One more nail for HD DVD
Published by Admin on 24.11.05 at 11/24/2005 05:38:00 PM.
Earlier this week Sony and NEC announced that they would they would establish a joint venture company in the optical disk drive business, aiming its sights on the goal of being the top optical disk drive manufacturer in the world. Merging advantages of Sony's optical pickups and NEC's system-on-chip LSIs, does create greater economy of scale that should allow the joint venture to take aim at the present top optical disk drive supplier/competitor, Hitachi LG Data Storage Inc., which has nearly 30 percent of the market by units and annual sales of over $2 billion.
Business does make strange bedfellows. As noted in the press release, the joint venture will merge Sony's present optical disk business, which includes CD and DVD, and worth about 150 billion yen (about $1.26 billion), with NEC's DVD disk drive business worth about 70 billion yen (about $589 million). Sony will hold a 55-percent stake vs. NEC's 45-percent. It's key that Sony holds the majority share in this venture. Link
Business does make strange bedfellows. As noted in the press release, the joint venture will merge Sony's present optical disk business, which includes CD and DVD, and worth about 150 billion yen (about $1.26 billion), with NEC's DVD disk drive business worth about 70 billion yen (about $589 million). Sony will hold a 55-percent stake vs. NEC's 45-percent. It's key that Sony holds the majority share in this venture. Link
Online DVD rentals seen surging
Published by Admin on 15.11.05 at 11/15/2005 11:56:00 AM.
he online DVD rental market is expected to capture a quarter of all video rental spending in the United States and one third in Europe by 2009 as consumers get used to the convenience of receiving Hollywood blockbusters in the mail.
Market research firm Screen Digest said on Tuesday that by the end of 2005, 6.3 million subscribers will have spent more than $1 billion (577 million pounds) renting DVDs over the Internet, with the market projected to triple to almost $3 billion in four years, despite the growing threat of video-on-demand services.
"Our cash-rich, time-poor society values convenience very highly, and is willing to pay for it," Screen Digest analyst Angus Wood said.
The U.S. online rental business is led by industry pioneer Netflix, while in Europe the diverse number of players has led to speculation of rampant consolidation.
Netflix is locked in an expensive battle for dominance of the U.S. market with struggling video rental company Blockbuster, which abandoned late fees at stores as part of its strategy to keep customers.
Netflix originally had plans to expand in Europe but has opted instead to focus on its domestic business for now. Video Island and LoveFilm are the top two online rental players in Britain, accounting for 40 percent of Europe's subscribers.
Online retailer Amazon.com has operations in Britain and Germany, but has yet to launch in the United States, while Blockbuster also has a UK presence in the online realm. Link
Market research firm Screen Digest said on Tuesday that by the end of 2005, 6.3 million subscribers will have spent more than $1 billion (577 million pounds) renting DVDs over the Internet, with the market projected to triple to almost $3 billion in four years, despite the growing threat of video-on-demand services.
"Our cash-rich, time-poor society values convenience very highly, and is willing to pay for it," Screen Digest analyst Angus Wood said.
The U.S. online rental business is led by industry pioneer Netflix, while in Europe the diverse number of players has led to speculation of rampant consolidation.
Netflix is locked in an expensive battle for dominance of the U.S. market with struggling video rental company Blockbuster, which abandoned late fees at stores as part of its strategy to keep customers.
Netflix originally had plans to expand in Europe but has opted instead to focus on its domestic business for now. Video Island and LoveFilm are the top two online rental players in Britain, accounting for 40 percent of Europe's subscribers.
Online retailer Amazon.com has operations in Britain and Germany, but has yet to launch in the United States, while Blockbuster also has a UK presence in the online realm. Link
Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD Front
Published by Admin on at 11/15/2005 09:29:00 AM.
Content is king. This long-held observation has often been cited by those who believe content availability could tip the scales in a format war. The most recent spate of content-related announcements from backers of Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD--the formats competing for the throne currently occupied by DVD--appear to shift the balance between the two camps--at least, for the moment.
