Toshiba has released its first attempt at getting near HD quality when viewing standard-definition DVDs. The XD-E500, now available from select retailers, up-converts to 1080p, and gives you three modes to improve the quality of your DVD image. In a preliminary spec sheet, Toshiba outlines how this new player will improve your viewing experience. Full Story »

Amazon has sent out an email to purchasers of HD DVD players offering $50 credit towards most products. However the catch is that it doesn’t include purchases from third-party merchants, according to the email.

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Toshiba announced yesterday they would start sample shipping of the SpursEngine, a high-performance processor that evolved from the Sony/Toshiba Cell Broadband Engine.

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Well, the camera head at least seems to be the smallest. Toshiba announced today it will be showing the IK-HD1 3CCD HDTV Camera at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) in Las Vegas this month. The tiny hi def camera head only weighs 2.3 oz. and measures 1.6 inches.

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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 per second. This format differs from 1080p in that it uses fields instead of frames. Full Story »

Reuters has just confirmed that Circuit City will take back your HD DVD player if it was purchased within 90 days in exchange for a Blu-ray Player. Just remember that most Blu-ray players will be more expensive than the HD DVD player you bought, so plan on spending more than you originally anticipated for a hi def player.

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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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Microsoft announced Saturday it would stop making the HD DVD add-on player for its xBox 360 gaming console. The company said Toshiba’s discontinuation of its HD DVD players, and poor market saturation, lead to the decision. Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida estimated the HD DVD add-on player only sold 300,000 units.

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Just a day after Toshiba threw in the towel and conceded the next generation disc to Sony, both parties are making a deal involving the production of advanced “Cell” microprocessors. According to the Associated Press, the joint venture will be owned 60 percent by Toshiba, and 40 percent split by Sony and its game unit Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

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Most people have already declared Blu-ray to be the format war’s victory and our recent talks with Toshiba and Universal seem to suggest that the HD DVD camp might be ready to pull up stakes. The crazy part is this: Just a few weeks ago, it might’ve gone the other way entirely.

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There is at least one great thing that has happened during the format war. It’s that the competition drove down the price of high definition hardware and media. The recent aggressive pricing moves by Toshiba have got to have Sony boiling, but for the consumer, it’s a good thing.

Don’t we all want what’s best for the consumer? About a year ago a YouTube video has reporter Wayde Robson questioning Sony’s potential rule over disc formats.

“Let me get this straight. The company that makes the movie, also wants to create the disc format, it also builds the hardware, writes an extra digital rights management incription. Why don’t you just buy a house in a Sony gated community?”

“…there is an important principal at stake here. The trouble is when one company controls the media, controls the content, controls the hardware, whose interests are being served? Why should they bother to innovate?”

Here is a link to the full video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GhSsV55ZZ4&feature=related

Not many people realize that the current format war was not the first “high-definition” war between Toshiba and Sony. The battle for high-definition audio supremacy has actually been going on for some time now, long before we ever caught word of these new-fangled HD video formats.

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Toshiba on Monday said it would release in Japan this week the first notebook with a rewritable HD DVD optical drive, making it possible to transfer recorded TV shows or video taken with a high-definition camera onto a DVD for archiving.

I went to check out those “Secret in-Store” sales items that Walmart promoted on their site for today. They advertised a Sanyo 50″ plasma for $998, a Toshiba HD-A2 for $98, and HD DVD movies for $14.96.

First of all, they didn’t even have the Toshiba HD DVD player. They didn’t have ANY hi-def players. I asked if they were going to get some in for the sale. They didn’t know, and the manager was hard to find.

The Sanyo 50″ plasma, while normally priced at $1297, was not such a bad deal at $998. Is this the best plasma out there? Hell No! But for someone who wants big, and has a budget, this non-1080p flat screen might not be too bad. Problem is, they only had 2 in boxes, and one floor model. Huh?

Now let me tell you I got excited about the HD DVDs. $15 bucks for a hi-def disc is about as cheap as you can get them. But their selection was grim. They had a total of 3 titles. They had a module that was scheduled to be set up, but wasn’t up yet. Was there a library of HD DVD titles just sitting in the back room?

I think Walmart forgot to tell their store managers about this secret Friday sale. Maybe if they did they would have had the products in-stock and visible.

