HD DVD/Blu-ray Format War In Perpetual Stalemate, Dual Format Players To Win In The End
According to Tom Adams, president of Adams Media Research, movie studios will eventually have to release their titles on both HD DVD and Blu-ray as "no studio will be able to afford not to". Apparently, the majority of HDTV owners are perfectly happen with standard DVD and the availability of upscaling DVD players could mean that high-def disc players may never be a mainstream product, but rather emerge as more of a luxury item. Here are some interesting format war facts:
1. 578, 000 standalone HD DVD players and 370, 000 standalone Blu-ray players will be sold by the end of 2007
2. If a winner is eventually decided, it could very likely be decided by which camp offers more content
3. Upscaling DVD players cut into sales for both camps dramatically
4. Research by the NPD Group has found that only 11% of HDTV owners intend to purchase a high-def disc player by spring 2008 and 75% are content with standard DVD
5. High-def disc players may "emerge as a premium, luxury item, not a successor to DVD"
6. Forecasts indicate that 5 million laptops will be sold with HD DVD players by the end of 2008
7. 3.4 million Blu-ray drives have been sold with PS3's, 300, 000 HD DVD drives have been sold with the XBox 360
8. 400 movie titles are offered by both camps, 90, 000 are offered by Netflix
9. Blu-ray discs outsell HD DVD discs 2 to 1
10. 70% of Blockbuster HD disc rentals are in the Blu-ray format
11. HD DVD believes users want interactivity in movies, research states otherwise: only 3% of users actually want interactive features
12. As the price of dual format players drop, we'll see studios pull away from their respective sides and a truce will emerge
Will a truce eventually take place with studios releasing movies on both disc formats? Will the much criticized dual format player eventually be the "format" of choice? Will high-def disc players disappear altogether with standard DVD being the real winner in the end? What do you think?
Via New York Times
Image Credit: Gary Gardener/Bloomberg News
Do ever wonder how to move an embedded flash (FLV) file such as a YouTube video from the internet to your iPod. First of all, the file needs to be converted to MP4 format, but how do you go about doing that?
An excellent beta freeware application called Vixy will convert FLV files to MP4 format and maintain the original video quality. It's also quick and easy. Find the URL of the video file you need to convert, head over to Vixy, enter the URL, choose the format you wish to convert to and there you go. Almost instant conversion. Not only can Vixy convert FLV files to MP4, it can also convert to AVI files for Windows, MOV files for Macs, 3GP files for mobile phones, and even MP3 files if you're only interested in audio.
Review: Pioneer Elite Kuro 60-Inch PRO-150FD Best HDTV On The Market
The only thing holding plasma screens on their pedestal is the Pioneer Kuro series and Business Week calls the newest model, the 60-inch Elite Kuro PRO-150FD, the "best television on the market today, handily outperforming rival manufacturers in every area where it matters most". Priced at a whopping $7000, the PRO-150FD features full high-def 1920x1080 pixel resolution, minimal bezel, 4 HDMI ports, deep blacks and excellent color reproduction. Definitely the best choice on the HDTV market right now if you have money to burn.
The Top 10 Most Anticipated Movie Release of 2008 + Trailers
Cloverfield: First Theatrical Release Of 2008
2008 is just around the corner and now is the time to figure out your theater-going schedule for the upcoming year. Torrent Geek has the 10 most anticipated movies of 2008 and their corresponding trailers. Would it be nihilistic of me to say that they all look pretty bad?
Need A Home Theater Projector? Save $1800 On The Optoma HD72 DLP Projector
Looking to add a projector to your cutting edge home theater setup? Try the Optomo HD72 DLP projector, regularly $3000, but now only $1199.99 after $1599 in instant savings and a $200 mail-in rebate. That's a lot of extra money in your pocket! The HD72 features high-def 720p resolution, a 7-segment color wheel with BrilliantColor and TrueVivid color enhancement technologies, a 16:9 aspect ratio, 5000:1 contrast ratio, and brightness rating of 1300 ANSI lumens. Wow! Combine all these features and you get superior color, deeper darks, and subtle color details only available with much higher-end, higher-priced projectors.
Samsung LNT4671F 120 Hz LCD TV $1200 Off, $100 NFLShop Gift Card Included
120 Hz frame rates will be all the rage in 2008, and one of the bestselling 120 Hz LCD's of this holiday season has been the Samsung LNT4671F 46 inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV. With a MSRP of $3200 you pay for the cutting edge technology and picture the display offers, but right now the LNT4671F is $1200 off coming in at only $1999.98. Not only are you saving 38% off the regular price, but shipping is free and you'll receive a $100 gift card for NFLShop.com if you mail in this rebate form.
