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(2007/6/18) A battle for supremacy between two DVD formats swung sharply on Monday when Blockbuster, the leading US video rental chain, increased the number of its stores that stock Blu-ray discs.

Blu-ray is one of two next-generation formats competing for market dominance. The other is HD-DVD.

Blockbuster said it would offer Blu-ray, the Sony-backed format, in 1,700 stores compared with about 250 for rival HD-DVD, which is backed by Toshiba and Microsoft.

Demand for Blu-ray was "significantly outpacing" (editor: by 70% to 30%) rentals of HD-DVDs, the chain added.

The decision is a blow for Toshiba, which last week said sales of HD-DVDs were falling short of expectations. Its race with Sony to become the standard for the next generation of high-definition DVDs is reminiscent of the VHS-Betamax battle in the 1980s.

Blockbuster said it would stock Blu-ray exclusively at 1,450 of its shops. But it planned to offer both formats through its rental website.

"We intend to meet the demands of our customers. And, based on the trends we're seeing, we're expanding our Blu-ray inventory," said Matthew Smith, senior vice-president of merchandising at Blockbuster.

The Digital Bits sides with Blu-ray

(2007/6/1) The bottom line remains the same: Any way we slice it, when we look at ALL the facts, we think Blu-ray Disc remains the best bet in this format war, and the safer bet for consumers. That's just the way we see it.

We simply CANNOT and WILL NOT recommend to our readers that they adopt a format that only has the full support of just ONE major hardware manufacturer and ONLY A HANDFUL of the Hollywood studios - no matter how cheap the price - when a format of EQUAL quality and FAR GREATER studio and manufacturer support exists.

Unlike those who hate Microsoft or hate Sony, our position isn't personal or emotional. Unlike those who work for HD-DVD and Blu-ray connected companies, we are not getting paid for our opinions or to generate media spin. Our opinions as expressed here are simply our own logical, common sense conclusions, based on our own research and experience. (For the record, regarding our advertising: We generally accept advertising from all interested parties within certain guidelines of good taste, and our advertising arrangements have NEVER and WILL NEVER influence our editorial opinions.)

We'll continue to enjoy HD-DVD discs and review them too, for those who may be interested. But if you want our opinion as to which HD format you should buy, unless circumstances change DRAMATICALLY, in all good conscience we simply can't recommend HD-DVD.

Simply put: If you're ready to get into high-def discs... we say Go Big Blu.

'Pirates' Outsells 'Matrix' in Blu-ray, HD DVD Showdown

(2007/6/1) Last week's sales estimates are in, and in terms of sheer unit sales, Disney's Blu-ray-only release of the first two "Pirates of the Caribbean" flicks handily beat Warner's HD DVD-only release of the two "Matrix" box sets.

According to market research estimates from Home Media Magazine, the two "Pirates" films sold a combined total of a little less than 47,000 units, while the "Matrix" sets sold about 13,900 units.

In comments first published in The Hollywood Reporter, Bob Chapek, worldwide president of Buena Vista Home Entertainment, called the week's win by "Pirates" a "strong and significant trend toward consumer preference for the Blu-ray Disc format."

"We are thrilled by the critical and industry response to 'Pirates' on Blu-ray disc," Chapek said. "But more importantly, the consumer has spoken loud and clear. This is only the beginning, but it was certainly a significant and explosive indicator of things to come."

Blu-ray Association Sets Fall Deadline For BD-Java Hardware Support

(2007/3/27) In an attempt to standardize BD-Java playback on Blu-ray hardware, the Blu-ray Disc Association has announced a deadline of October 31, 2007 for mandatory BD-J support in all new players released after that date.

The Blu-ray Disc Association has specified that all hardware sporting the official Blu-ray logo that hits the market after the Halloween holiday must be able to play back picture-in-picture video via BD-Java. The mandate also decrees that all Blu-ray players must hold a minimum 256MB of persistent memory storage, which will help power the picture-in-picture feature. Finally, any Blu-ray player that features an Internet connection is required to have 1GB of such memory, in order to hold whatever content users decide to download from the Web.

