’s TCL and Shinco have officially launched the first set of CBHD players in China coincidentally starting a format war against rival Blu-ray.

Both Shinco and TCL state CBHD players will cost approximately 40% less than any Blu Ray player currently available on the Chinese market. The players will launch at a MSRP of 2,000 Yuan ($300) which both companies believe is a consumer oriented price.

Ironically, Warner Bros. was the first Hollywood studio to jump on board the CBHD bandwagon, titles such as the Harry Potter series, Blood Diamond, Golden Compass and Speed Racer will be available for a mere 50-70 Yuan (approx $7.25 to $10.15).

Shinco and TCL believe by the year’s end they will be able to sell over 10 million CBHD players to Chinese consumers, by 2011 the manufacturer’s expect to ship roughly 70 million players.

If your waiting for a international release of the format if it ever takes off in China don’t get your hopes up, CBHD was a government backed initiative to make home grown alternatives and reduce licensing fees and piracy as much as possible. If the player is ever released outside of China, we could see it move into neighboring nations.

If people really miss HD DVD that much, I doubt anyone could stop them from importing players and movies, just don’t expect backwards compatibility with your HD DVD collection.

[Via CDR Info]

Warner Launches “Red2Blu” HD DVD to Blu-ray Upgrade Program

Tyler Pruitt — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:54:52 +0000

Warner has announced a new HD DVD to Blu-ray trade-in/upgrade program. The program dubbed “Red2Blu” allows you to upgrade up to 25 Warner HD DVDs to the Blu-ray versions of the movie. The cost is $4.95 per disc (some multi disc sets are more) and a flat shipping fee of $5.95 per order.

Lucky for us (or unlucky?) , we only have 23 WB HD DVDs in our collection.

Are you planning to participate in this program? Do you think other studios will follow Warner’s lead and provide the same type of upgrade program?

5 Reasons Why HD DVD Owners Should Go Blu

Mehar Gill — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:01:57 +0000

With just a few days to go before the one year anniversary of Warner’s shocking decision, we figure it would be a good time to highlight why those still holding onto HD DVD should considering introducing Blu into their day to day lives.

We won’t bombard you with cliché’s and say Blu-ray is the “future” by any means, market conditions change; DivX, WMV HD DVD, HD DVD, EVD, EVD HD, etc are all prime examples of that. Instead, we’ll give you a few solid reasons to invest in the technology.

Harmony: Despite the format war having ended long ago, combo players are still common in many production lines. Although they’re mostly PC drives, with a little work you could probably set up an Extender in your entertainment room with your combo drive at the center of it all. If that’s not your thing why not look around for a standalone combo player, you just mind find what you’re looking for. If you’re really stubborn why not wait until the Xbox 360 Blu-ray drive is released, it was rumored so many time’s it bound to happen eventually…right?
Easy Transition: Blu-ray and HD DVD share many similar qualities, ranging from the cases to the codec’s. With Blu-ray you can still enjoy the bitrates and extra’s you’ve been enjoying on your HD DVD’s, and at times, then some!
Decreasing Price Points: Format war veterans are familiar with this argument, the cheap price point! Blu-ray no longer costs an arm, leg, baby, etc, in fact prices on many introductory players are stooping below $200, just don’t expect the bells and whistles that came with your HD-A2 at that price, or your A1 for that matter.
A Cut Above: Despite HD VMD having its advantages, it might take a while for NME to fully release the format. With the last WMV HD DVD and HD DVD title released just months ago, there’s not much left for those looking into the physical HD market, unless your thinking of importing a CBHD player, Blu-ray is the only format on the market that is able to fully satisfy.
The Lesser of Two Evils: HD DVD Veterans have a few things in common; a hatred for Blu-ray and Digital Downloads might come up often. If physical media is your thing, why not buy a Blu-ray player to extend the physical age and show the analysts and executives that the world still wants more physical media!

And there you have it, any ex HD DVD owners still on the fence about Blu-ray? Agree or disagree with this article? Feel free to post all criticisms, additions, etc below!

FWC’s Top 5 Stories of 2008

Tyler Pruitt — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 02:37:27 +0000

It has been a very eventful year when it comes to high definition video content. Everything from the end of HD DVD, to the fast rise of Vudu’s HD content library, have all happened in the last 12 months.

Here is a look back at Format War Central’s most viewed stories of 2008.