The funniest part about checking out HDTVs at Walmart was that they were not displaying hi-def images. I peeked under some fake snow decoration that was hiding the video source to find that a row of HDTVs were being fed by one standard-definition cheapo DVD player. Now that’s how you sell hi-def Walmart! Good for you!

According to a recent announcement at the DVD Forum, the 51 GB HD DVD disc may NOT work on existing HD DVD players. This could be a potential disaster for Toshiba, who, along with Sony are doing everything they can to get their respective players into consumers homes.

It’s bad enough that both parties are challenged with getting expensive high-def players into homes. If Toshiba doesn’t get this disc to work on their existing models they could face alienation of current and potential users. A firmware upgrade via internet connection would be a welcome solution to consumers, many of them understanding technology’s rapid evolution.

The reality is that most movies don’t need 51 GB of space to deliver a high-def movie. The current 15 GB double-sided combo discs seem to work just fine. It will be the longer than normal titles that will be trouble.

Current solutions include splitting the movie into two 15 GB discs, or
printing 15 GB double-sided discs. Both of these options will the only viable solutions. Asking consumers to buy a newer HD DVD player that can read 51 GB discs is not.

Microsoft announced last week the use of a new HDi logo on all Toshiba HD DVD players. The new logo will also be used on Universal Studios and Paramount packaging for upcoming HD DVD movie titles.

Movies such as “300,” “Blood Diamond,” “Heroes: Season 1,” and “Transformers” make use of the HDi technology by allowing downloads, ring tone purchases, and shared bookmarked scenes in a communal atmosphere.

Microsoft HDi technology powers the interactive capabilities of every HD DVD player on the market as well the Xbox external HD DVD drive. The use of the logo will begin this quarter.

CEDIA, DENVER, Sept. 5 /PRNewswire/ — Toshiba announced today a joint promotion with CBS Home Entertainment for the launch of “Star Trek: The Original Series,” Season 1 exclusively on HD DVD. Available on November 20th at retailers nationwide, this boxed 10-disc set offers “Star Trek” fans the opportunity to not only experience “Star Trek: The Original Series” in full high definition for the first time, but will also allow viewing of the same discs in standard DVD players. “Star Trek” Combo HD DVDs feature HD DVD on one side of the disc and standard DVD on the other.

To support this historic launch, Toshiba has teamed up with CBS Home Entertainment, with plans to offer purchasers of the boxed set and any Toshiba HD DVD player an exclusive, limited edition “Star Trek” Phaser remote control that will operate Toshiba’s HD DVD players. This promotion is planned to coincide with the launch of the “Star Trek” HD DVD boxed set.

“To be part of bringing the pioneering episodes of the landmark ‘Star Trek’ franchise to fans is truly special,” said Jodi Sally, Vice President of Marketing, Toshiba’s Digital A/V Group. “Taking advantage of all HD DVD has to offer, ‘Star Trek: The Original Series’ will be presented with interactive capabilities and a level of visual and audio sophistication fans of the series have never experienced. With this offer fans can also get their hands on merchandise that will not be available any other way.”

The leading-edge technology in Toshiba HD DVD players will enable “Star Trek” fans to access thrilling interactive capabilities such as picture-in-picture video commentaries, the ability to compare visual effects in the re-mastered episodes versus the originals and to take an interactive tour of the Starship Enterprise, for a detailed exploration of the ship.

“Part of the appeal of ‘Star Trek’ is the spirit of its characters to embrace and utilize cutting-edge technology,” said Jeffrey Nemerovski, Vice President of Business Development for CBS Home Entertainment. “The technology, power and innovation of HD DVD has allowed us to present ‘Star Trek: The Original Series’ in an unprecedented way. With the choice of either watching in HD or SD, there truly is no risk in the disc. Enthusiasts can now explore the original episodes and become immersed in picture quality and disc features in a manner not previously possible without HD DVD.”

Meticulously remastered from the original camera negative, each classic episode is presented in pristine condition with new state-of-the-art digital visual effects and a new 5.1 soundtrack. Both the DVD and HD DVD presentations include rare on-set home movie footage, an inside perspective on what it took to transport ‘Trek’ into the 21st century … and much more. Showcasing graphics with a 3D look and feel, the interactive “Starfleet Access” menu interface will allow HD viewers to activate icons on seven episodes to provide such features as picture-in-picture video commentaries and an interactive tour of the Starship Enterprise.

