News

Quote

Warner Home Video will continue to release its titles in standard DVD format and Blu-ray. After a short window following their standard DVD and Blu-ray releases, all new titles will continue to be released in HD DVD until the end of May 2008. "Warner Bros. has produced in both high-definition formats in an effort to provide consumer choice, foster mainstream adoption and drive down hardware prices," said Jeff Bewkes, President and Chief Executive Officer, Time Warner Inc., the parent company of Warner Bros. Entertainment. "Today's decision by Warner Bros. to distribute in a single format comes at the right time and is the best decision both for consumers and Time Warner."

Quote

Toshiba has submitted a triple-layer, 51GB HD DVD-ROM disc to the standard's overseer in the hope the technology will be adopted as a standard by the end of the year. If approved, it allow the format to exceed the 50GB storage capacity of rival medium Blu-ray Disc. The HD DVD standard currently defines single- and dual-layer discs capable of holding 15GB and 30GB of data, respectively. That's plenty, say the format's supporters, for a movie encoded in 1080p HD resolution and a stack of extras.

Said By CNET News

Nikko\'s nerdtacular Star Wars R2-D2 gear

...The R2-D2 DVD Projector is a 480p home-theater projector that looks just like the beloved robot. The 20-inch-tall projector features built-in speakers, an iPod dock, a memory card slot, and even an FM transmitter to broadcast audio around the house. Best of all, the projector moves just like R2-D2. Using a Millenium Falcon-shaped remote control, the projector can be piloted around the home with its three-wheeled legs. Built-in safety sensors help prevent the droid from taking spills or bumping into objects. Most importantly, it sounds just like R2-D2, with 11 different beeps, boops, and whistles randomly playing when it's in motion....

...The R2-D2 Wireless Web Camera is a similar geek-worthy marvel. The tiny Webcam is just over half a foot tall and communicates wirelessly with its computer. The wireless aspect is important, because the R2-D2 Webcam can roll around just like its big brother. Since it's networked, you can actually log in to the Webcam while you're out and pilot it around your house, using R2-D2 as your own personal spy-droid. Like the projector, the Webcam has built-in sensors to help prevent crashes and falls...

Quote

The high prices for these devices also militate against a worldwide launch in the near future. Panasonic's BW 200 and BW 100 Blu-ray recorders sell for 300,000 and 240,000 yen, respectively. That's about $2,500 and $2,200. Sony's player sells in the same price range. Toshiba's player sells for 398,000 yen, although HD players use less-expensive components. Ohmori, however, said that's because Toshiba puts 1 terabyte of hard-drive storage in its player/recorder. The drive on the most expensive Panasonic unit is half the size at 500GB. High-definition video gobbles up a lot of hard-drive space. A dual-layer Blu-ray disk with 50GB on it can hold six hours of HD video, a Panansonic representative said.