HD DVD is dead.

Here at Schmadget we've been watching with interest as the next generation video format war played out. It's been a bitter, tit-for-tat affair but it seems the end is finally nigh for HD DVD with Reuters reporting today that Toshiba are on the verge of conceding defeat to the Sony-backed Blu-ray and are planning to wind down the operation, set to cost them a few $100 million.

Support for HD DVD has been slowly ebbing away over the last few months as major studios and distributors withdrew their support for the ailing format, with Netflix and Wal-mart putting the final nails in the coffin this week.

Looking on the bright side this is great for the consumer as it means the uncertainty and confusion is now over. You no longer have to worry about backing the wrong horse. Of course, those that did and bought HD DVD players will now be left with an obsolete piece of technology. The curse of the early adopter.

The PS3 has to be credited with significantly boosting Blu-ray's market penetration and credentials, it was a big risk for Sony but it appears to have paid off, at least on this front. Although you could argue that is has cost Sony dear on the gaming front with the high price of the PS3 with integrated Blu-ray player allowing Nintendo to steal a massive lead with the less sophisticated and much cheaper Wii.

As consumers, we can only hope that the big electronics companies will learn from this and avoid such 'wars' in the future. This is sure to be the last big physical media format war but the new frontier is digital of course and, unfortunately, I'm sure we'll see many more formats, wars and interoperability issues as long as there are big, greedy companies around trying to control the markets in which they operate, without first considering the consumers that buy their products.

Sony release a whole load of new stuff

Sony have announced new products in virtually all their lines. As I'm not interested in some of them, I'll only post about those that I am. So here goes.

New V-series HDTVs

Not their top of the line X-series sets but the respectable 1080p capable V-series are updated to accept 1080/60p and 24p signals and have the advanced Bravia EX engine, thus far found on the X-series sets, for super high-quality picture processing. They also have 10-bit processing for better colour gradients.

Also interesting is that the displays now use Sony's XMB Xross Media Bar interface, the same as used on the PS3 and PSP. I'd like to see for myself if that works well, it could be really interesting.

They did also announce one updated 32-inch X-series set that has three HDMI inputs and a 120Hz refresh rate (Sony call it Motionflow) to help reduce blurring and motion artefacts.

The existing line of Sony LCDs have had great reviews, so I'm particularly looking forward to seeing how these new ones fair. For me right now, if you're buying LCD, it's Sony vs. Sharp.

Cheap(er) Blu-ray player

This is good news for anyone looking to grab a Blu-ray player. Sony announced a much cheaper version of the existing trés-expensive BDP-S1 player. The new BDP-S300 will be $600 as opposed to $1000 (no word on UK pricing yet) and offer pretty much the same features.

The model also supports AVC-HD discs encoded with xvYCC technology, a new international standard for wide colour space, which Sony has branded as x.v.Color.

This will hurt HD DVD I'm sure as it will bring the Blu-ray players down to a much more comparable price level. Although I expect we'll be seeing cheaper HD DVD players out soon as well.

New Cyber-shot cameras

"Sony is introducing a line of slim and stylish Cyber-shot T-series cameras that are destined to be the fashionista crowd’s favorite party companion."

Sony's lovely marketing speak but they actually look pretty well featured. The 8 megapixel DSC-T100 has a 5x optical zoom and 3-inch LCD screen and is available in red, black and silver.



Also 8 megapixels, the DSC-T20 has a more usual 3x optical zoom and a 2.5-inch LCD screen and will be available in pink, white, black and silver.

At less than half an inch thick, the cameras are easily portable and you can even buy matching cases in pink, red, green, grey, crème, brown and black! Good for the ladies ;)

Bluetooth headphones

I like the sound of these (no pun intended) bluetooth headphones. The idea of wireless headphones appeals, tangley wires always annoy me. These look perfectly suited for using in the house maybe streaming music from iTunes or something if your computer (or any other bluetooth-enabled music device) supports A2DP, AVRCP, HFP or HSP stereo bluetooth profiles, which my Mac doesn't.



They've got a 17-hour battery life (200 in standby) and you can even use them with your mobile phone to answer and end calls with the press of button. Nice.

LG's Super Multi Blue Player (BH100)

You've probably already heard about LG's dual-format player that can handle both HD DVD and Blu-Ray. Well after having gone from rumour to unveiling at CES only last week, the Super Multi Blue Player (BH100) is now apparently in US shops already!

