blu-ray

Mon
10
Mar
Dennis Faas's picture

Next-Gen DVD Format War Fallout Continues

In the wake of Toshiba surrendering in the next-generation DVD format wars, the effects of Blu-ray's victory are becoming widespread: Circuit City has announced it's tripling the returns period for HD-DVD players. That means anyone who bought a ... player in the past three months can return it. Customers can't get a refund but will receive store credit. The offer doesn't apply to the discs themselves. Returned HD-DVD players will likely be sold on clearance, and the company says such sales are going well as some people are getting them as a cheap upgrade for watching standard DVDs in better ... (view more)

Wed
20
Feb
Dennis Faas's picture

Toshiba Concedes Defeat in Format War

The second major format war is over, and this time Sony has actually appeared to come out on top! Yesterday, Toshiba announced it was throwing in the towel and officially discontinuing its HD DVD format, former rival to Sony's Blu-ray. (Source: ... yahoo.com ) The announcement opens the way for Blu-ray to become the industry standard for the next generation of home video. The format war created a lot of hesitancy among customers to invest in second generation players while the two-tiered system existed. There are approximately 30 million high definition television sets in homes across the United ... (view more)

Mon
18
Feb
Dennis Faas's picture

Wal-Mart Joins HD-DVD Exodus

Earlier last week we reported that Best Buy decided to heavily back Blu-Ray in the next generation DVD format wars. We wrote that the battle appeared to be nearing its climax, and now Wal-Mart may be striking the killer blow to the rival HD-DVD ... system. While Best Buy plans to continue stocking both formats (but put all its promotional backing behind Blu-Ray), Wal-Mart is dropping HD-DVD completely. Their head of home entertainment, Gary Severson, said "We've listened to our customers, who are showing a clear preference toward Blu-Ray products and movies with their purchases." They'll be ... (view more)

Thu
14
Feb
Dennis Faas's picture

Best Buy Goes Blu

Although one big blue electronics retailer couldn't quite knock Toshiba's HD-DVD off, another one may just do the trick. Less than a year after Blockbuster failed to swing the high-def movie war by exclusively carrying Blu-ray flicks, Best Buy has ... decided it will more prominently display Sony's hardware and openly recommend it over rival HD-DVD. Best Buy president Brian Dunn made the announcement earlier this week. Jumping on the Sony bandwagon, the big box brass was quoted as saying, "Because we believe that Blu-ray is fast emerging as that single format, we have decided to focus on Blu-ray ... (view more)

Fri
11
Jan
Dennis Faas's picture

Microsoft Mulls Future of HD

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. That seems to be the attitude of Microsoft now that Warner Bros has decided to back Sony's Blu-ray in the high definition movie format war. Although the Redmond-based company once stood firmly behind Toshiba's rival ... HD-DVD, things appear to be changing very quickly in the Pacific northwest. For those who haven't heard, Warner Bros recently dealt Blu-ray a pair of aces ('bullets') in the high stakes game for next generation's movie format. By turning its nose up at HD-DVD, Warner may have finally put the final nail in Toshiba's coffin; although the tech company ... (view more)

Thu
10
Jan
Dennis Faas's picture

No Wonder Warner Went Blu

Just months after it appeared Paramount's decision to exclusively back Toshiba's HD-DVD would save the format from what seemed an inevitable demise, Sony's Blu-ray is again threatening to snuff out its competition. Sales figures peg Blu-ray movie ... titles well ahead of the competition with the 2007 holiday season now just another footnote in the history books. According to statistics filtering out of the Blu-ray Disc Association's recent press event, Sony's format outsold the competition from HD-DVD by 2-to-1 when it came to total 2007 movie sales. Moreover, there was not a single week during ... (view more)

Wed
09
Jan
Dennis Faas's picture

Blu-ray Scores Major Victory in Format War

Sony has dealt a major, and possibly decisive blow to Toshiba in the current HD format wars. On Friday, Warner Brothers announced that it would cease production of the HD-DVD format backed by Toshiba in favor of Sony's Blu-ray. (Source: nytimes.com ... ) The format war is similar to that of the 1980s when Sony was locked in combat with JVC and others as Beta and VHS home video players battled it out for consumer support. Sony's Beta ultimately lost that battle. The current war started shaping into a serious conflict in 2006 when both sides released their first home video players. Despite a lot of ... (view more)

Wed
26
Dec
Dennis Faas's picture

Defining High Defintion's Destiny this Holiday Season

There are some conflicting reports this Christmas on which high definition movie format is best to put your buck behind. After Toshiba's HD-DVD dominated most of 2006, 2007 has belonged to Sony's Blu-ray, which efficiently locked up most movie ... studios. Unfortunately for Sony, at least one major studio switch has changed the momentum heading into 2008. Back in the spring of this year, it looked fairly certain that Blu-ray was going to bump HD-DVD off the road en route to a stunning next-gen victory. With its hardware tucked under the hood of every Sony PlayStation 3 and Blockbuster announcing ... (view more)

Thu
13
Dec
Dennis Faas's picture

HD Movies Finally Reaching Realistic Prices

Up until this Christmas, the likelihood of Dad getting an HD-DVD or Blu-ray player was on par with his hopes of sliding a brand new Ferrari around Germany's Nuburgring. That's because extravagant cost has kept high definition movie players outside ... the average family home. That is, until this Christmas. For the first time in the history of the technology, Blu-ray and HD-DVD players are actually affordable gifts. When Sony introduced its first Blu-ray player, the BD-P1000, most homeowners -- even the hardcore techies -- scoffed at the $1,000 price tag. Although Toshiba's HD-DVD players were ... (view more)

Mon
10
Sep
Dennis Faas's picture

LG Makes the HD Choice Easier, More Expensive

Still confused about whether to leap into the next-gen high definition movie market? For those boasting big bucks, LG has a solution with its slightly reduced (but still quite expensive) dual Blu-ray and HD-DVD player. Although appearing to take ... sides by using the moniker "Super Blu Player," LG's device is equally proficient with the Toshiba and Microsoft-supported HD-DVD format. At $1,000, it's also about 16% cheaper than the last Blu-ray and HD-DVD player introduced by the company. (Source: digitalhome.ca ) So, what's the point? For those of us who have watched a movie in HD, the technology ... (view more)

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