Want to compare prices before making any decisions? Head to Shopzilla's price comparison page for the LNT4671F.
Constantly missing all of your favorite TV shows because of work or school? Don't have a TiVo or other timeshifting-capable set top box? Don't even have a television, never mind a high-def LCD or plasma? No worries, take a look at the quick 4 minute video above showing you how to use your computer as a TiVo/television.
Blu-ray Must Be Embarrassed: Buy Two HD DVDs, Get A Blu-ray Disc For Free
The Blu-ray camp has been having a rough time lately. First the Blu-ray Association site gets hacked and redirected to the HD DVD camps page, but at Myer's in Sydney, Australia, you can buy two HD DVD's and they'll just give you a Blu-ray disc for free! Engadget HD questions which camp would be more embarrassed, but we'd imagine Blu-ray since HD DVD earns revenues on throwaway Blu-ray discs. Hilarious! No comment from either camp yet, but we're heading over to the AVS Forum now to check out how this has affected the ongoing flame wars.
2008 To Be The Beginning Of The End For Plasma TV?
LCD To Beat Plasma Into The Ground In 2008?
With a whole lot of HDTV-related corporate reorganizing going on across the globe, most of it in the past month, and rumors of long awaited new technologies about to be unveiled, we're wondering if 2008 is the beginning of the end for plasma televisions.
Prices for LCD's have dropped drastically this year leading research firm iSuppli to predict a 31.9% compound growth rate in the LCD market into 2011. While 41.4 million LCD's were shipped in 2006, this would mean that by 2011 we'll see 165.3 million units shipped. Respective revenues would increase from $47.8 billion in 2006 to $116 billion in 2011. On the other hand, while shipments of plasma televisions will increase from 9.3 million units in 2006 to 19.3 million units in 2001, revenues will actually decrease from $15.6 billion to $14 billion over the same period. These numbers would leave plasma holding only 10.4% of industry shipments and 10.7% of industry revenue in 2011.
Corporate collaborations and corporate reorganizations, mainly in the past month, have further reinforced the belief that LCD TV's will rule the industry in the next few years.
Want to move your living room home theater to your laptop, desktop PC, or mobile phone with no monthly subscription fee? Then you need a Sling Media Slingbox AV, which can be had for only $69.99 right now at Woot.com. They are refurbished, but they work just as good as new and will move quickly. Compared to the Amazon price of $100 on sale, why wouldn't you save yourself $30 for adding the word "refurbished" to the product name?
News To Make You Laugh: Britney Spears To Make Career Comeback In "Memoirs Of A Medicated Child"
For the most part we focus on the technology end of the whole television experience here at TVSnob. But, once in a while there is something newsworthy to report. And while this may not be newsworthy from a, um, conservative point of view, it's worthy of reporting in our books because it's just so funny. Laughter is important to your health and well-being you know.
Britney Spears is apparently looking to get her career back on track, again, by starring in a new movie entitled Memoirs of a Medicated Child. At first I thought this was a joke, especially when I read that she was chosen over other potential star Lindsey Lohan. But it seems otherwise as it was reported to the New York Post by director Tommy Parker that "as far as Britney's concerned, we're talking". Spears was supposedly approached by producers as a potential actor to take on the role of the girlfriend of a misdiagnosed mental patient (insert comment here).
You may want to wait until this one comes out on DVD before you check it out, that it even if it hits theaters and DVD in the first place. But if it does, check it out just to see how bad a movie can be.
Why The Hollywood Writer's Strike Is A Good Thing: Web Video/TV Moving Forward With Actual Hollywood Talent
From the very beginning, we've found the Hollywood Writer's Strike to be extremely exciting for one reason: its potential to move internet video forward, rapidly, and with genuine Hollywood talent. Some of the internet videos created by striking writers uploaded the web, featuring big names such as Eva Longoria have attracted huge numbers of viewers, and that seems to have helped them see the light. While studios and writers battle over internet revenues, the writers are beginning to be attracted to the more egalitarian, open-source business approach of Silicon Valley venture capitalists. Contrary to the top-down, control-oriented approach of the studios, Silicon Valley is helping writers' see that the 21st century offers all kinds of opportunities for Hollywood types in a free and open environment far removed from what they've been used to for the majority of the last century.
