Jun 14
At E3 today in LA Microsoft announced a new slimmer version of the XBOX 360. While many will drool at the sleek black design and other new(ish) features including build-in Wi-Fi (about time) and larger 250GB hard disk I can’t held but think that they missed a trick by not including at least one model with Blu-ray. Many PS3 machines are used for HD movie playback and the fact that the new XBOX is much quieter (long over due, my own original 360 sounds like a 747 after being on a few minutes) could have helped. Perhaps it’s due to the fact that Microsoft wants you to download it’s much lower quality (than Blu-Ray) movies from the online store and that they do not have a vested interest or directly make money in the same way as Sony who own their own movie studio from movie sales. It could also be the ‘not invented here’ syndrome or that they don’t want to be seen endorsing a Sony technology. What ever the reason it looks like an opportunity may have been missed for Microsoft to get embedded in your AV stack, at least you can copy lots of games from that old DVD technology to the bigger hard disk
Jan 12
Announced at CES Panasonic has unveiled a range of new 3D displays and a Blu-ray player.
First up is a new line up of Viera Plasma TV’s with 3D support.
The VT25 series includes four screen sizes ranging from 50-inches to 65-inches – the TC-P65VT25 class (64.8″ measured diagonally), the TC-P58VT25 class (58″ measured diagonally), the TC-P54VT25 class (54″ measured diagonally) and the TC-P50VT25 class (49.9″ measured diagonally). One pair of 3D Eyewear is included. In addition to providing 3D viewing, the VT25 series of VIERA HDTVs features the enhanced VIERA CAST service with Wireless LAN Adaptor ready on its USB port, video call capability(2), VIERA Image Viewer to view JPEG digital still images and HD video recorded on an SD Memory Card; VIERA Link, a PC input, two USB Ports, THX certification and THX Movie Mode, 24p cinematic playback, 600Hz Sub-field Drive (produces 1080 TV lines of moving picture resolution) and Infinite Black Pro display with 5,000,000:1 native contrast.
I have to say only including one pair of 3D glasses is a little singly, do they really think that only one person will be watching. It would have been better to include two or three pairs with discounts for more so the whole family can enjoy the experience.
Panasonic also introduced a range of new displays in the G25 Series lacking the 3D support but including Wi-Fi for that low-fi streaming experience. Screens range from 54 to 42 inches.
Also announced was a new line up of Viera LCD TV’s with LED backlighting. The D2 Series support 1080p with high contrast, fast response IPS panels.
For potential Blu-ray 3D fans the DMP-BDT350 is Panasonics first 3D capable player or which more information should be announced soon. The new BD65, BD85, and BDT350 players all feature a USB port for an optional Wi-Fi adapter with Viera Cast technology to enable internet streaming.
Jan 08
Disney has announced that it will release a 3D Blu-ray of it hit animated movie ‘Disney’s A Christmas Carol 3D’ this year.
No further details have been released but Disney will also release a 3D Showcase Blu-ray disk to player manufacturers featuring in addition to A Christmas Carol 3D, 1953 animated short – Working for Peanuts (think we all know that feeling) and 3D trailers for up and coming movies including Toy Story 3 and Alice in Wonderland. I can see the disk getting quite a following for those early adopters looking for something to show off their new setups.
See my impressions of A Christmas Carol 3D here
Dec 18
Sony and ReadD announced a partnership to use ReadD’s 3D technology in future Sony Bravia TV’s. The ReadD system is currently used in hundreds of cinemas worldwide. Sony will product new LCD TV’s that will work in conjunction with ReadD’s glasses, to bring 3D technology to the home. It has already been announced that the final specification of the Blu-ray 3D standard will work with the Playstation 3 so coupling this with the new Bravia 3D TV’s should be an exciting prospect.
Dec 17
You can now manage your Blockbuster movie rentals via your iPhone. The new app allows you to check store availability, check their complete catalogue and schedule future rentals. In future version you will be able to reserve movies and games as well as movie downloads.
Dec 17
Today the Blu-ray Association announced the final specification for 3D Blu-ray. The specification used a new version of the existing video compression currently used called H264 MVC (MultiView CodDec) this uses two separate transport streams, one for each eye. However this will mean that there will be around a 50% overhead for decoding 3D. The good news is that by decoding just a single stream existing players should be able to play the 3D disks however in plain old 2D. The specification also means that the Playstation 3 will be able to play these disks in full 3D. The new disks can also contain new 3D options for the interface in the disks menu’s which would make for some nice 3D views of scene selection a 3D version similar to Apple’s coverflow for album artwork would be a nice 3D navigation feature. As well as backwards compatibility the new specification is display agnostic meaning that any display can be used, the two video streams once decoded can be displayed by and means which stops Blu-ray 3D being tied to any specific display technology.
Dec 16
Semiconductor company Broadcom has announced two new single chip Blu-ray solution. This is great news for Blu-ray as a single chip solution can help drive down the cost of Blu-ray players, the fewer components the cheaper the player can be (depending on the quality of those components). The first new chip is the BCM7630 which supports Blu-ray optical control and decoding as well as streaming of video from the internet including BD-Live, Netflix 2.0, Pandora Internet Radio, Vudu and CinemaNow. However perhaps more interesting is the announcement of the new BCM7632 chip that has all of the above features but also includes 3D support. It supports stereoscopic 3D at full 1080p resolution. It is anticipated that the BCM7632 will comply with the Blu-ray standard for 3D disks when it’s finalised. We won’t see players with these new chips anytime soon as they are just sampling to manufacturers to design into new players but we could see them in the second half of 2010.
