Made you look!

http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2008_02/pr1903.htm

“It was not the consumers that chose Blu-ray over HD DVD it was the industry”, comments VanWynendaele before saying that given the chance they wouldn’t do anything different. “We firmly believe that we did it the right way.

Source: Sky News via Pocket-Lint

A lot of announcements have been coming out at the CeBit expo in Hanover, as with any large consumer electronics show. The latest releases regarding the next generation dvd format are internal and external drives for your PC, laptop, game console, what have you.

First we start with Samsung’s external Blu-ray burner, which I have to say (and I’m not the only one) looks a bit like someone has PS3 envy. The SE-B046 is a 2nd generation disc drive of the SE-B026A, which also looked like a PS3 but with out the high gloss finish.

The latest external Blu-ray disc drive/ burner writes BD-R discs at 4x and BD-RE at 2x and uses a second laser for DVD and CD burning. It will also sport a dual USB 2.0/Firewire interface and you will be able to connect it to the PS3. I guess that is why it got the shiny makeover. The SE-B046 will be available sometime in 2008, and Samsung has not announced a possible price point yet.

As for the HD DVD side, Toshiba showed off their internal desktop and notebook drives which included the SD-H903A. This drive is an internal desktop drive capable of writing HD DVD at 1x speed and can also write DVD/CD with a single objective lens.

Earlier this month, Toshiba released their external HD DVD drive that can only read HD DVD but it still can read and write DVD/CD and it is not as invasive as Samsung’s PS3 twin. The PA35 will connect to your PC via USB 2.0 and will read HD DVD at 1x speed. Let’s hope they come out with a 2nd gen of this little guy. You can get one now though for only $370.

R.Hollis

As previously mentioned, The Blu-ray Disc Association has been claiming victory in the format war stating their sales are 3:1 compared to HD DVD. At the consumer electronics show CeBit this week, Toshiba Europe has categorized these claims as propaganda.

Olivier Van Wynendaele, Deputy General Manager of HD DVD for Toshiba stated that the Blu-ray sales figures included the redeemed vouchers given to new PS3 owners to receive a free movie and is not a true representation of actual sales. According to Van Wynendaele, Toshiba has sold 200,000 players versus 30,000 “true” Blu-ray players, and the 2 million PS3 sold should not be included in the sales figures of hardware. He also stated “that neither format could claim victory when high def player sales accounted for less than 1% of regular DVD player sales.”

These are all valid points. One could argue though that the reason there are more PS3 sales than stand alone Blu-ray players is because of price and duality. But if there are 2 million PS3 owners that are using the game console to watch Blu-ray movies, they must be watching the same movie over and over again. Blu-ray movie sales are nowhere near the amount they would need to be in order to make the claim that all PS3 owners buy Blu-ray movies.

An interesting side note to Sony’s “victory” is Samsung’s voiced willingness to work with the competitor. According to Stephen Mitchell, marketing manager with Samsung Electronics “We think Blu-ray is the stronger of the two; however we aren’t ruling HD DVD out yet.”

Now isn’t that an intriguing statement coming from one of Sony’s original supporters in the Blu-ray format. I guess Samsung didn’t get the memo that Sony has already won.

Mitchell went on to say, “We could launch a hybrid player or a Blu-ray recorder tomorrow, but until we see what other manufacturers are doing we are not going to be announcing anything.”

As with every twist and turn in this format saga, it becomes increasingly obvious that the public relations departments of the respective formats are working harder than the potential buyers, tune in next time for as-the-formats-turn.

R.Hollis

Yes, there is truth in that statement. So this means that the format war is over, right? Well, not exactly. While Blu-ray sales have passed that of HD DVD this month, “the life-to-date title sales ratios”, according to Ken Graffeo of Universal, are at about 1:1. Graffeo who is the executive in charge of the HD DVD effort for Universal also questioned that “Blu-ray has a 5:1 ratio right now on the hardware side due to PS3, why aren’t’ Blu-ray software sales out-pacing HD DVD by a similar ratio?”