1. Warner Swayed By $500 Million From The BDA

2. Disney Goes EULA Crazy on Sleeping Beauty Blu-ray

3. HDCP Required for Xbox 360 HD Netflix Streaming Over DVI

4. Dissected: Sony BDP-S350 Blu-ray Player

5. Iron Man Shatters Blu-ray Sales Records

Blockbuster Selling HD DVDs for $7.99 Each

Tyler Pruitt — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 11:02:50 +0000

Blockbuster.com is selling their previously viewed HD DVD movies on their website for $7.99 each. There are 100’s of HD DVD titles available, so check out what’s there and you might just find something you like.

To sweeten the deal even more, just enter the coupon code: ”holidaysurprise” and save 30%.

When we made our order, we also got free first class mail shipping!

Fry’s Xbox HD DVD Add-on Bundle

James Segars — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 11:10:25 +0000

We’re not interested in starting any flame wars today, we just wanted to point out a rather nice deal for our HD DVD supporters/readers.

At the moment, Fry’s.com is having a deal where you can snag (1) HD DVD Add-on for the Xbox 360, and the premiere seasons of Heroes, and Battlestar Galactica for a mere $49.99.

While it’s not quite a steal, but it would make a nice addition to your HD DVD collection if you’ve been looking for a secondary player — tethered to your HTPC or 360, of course — and you’ve always had your heart set on those titles.

Order, here.

Blockbuster Unveils Set Top Box

Mehar Gill — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:26:07 +0000

Remember that set top box Blockbuster teased during their latest conference call? It has finally been revealed! Dubbed the “MediaPoint”, the box will allow users to progressively playback DVD quality video directly to their living rooms.

The box is essentially free for those who rent 25 movies from Blockbusters video service with a total value of $99, a “lone” price has not been announced. Unlike a majority of the competition, MediaPoint will not require a monthly subscription.

Rentals start at $1.99 with titles available on the service 30 days after initial DVD release. The box will feature HDMI, USB, Ethernet, Composite, Component, and Digital Audio outputs.

Jim Keyes, the chairman of Blockbuster had this to say,

“We are bringing Blockbuster, and the thousands of movies in our digital library, straight to customers’ televisions. The player is simple to use, delivers DVD quality video, and there’s no monthly subscription commitment.”

“Even though this is a very small market, the movies and the devices are the differentiators,”

The box won’t support any HD content at this time, theirs always the possibility it may change in the future.

It goes without saying, the box is only available in the United States. Your thoughts? Will this box be able to compete with Netflix let alone the other competition? By the looks of it the player is available now, are your ordering one?

Netflix: HD DVDs are Going Bye-Bye

James Segars — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 22:37:18 +0000

We all knew that the day would come when Netflix would discontinue their HD DVD delivery service, but up until now, many of us (stalwart HD DVD supporters) were left holding our breath.

Well, it’s official. On December 15th, HD DVD’s will no longer be available for rent on Netflix.

Straight from the horse’s mouth:

Dear James,

Effective December 15, 2008, we will no longer carry HD DVDs. At that time, we will automatically replace any HD DVD titles in your Queue with standard DVDs when available. You don’t have to do anything.

Last February, we announced that since most of the major movie studios had decided to release their high-def movies exclusively in Blu-ray, we were going exclusively Blu-ray as well and would be phasing out our HD DVDs.

We’re sorry for any inconvenience. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call us at 1-888-638-3549.

- The Netflix Team

It’s been a while since we’ve rented any HD DVD’s from Netflix, but it was comforting to have that option — to know that the fallback option existed. Alas, those days will soon come to a end, and for those of you out there that refuse to make the switch to Blu, you’ll have to look elsewhere for your HD rentals. Lucky for you, VUDU seems to be kicking it into high gear lately, with over 1000 HD titles at your fingertips. Not to shabby, eh?

Of course you could always hold out for the Netflix HD streaming option, and stick with the oh-so-loveable Netflix, which ain’t a bad idea either.

[via Hacking Netflix]

“P2″ The Last HD DVD Released

Mehar Gill — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 08:49:55 +0000

What is supposedly the world’s last “HD DVD” release is now available exclusively at DVAspecial. The title in question is P2, a 2007 horror film which performed poorly at the box office, the title is available for $26.99.

Interestingly, Brad Kugler the CEO of DVA claims to have inked a deal with an unknown studio for more HD DVD releases. It remains unclear if Mr. Kugler is referring to new titles or those previously released.

A Review is also available, here

CBHD Wins Innovation Award

Mehar Gill — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:12:40 +0000

The Hong Kong Electronics Industry Association of Innovation and Technology held their awards ceremonyon October 14th, 2008.

The CHDA took home three awards for their CBHD technology, they won under the following categories: consumer electronics group, the group of mobile electronics, and industrial electronics group.