It's rumored that seven independent groups of A-list writers including screenwriter Aaron Mendelsohn (Kindred: The Embraced, upcoming Cat Tale, Air Bud) are all developing companies that hope to challenge the dominance of the studios by creating television and movie content and distributing via the web. Some writers have even announced that once their respective contracts run out, they'll move the internet entirely, not re-signing with the studios at all.
One move to the Silicon Valley model of film distribution has been made by director and writer George Hickenlooper who has teamed up with Prince of Persia videogame creator Jordan Mechner to make a feature film that will be released in daily segments on the web. They will be using A-list names in the movie and the plans are to release the movie over either a month or 50 days and then release it on DVD in its entirety.
Hopefully this transition will continue and 2008 will be a revolutionary year for web video.
Mitsubishi's HC4900 Projector $1200 Off At Circuit City
Projectors tend to be a little on the expensive side, so anytime we see a great deal we want to let you know. The Mitsubushi HC 4900 home theater projector is regularly a pretty pricey $3000 at Circuit City. Not only is the projector $700 off at Circuit City, but a $500 mail-in rebate further brings the price down to $1800. The HC4900 is a 1080p LCD projector with a 7500:1 contrast ratio, and an ultra-quiet design and this deal includes it being shipped to your door for free!
How To Hack Your Scientific Atlanta 8300 Set Top Box For Better HD
Do you have a Scientific Atlanta 8300 cable box and use either Comcast or Time Warner as a service provider? Would it make your day to know that you could do a couple of easy things to get more HD out of that box resulting in a better picture on your HDTV? Technology columnist Don Reisinger will show you how to do this in about 5 minutes. It's the weekend so you might as well.
We reported the other day that Apple would be announcing at the MacWorld conference that they had signed a deal with Fox to provide movie rental on the iTunes movie service. Disney has now jumped on the bandwagon according to Variety. There is still a chance that studios such as Paramount, Lionsgate, and MGM will also sign with Apple, while Sony, Universal, and Warner Bros will probably not be included for competitive reasons.
This expected announcement has provided fodder for interesting discussion regarding how iTunes movie rentals will affect other online movie services such as Netflix and Blockbuster. Silicon Valley Insider did an excellent analysis of the effect of iTunes rentals on the movie industry in general. Check it out here.
Can you not wait to get your hands on a Sony XEL-1 OLED TV? We don't blame you, neither can we. But you might not have to wait. There are currently three available, available now at the "buy it now" price of $1999 US on ebay. Being sold by kyotostyles2, an ebay powerseller with a positive feedback score of 203, it looks like this is for real. Why didn't he do this before Christmas?
Tips To Help You Hook Up That Brand New HDTV Properly
It's pretty common to hear HDTV buyer's, especially those buying for the first time wondering why the picture doesn't seem as good on their new HDTV at home as it did in the store. Just so you know, there is probably nothing wrong with the set, it was just calibrated and optimized for the best performance possible when it sat on the store shelves, for that environment, so you'd be wowed and buy it. It worked, but now it has to be optimized so you get the best picture possible in your living room, very different from the bright, wide open spaces of a big-box store. Here is a great write-up from USA Today giving you a few tips to hook up that new HDTV properly, so you get the best picture possible.
One of the big questions on the minds of TV Snob's heading into 2008 is whether or not internet video will hit out living rooms in the new year. This isn't quite internet video, but it's definitely a step in the right direction and a cool application nonetheless.
Interestingly, this cool new software developed by Dave Winer, called FlickrFan, grew from Winer's dissatisfaction with the Apple TV. What a surprise! In a news release today, Winer says that there is a "convergence between big screen high-definition televisions, and photography as an Internet based activity" and "the purpose of this product is to smooth that convergence, to make it easy to set up a connection between the Internet and your television. To allow photography to come into your living room in new, powerful and easy ways".
Basically, the new software which is available for free download is a uses folders on your Mac to sync up to Flickr so you can display your Flickr photos or your friends Flickr photos on your HDTV. Or you can hunt down professional photography and display that too. Flickrfan was just released this evening and is in beta, is if you have a Mac or better yet a MacMini that connects to your HDTV, joint the early adopter game and give this a try.
This could be the beginning of the internet to living room convergence we're all hoping for in 2008.
By the way, if you haven't already figured it out, Winer's new software is Mac only. However, Slickr is apparently a workable software package for PC owners. Haven't tested it, but heard it works.