No word on a UK release yet but for anyone concerned about jumping off the fence and into either camp, this provides you with a 'third way'.

It's the first next-generation video device to play both high-definition disc formats and with Warner Bros releasing hybrid dual-format discs as well, together they could provide you with an insurance policy should one of the formats actually win this ridiculous war.

I'm certainly not ready to commit to either format yet and I'm sure many people feel the same way, so I welcome products like this and hope this is a trend that other manufacturers and studios will follow.

CES roundup

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is under way in Las Vegas this week and there has been a deluge of new products announced from all the major manufacturers.

A lot of them are not that interesting or significant (to me anyway), so I'm going to try and cut through the crap and highlight here some of the things that interest me and hopefully you.

Xbox 360 IPTV

Microsoft kicked of proceedings with their keynote, of which the most interesting thing to come out was the announcement that in late 2007 they will be offering TV over your internet connection direct to your Xbox 360. They gave a demo at the keynote and there are some screen shots and a video about as well.

It does look quite cool and allows you to do Sky+ type things as well as some intriguing ideas such as recording a TV program in the background while playing a game in Xbox Live! Could be interesting competition to Apple's forthcoming "iTV" as well.

Microsoft really do appear to be trying to cram everything they can into the 360. They also announced that they have shipped just over 10 million 360s to date.

Samsung Blu-Ray player and 1080p TVs

Samsung announced the BD-P1200, their second generation Blu-Ray player. It's slimmer, cheaper and better specified than the previous BD-P100 and should be hitting the US in June.



Samsung also announced 3 new 1080p LCD TVs in 40, 46 and 52 inch varieties featuring 3 HDMI 1.3 ports, 12,000:1 contrast ratio and 1920x1080 resolution among other things.




Pioneer A/V receivers

You're gonna need some sounds to go with your new TV and Blu-Ray player, so how about one the of the four new monster Pioneer receivers: VSX-517, VSX-817, VSX-917V, and VSX-1017TXV (pictured).


Featuring satellite radio (big in the states), iPod integration, 120Watts over each of the 7 channel outputs and THX Select 2 certification for the top of the range beast.

Toshiba REGZA LCD TVs

Four new 720p LCDs in 26, 32, 37 and 42-inch screen sizes and updates to the 42, 46, 52 and 57-inch 1080p Cinema Series, which include 120Hz anti-motion blur technology, ethernet port and HDMI 1.3 connectors with Deep Color and xvYCC support. They also found the time to introduce two new 26 and 32-inch models that include a built in DVD player!

Philips wireless HDMI

Hate that clutter of wires behind your TV? Everything seems to be going wireless these days and HDMI is no exception with Philips announcing a new solution with enough bandwidth to send an uncompressed HD stream of up to 1080p resolution. It's based on an ultra wide band frequency so shouldn't interfere with other wireless stuff like your WiFi network or DECT home phone.

Sharp's new Aquos TVs

Sharp announced 4 new lines of TVs, from the top of the range, 8th Generation 1080p capable D92-Series to the more affordable 720p capable D43-Series with others in between. The D92s feature 15,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 4ms response time, 120hz refresh rate and 3 HDMI ports.



New Panasonic plasmas

Last but not least, Panasonic announced a new 42" prototype 1080p plasma, possibly the holy grail as far as I'm concerned, as well as new 50, 58, 65 and 103-inch plasmas. Also new HD camcorders, Blu-Ray and home theatre stuff.


Phew, that's about it. Now, get ready for the Steve Jobs keynote at Macworld tonight, it looks like it's gonna be a big one.

PS3 and Wii launch in the US

The US market is the first to get the next generation holy trinity of 360, PS3 and Wii.

The two new kids on the block joined the 360 and launched in the US at the weekend. As you might imagine, chaos reigned as people queued for days to get hold of them. The PS3 was in particularly short supply and caused a mini crime spree with armed robberies and shootings - only in America!

So, what happens next? Well, the reviews have been flying, mostly positive for the PS3 and Wii but both have also had some negative press, most notably the New York Times panned the PS3.

Both have suffered with some technical glitches as well, some Wiis are getting 'fatal errors' when upgrading the firmware and the PS3 is having backwards compatibility, HDTV compatibility and a few other issues. All to be expected these days with new technology unfortunately.