Currently, most Blu-ray players on the market can handle some form of BD-J interactivity on software titles, but not true video picture-in-picture playback. Sony's complete Blu-ray player line (including the PlayStation 3), plus decks from Philips, Pioneer and LG Electronics, have so far been unable to support the PIP function.

Classic 'Dragon's Lair' BD-J Blu-ray release

(2007/3/26) An instant hit in its 1983 arcade debut, Dragon's Lair has now been digitally restored and enhanced with an all-new 5.1 surround sound mix. Digital Leisure, with authoring partner Infinite HD, transferred the video directly from the original film and painstakingly cleaned each frame by hand, creating a truly vibrant image.

The game was authored in the Blu-ray Java environment, or BD-J, an advanced format that allows users to enjoy a fully arcade-authentic experience. Dragon's Lair is the first title to use this technology, setting the standard for future interactive implementations of BD-J. All Blu-ray Disc players including the Sony PlayStation 3* are designed to play BD-J titles based on the Blu-ray Disc Association specifications.

"I've seen the newly restored footage and it just looks amazing" says Don Bluth, original creator of Dragon's Lair. "It looks even better than I can remember. The visuals, the 5.1 surround sound audio, all I can say is ‘Wow!' Now a whole new generation can enjoy Dragon's Lair all over again."

Unlike most current high definition releases, all of the special features on the disc were shot natively in 1080p at 24fps. These include brand-new interviews with creators Don Bluth, Gary Goldman and Rick Dyer, and for the first time a full length visual commentary of the game.

Digital Leisure plans to follow up Dragon's Lair Blu-ray with the release of Space Ace and Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp in the Blu-ray Java format. Dragon's Lair Blu-ray will be available April 9th at many software and movie retailers as well as online at www.digitalleisure.com.

Casino Royale (Blu-ray) breaks Amazon.com Top 10

(2007/3/13) Casino Royale (Blu-ray) made history today when it became the first High-definition disc to break the Amazon.com Top 10 DVD rankings. The movie held steady at #9 throughout the day before moving up to #8 later at night, beating its erstwhile companion, Casino Royale (Full-screen SD-DVD version), which stood at #10.

Disney's 'Pirates of the Caribbean' Booty to Include Two Discs, BD-Java Features

(2007/2/20)In a pair of Blu-ray firsts for Disney, the studio will unleash their premiere two-disc and BD-Java-enhanced titles when it brings the blockbuster 'Pirates of the Caribbean' films to the format this spring. As first announced late last month, the studio is set to debut 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl' and 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest' on Blu-ray on May 22, just in time for the theatrical premiere of the third film in the series, 'At World's End.'

Each title will be a "75GB" release, aka a BD-50 dual-layer disc for the movie, and an extra BD-25 single-layer disc with additional extras.

And exclusive to the Blu-ray releases will be two BD-Java bonuses. 'The Curse of the Black Pearl' will include "Scoundrels of the Sea," an interactive in-movie feature that presents facts on-screen about the legends and lore of pirates. 'Dead Man's Chest' will include an "exciting" new Java feature called "Liar's Dice," a single-player game shot in live-action HD video. Disney has set a $34.95 suggested list price for each of the 'Pirates' flicks.

High-def player sales even, says NPD Group

(2007/2/2) Despite price differences, high-definition stand-alone Blu-ray and HD DVD players are neck-and-neck in sales, according to the NPD Group.

Between April and December, 48% of high-def stand-alones sold were Blu-ray and the remaining 52% were HD DVD. Blu-ray stand-alones, including models by Sony, Samsung, Philips and Pioneer, are priced at about $1,000 and up. In contrast, certain Toshiba HD DVD models can be found for about $500.