That is a good question. If the market is saturated with Blu-ray players 5:1 over HD DVD players, then the discs should be at or over that same ratio, that is if we’re to believe the 80% plus PS3 owners who according to Sony; indicated interest in Blu-ray movies from PS3 owners. Another point to bring up is the total amount of titles released by both camps so far. The quantity of Blu-ray titles that have been released up to January 2007 is 157, for HD DVD the number is 138. Also Blu-ray has released almost double that of HD DVD this month in titles, 35 to 19.

Since Blu-ray has more titles released and more hardware in the market compared to HD DVD, it seems like Sony should be dominating this format war. Well, according to Sony there is no more war because they have already won it. When the sales numbers barely reflect a win, 100 units of Blu-ray to every 98.71 units of HD DVD, the Toshiba camp isn’t going away anytime soon, apparently rumors of their demise were greatly exaggerated. Steve Nickerson who is senior vice president of market management for Warner stated, “We’re not in this for winning or losing. Both formats are selling well on software.”

R.Hollis

As reported this week, the DCA (Doug Carson & Associates) have announced they have successfully mastered the first 3X DVD ROM for HD DVD commercial use. What does that mean for the avid HD DVD fan? Well it basically means that there is a lower cost alternative to the HD DVD disc already in production, which is a win for the consumer.

The 3X DVD is simply written with the standard DVD red laser technology but combined with the same data structure and guidelines of an HD DVD, which allows for HD content using the AVC, VC1, and MPEG-2 codec’s along with AACS copy protection. The disc will only playback in an HD DVD player and the video quality may not be the same as HD DVD or have the same features available on current HD discs, but it is good alternative for manufacturers.

A couple of examples of where this low cost 3X HD DVD could really shine is with content originally shot in 720p or 1080i and or with 40-50 minutes worth of 1080p extras/supplemental materials i.e. trailers, cast interviews and behind the scenes featurettes. The supplemental 3X disc could be packaged along with the main feature disc allowing for longer play times and or lossless audio on the main disc with longer titles.

R.Hollis

On February 11, 2007 the master encryption code or “processing key” for AACS (copy protection for the rest of us) used on HD DVD and Blu-ray discs was posted on the Doom9 forums by a hacker named arnezami. According to him, it was as simple as recording the changes in memory at the start up of the disc and viola; there was the code to unlock all next-gen discs that have been released to date.

What does this mean for HD DVD and Blu-ray? Both formats use AACS (Advanced Access Content System) for protection against piracy, so both formats are at risk of illegal reproduction. But in my opinion, all this talk about the DRM code being compromised means nothing. This only makes a difference to the people that were not planning on buying these HD titles to begin with and that have already been enjoying downloaded HD content.

Case in point, DVD copy protection was cracked back in October of 1999 and DVD sales for 2005 alone were in the realm of $16.6 billion. We have been able to record, download, and play the “unprotected” DVD format for almost 8 years but yet the consumer still spends large amounts of money on the actual discs sold at retailers.

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Wow, now Warner Brothers are really talking, classics in addition to recent releases. Casablanca, the Forbidden Planet and Mutiny on the Bounty are making their way to HD DVD on November 14th.

From the Warner Brothers Press Release:

BURBANK, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Warner Home Video will release six new high definition titles on November 14. Making their HD DVD debuts are the incomparable Casablanca, the spectacular 1962 Marlon Brando remake of Mutiny on the Bounty, and the 50th Anniversary edition of Forbidden Planet, which is being released day-and-date with its Standard Definition version.

Forbidden Planet will be available as a 50th Anniversary HD DVD and as an Ultimate Collectors Edition packaged in a stunning metal case that includes the HD DVD, a collectible Robby the Robot replica with moveable limbs, Forbidden Planet and The Invisible Boy reproduction lobby cards portfolio, as well as a Forbidden Planet original theatrical poster mail-in offer.

Novembers going to be hell on my wallet, viva la HD DVD!

R.Hollis

The guys over at Movies @ Home Theater Blog have already posted a review of Batman Begins and it looks like a winner. From the pristine 1080p transfer to the Dolby TrueHD soundtrack the reviewer dubs the disc an easy recommendation. Here are a few other quotes from the review.