Dec 15
Yes Lord of the Rings will be released on April the 6th 2010, that’s the good news. The not so good news is that it will be the theatrical release. No high definition special edition extended version for you. Most of the extras have been seen before on the various DVD releases. Each movie will also include a digital copy (glad I just upgraded to a 32GB iPhone.
Now I’m not sure about this, yes I love these movies but the extended versions add so much and if it’s an April release why not delay them a little to accommodate the extended versions. Could this be another studio trying to make us all buy multiple copies of the same movie again? I already have the theatrical releases and the extended versions on DVD so I might just skip the initial Blu-ray release and wait for the inevitable extended versions which will probably be announced a few months after these releases as it was with the DVD versions.
Dec 07
Processor and Graphics company (as well as other parts of today’s PC) AMD today announced it will demonstrate 3D Blu-ray at the CES show in Las Vegas in January. AMD is a member of the Blu-ray consortium so the demo should be close to the final release however the group has yet to release the final specification for 3D Blu-ray but it is expected to go on sale in the second half of next year.
Read the release here
Dec 02
Universal Studios Entertainment has announced that it will introduce combination Blu-ray and DVD disks with the launch of the Bourne trilogy. What sets these disks apart from the current combo disks is that they will be different sides of the same disk; Blu-ray one side and DVD on the other also known as ‘flipper’ disks. Current combination packs include two separate format disks. This was a feature the now defunct HD-DVD format offered and it was developed in response for Blu-ray but no disks where ever released. It’s hopped that these new disks will encourage people with DVD players who have not yet taken the step to HD that they can still invest in DVD’s with an eye to upgrading their player at a later day and not have to reinvest in their collection.
Nov 30
Looking through the crystal ball at how the movie and music companies (and perhaps to a larger extent the IT and hardware companies) would like the market to evolve we may have few Christmas’s left where people can actually give real physical movies and music. Giving music has been a long tradition since the first days of vinyl and with the advent some thirty years ago of video tape movies have also been a main stay of recent festive gift giving. However with these industries pushing to move to digital downloads where we do not actually own anything but just licence everything what are we all to do? Doo all give each other iTunes or Netflix vouchers? The reason I still buy CD’s and Blu-ray is that I want to own what I spend my money on and I want to be able to consume it whenever I want to. I don’t want to wait for it to download and I don’t want to have watched it several times only to be told that my licence for it has expired and I have to pay more to enjoy it again. A lot of people within the industry say that the time for physical media is nigh. Well I for one intend to keep growing my collection of hundreds of CD’s and movies and perhaps this is a movement we can grow. Blu-ray can keep the fight alive by providing far better audio and video than any download service but I fear music may be lost. We (the 40 something’s – ouch that hurt to type) could be the last generation that appreciated good sound quality, looking at my own children they prefer convenience over sound quality and with the growth of downloads I fear that will only get worse.
Give the gift of high quality audio and video this Christmas, while you can…
Nov 28
The register has a round up of seven Blu-ray players here
Nov 24
Warner Home Video is now offering people in the US the chance to upgrade their old DVD titles to Blu-ray. So far a list of 54 titles has been announced with upgrade prices ranging from $7.95 to $9.95 (which I can tell you this is much better than you get at your local Blockbuster store in the UK). Titles include Michael Clayton, Wedding Crashers and 10,000 B.C.
Full details on www.dvd2blu.com
Nov 17
If you’re after a new Blu-ray player for Christmas of the New Year and live in the UK then you might take a look at the latest Pioneer range. Purchase before the 31st of January one of the below players and you can claim free BBC Blu-ray titles. If you have not experienced the picture quality on the BBC titles then you’re in for a treat and these disks will really show off your new player.
BDP-120 for Planet Earth box set,
BDP-320 for Planet Earth box set and 1 series from either Nature’s Great Events, Earth: The Power of the Planet, Yellowstone or South Pacific,
BCS-FS500 for Planet Earth box set and 1 series from either Nature’s Great Events, Earth: The Power of the Planet, Yellowstone or South Pacific,
BDP-LX52 for Life and 3 series from either Nature’s Great Events, Earth: The Power of the Planet, Yellowstone or South Pacific,
BDP-LX91 for Planet Earth, Life, Nature’s Great Events, Earth: The Power of the Planet, Yellowstone and South Pacific
Full claim details here
Oct 26
Already available for the Xbox 360 Netflix and Sony today announced that movies and TV shows will soon be available via Netflix streaming on the PS3. The system sounds a little weird in that users will visit www.netflix.com/ps3 and sign up for the service. They will then receive a Blu-ray disk featuring BD-Live software to enable streaming. The disk must be inserted every time they want to access Netflix. This sounds a little bit of a kludge, hopefully in time this could be made a download from the Playstation Store.
Convenient and if you’re not bothered about having the best HD experience in audio and video then OK but those that do would stick to Blu-ray.
