HDTV Info

Vista-certified Blu-ray Notebook from Samsung

Samsung expects to launch its Vista-certified Blu-ray notebook PC,  Sens M55, later this month in the Korea market.

The Sens M55 has a full HD 17" wide WUXGA (1920×1200) LCD to play Blu-ray content, and users can enjoy the HD content on a big screen via TV-out. The Sens M55 supports Blu-ray R/W disc, as well as conventional CD and DVD R/W.

The Sens M55 also features Intel Core2Duo T7200 CPU, nVidia GeForce Go 7600 graphic chipset(GDDR3 256MB), 2GB memory (667MHz), 120GB SATA HDD, nVidia GeForce Go 7600(GDDR3 256MB), Bluetooth 2.0, and Intel 802.11a/b/g WLAN.

Funai to Launch Low-Cost Blu-ray Players

So far, the sales for HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc players have been pretty equal, so it seems only natural that a more affordable Blu-ray player (for maybe about half the price of the ones on shelves now) could be a real blessing to the Blu-ray camp and its supporters.  That said, low-cost electronics company Funai will reportedly introduce a Blu-ray player by year's end that will cost roughly $500, which is about $300-$500 less than current Blu-ray players and about the same cost as Sony's PlayStation 3, which has a Blu-ray player inside.  The emergence of a low-cost Blu-ray player from Funai could force other Blu-ray makers to lower their prices and trigger increased sales overall.  According to IDG News Service, this year, Funai began supplying a 32" LCD HDTV to Yamada, which is now selling the unit for $1,149, which is - surprise, surprise - cheaper than most 32" LCD HDTVs.

Blu-ray HDTV Recorder from Sharp

Sharp has announced that it new Blu-ray HDTV recorder (BD-HP1) will touch down in Japan next month, but no details have been released about the HD recorder coming to U.S. soil.  Like Sharp, Sony and Panasonic have already launched Blu-ray recorders in Japan and have not yet introduced them in North America.

Sharp said the BD-HP1, unlike past Blu-ray recorders, will use the tuner inside the high-def set to record programming, which Sharp officials say reduces the cost of the recorder.  Using the tuner, however, enables the device to record only one show at a time. Sharp said it would connect to the TV via a iLink connector.  The recorder is expected to carry a $1,200 price tag at launch. Sony and Panasonic's high-def Blu-ray recorders are currently priced higher. 

Sharp said the recorder would work with its Aquos LCD high-def sets but wasn't certain if it would be compatible with other HDTVs. The device will record programs on a single-layer Blu-ray Disc Rewritable disc, which can store up to three hours of terrestrial high-def content or two hours of satellite-delivered content.

Blu-ray Pulling Ahead

Sony officials have claimed that, according to Nielsen VideoScan, Blu-ray movies outsold those released for the HD-DVD format by more than a 2:1 margin during the first week of January, which equates to 47.14 HD DVD titles sold for every 100 Blu-ray titles.  The report also found that Blu-ray titles outsold HD-DVD releases by nearly a 3:1 margin during January's second week, with 38.36 HD-DVD titles sold for every 100 Blu-ray releases. 

Sony officials also revealed that, according to an online survey of approximately 100,000 current PS3 owners conducted by the company, 90% have watched a Blu-ray movie on their console, most likely because a Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby Blu-ray disc was bundled with the first 500,000 PS3 units.  Nonetheless, 80% of those surveyed plan to purchase further Blu-ray movies, while 72% of respondents stated that they plan to rent a Blu-ray movie in the near future.

Dual HDTV DVD Player Hits Retail

LG Electronics announced that its dual HDTV DVD player has touched down in such retail Shangri Las as Best Buy, Circuit City and CompUSA.  Called the Super Multi Blue Player (Model: BH100), which can play both Blu-ray and HD-DVD high-def DVDs, the player is priced at $1,199.  The set-top will display high-def discs in 1080p HD ("Full HD") on 1080p sets.

LG hopes the player will appeal to consumers who are nervous about choosing the wrong format in the high-def DVD format war.
As you well know, Blu-ray and HD-DVD are not compatible with each other, meaning one disc won't play on the other's machine. This incompatability issue has led to concerns that one format may eventually go out of business, leaving consumers holding an obsolete player.

"We are proud to offer consumers the next generation of HDTV innovation, addressing consumer hesitancy and confusion, and we're excited that the LG player has captured the attention of retail partners and enthusiasts," says Michael Ahn, president and CEO of LG's North American headquarters.

The dual-format player, the first of its kind on the market, received several awards at last month's 2007 Consumer Electronics Show where it was unveiled.

"With Full HD beginning to take off, we expect the industry-changing Super Multi Blue Player to trigger expanding market volume for both Full HD displays and high-definition discs," said Ahn.

NIN on Blu-ray & HD DVD...and DVD

The Nine Inch Nails’ Live: With Teeth tour – and much, much more -  is coming to DVD, HD DVD, and Blu Ray configurations on Nine Inch Nails Live: Beside You In Time and will be on released February 27.  Beside You In Time is the first music DVD to be released on all three formats simultaneously.