The CBHD technology itself took home the “audience award for Innovation and Technology”, we assume either the competition was horrible or the local market is really fond of CBHD. Will it really be a red Christmas in China? (Please excuse the irony!)

Source

DVD On Its Last Leg in China?

Mehar Gill — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:13:58 +0000

We have received some rather disturbing news from CBINews, it seems more pressure has been put on the Chinese DVD market. Manufactures now have to pay over $20US per patent in fees to distribute DVD Players in the region. In turn royalties and decreased profit prospects await Chinese companies.

This doesn’t mean DVD’s will completely disappear from the Chinese market over night, instead the industry will shift more of it’s focus on CBHD (The CHDA was kind enough to remind everyone) due to low royalties. Many will claim this was bound to happen regardless, pressure on the DVD industry will only increase CBHD’s “domination” of the market.

I predict this will have a negative impact on Blu-ray in the region, if consumers see the horror that is “foreign royalties” would they really want another format with potential to develop into the monster that is “DVD patents”? Regarding foreign support, studios will be forced to fall in line with the dominate medium in the region if the piracy issue is dealt with and demand requires it.

How does this compare? In 2001 China was paying $5 in patent fees, shocking isn’t it? Since then alternatives were brought to market (the gem in the pile is no doubt EVD) yet all of them failed to take DVD’s market share. How much more can the Chinese market take?

This won’t be the first time foreign patents have affected consumer goods in such a way, HDTV’s that exceed 13 inches must pay between $30-50US in patent fees in China. To avoid this, the government is pushing local initiatives, it gives “buy home grown” a new meaning, don’t ya think?

Just for a comparison, fee’s in North America are under $10.

HD DVD Software Sales Still Going Strong

Mehar Gill — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:45:02 +0000

Despite losing the format war months ago, HD DVD sales are still going strong

according to Engadget HD!

“We expected to see a huge increase in Blu-ray sales [with] HD DVD dying but it just hasn’t happened”, Jeff Wisot, vice-president of marketing with Buy.com, told the FT. “HD DVD sales are still very strong.”

Here are some figures from Ryan Kugler, president of Distribution Video & Audio

His company has sold 1 million HD DVD’s since retailers returned existing stock to studios.
He predicts his company will sell 2-3 million units this Christmas season

It all makes sense now. Will this some how bring back HD DVD? We doubt it! If your looking to get in on this craze you should hurry, we have a feeling once stock runs out studios won’t reprint them any time soon.

Toshiba Releases HD DVD Firmware 4.0 Update

Mehar Gill — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 20:21:27 +0000

Despite pulling support for the format months ago, Toshiba still remains sincere to those who had purchased players during the format war.

A new firmware update was released today for the following models:

HD-A1
HD-XA1
HD-D1
HD-A35
HD-A2
HD-A2W
HD-A2C
HD-D2
HD-A20
HD-XA2
HD-A3
HD-D3
HD-A30

What does the firmware address? The firmware improves “certain disc playback related issues”. Daniel Lim from Slash Gear reports his experience:

I’m happy to report my A35 with FW4.0 has resolved quirky basic operation like FF and FW halts, and no more jaggies on 1080/24

If you have a HD DVD player around, and update, feel free to let us know of your experience!

Official Press Release

Toshiba Reaffirms Blu-ray Stance

Mehar Gill — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:28:29 +0000

Speaking at a conference, Toshiba Senior Vice President Yoshihide Fujii once again clarified the companies stance on Blu-ray stating:

We have no intention of adopting Blu-ray for our DVD players and recorders

This kills all of those rumors started during the final days of the format war when the “inside source” at Toshiba claimed the company was working on a Blu-ray player or the fall. Instead the only thing coming from Toshiba this fall are HDD equipped DVD recorders and XDE players. Toshiba also announced a revamp of their Regza LCD line up which will also hit this fall.

Call me crazy if you will but I predict the following, Toshiba will NOT support Blu-ray post format war. Instead they will put their R&D behind flash memory for the next format war (it’s inevitable, many other companies are also venturing into this field).

