Another high definition race emerges

Blu-ray may have won the high definition disc format war, but that doesn’t mean clear sailing for the format. Emerging DVD player upscaling technologies, along with downloadable HD and VOD, are giving Blu-ray plenty of competition. Read More

Finding HD channels

A new website has been launched that will provide you information on what HD channels are available in your zip code. WhereIsHD.com, run by Media Business Corp. out of Lakewood, Colorado, seems to have put their finger on one of the missing elements to this whole evolution of high definition broadcasting. Read More

Got my DTV converter coupons

I got my digital-to-analog converter coupons in the mail today and immediately went to my local Radio Shack to “cash” them in. The letter from DTV2009.gov lists over 30 models, but this Radio Shack only had one model and both units in stock were on display. Read More

HD Glossary

HD (High Definition) Glossary of Terms

1080i (1080/60i)

Refers to a standardized High Definition production format (SMPT 274M and ITU 709) having a digital sampling structure of 1920 (horizontal) x 1080 (vertical) and operating interlaced scan mode at 60 fields … Read More

Toshiba’s Nishida, “HD DVD just one avenue of growth”

Toshiba Corp. Chief Executive Atsutoshi Nishida sat down with the Wall Street Journal to discuss the death of HD DVD.

Chief Executive of Toshiba, Atsutoshi Nishida, said that HD DVD “was one of 45 strategic business units that we have.” He seemed to shrug of the potential of owning the next gen disc format saying, “This just means we now have 44.”

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Last days of HD DVD for Paramount

This coming Tuesday will bring the last two films from Paramount to be released on HD DVD. “Things We Lost in the Fire” and “Into the Wild” will end a run for Paramount, who, along with Dreamworks, went exclusive with HD DVD back in August of 2007. Read More

Report: Confusion Reigns About Digital TV Conversion

With little more than a year remaining before television broadcasters switch from analog to digital transmissions, a new study found that 74% of consumers remain confused about their options. Meanwhile 61% are completely unaware of the pending transfer.

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Blu-ray beats HD DVD?

The announcement that Warner was “going blu” had to be a shock to the Toshiba nerves. But will the format really die?

Even if Universal and Paramount do eventually switch to Blu-ray Disc (the exclusive Paramount deal was rumoured to be only for a year), there is still the HD DVD optical disc format. I can’t imagine Toshiba swapping out all their new internal HD DVD drives for Blu-ray optical drives. There is certainly room for another disc format in the PC world. Read More

Over-the-air offers the best HD experience

HD aficionados will tell you that they have switched back and forth from cable or satellite HD broadcasts to over-the-air broadcasts to compare quality. Most of those I’ve asked have said that in most cases, as long as there is … Read More

Does HBO-HD Favor Satellite?

Maybe you’ve heard that HBO is going high definition in a big way. By the second quarter of 2008, the pay TV giant expects to deliver all 26 channels of HBO and Cinemax in HD. But did you know that the technology the company is using will favor, at least initially, satellite TV systems and viewers?

Cable TV executives attending the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineering conference got this wakeup call last week when HBO chief technology officer Robert Zitter announced that the company will deliver its full HD suite using MPEG-4 signal compression technology, rather than the less efficient MPEG-2 codec used up to now for HD and also standard definition digital channels. Read More

Mitsubishi – new TV technology update

If The Mits Fits: Update on new HDTV technology from Mitsubishi including DLPs, 3-D Game features, X.v color technolgy and LCDs.

“73 inch is the new 65 inch,” is the new rallying cry for Big Screen TV booster Mitsubishi – … Read More

Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun

Blu-Ray/HD-DVD combi players and high definition video discs go under the J. Takiff microscope in this babble-on.

Duo-Player Universe Expands: Consultant Vito Mandato, an advisor to Paramount, recently suggested that the Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD war could be over within three to four months , that Blu-Ray “could win it all” with its higher powered array of exclusive titles. Read More

HD Hot Buttons

Our high def focus this time zooms in on Panasonic panels, lower priced disc players and DirecTV’s growing programming array.

Panny’s New Plasmas: I’m a big fan of plasma screens – for their faster switching pixels, great color, blacker blacks and better defined grey scalings. So I’m pleased with the news out of the Panasonic camp regarding the brand’s next flat screens. While fielding new LCD-based panels in 26-32 inch screen sizes, Panasonic ‘s mission (and factories) will be pushing only plasma , as the better solution, in everything 42 -inches and above. More importantly, they’ll bring out several new and less expensive models that can do the full HD dance – displaying a resolution of 1080p (that’s 1080 lines counted vertically by 1920 pixels lined up horizontally on each line, with each set of lines progressively scanned 60 times a second.) Read More

Word From the Street: March 13, 2007

First, a major correction: Last week’s blog stated that a certain series of Blu-ray releases were slated for last week, March 6th. Apparently, my spell checker doesn’t check for stupidity, so that got sent out and published, and of course, the date should have been March 13th. I also forgot to add ” The Holiday” to that week’s release schedule (well, I argue, it’s a forgettable film). Please ignore the idiot behind the curtain… he means well, and is housebroken, but apparently his editor doesn’t parse his material, so there. Read More

Word from the Street: Hi Def Movie Releases Feb. 27, 2007

This week’s Hi Def movie releases this week include:

Bullitt – Blu-ray | HD DVDThe Getaway (1972) Blu-ray | HD DVDNine Inch Nails Live: Beside You in Time Blu-ray | HD DVDand Stranger Than Fiction Blu-ray

Bullitt [Blu-ray](Warner) Featuring: … Read More

Satellite vs. Cable: Which Does HD Better?

Once you have a high definition TV in the house, it’s hard to watch standard def content. Even an HD channel dedicated to fish swimming in a tank (Dish Network’s HD preview channel) can still draw a crowd. Clearly, we … Read More

On the Bleeding Edge

I know it’s been said before, but I (finally) have to echo what other bloggers have been saying about high definition: it’s STILL too bleeding edge for a lot of users. So, here’s a rant:

First, credentials. I’m about as … Read More

Big screen. Bigger. Bigger than that.

“I can’t tell the difference between DVD and HD,” sez a typical flat-panel shopper, staring at a “huge” 42-inch screen.

No, he’s not an idiot. He’s not undiscerning. In many cases, he’s right. Because 42″ is a dang small screen.

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HD Radio – Pros & Cons

The great thing about HD Radio is that there already exists at least 1000 digital broadcasters out there. The digital stream is usually run parallel to the analog (by being bundled) so if a digital signal is not available, your … Read More