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

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

This is an interesting change of events; it appears as if C|Net has revised their rating of the Samsung BD-P1000 from 6.6 to 5.8. Apparently C|Net has taken the poor performance of Samsung?s Blu-ray player to heart; they now rate the Toshiba HD-A1 higher than the Samsung player that costs $500 more.

The author notes that this revision is based on ?Samsung’s admission that the BD-P1000 suffers from a manufacturing flaw that adversely affects its video quality.? Which again is quite interesting considering that fact that Samsung customer service representatives are reading from a prepared statement that says:

“Our stance is that there is no defect, flaw, or bug with the Genesis chip as incorrectly reported by some blogs.”

It’s amazing how Beyond High Definition has tumbled into a confusing cacophony of press releases, CSR denials and ever evolving stances on the very format that Fox Home Entertainment?s Mike Dunn described as a “Blu-ray no-brainer for the consumer”.

Yes I’m aware that Samsung is but one supplier of Blu-ray hardware but the fact of the matter is, at the moment their the only supplier and first impression do matter.

Update: C|Net’s John P. Falcone explains the revised rankings.

R.Hollis

Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.

If you were looking for that last little bit of incentive to invest in HD-DVD or Blu-ray, this promotion just might be for you. Amazon is offering a 10% discount on all HD-DVD and Blu-ray titles for a full year, with a qualifying purchase.

Purchase any qualifying item(s) now, and within 72 hours you will be enrolled to save 10% on all HD DVD and Blu-ray disc purchases for one year from the date of your qualifying order (total value limited to $5,000 in total purchases or $500 in total discounts).

Qualifying items include the following:

Any high-definition television (HDTV)
Any HD DVD player: see the Toshiba HD-A1 and the Toshiba HD-XA1
Any Blu-ray disc player: see the Sony BDP-S1
Three high-definition DVDs purchased in one order: specifically, HD DVDs and Blu-ray discs

Check out the full offer here.

R.Hollis

Sanyo has been a member of the Blu-Ray Disc Association, apparently since late April, and word is now coming out as too why. Sanyo plans on producing components that will support the dueling formats, according to Ryan Watson spokesman for Sanyo. He also stated that Sanyo has been planning from the get go to produce blue laser, lens heads for both formats but that they still plan on creating consumer based players only on HD-DVD. Well that might be the plans for now, but I bet that they will come out with some type of dual player, since they are manufacturing the optical pick-ups for both formats.

The funny thing about all this is that neither BDA nor Sanyo has made any formal announcement of this happening. Is this another rumor spreading because the wait of a next-gen format is becoming too unbearable for some, like the Blu-ray/HD-DVD compromise? Or is this just one of those, ?Let?s keep this on the down low for a while??

Whether this ?rumor? is true or not, Sanyo will win either way because they seem to understand that format wars don?t always have a victor. It is also a great business strategy if you ask me, a really smart decision on Sanyo part probably due to some restructuring back in April.

Some news sites are still expecting a winner of this format war, but I think it is safe to say that by now a winner will not be declared. Both formats will be in the market place and consumers will have to decide what they want to spend their monies on. More than likely other companies that have vowed their loyalty to one side, will follow suit in becoming ?swingers?.

R.Hollis

I’ve noticed this mysterious quote popping up on several sites recently ‘Blu-ray media to be priced in line with DVD’s’ and while this technically might be true, if you’re expecting Blu-ray movies to sell for under $22 I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

What these sites are referring to is the blank media itself (which I also doubt), and I think the way that some of them are presenting Blu-ray’s case is a little misleading. To me priced in line with means, a few dollars more than current DVD?s, I promise this won’t be the case, I wouldnt be shocked is they list for $10.00 more than current DVD’s.

Michael.G

TDK announces 100GB Blu-ray disk, Panasonic tells Toshiba to back down, and Star Wars Episode III was actually good. What is going on here?

TDK announced it has succeeded in creating a Blu-Ray disc which will use 4 layers to store data, each layer with a capacity of 25GB, totaling 100GB. If the new format is approved by the BDA, the first 100 GB Blu-Ray discs won?t appear until 2007. Ok now, the ?mine is bigger than yours? aspect of this tiff is getting ridiculous. I thought that was an American thang.

If Blu-ray was so convinced that it has the bigger and better format, then why is Kunio Nakamura, Panasonic pres., so adamant on HD-DVD yielding? According to Nakamura it is up to Toshiba Corp. to yield, making clear that Matsushita and its partner Sony Corp. won’t budge in the negotiations.

It seems both camps don?t want to contest to the other and both think they have the better format. Therefore, how can anyone believe that Toshiba and Sony are going to compromise on a unified format? It?s just blind hope coming from us consumers, who don?t want to lose out on the best hi-def DVD experience possible. But the main question is not are they going to unify? What you should be asking is does this 100GB disc give Sony a higher advantage of dominating the HD market?

According to various news sites, “the launching of this disc comes only to give Blu-Ray an even bigger edge over HD-DVD regarding storage capacity.” Yes regarding storage capacity but if that was the deciding factor in this format-war, there would not be a war. When Toshiba came out with the 45GB 3 layer HD-DVD a couple of weeks ago, no one was praising their efforts of coming within 5GB of Blu-ray.