I still remain quite skeptical about the PS3, technical glitches and game compatibility issues not withstanding, it's inevitably getting compared to the 360 and the comparison doesn't look that great for the PS3.

The 360 has had a year's head start on the PS3 to iron out it's own issues, enhance it's multi-media offering and for game developers to learn how to harness it's graphical power.

People are looking at the considerably more expensive PS3 and wondering why they need to pay so much extra for something that doesn't really do anything more than the 360 and at this stage doesn't offer the superior graphics or game play that Sony promised (the launch line-up of games on the PS3 is pretty lacklustre). That will change over time I'm sure but for now, today, it's got no real advantage, unless you want a cheapish Blu-ray player.

And what of the Wii? Well, in some ways it's off on it's own because Nintendo never got into the technical arms race, so they aren't necessarily being judged on the same criteria. For the Wii, it's all about the innovation. Most people seem to think it lives up to it's potential so far and is great fun to play. Whether that feeling can last and whether it turns out to be a novelty only time will tell but the DS vs PSP battle has seemingly proved that innovation and interesting game play can win the day over pure graphical power and multi-media capabilities.

Today though, I put my money where my mouth is and pre-ordered a Wii from Amazon, ready for it's UK launch on December 8th. And I expect that next year I will be getting a 360, purely for Halo 3. So that's my decision made. I'll let you know next year whether I think I made the right one.

Where do you stand with the next-gen consoles? Post your thoughts and what you intend on buying in the comments!

Updated: Typos and stuff.

Tags: sony, ps3, nintendo, wii, microsoft, xbox360, gaming, tech, technology, gadget, schmadget, scb

Xbox Live Video to offer HD downloads

Microsoft have announced that they will start offering movie and tv downloads through Xbox Live on November 22nd in the US.

This is a significant announcement for a few reasons, perhaps most importantly that some of the content will be in high definition, which places them at the cutting edge of video downloading.

They're clearly moving to counter on two fronts: firstly to compete with Amazon's Unbox service and Apple's iTunes and iTV; and secondly to differentiate the Xbox 360 from the Sony PS3 and Nintendo Wii.

It's a very interesting move that gives Microsoft a leg-up on their competition in a few ways. If they decide to link the Xbox 360 with the upcoming Zune, it could give them an interesting eco-system with which to properly compete with the iPod, with the full living room through to portal device strategy that Apple is now obviously pursuing.

Could Microsoft actually get there before Apple?

And it kind of neuters one of Sony's key points about the PS3 and it's Blu-ray drive. In some ways it's a leap beyond the next-generation DVD battle between HD DVD and Blu-ray. Why buy physical high definition media when you can just download it to a device that is already plugged into your TV?

Everything is converging as the technology becomes more pervasive - where do you draw the line between the battle for the living room, next-gen consoles and high definition media or are they just part of a much wider war for our homes, content and entertainment in general? I think so.

For more details of Xbox Live Video head over to Engadget HD.

Tags: microsoft, xbox360, high definition, video, download, apple, nintendo, sony, blu-ray, hddvd, schmadget, gadgets, tech, technology, scb

Blu-ray becomes a reality in the UK

The HD war comes to the UK this week with the launch of the first Blu-ray players. The Panasonic DMP-BD10 and the Samsung BD-P1000 are both state-of-the-art offering 1080p output, perfect for one of those 1080p TVs you've been eyeing recently.


They're pretty pricey mind you, at around £1000 for the Panasonic and £800 for the Samsung. The DMP-BD10 paired with Panasonic's matching SA-XR700 AV Receiver and a Viera plasma would be a stunning combination though, even if it did set you back the best part of 3 or 4 thousand pounds.

The retaliation comes next month with Toshiba launching their HD-XE1 and HD-E1 HD DVD players, with the E1 half the price of the Panasonic Blu-ray player and the high-spec XE1 still several hundred pounds cheaper, it should make for some interesting competition.

So, let the battle commence. But unless you have a lot of money to throw around, you may just want to hold back, watch them fight it out and wait for prices to come down before you decide who to pledge your allegiance to.