Via Podcasting News
The World's Going To Hell! Britney Boy Among Top YouTube Vids Of 2007
Leave Britney Alone!!!
YouTube has released the top vids of 2007 taking into account not only the amount of times each video was viewed, but also how often they were shared, discussed, and how highly they were rated by viewers. The famous Britney boy clip, "Leave Britney Alone" by Chris Crocker, was among the top ranked, as was Obama girl, featuring an attractive singer professing her love for Barack Obama through song. The "Battle At Kruger" was also unbelievably popular. Viewed more than 21 million times, the vid features a battle between a pride of lions, a crocodile, and a herd of buffaloes over a calf. People are sick, I know. Other popular videos of 2007 included Esmee Denters from the Netherlands, singing Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around" and Tay Zonday "Chocolate Rain".
With all the craziness over the past year with the HD DVD/Blu-ray format war, many of us have forgotten about good ol' DVDs. Most of us, but not all of us. Brian Lam over at Gizmodo still thinks DVD is the best video format around and he can back that statement up too.
Could 2008 be the year that online video makes it into our living rooms? NewTeeVee has come up with a panel of new media experts and posed the question to them. Not surprisingly the answers are varied. Experts include such names as John Cioffi, the Hitachi America professor of engineering at Stanford, Zadi Diaz of Smashface Productions, and George Kliavkoff, former interim CEO of Hulu.
Here's a good one for our readers. Every month the Official Xbox Magazine reviews at least one HDTV as one of the big challenges for game console owners is finding a compatible high-def display that'll maximize the picture quality of their games. Currently working on a review for the March 2008 issue of OXM, tech reporter David Murphy decided it was time to review a Sony Bravia set, one of the best gaming HDTVs currently on the market. Here's where it gets interesting.
Murphy contacted the Sony PR department to request a set for review and was told...NO! Why you might ask? Because OXM is a Microsoft-focused company and Sony is a Playstation-creating company. Looks like the HD DVD/Blu-ray format war isn't the only one getting a little heated. The PR rep apparently stated, "I have to support our friends over at our sister company". Surprised, Murphy wrote back that many of OXM's readers purchase sets that are reviewed in the magazine and that he himself had even just purchased a Bravia and found no incompatibilities with the XBox 360 console at all. Sony still decided "to pass on this opportunity".
So, XBox 360 owners, it looks like Sony is too good for your money!
Every Single Futurama Episode Ever Airing On Adult Swim Starting Tonight
Futurama fans will be delighted to know that every single Futurama episode EVER will be airing on the Adult Swim network starting tonight at 11 PM in a Futurama marathon that will see nothing buy Futurama on Adult Swim until 11:30 PM on December 31! On December 31st, Adult Swim will air the first Futurama episode, "Space Pilot 3000", and the last episode, "The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings" at 11 and 11:30 PM respectively. This is all in preparation for Futurama's move from Adult Swim to Comedy Central as of January 1. Should you happen to miss the marathon (we know it happens over the holidays and yes we believe you didn't know the eggnog was spiked), Comedy Central will air 3 episodes of Futurama per night starting at 8 PM and hold a Season 2 episode marathon on January 6.
Advertising has been a big topic of discussion in 2007, especially pertaining to online video. Until online advertising evolves to the point where online video can be better monetized, we'll never see it reach its full potential. Television advertising on the other hand, just keeps getting better. There has been many an occasion this year where I enjoyed the ad interruptions more than the show I was watching. So I thought it'd be appropriate to point you in the direction of Wired's "10 Best Gadget Ads of 2007", with a little taste of what you can expect above.
Get 6 Free Blu-ray Discs With Purchase Of Select Blu-ray Players
If you're looking for a Blu-ray player to go along with that brand new HDTV you got for Christmas, now is the time to buy. You'll get 6 free Blu-ray movies with the purchase of select Blu-ray players at Amazon right now. Even the 40 GB PS3 qualifies for this awesome deal. Just click on the link above or below to head to Amazon.
Christmas is over and 2007's most popular DVDsare on sale for up to 60% off! Titles include The Simpson's Movie, Planet Earth, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Heroes-Season One. These are some of the cheapest prices you'll find around, so check it out now.
2008 Could Be The Year Of The iPod; Apple Signs Video-On-Demand Deal With Fox
The rumors floating around the blogosphere for the past couple of months regarding Apple's intentions to provide a video-on-demand service via its iTunes platform seem to be coming true.