In addition to visually experiencing “Star Trek” in a new way through HD DVD, fans of “The Original Series” can enjoy the classic “Star Trek” musical score and sound effects in advanced audio, immersing fans in the complete HD experience.

PRNewswire

I popped in my free “Chronicles of Riddick” HD DVD disc that I got from the Toshiba 5-Free disc offer. It wasn’t on my high definition “to buy” list since I already owned both the theatrical and director’s version of the DVD. But being that it was free and all, it was a good addition to the collection.

The menu came on and immediately the content looked so much richer than I had seen from the standard definition disc. In high definition you get a far better rendition of what the film makers were working towards. Camera angles were much more relevant to the film. The use of depth-of-field (meaning, some parts of an image are left sharp, others blurry) was much more visible. It was also much easier to see the craft and expertise in colorizing, set design and 3d modeling.

The opening scene on U.V. System Planet 6 is introduces you to the potential of high def. The icy planet looks better blown up than in smaller format. This is in contrast to many sci-fi films that lose their realism as they are enlarged. Details are revealed in a way so realistic that it looks more like reality than a Hollywood set. On Crematoria, it is hard not to believe that there is really a planet that can’t support life forms on its surface because it gets burnt to a crisp by the sun.

Watching a movie in 16.9 in high definition is just like experiencing a film in the theater, with the benefit of being able to freeze action and replay scenes whenever you want. Of course, seeing a film at home on your 40”, 50” or even 60” set will never match the beauty of the theater widescreen, but if you can afford the $70,000 Panasonic 103” plasma, you’ll be pretty darn close.

Chronicles of Riddick” on HD DVD — this is one movie that you want to take a look at in high definition.

As a follow up to my previous article about the HD-A20, I felt compelled to give a report after a couple months of use.

The HD-A20 was the lowest priced 1080p player at $499, until the Sony BDP-S300 came along last month. Still, since the HD-A20 has been on the market longer, you can still get one for a lot less than the Sony. But lets take a more critical look at the HD DVD player. Is is worth $399?

The HD-A20 will not win any design awards. But it does what it has to do. The player will accept the following formats: HD DVD (15gb single layer), HD DVD (30gb dual layer), DVD-RW and DVD-R, CD-RW and CD-R. You’ll be happy to know that disc load time has been improved from the 1st gen models.

Loading/Ejecting Discs
Here are some pitfalls that Toshiba will need to overcome. When trying to load a disc, upon startup or changing a disc, pressing the open button never really opens the tray. You can turn the power on with the open tray button on but it still won’t open until it goes through the whole disc load process.

Audio Issue
Audio sometimes cuts out. This happens randomly and the disc has to be stopped in order to restart. This is really inconvenient because by stopping the disc it goes back to the start menu again. You then have to pick up where you left off by using the chapter menu. This has happened about 4 times within 2 months of use.

Player Frozen
For some reason, the player froze the other night. The power light was on, and the LCD display said “HD DVD”. Neither the front plate buttons nor the remote would work to un-freeze the deck. I had to pull the power cord to get it to start up again. The power on the deck may have been left on for a day or two but this shouldn’t be an excuse.

Concensus
This is a $500 player folks. Things that cost $500 should work pretty darn well. Overall the HD-A20 has been great. I cannot complain about the quality, and the upscaling is very impressive. For a second generation player it is fairly stable. However if anything else goes wrong, especially a hard drive freeze, I may start thinking about sending it back.

What does Ken Graffeo know that the other home video execs don’t?

Executive vice president of high def strategic marketing (worldwide) for Universal Home Entertainment, Graffeo is one of the studio’s – and probably the world’s - strongest advocates for the cause of http://www.hd-report.com/hd-glossary/HD-DVD. While other operations (Sony, Fox, Disney) are strictly backing the rival http://www.hd-report.com/hd-glossary/Blu-Ray format, or are espousing a “why-can’t- we-just-coexist” neutrality by putting out discs on both formats (the Warner Bros. and Paramount position), Universal is sticking strictly with the Toshiba-developed and Microsoft- finessed HD-DVD format.