So why is 100GB such a big achievement, because Sony made it? When it comes down to HD movies and content, you are not going to need 100GB. Plus this 100GB disc has the propensity to be fragile and delicate and cost so much that the movie studios, who will still decide the winner of this battle, are not going to touch it. Sony and Panasonic will dominate the data storage industry, which is what a 100GB disc is needed for, not for movie watching.

R.Hollis

Sony and Toshiba are still in “talks” regarding the possible hybrid of their next-gen DVD formats. The unified format is expected to have the best of both technologies. Toshiba will supply their data transfer software & copyright protection, which is why Hollywood loved HD-DVD, and Sony will supply, well Blu-ray. Basically it will be a Blu-ray disc with HD-DVD copyright protection which makes the movie studios happy and hopefully the consumer too.

Apparently, both companies are expected to make an announcement this month before the “meeting of manufactures involved in the manufacture of next-generation DVDs”, some news sources have indicated. Yeah, that might be a good idea, to announce a hybrid of the two formats before the manufacturers get together and discuss manufacturing.

R.Hollis

It is kind of hard to swallow a fairy tale such as ?Sony and Toshiba to unify HD-DVD and Blu-ray? when a company like Panasonic, one of Blu-ray?s major supporters, chooses to ignore it.

Panasonic announced today that it will start operating a pilot production line in collaboration with Origin Electric, for Blu-ray Disc (BD-ROM) replication. They will start with the single layer in mid to late May, and wait for December to manufacture the double layers.

The Blu-ray company expects this will stimulate the ?development of a local end-to-end BD-ROM technology for Hollywood studios, replicators, and production houses.? Basically this means that Blu-ray will be able to start mass producing movie titles, which the public has yet to see a list of. The BD-ROMs will also feature a 128-bit AES encryption to prevent content piracy.

R.Hollis

Blu-ray supporters aren’t throwing in the towel on Blu-ray only technology just yet. Even with the “talks” of a unified format between Toshiba & Sony, it seems as though two BDA members have every intention of sticking with Blu. Nero and CyberLink Corp. separately unveiled Blu-ray burning software at the member seminar & info meet in San Jose this past week. This seminar is basically a show and tell for the BDA members, which are expected to display and demonstrate BD and BD-related products and technology.

CyberLink showed off their Blu-ray Disc Rewriteable (BD-RE) playback and navigation using CyberLink PowerDVD. Through out the demonstration, attendees were shown how to access play lists, fast forward and fast rewind, and navigation using thumbnails on a browser menu. CyberLink is also working on wider support for Blu-ray throughout its disc authoring and burning products PowerProducer and Power2Go.

Nero?s new software, Nero 6.6 and ShowTime, will now be able to record on Blu-ray media using, of course, a blue laser. This new application will allow its users to ?playback all digital recordings including video recorded on Blu-ray discs, movies, TV programs, home videos, DVD video all with high-quality picture and sound quality.?

Both of these software companies have come out with burning and playback capabilities. Does this mean that Sony still wants Blu-ray out on top? Well, maybe in the data storage, personal computer sense. Just because Toshiba and Sony are in ?discussions? regarding a universal format, don?t expect either camp to give in on their own.

Michael.G

It?s been tough for Sony lately, with the PSP pixel fiasco and the next-gen Hi-Def DVD format war. Sure they are a big corporation that likes to be number one in every aspect of the electronics industry, movie industry, music industry, gaming industry, etc. But that goal can be troublesome to reach when you have specialist companies that want to be the best in only one aspect of an industry, like the best way to store, play, & listen to music; or the only format for recording, playing HD movies & programs.

It should be no surprise to anyone that Apple?s iPod is the best selling MP3 player on the market. This can make it a little difficult for Sony to stay on top with their music player products like the mini disc, walkman, and SACD with great success. And with the HD-DVD, Blu-ray format war going on with Toshiba, it sure does look like they are losing in the conquering of these markets.

According to Ryoji Chubachi, president of Sony Corp, “There’s an illusion that Sony is somehow getting totally defeated, but that’s just one business (MP3 Players) for Sony. It is going to be tough for Sony to beat all the specialists.” He also added that Sony needs to shift to ?growth? areas such as flat TVs, DVD recorders, and mobile gadgets. He didn?t specify which products Sony was going to shift away from though.

One way for Sony to put focus on their SACD & Blu-ray technologies would be to incorporate them into something that already has a niche in the market, the Vaio. Sony announced this week at a three day press event in Bordeaux France, that DSD and Blu-ray will be added to their line of Vaio notebooks and PCs.

DSD, which stands for Direct Stream Digital, will be added for optimal use of audio files. This technology is the core HD audio technology which makes SACD sound so wonderful, but to really notice what makes SACD so superior to CD you need a capable hi-fi system, which you are not going to have on the Sony Vaio. However Sony claims and this is really funny, that home studio and home audio enthusiasts and creators can achieve the same high definition and surround sound on their PC without affecting background CPU performance.

They haven?t announced any other details like how many, how much, & when. It seems like Sony is headed in the right direction in trying to come on top of this format war with HD-DVD but with NEC & Toshiba having the majority of Hollywood on their side and with Sony trying to call a truce a couple of weeks ago, the outlook for Blu-ray becoming the sole next-gen DVD format is not so good.

R.Hollis