Apple has signed News Corp's 20th Century Fox Studio to a new video-on-demand service that would allow movie buffs to download a digital copy of the latest Fox DVD releases from the iTunes platform for a limited time, after which they would no longer be viewable.
Fox will use Apple's FairPlay digital rights management system to protect digital files included in Fox DVD releases, however the digital file does enable content to be ripped from the DVD disc to a computer or video iPod. This is the first time that Apple has allowed the use of their FairPlay technology beyond their own products and an unnamed studio exec has said that Apple hopes the deal will increase their sales of iPods substantially.
The deal is expected to be officially announced at the MacWorld conference on January 14 (although Steve Jobs doesn't actually speak until the 15th?) and with Apple apparently in talks with Sony Pictures Entertainment, Paramount and Warner Bros regarding making their new releases available on iTunes to buy and rent, we wonder what else may be announced.
Talks are rumored to have covered FairPlay deals with the above-mentioned studios as well, meaning that if Apple extends their digital rights management technology to those studios as well, 2008 may be the year of the iPod rather than the Apple TV.
Get 10 Free HD DVDs With Select HD DVD Players At Amazon
Right now Amazon is offering you 10 free HD DVDs with the purchase of select Toshiba HD DVD players. The following Toshiba players qualify for the special offer and are on sale as well:
When you purchase one of the three players, you'll be given a selection of HD DVDs from which you pick three choices, 300 and The Bourne Identity come packaged with the player, and you'll get another 5 free titles with the use of this mail-in rebate form bringing the total to 10 free HD DVDs. At an average price of around $35 per HD DVD, you're keeping $350 in your pocket by buying a high-def player. Sounds like an amazing deal to me and what makes it even better is that all the players will ship to your doorstep for free!
Amazon has a "Buy One, Get One Free" HD DVD limited time offer on at the moment. Selection is limited, but all 39 available titles are on sale, then the second pick will cost you nothing. All four Harry Potter movies are available as are such titles as Knocked Up, Evan Almighty and Alpha Dog. Head there now though as a hot deal like this means titles will sell out quickly.
This one took some creative thinking. What better way to use your unused cellar space than to turn it into a batcave home theater! Created by New Hampshire-based DC Audio Video Systems, the batcave home theater features a 110 inch 16:9 Stewart Electriscreen displaying picture from a $36000 Sony G90 1080p 2500x2000 pixel CRT projector. Sound emanates from Triad Silver THX Speakers, and eight black leather motorized recliners provide the seating. Lighting is controlled by a LiteTouch LC5000 System and prop bats even hang from the ceiling. Check out the link for more pictures of this cool creation.
Panasonic Rumored To Unveil 150-Inch Plasma Set At CES 2008
Japanese newspaper Daily Yomiuri ran an article the other claiming that Matsushita, the maker of Panasonic flat panels, will unveil a 150-inch plasma HDTV next month, making it the world's largest TV. The set is rumored to be debuting at CES 2008 in Las Vegas, beating out the 108-inch Sharp display from last year's CES show and the 103-inch Panasonic display in 2006. So far no price has been set on the massive display, but it's expected to hit shelves sometime in 2009. The display is so big at 3x2.5 meters is large enough to display a full-size adult.
Having trouble deciding on what size your new HDTV should be? Try out Display Wars, a free web tool, that graphically compares HDTV sizes to make it a little easier to make a comparison. All's you need to know is the aspect ratio of the two TV's to be compared and their diagonal measurement in inches. It's particularly good for helping you visualize, for example, that 52-inch plasma in the big-box store with your 37-inch LCD at home. Televisions displayed at stores with their wide open spaces look a whole lot smaller than they would in a small room in your house or apartment. Display Wars will help you better visualize the two models in a controlled environment.
Display Wars Via Lifehacker
Sony's 11-Inch OLED TV was named the coolest gadget of 2007 by InfoWorld, leading a good showing by TV-related gadgets. Others that made the list include the Casio Exilim EX-S880 and EX-Z77 digital cameras that include a video mode optimized for YouTube uploading, NEC's Lui concept PC which include two digital HDTV tuners, DLNA connectivity, and a Blu-ray disc writer, the Hitachi Blu-ray disc camcorder, and the Sony Video Walkman with TV.
HD DVD/Blu-ray Format War In Perpetual Stalemate, Dual Format Players To Win In The End
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at Amazon right now. Even the 40 GB PS3 qualifies for this awesome deal. Just click on the link above or below to head to Amazon.