And given that Universal produces about 30 percent of the movies people watch (and rent and buy) , that loyalty has become a major reason to buy an HD-DVD player. Okay, so maybe we can live without Universal’s recent HD issue of “The Jerk.” But can you say the same for other recent releases? Like “Children of Men”, “The 40 Year Old Virgin,” “Lost in Translation,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Smokin’ Aces,” “Dragon Heart,” ”Midnight Run”. . . well you get the idea.

We recently got to jabber with Ken Graffeo about his company’s mindset. Readers of my syndicated newspaper column (originating at the Philadelphia Daily News) have already seen excerpts. But for ATHD, the editing gloves come off and we can really dig in with the questions, and Ken’s informed responses.

Q: Many people wring their hands over this format war, saying that it keeps consumers sitting on the sidelines waiting for a “winner” to emerge, in the way VHS eventually triumphed over Beta. What’s your response to that?

Graffeo: I can tell you this much. It’s been a little over a year since HD-DVD was introduced, a little less for Blu-Ray. The recent promotions taking place with a $299 bottom price for an HD DVD-player - versus $799 for the original model – that’s really the result of a format war. To have the price dropping so hard in such a short time, and the announcements from Sony and Panasonic of Blu-Ray players coming at $599 – down from $1000 and up – that’s unprecedented. DVD took much longer to drop in price. The format war is driving pricing down at an accelerated rate. So the consumer is benefitting.

Q: What sparked you to support the HD-DVD format in the first place?

Graffeo: Universal knew, several years ago, what was optional and what was mandatory in both formats. We knew with HD-DVD, every player manufactured from day one would meet all the specs that were required for interactivity and on-line connectivity, with a built in Ethernet port. Look at Blu- Ray. That’s still not the case. That’s been a real point of contention, to have players that can’t support BD-Java (interactive software). The two “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies just out on Blu-Ray won’t play on a lot of players (editor: including first gen Samsung, Philips and Sony disc spinners, but reportedly will do so after firmware upgrades.) In fact, the Blu-Ray format’s BD-Java and online interactive features won’t be set until October 31. After that, any new Blu-Ray models that are introduced have to meet the specs (ed: including the ability to generate dual, stream picture-in picture) , but manufacturers can continue to make and sell older models that don’t. We at Universal have always wanted the consumer to have the best experience, to have a player with all the features and specs, and at a price that’s affordable. We put interactivity (billed as “U-Control”) on many of our titles. All so we can get the early adopters on board, and achieve a high attach rate (software sales per player).

Q: But what about the argument, widely expressed, that if this war isn’t over soon, both formats will fail, as consumers look elsewhere for their high def content – like the internet, or their pay-TV provider. Even Microsoft chief Bill Gates has gone on record as saying both of these disc formats are short lived.

Graffeo: I’m involved in a lot of digital media, more than just packaged goods. The idea that streamed digital media will take over in a short time is what the analysts write about, but the truth is, it’s not there for the average consumer who wants to have the best picture and sound. Look at video on demand. It’s an attractive product. You can stop, pause, play, rewind. But the buy rates haven’t gone up. It’s so insignificant in sales. If you look at the video packaged goods rental market, that’s good for $7.4 billion a year. The sell through market is $15 billion. With video on demand, the majority of the business is in prize fights and wrestling specials, and it’s not even a billion dollar business.

Meanwhile, look at all the consumers who’re sitting on the fence. Today you have 35 million HDTVs in the home. Given that some consumers have more than one set, there are maybe 25 million households with HD. When the majority brings home their sets, there’s a confusion factor. They attach their regular DVD player, put in a disc and think they’re watching HD. They don’t even change the set top cable or satellite box to get the HD channels.

Back on the price point. We know it’s a driving factor in getting adoption. The DVD didn’t take off until the Chinese makers came in and the price for players plummeted. We’ll see that first with HD-DVD, because the DVD Forum which sets the specs for HD-DVD has shared technology with Chinese makers.

Q: Of course, to achieve those under $100 price points for DVD players, the Chinese companies “forgot” to pay the $20 in patent royalties due for each player, and the patent holders let them slide for a really long time, but continue.

Graffeo: We’re already at the point where the consumer is ready to make a choice. With players at $799 to $999, the percentage of adoption is going to be low single digital. When you get it under $300, you open it to the masses. It becomes a no-lose proposition. Because even if the other format were to triumph eventually, you’ll still be able to use the (HD-DVD) player for DVD, with very good up-conversion of the standard definition discs.