Beside You In Time (presented in 16 x 9 anamorphic widescreen with DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound) features renditions of 10 of the tracks on With Teeth and includes both the live versions and the music videos for "The Hand That Feeds" and "Only." Viewing parties for Beside You In Time will be held in L.A. (Henry Fonda/January 28), N.Y. (Knitting Factory/January 29), Boston (Middle East/February 1), Dallas (Addison Studio/February 1), Seattle (Experience Music Project/February 2), and Detroit (St. Andrews Hall/February 6).

Beside You In Time DVD Track Listing:

  (North American Winter Tour 2006)
      "Love Is Not Enough"
      "You Know What You Are?"
      "Terrible Lie"
      "Line Begins To Blur"
      "March Of The Pigs"
      "Something I Can Never Have"
      "Closer"
      "Burn"
      "Gave Up"
      "Eraser"
      "Right Where It Belongs"
      "Beside You In Time"
      "With Teeth"
      "Wish"
      "Only"
      "Big Come Down"
      "Hurt"
      "The Hand That Feeds"
      "Head Like A Hole"

    Also:

    (North American Summer Tour 2006)
      "Somewhat Damaged"
      "Closer"
      "Help Me I Am In Hell"
      "Non-Entity"
      "Only"

    "The Collector" (Live Rehearsal 2005)
    "Every Day Is Exactly The Same" (Live Rehearsal 2005)
    "Love Is Not Enough" (Live Rehearsal 2005)
    "The Hand That Feeds" (Music Video)
    "Only" (Music Video)

AACS: Yup, HDTV DVDs Were Hacked

Over the past few weeks, hackers have posted copies of both Blu-ray and HD-DVDs online, saying they have cracked the code that prevents the discs from being copied illegally, and the Advanced Access Content System (AACS) Licensing Authority, a consortium of companies responsible for the encryption software, said yesterday that the reports are true.

The AACS did, however, downplay talk that hackers have completed solved the anti-copying system. "It does not represent an attack on the AACS system itself," the group said in a statement to wire services.  The AACS acknowledged that some high-def DVDs were decrypted, meaning that pirates could make copies and sell them illegally.  The AACS also noted that the files are too large to allow for widespread multiple copying.

The AACS says it will continue its investigation and would not rule out taking action against any party involved in the hacking.

The following is an official AACS statement:

AACS LA has confirmed that AACS Title Keys have appeared on public web sites without authorization. Such unauthorized disclosures indicate an attack on one or more players sold by AACS licensees. This development is limited to the compromise of specific implementations, and does not represent an attack on the AACS system itself, nor is it exclusive to any particular format. Instead it illustrates the need for all AACS licensees to follow the Compliance and Robustness Rules set forth in the AACS license agreements to help ensure that product implementations are not compromised. AACS LA employs both technical and legal measures to deal with attacks such as this one, and AACS LA is using all appropriate remedies at its disposal to address the attack.

Scoring the Blu-ray/HD DVD Slugfest

Online retailer DVDEmpire is chronicling the high-definition format battle by offering one of the first public comparisons of Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD sales.

Launched this month, the “HD Wars” tracker tells its web site visitors what percentage of the site’s high-def title sales are BD or HD DVD on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis. Also, the tracker counts up the number of Blu-ray and HD DVD releases studios have sent to the streets thus far.

“We just thought it was something interesting to add,” said Shannon Nutt, DVDEmpire editorial director. “People are interested in seeing how the two formats are doing against each other. Obviously, we keep track of this in-house. But it’s also something that our customers will be interested in for awhile.”

For the week including Tuesday, Jan. 16, DVDEmpire noted that 57.7% of its high-def sales were Blu-ray and 42.3% were HD DVD. For 2006, HD DVD led Blu-ray 59.16% to 40.84%.  Through Jan. 16, DVDEmpire counted 190 HD DVD releases and 203 Blu-ray releases.

If one format appears to be consistently in the lead, “we will not give more weight to one or the other … as far as promotion,” said Nutt, who believes the recent roll-out of Sony’s PS3 is giving Blu-ray an edge currently.

HD DVD Players Could Be Under $500 Later in 2007

Taiwan optical disc drive makers think an entry-level HD DVD player priced at up to $500 may be available in the second half of 2007.

The increasing upgrade in resolution of large-size LCD TVs and plasma display panel HDTVs to full HD will boost demand for Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD players/recorders, the sources indicated. 

The currently available Blu-ray and HD DVD drives are a bit pricy, and an estimated figure of $500 seems to be the critical price level at which demand will begin to take off, based on the development history for DVD drives, sources note.

Expecting decreased costs for key components like pick-up heads and chipsets, as well as a reduction in defect rates during product assembly, should create room for prices to fall to blow $500 in the second half of 2007, the sources pointed out.

Toshiba's 50GB HD-DVD Disc

Toshiba has reportedly developed a the world’s first 50GB HD-DVD disc format.

The news first broke during yesterday's press event held by the HD-DVD Promotions Group, and though tech details were few and far between, the news could dramatically change the competitive landscape of the high-def format wars.

A 50GB HD-DVD would up the format's maximum dual-layer storage capacity by a cool 20GB and close the gap between HD-DVD and Blu-ray. Blu-ray currently supports 50GB discs, which so far has been one of the primary tech advantages it holds over its rival.

No working prototype of the format was previewed.