Nielsen VideoScan showa Blu-ray Disc outselling HD-DVD in unit software sales by a more than 2 to 1 margin

(2007/2/1) The first official retail tracking data from Nielsen VideoScan seems to show Blu-ray Disc outselling HD-DVD in unit software sales by a more than 2 to 1 margin, and the gap is widening. According to data reported in Home Media Retailing for the week ending 1/7/07, Year-to- Date tracking indicated that for every 47.14 HD-DVDs sold there were 100 Blu-ray Disc titles sold. Just a week later, ending 1/14/07, the same YTD tracking indicated just 38.36 HD-DVDs sold for every 100 Blu- ray Discs sold. What's more, tracking by Nielsen VideoScan since the inception of both formats appears to indicate that Blu-ray Disc is quickly erasing the sales lead HD-DVD enjoyed as a result of launching months earlier in 2006. On 1/7, HD-DVD's lead was 100 discs for every 85.05 Blu-ray Discs sold, while just a week later on 1/14, that lead had been reduced to 100 HD-DVDs for every 92.40 Blu-ray Discs sold.

DVDEmpire reports Blu-ray outselling HD-DVD

(2007/1/17) DVDEmpire.com is chronicling the high-definition format battle by offering one of the first public comparisons of Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD sales.

Launched this month, the ÒHD WarsÓ tracker tells site visitors what percentage of the siteÕs high-def title sales are BD or HD DVD on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis. Also, the tracker counts up the number of BD and HD DVD releases studios have streeted thus far.

For the week including Tuesday, Jan. 16, DVDEmpire.com noted that 57.7% of its high-def sales were BD and 42.3% were HD DVD. But for 2006, HD DVD led at 59.16% to BD at 40.84%.

Through Jan. 16, DVDEmpire.com counted 190 HD DVD releases and 203 BD releases.

Blu-ray Assault to Begin; Samsung Proclaims 'Incredible' Pre-Sales

(2006/6/20) After months of speculation, excitement and street date delays, the Blu-ray format is set to launch over the next week amid a flurry of marketing hype for the format's first player and discs.

Samsung began shipping its first stand-alone Blu-ray disc player, the BD-P1000, to stores last week in anticipation for its on-sale street date of June 25. Sony will prime the pump for the player's debut by issuing its first seven Blu-ray disc titles tomorrow, June 20; Lionsgate will launch its support for Blu-ray with another six titles on June 27.

Samsung plans to have its player in over 2,000 storefronts nationwide, including such major chains as Best Buy and Circuit City. In conjunction with Sony, the companies will also provide demo players and discs to retailers to offer side-by-side comparisons with rival HD DVD in order to subjectively sell the format to potential consumers.

The electronics manufacturer also claims that interest in the BD-P1000 and Blu-ray so far has been strong. "Pre-orders have been incredible," Samsung spokesman Jose Cardona told Video Business.

Java: Brave New Disc-Authoring World

(2006/6/20) Blu-ray Disc relies on BD-Java (BD-J) for its disc-authoring environment; HD DVD uses Microsoft's XML-based iHD, or Internet High Definition. "I think BD-J is better future-proofed," says Eklund. "But it is complex," and implementing it properly will take more time, he says.

The switch to BD-J required adding programmers and engineers to the disc-production mix. "We have some engineers who are using BD-J, using typical program environment tools," notes Eklund. "The authoring tool we have can accept BD-J files, but it doesn't automate BD-J navigation, for example. We are going to be integrating that into our authoring tools, though." Some of the engineers working on SPHE's Blu-ray content also worked on the company's standard-definition DVD and Universal Media Disc authoring.

BD-J has two different profiles. Sony's first content will be in what Eklund refers to as BD-MV, or "movie mode." "The menus will still be quite different than what you're accustomed to with DVD," he promises. "BD-MV is a powerful format for creating interactive menus, and it will give a better, more seamless experience than what users are getting from DVD. You don't have to jump around between menu pages as you do with DVD. We use a graphics layer to present all of the text information, so you don't have to go back and access the disc in order to access the menus. We also have a tool called a pop-up menu that the user can use to access disc features during the movie's playback, so, for example, you can get to a commentary track."

