Tag: HD DVD

Other than the frenzied anticipation for the coming breed of tablet PCs, the one topic that dominates the mindspace of the technorati these days is the world of e-readers. More specifically, a great debate is brewing; each of the e-readers and their associated online book stores favor differing standards and file formats, and we may have another good ole fashioned format war on our hands. ...

Since long before Switched was even a twinkle in the Internet's eye, we've been making the annual January pilgrimage to Sin City to pay homage to the tech gods. And every year -- sometimes days, sometimes weeks, or sometimes months after the fact -- we realize that we done got played. We inevitably find that, at some point, amid the hustle and bustle, the lights and music and product pitches, ...

In the early days of the format wars between Blu-ray and HD-DVD, Microsoft seemed to be hedging its bets. It supported HD DVD by releasing an optional add-on for the Xbox 360. By not building the format into the game console it seemed to be saying "We like you, but we just want to be friends." It's possible that lack of commitment helped tip the battle to end the way it did, but since then ...

Just when you thought the format wars were over, along comes an upstart called New Medium Enterprises (NME) with its Versatile Multilayer Disc, or VMD. VMDs were originally set to debut in 2006, but for currently unknown reasons are only now making their debut. The discs and players are much cheaper to produce than either Blu-ray or HD-DVD because it uses the same red lasers that standard DVD ...

It's official. After plenty of rumors and speculation Toshiba itself has indeed confirmed that it will cease production of HD DVD players and recorders sometime next month. That means the high-definition format war is over and Sony, having lost so many of these battles in the past (Betamax, MiniDisc, UMD, etc. etc.), has finally got winner on its hands. Or does it? Having offed HD-DVD on the ...

The chips are down for Toshiba and its HD-DVD format, the competitor to Sony's Blu-ray that has been on the receiving end of some serious knocks lately. Netflix said it's dropping the format, and Best Buy indicated it's beginning the process of doing the same. Blu-ray player sales are way up and things are looking so bad that Toshiba's response to all this sounds half-hearted at best. No ...

Yesterday was a bad day for HD DVD. We've already declared HD DVD dead in the water, but not everyone has come around just yet. Yesterday both Best Buy and Netflix helped bury the Toshiba-backed HD DVD coalition. Netflix announced that it would begin exclusively carrying Blu-Ray discs, and Best Buy will continue to carry HD DVDs and HD DVD players, but will "recommend" BluRay to customers. The HD ...

Rocky always refused to go down, even if his face got beaten into Hamburger Helper. Despite looking like Rocky sans the steadfastly loyal fan base, the folks behind HD-DVD are trying to get that cinematic comeback-when-the-chips-are-down win... or at least some sort of moral victory. Wired reports that Toshiba, one of the companies that's backing HD-DVD, has paid $2.7 million for a 30-second ...

If we've learned anything in the past week it's that pollsters get it wrong sometimes -- way wrong. So, despite most people calling the high-definition format war for Blu-ray (including ourselves) some still had hope for the underdog format thanks to one thing: porn. Now that advantage seems to be going away, with a few major adult studios pledging to support both formats equally. It's long ...

While next-gen disc format Blu-ray languishes in the overpriced gadget ghetto, competing format HD-DVD and the players that play it are breaking free by dropping in price to a popular holiday gift level. ar. Hot on the heels of the release of the Toshiba HD-A3 HD-DVD player, retailers across the country are dropping the price of the previous-generation HD-A2 below the all important $200 ...

With each camp constantly trying to upstage the other with endless freebies and shouts of victory, the battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD over our hi-def movie hearts is never a dull one. Today's news from the front is a blow for Sony. After its Blu-ray format seemed to be taking a definitive lead, it's now suffering a series of setbacks due to widespread issues with new movies freezing up older ...

If you're trying to decide between Blu-ray or HD-DVD as your high-definition disc format of choice, you'll have to table that decision a big longer. Just when it seemed as if Blu-ray had HD DVD cornered, along comes this news: Paramount plans to support the HD-DVD format exclusively. This means blockbusters such as 'Transformers' and 'Shrek the Third,' as well as anything from Nikelodeon and ...

The HD DVD vs. Blu-Ray wars keep heating up, and with no chance of a clear winner emerging anytime soon. The HD DVD camp has extended its 'Perfect Offer' until September 30th, the same end date as the Blu-Ray free disc offer. Meanwhile, yesterday LG, which makes hybrid players that can handle both formats, is offering a platform agnostic deal: Anyone who purchases the new LG Super Multi Blu ...

The format war between next-generation disc formats -- Blu-ray and HD DVD -- continues, despite some camps claiming victory already. While many consumers are still hesitant to pick one winner over the other, Wal-Mart has chosen its favorite and is throwing its hat into the ring with a bid to produce a $299 HD DVD player sometime next year. This will undercut the cheapest HD DVD player on the ...