Tags: hd, high definition, samsung, toshiba, panasonic, blu-ray, hd dvd, 1080p, tech, technology, gadget, schmadget, scb

Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on coming to UK

Microsoft have announced that the HD DVD add-on for the Xbox 360 is coming to the UK, North America, France and Germany in "mid-November" priced at £129.99 / $199.99 / €199.99.

The player comes with Peter Jackson's "King Kong" on HD DVD (for a limited time) and is bundled with the Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote.

So, you can just add the HD DVD player to your Xbox 360 to get a cheap, next generation, high definition movie set-up.

They've priced it carefully so that when you buy a 360 and the add-on player, it equates to the same price as a PS3, which of course comes with Blu-ray.


Touché.

Tags: microsoft, xbox360, hd dvd, hd, high definition, schmadget, gadgets, tech, technology, scb

Sony drop PS3 price by 20% and include HDMI 1.3

Finally, some good news from Sony. They just announced today that they are cutting the launch price of the 20GB version of the PS3 in Japan by about 20% to ¥49,980. They have stated so far that this is a Japan only price drop and the US and Europe pricing remains unchanged.

Not only that but the 20GB, lower-end version of the PS3 now includes an HDMI 1.3 output (the latest spec), which was the other major sticking point that so many people were unhappy about.

So what does all this mean? Well, I think it absolutely proves Sony's strategy was wrong on the PS3 from the beginning by making it so expensive relative to the Xbox 360 and Wii and not including an HDMI output on the low-end model to enjoy all of the much-hyped Blu-ray content in full-on 1080p digital clarity.

I think Sony must have realised what a mess they'd made and, fair play to them, have corrected the mistake before launch. They are probably petrified about the competition from the much cheaper Wii in Japan specifically and the Xbox 360 with HD-DVD add on in the US and Europe. They had to do something and in fairness this does seem like a good move.

I think it certainly makes the 20GB much more attractive and it now begs the question of why you really need the more expensive 60GB version, just for the sake of WiFi, a larger hard drive and a memory card reader?

The next-gen console wars aren't over yet.

Tags: sony, ps3, hdmi, nintendo, wii, microsoft, xbox360, gaming, console, tech, technology, gadget, schmadget, scb

No PS3 in Europe until March 2007!

Oh it's all going wrong for Sony. I feared they were already in trouble with the PS3 strategy, with it's complicated manufacturing and cutting edge technology.

Now it seems that has bourne out and bitten them hard, they can't mass produce some of the components for the Blu-ray drive quickly enough.

There is to be no PS3 in Europe until March 2007. That gives Nintendo and Microsoft a free run this Christmas.

I think Sony are in pretty big trouble.

Via BBC.

Tags: sony, ps3, playstation, nintendo, wii, microsoft, xbox360, schmadget, gadgets, tech, technology, scb

Opinion: Is Sony heading for big trouble?

I'm worried about Sony. I think they could be about to have a couple of big disasters on their hands - the PS3 and Blu-ray.

I'm particularly worried about the PS3; it's complicated to manufacture, very expensive, a year behind the Xbox 360, has no killer games for launch, very negative press from practically all quarters, is inextricably linked to the fate of Blu-ray (which may turn out to be good or bad) and will be launched around the same time as perhaps the most innovative and interesting console ever - the Nintendo Wii.

This comes on the back of other recent failures for Sony - they've been stomped on by Apple in the digital music player space and Nintendo in the portable gaming space. Frankly, they can ill-afford either the PS3 or Blu-ray to fail, yet I can't help thinking that public opinion appears so against them, it could be an inevitability.

You only have to go and read the press articles or the comments on other gadget blogs to realise that people are very skeptical of Sony's strategy now.

They haven't exactly got a stellar record when it comes to media formats either, we all know the story of Betamax but what about UMD more recently? And Blu-ray, like the PS3, is going to be later and more expensive than HD-DVD, it's competitor.

I think HD-DVD and Blu-ray are going to hurt each other mind you, it's not quite as clear cut as the console wars. I think consumers will be very nervous to commit to either format until they are confident that it won't become obsolete in a year's time. But my personal preference at the moment is for HD-DVD - it appears to have superior picture quality and is cheaper.

Of course, Sony have been banking on the PS3 being a Trojan horse for Blu-ray, sneakily getting it into millions of households without consumers even really realising it. But I'm not sure this is actually going to happen. I think people are going to look at the lacklustre launch lineup of games for the PS3 and it's horrendous price tag and think "I could have a 360 and a Wii and get the best of both worlds for the same price as the PS3".