“I was hard pressed to pick out any noticeable film grain, this is one extremely clean transfer and what little grain is present hardly takes away from the overall presentation.”

“Of all the dark films I’ve viewed on HD DVD (and it seems to be a disproportionate amount) ‘Batman Begins’ produced the most discernable low-level shadow detail”

“To be quite honest the [Batman Begins] HD DVD provides a better viewing experience than what I remember from the theater.”

Sounds like a great disc, read the ‘Batman Begins’ review in its entirety here.

R.Hollis

Warner Brothers have announced several interesting HD DVD titles for October 10th, the long awaited ‘Batman Begins’, ‘Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride’, ‘The Polar Express’, ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ and the original starring Gene Wilder ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’.

I for one am very happy to see the original Willy Wonka on HD DVD, Johhny Depp just didn’t nail this role as well as Wilder in my opinion. After all these years those bright colors and lo-tech stage sets should look fantastic in HD.

‘Batman Begins’ and ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ on HD DVD will feature the interactive ‘In Movie Experience’ (IME), no mention on other features or extras at this time. The October 10th HD DVD titles will be available for $28.99.

R.Hollis

Before anyone jumps for joy (or panics) the additional layer in the 3-layer HD DVD discs announced today, aren?t for Blu-ray, they’re for DVD. This new 3-layer disc from Toshiba and Memory-Tech can be configured as a 30GB HD DVD plus 4.7GB DVD or as an 8.5GB dual-layer DVD with a 15GB HD DVD layer.

Applications you ask? The first and most welcome use (at least in my book) are single sided HD DVD/DVD combo discs, no more flippers! Another use could be HD video and advanced audio only on the 30GB HD layers while the SD extras round out the 4.7GB DVD layer.

But this does present one other interesting option. As anyone who’s already experimented with authoring their own HD DVD content on a standard DVD knows, the Toshiba players already recognize HD content on a standard DVD. So in theory at least this new disc manufacturing technique could push HD DVD’s (short term) theoretical limit to 34.7 GB.

As interesting as all of this is, it begs the question; how far away are we from seeing the 45GB triple-layer HD DVD disc approved by the DVD Forum and put into the HD DVD specification? Well according to Toshiba’s Jim Armour “probably mid-next year”.

R.Hollis

Well folks there you have it, ever since the launch of both Blu-ray and HD DVD many have wondered when the big Hollywood blockbusters would make their way to the fledgling HD formats and prove the studios were serious about their success.

It looks like November 14th is that date for HD DVD owners. Let’s hope this is the first of many big titles that will propel the format forward.

King Kong on HD DVD is available for pre-order now ($29.98) the discs details are somewhat limited at the moment; here is what Universal has up so far:

Run Time: 3 Hours 8 Minutes
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Picture: Widescreen (2.35:1)
MPAA Rating: PG-13
CARA Reasons: For Frighting Adventure Violence and Some Disturbing Images

Audio
•English Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 Surround
•French Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 Surround
•Spanish Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 Surround

R.Hollis

Some rather interesting revelations have come to light surrounding the European launch of the Toshiba HD-E1 and HD-XE1 HD DVD Players. According to Heise Online the players benefit from several refinements, features and additions over their predecessors:

The translation is a bit rough but after going back and forth between Google Language Tools and Babel Fish a few times, I think it?s pretty accurate.

?Intel CPU?s have been replaced with CE, SoC (Software on Chip) processors.
?Start-up and disc load times have been “shortened”.
?Both units include a revised ‘easier to read’ remote control.
?The higher end HD-XE1 includes 1080p output and HDMI 1.3

Could some or all of these features and improvement make their way into HD DVD players for the United States? I’d have to say the chances are very high. Veering off into a bit of speculation for a moment, I also expect that when the replacements for the Toshiba HD-A1 and HD-XA1 appear in the U.S., they’ll retail for a bit more than their predecessors, but this isn’t necessarily bad news.

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