Posts Tagged ‘HD-DVD’

Toshiba BDX2000 Blu-Ray Player

The launch of the Toshiba BDX2000 Blu- Ray Player at the lower end of the blu ray market is seen by some Home Theater experts as perhaps the biggest indication that Toshiba has pretty much given up on the resurfacing of what now seems a thing of the past the the HD-DVD format.

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Blu Ray or VS HD DVD how to choose ?

As HD (high definition) is set to become the norm over the coming years? will DVD? eventually end up where it’s forerunners consigned to the? home movie theater archives .. a once found memory?

HD is all ready waiting in the wings to take it’s crown but as before the major manufacturers can’t or maybe won’t decide on a single standard.

So whats new and what will HD bring that we never had before?

HD provides better pictures and better resolutions than were ever possible even with DVD. Major broadcasters worldwide are slowly rolling out more and more programs to this new standard (sound likes something we have heard before don’t you think ?)

Two groups of technology companies are championing two competing HD formats are we in for another beta/vhs type debarkle?

Well I hoping I get it right first time this time round but here’s the low down and you can judge for yourself which will eventually win or maybe just maybe they will actaully co-exist who knows at this early stage of the game.

HD DVD is supported by computer software giants Microsoft and you wouldn’t bet against them in a fair fight? would you ?

They are? working with Toshiba and Hitachi and few others…

Then we have the other major players Apple,Sony and Phillips a fine band if you like as well and they are? throwing their hat into the ring for Blu-ray.

Strangley enough both of these technologies use a blue-violet laser which is able to scan a high capacity disc which are? the same size as a CD/DVD.

Lets assume the guys from Apple got first name choice ?

The latest Tv’s to be released have the ability to display the new [tag-tec]HD signal[/tag-tec] and some (generally the higher end) have? built into them something called a [tag-tec]HDMI[/tag-tec] ( High Definition Multi Media Interface)? this looks a bit like a computer lead and allows for all components to be connected.

Some of the low end HD and DVD players are only able to create some of the picture standards availble with the new formats whilst in principle this might be quite? sad I suspect if your budget’s a little low anything is better than none at all.

Most common picture formats are 720p,1080i and 1080p when loking at quality [tag-tec]1080p[/tag-tec] is the best and it refers to the number of pixels you see vertically? on the tv screen.

The letters not suprisingly actually refer to the how the picture is formed on the screen the “p” standing for progressive which means the pixels are scanned by painting lines of pixels and the “i” stands for interlaced this works by painting the odd lines first and the then filling in the evens.?

Sorry about the geek speak I am only telling you what they told me …

Any how if that left you totally confused at it makes little or no difference as they move so quickly you won’t see them (why on earth they have to make things so darn complicated is a mystery?)

If that’s not enough to confuse you currently the big guns can’t agree on anything so there are still no regions for the discs which means they all play anywhere whether this will continue remains to be seen but sounds a good idea to me cna you see any pitfalls?

Blu -ray holds about 5 times the amount of information you will find on a standard DVD and the HD-DVD holds about 3 times that of a standard DVD both formats are likely to be available with dual layers and there is even talk of triple layer discs which I can’t help thinking is a because we can sort of idea …

Slowly players are becoming available in both formats originally HD drives were available in Toshiba Laptops but slowly the drives are appearing but they are yet to become mainstream so if you wallet is not bursting with crispy greenbacks wait a few months more.

As I sure you could have predicted with Microsoft and Sony going head to head the Playstation 3 will have Blu-ray as standard and suprise suprise the Xbox 360? will feature an HD DVD drive.

With both of these consoles set for a holiday season launch maybe this will decide the new standard as traditionally home theater buyer are less frenetic then games console buyers and battle is about to commence.

Apart form the obvious capacity difference Blu-ray is much thinner and the manufacturing process is different to that of DVD’s which for the time being at least means they are more expensive (but taking the capacity issues into account this might be justified).

Both formats have highly sophisticated encryption technology called [tag-tec]HDCP[/tag-tec] (High Definition Content Protection)? which could at last put paid to bootlegging. But don’t hold your breath as I am pretty sure our cousins from the far east are working hard to find ways around the technology.

So your thinking all sounds prety good so what about movies …

That’s a good question and one I will answer in a future post in the meantime here is a list of the latest Blu- ray and HD-DVD players for you to check out.

Blu- Ray

Sony VAIO VGN-AR270 Notebook with Blu-ray – VGN-AR270

Sony VAIO VGN-AR270 w/BR Notebook – Best

Sony Blu-ray Disc Player – BDP-S1

Sony BWU-100A Internal Blu-ray Disc Rewritable Drive – BWU-100A

Sony VAIO VGN-AR270 w/BR Notebook – Better

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HD-DVD Players

Toshiba HD-XA1 DVD Player – DVD-RAM, DVD-R/-RW, CD-R/RW – DVD Video, CD-DA, MP3, WMA Playback – 1 Disc(s)

Toshiba HDA2
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Buying A Home Theater Receiver Where to Start ?

If you are setting up a new home theater or upgrading your old one for a holidays gift to yourself, then you need to know that the choice of new home theater receiver is probably the most important home theater component of the entire system.

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Home Theater News 11/25/2006

HP z560 Digital Entertainment Center – CNET Reviews

17 Nov 2006 at 4:49pm

HP z560 Digital Entertainment Center
CNET Reviews – Nov 17, 2006
…. can find higher-end [tag-tec]media PCs[/tag-tec] with Blu-ray or HD-drives, [tag-tec]DVD-drives[tag-tec], but those are also more expensive. We still don’t believe there’s a perfect home theater PC out ….

Nvidia’s PureVideo HD: Mostly pretty okay HD decoding – CNET Reviews

22 Nov 2006 at 2:04pm

Nvidia’s PureVideo HD: Mostly pretty okay HD decoding
CNET Reviews – Nov 22, 2006
…. discs, and we compared them against output from a standard HD- DVD player …. is that while a living room PC remains inferior to standard home theater components in ….

Director Robert Altman Made Movies Into Mirrors – The Ledger

24 Nov 2006 at 6:34am

Director Robert Altman Made Movies Into Mirrors
The Ledger, FL – Nov 24, 2006
…. home town to discover it was also home town to …. and an as-yet-unfulfilled clamor for DVD release. …. Popeye,” with Robin Williams, got terrible reviews , though it ….

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Home Theater News 11/14/2006

Just a quicky review here on the Nyko Xbox
Nyko Xbox 360 Gear Reviews – IGN