http://www.ecoustics.com/latest/news Latest news, updated every five minutes http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17719 Next week's CEDIA Expo in Denver will see the introduction of the DVDO Edge video hub and processor, which aims to be the first and last question for bringing together a videophile's plethora of video sources, upscaling them to 1080p, and making them look their best on an HDTV display. The DVDO Edge will handle up to 10 video sources—six via HDMI 1.3 inputs and four analog inputs—and take all the video up to 1080p. What's more, the DVDO Edge offers precision de-interlacing, noise-reduction, detail and edge management, and claims to dramatically improve image quality using progressive reprocessing."MilliRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17620 In the wake of the high definition disc format war between Blu-ray and the vanquished HD-DVD, many industry watchers were expecting a flood sales of both Blu-ray players and Blu-ray titles as consumers got off the fence and finally began investing in high-definition gear, assured that the Blu-ray format wasn't going to go away overnight. Instead, the market has shown comparatively tepid interest in Blu-ray: sales of Blu-ray players have picked up, but it's hardly been the landslide that Sony (and its partners) may have wished for, as consumers have increasingly deferred high-definition purchases, looked at inexpensive upscaling players for traditional DVDs, and looked at downloadable video, bypassing discs entirely Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:10:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17599 When the hi-def wars began, Microsoft came down on the side of Toshiba and its HD DVD format. But Toshiba threw in the towel earlier this year, leaving the Blu-ray format as champion – and Redmond out in the cold.Now Microsoft is taking steps to catch up. According to Information Week, the forthcoming Windows Feature Pack for Storage will let users burn Blu-ray HD discs from their computers without having to resort to third-party software.The company has told developers through a site that the feature "enables the Windows platform to do Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17460 For some folks, Memorex might be a name associated with hazy memories of VHS, cassette decks, or even (gasp!) reel-to-reel decks, but the company has long since transitioned to the digital age, producing optical media, flash drives, CD and DVD drives, and a plethora of accessories for many years now. Today, the company announced a new line of portable hard drives, the Essential TravelDrive series, complementing its existing flash-based Mega TravelDrive and HDD-based Ultra TravelDrive offerings."Memorex once again provides the convenience of a powerful, yet essential porta Mon, 04 Aug 2008 12:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17221 Japanese electronics giant Pioneer has said it plans to work with Sharp to offer Blu-ray recorders on the Japanese market by the end of 2008, hoping to latch onto a growing market as consumers move past the so-called "format war" between HD DVD and Blu-ray. Sharp already offers (pricey) Blu-ray recorders, and is a major investor in Pioneer.According to estimates from the Fuji Chimera Research Institute, the market for Blu-ray recorders in Japan is expected to explode between now and 2012, growing to some 3.6 million units a year.Pioneer hasn't announced any price ranges, feature sets, or target sales figures for its Blu- Tue, 08 Jul 2008 12:30:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/8301-10784_3-9975341-7.html?part=ecoustics-cnet The last HD DVDs for the U.S. market hit stores on June 24th. Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:45:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/16794 Westinghouse may not be the most-recognized name in the flat-panel television game, but they're doggedly trying to appeal to consumers who want straightforward, multi-functional entertainment. The new VK-40F580D tries to appeal to folks who want things simple, combining a 40-inch 1080p LCD flat-panel television with an integrated slot-loading DVD player and two HDMI inputs that can automatically detect when an external video source is activated.The VK-40F580D offers a 1,920 by 1,080-pixel resolution, an integrated NTSC/ATSC/ClearQAM tuner, and can function as a PC display at a variety of resolutions. The di Fri, 23 May 2008 15:15:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/16578 Sony's Blu-ray high-definition optical disc format way have won the so-called high-def format war when Toshiba threw in the towel on its competing HD DVD format back in February—but, so far, Blu-ray sales don't show it. New sales figures from market research firm NPD show that sales of Blu-ray standalone players dropped a stunning 40 percent between January and February (presumably as many potential customers were waiting out the high-def war), but rose only 2 percent from February to March once Toshiba gave up on HD DVD. And the sales figures are still so low that NPD refused to publish specific numbe Fri, 02 May 2008 14:00:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/8301-10784_3-9932311-7.html?part=ecoustics-cnet Standalone player sales not benefiting from HD DVD's exit from the market. Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:43:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/16410 Universal Studios used to be the staunchest backer of Toshiba's HD DVD high-definition disc technology, being the only movie studio that didn't either sit on the fence and support both HD DVD and Blu-ray, or just skip HD DVD altogether and go for Blu-ray from day one. However, when Toshiba folded the HD DVD format back in February, Universal said it regretted that HD DVD hadn't worked out, but wasted no time in saying it would begin issuing titles in the victorious Blu-ray format. The company is expected to unveil its first slate of Blu-ray titles today, with its first entry into Blu-ray media b Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/16404 MTV may have lost its reputation for actually playing music videos a decade ago, but the art form has recently found a new home on the Web. PluggedIn, a site backed by major record labels, officially launched on Wednesday, providing over 10,000 music videos in high quality for free.The site uses its own media player to support streaming HD-quality video, along with DVD-style navigation and links to artist profiles, of which there are currently over one million. Some