As powerful as BD-MV is, it has its limitations. "We are currently still investigating how we're going to author picture-in-picture content," says Eklund. "But I'm sure we will be exploring that later on in the year."

Sony Pictures to make first Blu-ray movies available today

(2006/6/20) With Toshiba having launched its HD-A1 and HD-XA1 HD DVD videodisc players in April, Samsung is preparing to be the first brand to formally launch a competitive Blu-ray Disc player in North America, with its BD-P1000 set to premiere on Sunday. Despite that firm date, customers nationwide are already reporting having purchased BD-P1000s from Best Buy store shelves - just sitting there nonchalantly like any other DVD player, as if shelf stockers didn't know the difference. But today, those early adopters will finally be able to play real BD media - not just upconverted SD media - as Sony Pictures releases the first batch of BD movies today.

Video outlets today should already have received, and will likely have displays ready for, 50 First Dates (Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore), Hitch (Will Smith), House of Flying Daggers, the original Terminator, the sci-fi "new cult classic" The Fifth Element (Bruce Willis), Underworld Evolution, and XXX (the film, not the rating). One title, A Knight's Tale, originally scheduled for release today, is being pushed back to 25 July. The high-energy motorcycle violence film Ultraviolet joins the line-up next Tuesday. Lion's Gate Home Entertainment is due to follow up next Tuesday with the BD releases of 2006 Best Picture Crash, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, the horror flick Saw, Lord of War (Nicholas Cage), and the Marvel Comics vigilante piece The Punisher.

Samsung Celebrates Pending Blu-ray Launch

(2006/6/16) New York Samsung formally launched the world's first Blu-ray Disc player during an elaborate event at its Samsung Experience showcase store in the Time Warner Center.

Samsung's visual media products marketing VP Jim Sanduski said the first shipment of players will go on sale at select Samsung dealers beginning June 25th at an expected $1,000 retail price.

"I can say with 100 percent certainty that the June 25 th launch will happen," Sanduski said. "We have literally thousands of units that are already in the distribution channel on the way to retailers' shelves."

Samsung ships first blu-ray player to US

(2006/6/16) Samsung Electronics America has shipped its blu-ray disc player to US retailers for availability on June 25. The 'BD-P1000' will retail at $999.99.

The blu-ray disc format offers close to five times the resolution of conventional DVDs and will enable consumers to view High Definition discs on their HDTVs.

The format is supported by movie studios including Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) and LionsGate Pictures, plus more than 170 consumer electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers.

SCEA president talks up Blu-Ray storage size

(2006/6/5) SCEA president Kaz Hirai has questioned Microsoft's decision to opt for the HD-DVD format over Blu-Ray, observing that larger games may have to be presented on multiple discs.

Speaking to Dean Takahashi of the Mercury News, Hirai described the PS3 as "A console that is here for the long haul and is not on a five-year cycle."

"Microsoft is coming out with an HD-DVD accessory for HD movies as an add-on only a year after they launched. That is exactly the kind of thing we don't want to do," he continued.

"This console is going to do much more... If you look at the lack of Blu-Ray on Microsoft, what do you do if the game requires 40 to 50 gigabytes? Put it on three discs?"

Pioneer to Concentrate on Blu-Ray, Cease DVD Players

(2006/6/5) Pioneer, a leading maker of consumer electronics, will reportedly cease production of its DVD recorders and will concentrate on Blu-ray disc devices, which are more lucrative to manufacture. The firm will get key-components for the Blu-ray consumer-oriented recorders from Matsushita Electric Industrial, according to Nihon Keizai Shimbun news-paper cited by AFX news-agency..