Warner Joins Team Blu-ray
The availability of content is a critical factor in determining which of the formats in this protracted war has the best chance of survival. Assuming equal pricing and availability of hardware, if more content is available for one format over the other, the format with the larger selection of content will have the edge. Likewise, the format most likely to prevail is the one that requires us as consumers to sacrifice as little as possible; for example, the format that lets us have all of our favorite films, regardless of which studio distributes them.
With Warner's mid-October proclamation that it would join the Blu-ray Disc Association, Blu-ray gained an edge over HD-DVD. Warner says it will release both current and catalog content in the Blu-ray format as well as the HD-DVD format, if both go to market. Link
Warner Joins Team Blu-ray
The availability of content is a critical factor in determining which of the formats in this protracted war has the best chance of survival. Assuming equal pricing and availability of hardware, if more content is available for one format over the other, the format with the larger selection of content will have the edge. Likewise, the format most likely to prevail is the one that requires us as consumers to sacrifice as little as possible; for example, the format that lets us have all of our favorite films, regardless of which studio distributes them.
With Warner's mid-October proclamation that it would join the Blu-ray Disc Association, Blu-ray gained an edge over HD-DVD. Warner says it will release both current and catalog content in the Blu-ray format as well as the HD-DVD format, if both go to market. Link
KISS Technologies DP-558 DVD Player
Published by Admin on 10.11.05 at 11/10/2005 10:51:00 AM.
KISS, having been bought out by Linksys owner Cisco, is starting to introduce more network friendly devices. It’s latest offering – the DP-558 starts to blur the lines between PVR, DVD and media bridge, but can the network company simply buy its way into the market? We take a closer look.
This personal video recorder combines an 80GB hard disc drive with a DVD-R drive. On closer inspection – the Kiss 558 is a mish-mash of technologies from a range of companies. Under the bonnet and you’ll find that the HDD hardware comes from Samsung and the DVD unit from Toshiba. Even the remote is made by someone else and luckily for Kiss its chosen the design house of Bang & Olufsen for this one. Link
This personal video recorder combines an 80GB hard disc drive with a DVD-R drive. On closer inspection – the Kiss 558 is a mish-mash of technologies from a range of companies. Under the bonnet and you’ll find that the HDD hardware comes from Samsung and the DVD unit from Toshiba. Even the remote is made by someone else and luckily for Kiss its chosen the design house of Bang & Olufsen for this one. Link
HP Updates LightScribe DVD Writers
Published by Admin on 9.11.05 at 11/09/2005 06:02:00 PM.
HP has today introduced its latest DVD burners into the market, now with Super Multi support. In addition, besides the usual DVD±R(W) (double layer) media, these drives are also compatible with DVD-RAM format.
The dvd840i and dvd840e Super Multi DVD writers are high-speed internal/external drives with DVD-R/RW, CD-R/-RW and DVD-RAM read/write capability. The drives read and write single-layer and double-layer DVDs, as well as supporting LightScribe, including media version 1.2 for high-contrast labelling.
Both dvd840 drives allow you to store, edit and share up to 8.5GB of video, photos, multimedia and other data files with a double-layer DVD (up to 4.7GB on single layer) and quickly backup and transport files on DVDs and CDs. The 840-series drives record single-layer DVDs at up to 16x, double-layer DVDs at up to 8x, and DVD-RAM at up to 5x.
Link
The dvd840i and dvd840e Super Multi DVD writers are high-speed internal/external drives with DVD-R/RW, CD-R/-RW and DVD-RAM read/write capability. The drives read and write single-layer and double-layer DVDs, as well as supporting LightScribe, including media version 1.2 for high-contrast labelling.
Both dvd840 drives allow you to store, edit and share up to 8.5GB of video, photos, multimedia and other data files with a double-layer DVD (up to 4.7GB on single layer) and quickly backup and transport files on DVDs and CDs. The 840-series drives record single-layer DVDs at up to 16x, double-layer DVDs at up to 8x, and DVD-RAM at up to 5x.
Link
New DVD watermark
Published by Admin on 3.11.05 at 11/03/2005 07:57:00 AM.
Hollywood has unveiled a powerful new technology which it hopes will help kill the pirating of movies. The system relies on sound – not vision – and was unveiled at a conference held by the international DVD Forum in Paris, France last week.