The 360 has already sold 6 million or so units and is on target for 10 million in the not too distant future, that's a massive lead over both Nintendo and Sony.

After a downbeat start the Wii has gained a surprisingly big following in the gaming community and there appears to be real excitement and great anticipation for the launch. People can't wait to get their hands on it and try the motion sensing controller and fun new gameplay styles.

The DS has proved that graphics and technical supremacy aren't everything - people want interesting, innovative and involving games. The DS has delivered that in spades but the PSP has seen far more than its fair share of derivative, lazy PS2 ports.

Yes, it's technically superior to the DS, has much better graphics, can play movies and music but people don't necessarily want all that, they just want to play great games.

I think the PS3 is making the same mistake, they're trying the PSP strategy again - they assume that by making it technically superior and cramming Blu-ray into it that it will win. Well I don't think it will.

I think the Wii is in a class of it's own and a lot of people will buy one in addition to either a 360 or a PS3; that means that the Wii could actually outsell both of the others and potentially the PS3 could come third. What a fall from grace that would be.

I don't envy Sony's position right now, they are up against one of the most innovative companies in the world with Nintendo and one of the richest with Microsoft. What a bad combination.

And as for Blu-ray Vs. HD-DVD, well the jury's out on that one, maybe they'll both fail or people will become less interested in physical media as Apple, Amazon and others launch proper movie download services?

Only time will tell, it's certainly interesting to watch but Sony have so much riding on these two pieces of their strategy, I dread to think what will happen if they've got it wrong.

Sources:
Joystiq
DS fanboy
The Guardian
Joystiq
Gamasutra
The Register
Engadget
Joystiq
HDTV UK

Tags: sony, ps3, wii, xbox360, ds, psp, hd, highdefinition, blu-ray, hd-dvd, gaming, tech, technology, gadget, schmadget, scb

HD: 1080i vs 1080p

Can you tell the difference between 1080i and 1080p? Does that even mean anything to you? The debate is raging over at HDBeat and Home Theatre mag.

Basically, it boils down to the difference in the way the picture is scanned (displayed) on your TV. The i or p at the end means it is either scanned interlaced or progressively.

Essentially the difference between the two is that with an interlaced format the picture you see is scanned to the screen in alternating lines, so in any single scan the tv will only get half of the lines of the picture. Then in the next pass the alternate lines are scanned. The perception by humans is that the picture is complete because this all happens so quickly.

Progressive scan differs to this in that it scans all the lines at once, thus giving a clearer and flicker-free picture.

In theory then, progressive scan is superior to interlaced. But (and this is where the arguments start) most HDTVs like LCDs and plasmas for example, can't physically display an interlaced picture (only traditional CRT TVs can do this), so what they actually do when presented with an interlaced picture is de-interlace it and convert it into a progressive picture! So the argument goes that there is no difference between 1080i and 1080p because your HDTV will convert the 1080i signal into a 1080p signal anyway!

But it's the complications with de-interlacing that cause the problems, some TVs don't even do it correctly; you can actually end up with less resolution than you started with. And there are many other factors that effect the perceived quality of the picture; from the TV's refresh rate to the way the picture is outputted from your device (e.g. HD-DVD or Blu-ray player). You only have to read the comments in the linked articles above to realise how many factors there are.

High definition is a quagmire of specifications, misinformation, interpretations and subjective opinions. So, how does the average consumer cut through all the hyperbole and crap? Well, not easily is the honest answer.

I do think it's fair to say that the average consumer probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between 1080i and 1080p, for most people a decent HDTV that processes any standard def or HD signal properly will be more than satisfactory. But the real enthusiasts will need to sit and wait until all of these theories can be put to the test, HD is still too much in its infancy.

At the end of the day, the best thing the average consumer can do is read lots of reviews and go and see the TVs for themselves. Before buying ask the shop to help you set them up and fiddle around with them with various sources that you will actually be using (e.g. Sky HD, HD-DVD or Blu-ray) and see which TV you think is best. You're the one that has to live with it, so you decide what's best for you.

Tags: hd, high definition, 1080i, 1080p, hd-dvd, blu-ray, hdtv, schmadget, gadgets, tech, technology, scb