Report: Apple eyes Blu-Ray

(2006/4/27) Digital-music powerhouse is reportedly trying to convince movie studios to include iPod-ready versions of movies on new DVD format releases. If Steve Jobs has his way, all new movies coming out on the new Blu-Ray DVD format will include iPod-ready versions--yet another content driver for Apple's iPod. That's the word from a handful of iPod insider Web sites this week, a move that would substantially bolster the amount of iPod-ready film content, particularly if Apple unveils a video iPod with a larger display screen later this year. As of now, the only full-length feature film sold on iTunes is Disney's High School Musical. The reports indicated that Jobs is leveraging both Apple's decision to support Sony's Blu-Ray format in its battle with HD-DVD and his increasing clout in Hollywood as Disney's biggest shareholder to convince movie studios to include iPod-ready content on Blu-Ray discs, which are set to hit retail stores next month.

Panasonic Begins to Ship Blu-Ray Drives for PCs. Panasonic Sets the Dates for Blu-Ray Drives for PCs

(2006/4/27) Panasonic, a major consumer electronics company and a strong backer of Blu-ray disc standard, has announced that it would begin shipping its Blu-ray disc (BD) burner under its own brand in June and would initiate supplies of its BD optical drives for its clients among value added resellers already in April, 2006.

“Panasonic is committed to the Blu-ray technology, as we believe BD delivers true benefits of better image quality in visual entertainment,” said Mr. Kazuhiro Tsuga, executive officer in charge of digital network and software technologies for Matsushita Electric Industrial, the owner of Panasonic brand-name.

The drive also comes bundled with a wide variety of software to help users easily backup and archive a large amount of data, edit video and audio and intuitively drag and drop data for DVD and CD burning, the firm indicated.

Logitec LBD-A2FU2/WM - External Blu-ray Disc Writer with Apple Support

(2006/4/21) Japanese Logitec announced four Blu-ray disc writer drives including one with Apple Mac support. The Logitec LBD-A2FU2/WM external Blu-ray disc writer features a Firewire and USB 2.0 interface. It supports Roxio Toast 7 Titanium on Mac OS X. The LBD-A2FU2/WM will ship in July.

Panasonic to Launch Blu-Ray Disc Drive in June

(2006/4/21) Matsushita Electric Industrial (Panasonic) plans to begin selling a Blu-ray Disc drive in Japan in June for use in desktop computers, the company said Friday. The large data capacity available from Blu-ray Disc could prove attractive for PC users. A single Blu-ray Disc can store as much data as 10 DVDs.

A high-end PC is needed to watch movies because of the high-bandwidth video stream, he said. In the case of MPEG2-encoded content, users will need a Pentium 4-based machine running at 3GHz or more. For movies encoded in MPEG4AVC, they'll require a more powerful Pentium D system running at 3.2GHz or more, said Yoshida.

The Panasonic drive will be available in Japan as an aftermarket unit from June 10 and will cost about 100,000 yen (US$850). Panasonic has yet to decide on international launch plans.

Before it goes on sale to the public, a version of the drive, as well as a slimmer drive for use in laptop computers, will be available to PC makers for inclusion in upcoming machines. Samples of the drives have already shipped, and commercial production begins this month, said Panasonic's Nakaya.

Panasonic anticipates only modest sales of about 15,000 Blu-ray Disc drives on the Japanese aftermarket this year. This is expected to grow to 800,000 drives by 2009, it said.

Samsung Unveils Step-Up LCD HDTV Line; First Blu-Ray Player

Mississauga, ON, April 19, 2006: Samsung unveiled its step-up LCD HDTV line, and its first Blu-ray disc player, the BD-P1000, today in a dazzling suite at the Hotel Le Germain in downtown Toronto. On hand was Andrew Dorcas, Senior Marketing Manager, Digital A/V Division, Oreste De Vincenzo, Display Products Marketing Manager, and Kevin Jung, DVD Product Marketing Manager.