The opportunity for a novel copyright protection system arose because the Forum is now finalising the standards for the new High Definition DVD system that goes on sale early in 2006. The details of the system were explained by Alan Bell, executive vice-president of advanced technology with Warner Brothers in California, US.
All HD-DVD players will have a sensor that looks for inaudible watermarks in the soundtrack of movies. The watermarks will be included in the soundtracks of all major movies released to cinemas.
If a DVD player detects the telltale code, the disc must be an illegal copy made by copying a film print to video, or pointing a camcorder and microphone at a cinema screen. So the player refuses to play the disc. Link
The opportunity for a novel copyright protection system arose because the Forum is now finalising the standards for the new High Definition DVD system that goes on sale early in 2006. The details of the system were explained by Alan Bell, executive vice-president of advanced technology with Warner Brothers in California, US.
All HD-DVD players will have a sensor that looks for inaudible watermarks in the soundtrack of movies. The watermarks will be included in the soundtracks of all major movies released to cinemas.
If a DVD player detects the telltale code, the disc must be an illegal copy made by copying a film print to video, or pointing a camcorder and microphone at a cinema screen. So the player refuses to play the disc. Link
HD DVD Bets On Chinese Support
Published by Admin on 2.11.05 at 11/02/2005 10:56:00 PM.
It is true that by making the HD DVD technology available to the Chinese makers, Toshiba might get cheaper HD DVD players in the stores months ahead of rival Blu-Ray, backed by Sony. This was confrmed some years ago when the red laser DVD became a mass market item in the United States after low-priced models arrived from China and filled big-box retailers.
However, leaving the Chinese makers to drive down prices could be risky, since the Chinese machines could undersell Toshiba's players. In addition, the transistion of Toshiba technologies into cheap commodities could lead to difficulties in collecting licensing and royalty fees from Chinese makers, as it has happened in the past. Many Japanese manufacturers have waged legal battles against Asian rivals to recoup unpaid royalties and settle patent-infringement allegations.
Although the traditionall stance of Japanese manufacturers is not to share their technology with Chinese, Toshiba believes that it would be the key to success. "When a technology is established, it's wise to keep technology that will help you stand out from competitors", said Keisuke Ohmori, a Toshiba spokesman. "When you want to establish a new market, you need a different approach to gain sales volume."
Link
However, leaving the Chinese makers to drive down prices could be risky, since the Chinese machines could undersell Toshiba's players. In addition, the transistion of Toshiba technologies into cheap commodities could lead to difficulties in collecting licensing and royalty fees from Chinese makers, as it has happened in the past. Many Japanese manufacturers have waged legal battles against Asian rivals to recoup unpaid royalties and settle patent-infringement allegations.
Although the traditionall stance of Japanese manufacturers is not to share their technology with Chinese, Toshiba believes that it would be the key to success. "When a technology is established, it's wise to keep technology that will help you stand out from competitors", said Keisuke Ohmori, a Toshiba spokesman. "When you want to establish a new market, you need a different approach to gain sales volume."
Link
MythTV
Published by Admin on at 11/02/2005 05:13:00 AM.
During my research I have found this site Myth, its basically a linux based system which has been designed and coded by a dedicated guy and the result is a free and looks good software which has many features.
Im going to look into it further and see if I can find other people using it and guage their thoughts on it and see if I could use it to make better use of an exsisting system.
Im going to look into it further and see if I can find other people using it and guage their thoughts on it and see if I could use it to make better use of an exsisting system.
Build your own PVR
Published by Admin on 1.11.05 at 11/01/2005 11:09:00 AM.
I am still looking into options for building my own system. I have looked at media centers and using an exsisiting system. Media players are nice but new systems are out of the question as they are pricey. I could use a exsisitng PC and either use or upgrade the system with a tv tuner and larger hard drive.
Budget wise I wouldnt like to spend more than I have to, as for say £300 I could have a seperate system and a recorder.
Budget wise I wouldnt like to spend more than I have to, as for say £300 I could have a seperate system and a recorder.