Source

DVD Forum Steering Committee Meeting Details Revealed

Mehar Gill — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 03:52:30 +0000

The DVD Forum had their 43rd steering committee meeting today, here’s what they had to say (Summarized):

DVD specifications for DVD-DL part 2 and DVD Specifications for Dual Layer DVD-DL part 2 version 1.9 approved.
DVD Specifications for Read Only HD DVD-ROM 51GB Part 2 File System Specifications Version 2.0 approved.
DVD Specifications for DVD-DL Part 1 Version 1.0 and DVD Specifications for Dual Layer DVD DL Part 1 Version 2.0 approved.
Approval of ALMEDIO verification lab for Class A DVD verification
VPC Membership given to ALMEDIO
Consolidation and streamlining of the DVD Forum, with FDSG to propose final details to be voted upon at the November 2008 Steering Committee meeting and to become effective in February 2009. Consolidation will include:
-Suspension of the present FLAG and PCC, subject to reactivation by SC if it becomes necessary. FDSG will consult with FLAG and PCC Chairs regarding the implementation of such a change.
-Consolidation of TCG and VPC into a reorganized TCG. FDSG will consult with TCG and VPC Chairs about the implementation and process of such a change.
-Reduction in number of SC meetings to twice a year, with additional meetings scheduled if necessary.
FDSG to monitor and review the results of the consolidation and changes, and report to SC by September 2009.

The biggest shockers in the bunch are the reduction of the amount of Steering Committee Meetings down to 2 per year. However the forum states if deemed mandatory more meetings can be scheduled at the discretion of the committee. The 51GB HD DVD disc was also updated, this strikes us has odd although we really can’t comment until the specifications are looked into. Our source at the DVD Forum told us the HD DVD updates after February’s announcement were simply for CBHD, however CBHD updates are labelled C-HD DVD to differentiate themselves from the HD DVD specifications. We considered his comments a “failure to communicate”, which leaves us to speculate on the future of HD DVD.

Just like last time, expect a dissection of the guidelines soon.

Official Release

Yet Another Doom Article about Blu-ray Disc

Dave Cowl — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 04:14:37 +0000

Today I see another article predicting the doom of Blu-ray, this time by 2012.

I figured it was just another article based on the so called Samsung prediction, but it turns out it is actually based on a number of additional premises.

In any case, I thought it might be fun to check them out one by one and see if anything holds water.

1) HD Movie downloads

Apparently HD Movie downloads are expected to help kill Blu-ray by 2012.

This assumes that you can change the buying habits of everyone, get everyone a suitable device for downloads, get everyone a high bitrate internet connection and do all of in less than 5 years, sufficiently that the studios give up on Blu-ray Disc.

On the other hand you can read that around 97 percent of revenues for content sales in Western Europe will come from DVD and Blu-ray this year, leaving only three percent from legal video download services.

I agree that downloads will increase in market share, especially with the tech savvy, but in reality downloads, especially high quality HD downloads, have a long way to go before they kill packaged media.

2) BD Live is a joke

This is where the author shows his hand as a disgruntled HD DVD supporter, claiming that BD Live is a joke and HD DVD had better interactivity.

The reality is of course that BD Live is capable of doing anything that can be written in java code, which means anything HD DVD did – and more.

To say this will help sink the format assumes the the success of the format hinges on BD-Live – where in reality internet interactivity for movies would seem to me to be only a small part of the incentive for the format, hence the choice given to customers to buy cheaper players that don’t include the feature.

3) Samsung Thinks it is Finished

Granted one person at Samsung apparently gave a lifespan of 5 to 10 years in a Pocket Lint interview.

Of course he then goes on to say that it is going to be huge in 2008.

Huge in 2008 – dead by 2013 – an interesting prediction.

Personally I think the poor Samsung guy got spun – when you read the quote, “I think it [Blu-ray] has 5 years left”, it doesn’t say left as what… maybe he meant ‘reigning champion’ or ‘highest revenue earner’ as opposed to ‘left alive’.

In any case, he is entitled to an opinion I guess.

4) Sony thinks Blu-ray is finished

The author then references this article regarding a statement from Sony that Blu-ray is the end of the line for optical disc.

The Sony statement I inherently agree with. Blu-ray will likely be the last generation of optical disc. There are no clear paths to higher capacity, other than adding layers – in which case it is still Blu-ray disc.

I can also see Blu-ray getting extensions like 3D and 4k resolution – again it will still be Blu-ray.

Of course, saying that this is the last optical disc, isn’t a prediction of doom and doesn’t give any time line for the life or death of Blu-ray – it just says that the next media won’t be a disc – be it 5 years in the future or 20…

5. DVD is good enough

This is perhaps my favourite – he goes on to show that the BDA is claiming that in the USA, Blu-ray will have 61% market share versus DVD in 2012.

Apparently this somehow supports his case that Blu-ray will be dead in 2012.

This data is of course from a Futuresource Consulting press release back in August, and not from the BDA per se.