of the fir Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:45:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/16357 Snip:"If you’re in the market for a desktop replacement notebook, but don’t want a glitzy gaming machine, you could do a lot worse than Toshiba’s loaded Qosmio G45-AV690. Designed to be the central hub of a digital home, it sports a lot of media-centric features including an HD DVD burner, HDMI output and it even comes with a digital cable adapter too. Sadly, it has bloatware issues and one of its primary features is its HD DVD playback capabilities, which is essentially outdated tech at this point, making it difficult to wholeheartedly recommend." Read our full Toshiba Qosmio G45 review Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:12:20 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/16349 As further proof that HD DVD is dead but not forgotten, Shuttle launched a new home-theater PC this week that handles both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs. The XPC G5 3101M includes a single combo drive to play discs in both high-def formats, plus conventional DVD discs.Besides the wide array of discs the 3101M will handle, it also gets a handful of other HTPC features including a TV tuner that handles DVB-T digital signals, an ATI HD 3450 256MB graphics card, and onboard 7.1-chan Fri, 11 Apr 2008 10:45:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/16336 It’s not all that bad to own an HD DVD player these days. Even though the last nails have been pounded into the format’s coffin, retailers have seemingly taken pity on those who picked up the ill-fated machines. Wal-Mart and Circuit City lengthened their return policies, Best Buy offered buyers $50, and now Amazon.com is coughing up the same $50 worth of condolences.In an e-mail to customers posted on Gizmodo Thu, 10 Apr 2008 09:40:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/8301-10784_3-9915375-7.html?part=ecoustics-cnet The online retailer offers a store credit for every HD DVD player bought before February 23. Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:30:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/16296 Snip:"We reported on the first wave of 2008 camcorders with our recent review of the very good JVC GZ-HD6. That hard disk drive 1080p video maker did a wonderful job recording accurate colors that really popped off the screen of our plasma HDTV. In keeping with the trend away from DVD- and tape-based models, the new Canon Vixia HF10 saves video to 16GB of internal flash memory as well as optional SDHC memory cards (up to 32GB, the current maximum for the format; it will handle even bigger sizes once they’re available). Given there’s not even a HDD—God forbid a tape or disc—to weigh it down, the Vixia HF10 is unbelievably small and compact. In fact it’s just a shade smaller than the Sony HDR-CX7 Mon, 07 Apr 2008 12:29:55 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/8301-10784_3-9905597-7.html?part=ecoustics-cnet The group charged with promoting the HD DVD fomat closes up shop. Fri, 28 Mar 2008 15:58:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/16140 The HD-DVD brand may be dead and buried, but that hasn’t stopped Plextor from keeping the technology alive in its latest line of internal optical drives. The company’s two latest Blu-ray drives, announced on Monday, both offer HD-DVD reading capability, allowing users with HD-DVD libraries to keep using the discs for playback even after the rest of the name sinks beneath the waves. Mon, 24 Mar 2008 10:05:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/8301-10784_3-9898789-7.html?part=ecoustics-cnet Its yearly profits will be lower than initially expected due to falling flash memory prices, and the shut down of its HD DVD business, the company says. Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:16:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/8301-10784_3-9897965-7.html?part=ecoustics-cnet In a gesture of good will, Best Buy is doling out $50 gift cards to anyone who ever bought an HD DVD player at one of their stores. Wed, 19 Mar 2008 12:59:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/16101 Sure, the format war between Blu-ray and HD DVD might be over, but the walking wounded are still among us: early adopters who chose the losing format. In a move to soften the blow—and shore up customer loyalty—electronics retailer Best Buy is offering $50 gift cards to customers who purchased an HD DVD player or HD DVD "attachment" (meaning, the Xbox 360 HD DVD drive) from a U.S. retail location before February 23, 2008. Even better, customers will get a $50 gift card for each eligible HD DVD item they purchased, so folks who bought multiple players are eligible for multiple gift cards Wed, 19 Mar 2008 12:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/16083 You might recall that Microsoft had thrown in its lot with Toshiba and the HD DVD revolution, selling add-on boxes for its Xbox 360 console. That revolution ended far short of the palace gates, with HD DVD vanishing like snow in the sun, and the general expectation has been that Microsoft would begin to offer a Blu-ray add-on, given that Blu-ray has emerged as the winner in the HD wars. But in a Reuters interview, Aaron Greenberg, group product manager for Xbox 360, has firmly denied that Microsoft has any plans to delve into Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:00:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/8301-10784_3-9896524-7.html?part=ecoustics-cnet The newest version of Corel's DVD playback software also plays all manner of HD video formats. Tue, 18 Mar 2008 06:30:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/16050 It’s an interesting phenomenon. Just last month Toshiba gave up the good fight on behalf of HD DVD. Since then the average price of Blu-ray high definition DVD players – now the only game in town – have risen between $20-50. Information Week checked prices on comparison site Price Grabber and discovered that in January the average price of the top 10 Blu-ray players stood at $467. A month later it was $604. Whoa! What’s going on there? It tunrs out that some of it is a blip, due to new players with better features arriving on the market. But even factoring those o Fri, 14 Mar 2008 11:00:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/8301-10784_3-9893149-7.html?part=ecoustics-cnet In the few weeks since Toshiba pulled the plug on HD DVD, prices for standalone Blu-ray players quickly jumped to a high for the year. Thu, 13 Mar 2008 11:13:00 -0400