These new LCD TVs come in screen sizes ranging from 23'' to 40'', and feature a thin bezel and hidden speaker cabinet design. The 51 Series comes in piano black, and the 52 in pearl while. The 32'' and 40'' models boast a 178-degree viewing angle and swivel stand coupled with side A/V inputs, and a pair of HDMI connections. They also boast 4,000:1 contrast. The 26'', 32'', and 40'' models each come equipped with a built-in ATSC tuner. Pricing (MSRP) is as follows: 40'' LN-S4051D/52D ($3,199), 32'' LN-S3251D/52D ($1,999), and 26'' LN-S2651D/52D ($1,499). The LN-52352D will be available for $1,099.99.

Sony preps Blu-ray desktop computer

(2006/4/14) Sony has released new information on its upcoming Vaio RC300 desktop computer. The system is expected to be Sony's first computer featuring the next generation Blu-ray high definition DVD format.

The computer will play and burn both single and dual layer disks with 25Gb and 50Gb storage capacity respectively.

Sony positioned the forthcoming PC as a tool for high definition enthusiasts, touting that the device will be able to burn content from high definition camcorders in its original 1080 HD resolution.

TDK at work on 200GB Blu-ray Disc

(2006/4/12) TDK this week confirmed its plan to develop a Blu-ray Disc with a storage capacity of 200GB. If successful, the company's R&D effort will yield a disc with four times the capacity of today's biggest BDs and double the size of protoype next-generation BD-Rs TDK has already demo'd.

TDK showed off a 100GB BD prototype in May 2005. The 100GB disc contains four data-storage layers, is recordable and supports a write speed of up to 216Mbps, double that of 50GB BD-Rs.

TDK Starts Shipping Blu-Ray Discs

Date: 2006/4/10. TDK today announced that it has begun shipping 25 GByte recordable and rewritable Blu-ray disc media to retailers nationwide.

A founding member of the Blu-ray Disc Association, TDK claims it is the first to market with bare Blu-ray disc media.

Retail pricing is set at $19.99 for a 25GByte BD-R (recordable) and at $24.99 for a 25GByte BD-RE (rewritable). In addition, TDK will ship 50GByte Blu-ray disc media later this year with retail pricing set at $47.99 for a BD-R and $59.99 for a BD-RE.

Samsung Delays Blu-ray Disc Player

Date: 2006/4/4. Samsung Electronics will delay the U.S. launch of its Blu-ray Disc player by one month, the company said Monday.

The delay has been called to allow completion of compatibility testing with Blu-ray Disc test media that is due available in April, Samsung said in a statement. Once compatibility is confirmed the player will be ready for mass production, it said.

The new launch date has been set for June 25 and Samsung confirmed the player price at $999. The player was due to launch on May 23, the same day that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Lionsgate Films had chosen as the release date for their first Blu-ray Disc movies.

Blu-ray Discs From Sony Will Arrive on May 23 as Scheduled

Date: 2006/3/30. According to Home Media Retailing, according to "Home Entertainment president Benjamin Feingold vows to stick by his previously announced May 23 street date for the studio's first batch of Blu-ray Disc titles, despite reports that the next-generation hardware needed to play the discs likely won't arrive in U.S. stores until the following month, at the earliest."

Dell to ship its first Blu-ray for Yule

Date: 2006/3/30. WE heard that Dell is preparing to ship its first Blu-ray machines for Christmas. It kind of matches the Playstation 3 launch date and it definitely means that Blu-ray is very delayed.

PANASONIC ANNOUNCES ITS FIRST HIGH DEFINITION BLU-RAY DISC PLAYER'S AVAILABILITY, PRICING

Date: 2006/3/18. Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company today announced the upcoming availability of the company's first Blu-ray Disc player, the DMP-BD10, available this September.

The introduction of the DMP-BD10 is timed to coincide with Panasonic's release of its first 1080p Plasma TVs this fall, which can make full use of Blu-ray's high definition entertainment capabilities.

Pricing in the United States on the DMP-BD10 has not been finalized, but will be less than $1,500. Panasonic will also release a high-definition receiver that when matched with the Blu-ray Disc player will provide an unparalleled entertainment experience.

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