None the less it is interesting to think that the author sees Blu-ray having over 60% of the US market in 2012 is in some way equivalent to the death of the format.

While he seems to see other technologies growing rampantly, apparently he expects Blu-ray to stay static for the next 4 years, and then die.

So, what do you think? Valid points? Raving lunatic? Disgruntled Toshiba lover annoyed that his format died?

I kind of side with the latter based on the BD Live comment.

Personally I see Blu-ray having a decent run at it. We see how long it took for the CEs and studios to adopt DVD over VHS. And how long it took for a valid high def format (or two) to eventuate at all.

The CEs particlularly have invested a lot in the Blu-ray format and will want to see a return on that investment.

Rather than see Blu-ray die, I see the future where the Blu-ray player is actually capable of handling new media types. We already see this happening with the Panasonic players handling SDHC flash cards and the LG player handling Netflix streaming.

It doesn’t stretch my imagination to see Blu-ray players (or recorders like in Japan) that have sat or cable recievers, hard drive for PVR or download storage, net connection for BD Live and download/streaming and a slot for any number of flash based storage media.

Then the consumer can choose to capture a source from HBO, stream it from Netflix, or rent or buy the Blu-ray for the highest quality version of a give movie with all of the extras. I already make these kinds of choices on a per title basis, though not with a single box.

Of course the market will have to be shared – but I think that Blu-ray has plenty of life in it yet.

What do you think? Comments are there to share and enjoy…

Free Star Trek:TOS Season One HD DVD, Kinda

Tyler Pruitt — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:24:41 +0000

A little back story before we get to the good stuff: The Star Trek:TOS Season 2 HD DVD never saw the light of day thanks to Toshiba pulling the plug on the HD DVD Authoring/Encoding. To refresh your memory, this was part of the deal they made with Paramount in order to get them to drop Blu-ray a little over a year ago (along with other incentives).

Fast forward, a few weeks ago Star Trek:TOS Season 2 (remastered edition) debuted on DVD, in the same style packaging as the previous HD DVD/DVD combo version of Season 1. The cool part is our local Costco has both season 1 & 2 on sale for the same price ($57.99 each), which is like buying the DVD version and getting the HD DVD for free. A thing to remember, the HD DVD of season 1 was selling at Best buy for $179.99 at one point!

Have they showed up at your local Costco?

Blu-ray/Format War Mentioned in Tropic Thunder Movie

Tyler Pruitt — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:32:48 +0000

While at the movies last weekend watching Tropic Thunder, we heard one of the characters mention the Blu-ray vs. HD DVD format war.

httpv://www.youtube.com/v/Qvipk8k3WHA

We found this extra funny considering this is a DreamWorks film, and we all know the flip-flopping history they had in the format war.

Do you guys think this was in the original script? Or was it ad-libbed at the last minute during fiming?

Blu-ray Discs Go On Sale In China

Mehar Gill — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:15:54 +0000

Blu-ray discs have officially gone on sale in China via Amazon China this week in limited quantities, for 175 Yuan which is about $25.53USD according to 022 Net. We thought this would be a good time to compare the cost of Blu-ray and CBHD to see how the “performance to price ratio” stacks up.

Blu-ray

Production Facility: $3,000,000 USD

Average Cost of Movie: $25-32 USD

Average Cost of Player: $729.54 USD

CBHD (Formerly known has CH DVD)

Production Facility: 800K USD

Average Cost of Movie: $8 USD

Average Cost of Player: $437.72 USD

The numbers above are courtesy of Z-Park (Who’s site was down so I had to use a cached page, a .gov.cn site down, never!). Another interesting fact is that according to the Z-Park article 400-500 CBHD movies are expected to be available.

I assume the BDP-LX-70 is the Rolls Royce of Blu-ray players since it will sell for $2,039.82USD (13980 Yuan) while the Sony BDP-S300 will retail for about $720.00USD (4890 Yuan).

A Sony rep then goes on to say that they will use this as a test for a undetermined amount of time to see what Blu-ray’s future in China will be.

Channel 4 Announces Future HD DVD Releases?

Mehar Gill — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:43:02 +0000

We have received word from our longtime commenter Bigmelt and his friends from the bomb shelter that UK corporation “Channel 4″ is planning on releasing new HD DVD titles. The following letter was sent to a member of the bomb shelter:

Dear Mr *****,

Thank you for contacting Channel 4 Viewer Enquiries.

We apologize about the previous information given regarding
TRAINSPOTTING and SHALLOW GRAVE. We can advise that they will be release on HD DVD in the autumn of this year; TRAINSPOTTING is currently available to pre order in that format from Amazon.co.uk

Channel 4 is not responsible for third-party websites.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact us here at Channel 4 and for
your interest in our programming.

