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PC Pro: Hollywood has now begun accelerating the release of movie titles in the new high-definition formats, with Blu-ray seemingly being the favourite format.  Around 80% of new titles will be Blu-ray. 

More than a dozen studios announced in Tokyo yesterday that 75 films would be added to the Blu-ray roster, including The Da Vinci Code and Chicken Little, although only two of these, Warner and Paramount, also plan releases for HD DVD, alongside Universal which has until now pretty much ignored Blu-ray.

However, with so few films currently available, drawing conclusions from the early prevalence of Blu-ray discs is futile. Studios are likely to ramp up their releases for both formats as and when the technologies begin to be more widespread.

A clearer picture may also emerge when compatible computer drives become more widely available and more affordable, not least because Microsoft and Intel are committed backers of HD DVD.

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DVD Fodder: Introducing HD VMD - or High Definition Versatile MultiLayer Disc from UK-based New Media Enterprises.

Apparently, they have “found a means of exploiting the unused or wasted space between the existing layers of a standard DVD through [their] unique multilayer technology.”  And it’s ideal for HD content.

From their official site:
- Uses existing Red laser technology
- Multi-layer storage increases capacity
- VM Disc capacity 20 > 100 GB
- VMD Player hosts all standard formats
- Prices comparable to existing products

The technology does have a few things going for it: firstly, it utilizes existing Red laser technology which would keep manufactuers from having to totally revamp their production lines, in the end saving the end users money. The website purports an HD VMD player RRP range of $100 – $250 (about €100 – €200) as opposed to Blue laser players currently running $500 – $1000 (€380 – €800).

Second, the technology can be adapted to Blue lasers once the wavelength is perfected, “increasing capacity of its currently proposed 50GB maximal possible capacity to 100GB and 200GB.”

Time will only tell.

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We already analysed the green factor of television sets. Today, we’ll have a look at cell phones.
Greenpeace ranked “leading mobile and PC manufacturers on their global policies and practice on eliminating harmful chemicals and on taking responsibility for their products once they are discarded by consumers”.

Nokia scores a solid 7 out of 10. Sony Ericsson comes in second with a modest 5.3, leaving Motorola far behind (1.7).
Read more at Greenpeace.org

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The Register reports the Vivendi Universal Music Group will make their entire music back catalogue available as free legal downloads. The new Spiral Frog music service will be funded by advertising and is due to start up in December.

the Press Release

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When playing blackjack, should one stop standing on 19? Do Boney M deserve a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Is a Plasma TV better than any other TV?

The answer is: maybe, it depends on who you’re asking. Read more about the dilemma here.

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As Ean Golden puts it: ‘digital djing goes 007‘. The KSX is a briefcase-styled metal case for transporting and using your Serato setup. We have to admit, this little fellow looks quite sleek. Now if only Q could add some nifty features…
(pricing: about 130€, shipping costs not included)

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The Digital Bits writes about how Samsung, Sony and Pioneer are fixing firmware compatibility issues with 50GB Blu-Ray Discs.
“Samsung didn’t have final product 50 GB movie discs to test their firmware with before they launched, so they’re having problems getting the players working with these discs now. Sony and Pioneer are also working hard to resolve compatibility issues on their forthcoming hardware. I’m sure that all of these issues are fixable with firmware upgrades, and I have no doubt that the issues WILL be fixed. But up until a couple weeks ago, I was told that Samsung at least was STILL having problems. As you can imagine, there are a few studios that are anxious to get these 50 GB BD-ROM discs to work properly…” 
Check out their High Definition Movie Release list too. 

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Bloomberg: Toshiba Corp. shares rose after Microsoft  announced that the Japanese giant would be producing its Zune digital music player that will compete with Apple’s iPod.

Microsoft is working with Toshiba to get the device in stores for the Christmas selling season.

Apple has sold more than 58.9 million iPods since their introduction in October 2001, including 8.11 million units in the quarter ended July 1.

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Gizmondo: Here’s the Chumby - an information device that is destined to become the must-have gadget when it’s released in March 2007.

Plug it in, register it on the Chumby Industries’ Web site, and thanks to widgets you can upload via a wireless internet connection, you can turn it into anything you want it to – music, latest news, photo’s, messages and more can be displayed and controlled via the 3.5-inch touch screen.

Retail will be around $150 (about €120) in March 2007.

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AV Interactive: Hitachi is to launch it’s latest range of high resolution plasma panels  at this week’s IFA show in Berlin, including a ‘world-first’ 42-inch Alis 1024 x 1080 resolution plasma, as well as a 60in 1920 x 1080 display.

The company is also launching its PictureMaster 9000 ‘iDTV’ series – 32in and 37in LCD panels, and 42in and 55in plasmas – as well as their ’8000 Series’ HD-ready LCD and plasma TVs.

More: Hitachi Digital Media Group

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Digitimes: A report in today’s Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN) states that Sony has placed orders for 40-inch LCD TVs with local manufacturer, TPV Technology.

This is the first time Sony has outsourced its 40-inch LCD-TV orders, the paper noted. The new orders, which take effect in the third quarter, are mainly for China market, said the paper.

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Nintendo has finally released pricing details about the Wii. According to Bernd Fakesh, Nintendo’s head of German operations, the console would have a price tag of about £150 (220 euro). That’s even cheaper than Sony’s recently discounted PS2.
The Nintendo Wii, Nintendo’s 7th generation video game console, is expected to hit the European market, in the fourth quarter of 2006.
(source: T3.com)

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