Regards,

Sally Smith
Channel 4 Viewer Enquiries

Could this be the first of many?

Trainspotting

Shallow Grave is currently not listed on Amazon’s site, no news on specs either.

CH DVD Details Revealed, Warner On Board?

Mehar Gill — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:31:12 +0000

ZDNet China got a chance to preview the CBHD technology a few days ago (CH DVD), it seems the player will indeed be going on sale next month in time for the Olympics in small quantities. The CH DVD Association (Really OMNERC, I think) claims it will “win the war in 2-3 years”, obviously referencing the fight against Blu Ray. Finalized specifications were also revealed, see the pictures below:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25248217@N02/2721190692/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25248217@N02/2721190640/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25248217@N02/2720365457/

As expected the format borrows heavily from HD DVD, including the standard 30 GB disc (which proves my theory that the DVD Forum is up to something with the 51GB discs).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25248217@N02/2721190422/

The article further talks about a so called “resistance” to Blu-ray in China, stating Chinese consumers are much different from international consumers due to the fact that Chinese consumers buy based on the “performance to price ratio”, VCD being a prime example. Because of these habits they believe CBHD has the advantage in China.

Its been a while since I have seen the CH DVD price point but since it is backwards compatible with DVD’s, VCD’s, and CD’s to boot, could the ratio work in its favor?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25248217@N02/2720365357/

They also take the opportunity to talk about Blu-ray and BD+ by stating it may slow down the physical portion of piracy but not the online portion. If history “repeats” itself I guess pirates will start downloading Blu-ray/HD DVD/CBHD rips and burn them to said discs. CBHD corporation is also giving people the ability to download and burn the discs themselves, they do this buying ordering the copy of the movie through a special “line” and burning the file to a CBHD. (Is this connected to DVD DL?)

CBHD will not use Microsoft’s HDi system which makes you wonder, what happened to HDi? The only Microsoft product used on the disc will be the VC-1 codec. No details on the availability of region free discs although we can assume they will be. It seems like we could be nearing the death of HDi, unles some sort integration is done with another Microsoft product (such as WMP, or even the Xbox 360!) If so then its a shame, since HDi was capable of producing some amazing stuff in half the time with half the resources of its competitor.

The article also touches on Hollywood support:

It is interesting that in the conference, a reporter asked over and the attitude of foreign film, the host can not be forced, at the scene said there is a well-known abroad on behalf of the film, not only relatively low-profile guests sitting I only….. (Translation error) In this connection the author carefully in the stands in the search, see the Warner Brothers Home Entertainment vice president of China’s shadow, she heard the speech is also host knowing smile, Heh heh, is Warner Brothers in China has helped the HD DVD!?

To sum that up, it basically claims that a reporter asked the speaker about Hollywood support, then the speaker or reporter looked around the room and saw Warner Brother’s Vice President of the China operation who apparently overheard the question quietly laughing to herself. The entire quote did not copy over but the part that was interesting was the director or speaker claimed he cannot comment but a

“well-known abroad on behalf of the film, not only relatively low-profile guests sitting I only.”

In other words their is a Hollywood studio on board with CBHD and odds are it’s probably Warner Brothers, which is odd (Its Conspiracy Time!).

Replication statistics were also revealed, CH DVD has a 90% success ratio which is already beating out SVCD’s ratio.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25248217@N02/2721190256/

The title above is encoded in VC-1, surprisingly!

I doubt many international consumers will be picking up CBHD players, unless you really miss HD DVD that much, in that case you might want order one (assuming they will ship). Cases were also shown (see below) although these are just temporary and will not reflect the final product.

The original article was translated, I used 3 different programs to translate it so it is pretty accurate. If Traditional Chinese is your specialty, feel free to check my work! The biggest winner today, hands down has to be High Definition Karoke market!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25248217@N02/2721190186/

If Hollywood studios are indeed on board I highly doubt Blu-ray will win over China, I think it will have to go to CBHD for the reasons stated above. The price point of Blu Ray will have a huge impact not only on the consumers but also the corporations behind it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25248217@N02/2720365293/

Surprisingly, the titles actually tell you what codec the film is encoded in, it should be good for reviewers!

More info on the Press Conference

How HD DVD Almost Won The Format War

Mehar Gill — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:40:17 +0000

There was a interesting article over at Forbes, the article talks about how Sony followed up the HD DVD Paramount announcement in August, believe it or not the announcement had done more damage to Sony then previously thought.

[When] Paramount announced last August that it was choosing the Toshiba technology over Blu-ray…Toshiba began selling HD-DVD players for $99, hoping to outsell Blu-ray players and lock in its advantage. The news triggered “sheer and utter panic” at Sony, says its U.S. chief financial officer, Robert S. Wiesenthal…

So what could Sony have done? They decided to use the PS3 to their advantage, how? They decided packing in a Blu-ray will make the consumer test out the disc and hopefully spur them to buy more instead of just using it to play games (Don’t worry, that jokes been beaten to death).

Howard rang me up and told me, ‘I really need you to pack half a million Blu-ray units of Spider-Man with PlayStation 3,’” says Michael Lynton, chief executive of Sony Pictures Entertainment…

Thats not all Sony needed to do, they then turned their sights to Hollywood to lock in studios so they would not switch, where did they start first? They started at Lionsgate who was apparently in talks with Toshiba, how did they talk Lionsgate out of their decision? They told them:

“The relationship between Sony and Lionsgate was going to continue a lot longer than the relationship between Toshiba and Lionsgate” said Robert S. Wiesenthal

and

“Toshiba was not going to co-finance one of their movies.”

The next step was advertisement, Sony decided using snippets of Blu-ray movies in their PS3 ads would give the consumer another reason to “jump in”. Forbes is reporting that Sony had spent over $60 million in advertising Blu-ray alone in only 3 months! At this point Toshiba was still cutting prices, Sony had to retaliate, by doing the same. They cut the price of the PS3 by $100 and introduced what is now know has the 40GB SKU.

As expected Sony stated they did not pay movie studios to side with Blu-ray, then again Toshiba said they did not pay Viacom/Paramount either, maybe we should wait for their financial reports? While this was going on Sony still stated the overall revenue of Blu-ray sales including the PS3 was beating out HD DVD by $1.8 million.

Looking back at it Sony had a huge advantage in the format war, which raises a lot of questions. They already had Japan and Europe locked, North America was the only territory they had trouble with. Was all that really necessary? No denying it these decisions really put the Playstation 3 in jeopardy has a gaming console. Toshiba is not to blame, they did their best with the budget that they had, but Microsoft’s interest is still questionable.

Maybe for the next format war Toshiba (assuming they want to get back) should follow Sony’s lead and start investing in movie studios, it seems like Microsoft already has. Your thoughts?

We Just Want Our Bookmarks Back, Blu-ray

James Segars — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 19:28:43 +0000

O.k., we know full well that “bookmarking” wasn’t the hottest feature on HD DVD, but we’ll be honest, it was one of our most favorite, and underrated features on the ill-fated format.

Aside from the fact that it enabled consumers to create their own scenes — a modest feat that had never been achieved on DVD or BD — the bookmarking feature was incredibly simple, and convenient. And it’s hard to argue with convenience, isn’t it?

Find a particular shot that stunned you? Mark it. Uncover a goof? Mark it. Spectacular demo scene? Mark it. The possibilities were far from endless, but we loved that little feature, as you should be able to glean from this love-letter post.

Alas, where has the Bookmark feature gone to? Is it doomed to go down with HD DVD into the depths of extinct technical innovation? Is it truly incompatible with the BD spec, or is it merely being dropped because the powers that be perceive no demand for it.

Well, in case the truth resides in the latter we’re gonna take a stand, and here and now, the demand for the return of the bookmarking feature begins. After all, we just want our “Bookmarks” back, BD.

CH DVD Stole What?

Mehar Gill — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:42:12 +0000

Chinese publication 022 Net is reporting on various legal battles currently happening in China involving EVD and CH DVD. Beijing E, the company that holds the rights to the EVD technology conducted research and claimed the following were stolen:

CBHD front-end technologies from HD-DVD, back-end technologies, including navigation, audio programs and editing system, all three core technologies with China’s independent intellectual property rights from the EVD.

Although EVD is inferior to CH DVD in many ways, the government still holds a preference to it since 100% of the development behind it was done in China. It will be interesting to see how the DVD forum and OMNERC hold up in a government run court.

EVD itself has come upon hard times as well recently, just last month the group behind it discontinued it due to a lack of sales in favor of a HD successor called, HD EVD. The articles still refer to it has EVD but it could be a translating error as well. Just to put it into more perspective, HD EVD is only capable of analogue 1080i, it also has 5GB per layer with a total of 10 layers, sound familiar?

I don’t know how such claims were made, a good chunk of CH DVD is indeed HD DVD, I can confirm CH DVD will not be using HDi, instead opting for a standard system. Regarding the other reports, it could be the replication technology was stolen from factory floors. I wonder how this will factor into OMNERC’s decision on releasing CH DVD next month, will it even see the light of day?

Toshiba Unveils Cell processor Laptops with Super Upconversion

Mehar Gill — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:07:04 +0000

We have just received word from Wesley Tech that Toshiba has announced their new line up of Qosmio laptops which will feature the new CELL chips along with the much “anticipated” up-conversion technology.

The laptops are dubbed the Qosmio G50 and F40, they will go on sale in mid July at a a unannounced price point. TheÂ CELL chip will work by taking load off the video processor as well as the CPU to increase over all performance.

We wonder if this new system will work nativley with applications or if some sort of update would be required to ensure compatibility.Â Unlike the PS3 Toshiba’s line up of cell processors will work simultaneously with chips from Intel. It’s going to be interesting to see if these increase the lifespan of a product, since it will have the CELL chip aiding the main CPU with it’s tasks.

These seem really appealing and I’m gland I decided to hold on my decision to buy their old lineup of Qosmio laptops. For those who want to see what these devices here is a chart courtesy of Toshiba Japan. As many speculated, the new line up will not feature any sort of “next genenration” drive.

Â	Qosmio G50/98G	Qosmio G50/97G	Qosmio F50/88G	dynabook Qosmio FX77G
OS	Windows Vistaâ„¢ Home Premium Edition with Service Pack 1
CPU	Next Generation IntelÂ® Coreâ„¢2 Duo Processor
Memory/Max	2GB (1GB x 2)/4GB
Display	18.4-inch Full HD Clear Super View LCD (1,920Ã—1080 pixels) 2 lamps, high luminance		15.4-inch WXGA Clear Super View LCD (1,280Ã—800 pixels) 2 lamps, high luminance	15.4-inch WXGA Clear Super View LCD (1,280Ã—800 pixels)
HDD	500GB (250GBx2) (5,400rpm Serial ATA)	250GB (5,400rpm Serial ATA)		200GB (5,400rpm Serial ATA)
Drive	DVD SuperMulti
Graphics	NVIDIAÂ® GeForceÂ® 9600M GT(PCI Express)
Image Processor	TOSHIBA Quad Core HD Processor SpursEngineâ„¢			–
Sound	3 speakers (harman/kardonÂ® stereo and sub-wooder)
LAN	1000Base-T,/100Base-T IEEE802.11a/b/g/n draft 2.0 (wireless)
TV tuner	Dual Tuners for Digital Terrestrial Broadcast			–
Interface	Optical audio output, RGB, USB2.0x 4 (one usable for eSATA ) , Mike, iLink, LAN, HDMI, Antenna input			Optical audio output, RGB, USB2.0x 4 (one of them usable for eSATA as well) , Mike, iLink, LAN, HDMI
Battery Life	Approx. 4.0 hrs		Approx. 1.8 hrs	Approx. 2.4 hrs
Dimensions	Approx. 452.3 x 311.0 x 38.2ï½48.3 mm		Approx. 368.0x 278.0 x 38.0ï½47.0 mm
Weight	Approx. 4.9kg	Approx. 4.8kg	Approx. 3.6kg	Approx. 3.3kg
Eco	RoHS Directive,J-Moss (Green Mark)
Application	MicrosoftÂ® Office Personal 2007 SP1with MicrosoftÂ® Office PowerPointÂ® 2007		MicrosoftÂ® Office Personal 2007 SP1with MicrosoftÂ® Office PowerPointÂ® 2007

A price point of under $3000 (The old high endÂ line up was $2999 at the end of its cycle)

Official Press Release Here!

DVD DL Facts Revealed

Mehar Gill — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:18:26 +0000

We were at the DVD Forum site today and found DVD DL guidelines last updated in April of 2007, currently its the closest we will have to the truth.

After scanning through the guideline we found the following note worthy details:

Existing DVD players cannot access the “DL” portion but they can access the rest of the disc dubbed the “Video Zone”
Playback of the “Video Zone” should not exceed 10 minutes, possibly a informational segment similar to those HD DVD videos.
Multi Angle/Multi Story(?) is not allowed
The “Video Zone” shall not be protected with DRM
The discs will be region free
The DVD Forum refers to it has DVD CPRM (Content Protection for Recordable Media) Downloadable Video abbreviated DVD-DLV

Interesting stuff, the next big meeting for the DVD Forum will take place in August of 2008, DVD-DLV is on there topics lists. Rest assured, we will keep you informed!