In the sheer hopes that The Dude does, in fact, abide, Universal Studios will be releasing a 10th anniversary edition of The Big Lebowski. You can pre-order it from Amazon.com for a measly $24 if you want to get a head start. The two-disc set comes packed inside a bowling ball — a bowling ball! – and is “loaded with all-new bonus features that will take you beyond the movie!” The Big Lebowski – 10th Anniversary Limited Edition [Amazon.com] → Read More
Toshiba may be out of the high definition disc war altogether (not that many people are participating anyway), but it knows there’s plenty of life left in plain ol’ DVD. To that end the company has been showing off its $150 XD-E500, an upconverting DVD player that’s supposed to, I don’t know, beat the pants off other upconverting players. The AP uses the phrase “subtle but noticeable” to describe how the XD-E500 looks in comparison to another, unnamed upconverting player. “Subtle but noticeable” isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement, it must be said. Frankly, they sound like weasel words. And who exactly is Toshiba going after here? They’re charging a premium—the XD-E500 is about twice as expensive as other upconverting DVD players—for an old technology. People who’d want to spend extra money on their home entertainment might as well go for Blu-ray. Like, who is investing in a DVD system in 2008? → Read More
Even after HD DVD’s demise, Blu-ray still isn’t catching on, the PS3 excepted. Maybe the real format war was between DVD and Blu-ray all along? A recent survey, carried out by ABI Research, found that more than half the respondents have no intention of buying a Blu-ray player. About a quarter said they had plans to buy one, but not till next year. And why are consumers so reluctant to make the Blu-ray jump? Surprise, for many people, plain ol’ DVD is good enough. Again, DVD is good enough. 1080p and BD Live be damned, apparently. As it stands, the PS3 is one of the only bright spots in the Blu-ray arena right now, insofar as it’ll help drive down manufacturing costs of Blu-ray players. Maybe Blu-ray is too beautiful for this world? → Read More
If the MPAA had its way, your DVR would be nothing more than a hunk of useless metal and plastic, unable to record and pause live television. Steps are being taken to ensure that it gets its way. The fun-loving association is pushing hard for a technology called selectable output control, or SOC, which allows content providers—movie studios and the like—to prevent material from being recorded. It does this by blocking the so-called analog hole, making it impossible for you to, say, plug in standard 3.5mm audio jack and record sound to your computer. I know that sounds evil and all that, but the idea behind this isn’t exactly unreasonable. Movie studios want to be able to let cable companies get an earlier crack at showing movies on-demand (for example), but are worried that folks will simply exploit the analog hole and record the movie long before the studio ever releases the DVD or Blu-ray version. If consumers could copy and record movies long before their DVD date, why should the movie studios even bother to produce a DVD? Now, that’s completely not my problem, how the movie studios make money, but at least there’s a proper reason for their policy this time around. Note that the FCC has so far said no to SOC, so there’s still some legs in this story. → Read More
Now you’ve gone and done it. “It” being, maybe, freaking out the entertainment industry by not buying as many DVDs as you used to. (That, incidentally, sorta gibes with a study that come out today.) One of them there Lehman Brothers analysts downgraded numerous industry stocks yesterday because he doesn’t like how people are now downloading movies more and more often. Studios don’t make as much money of, say, iTunes downloads as they do when you swing by Wal-Mart or Best Buy and buy the physical DVD or Blu-ray. But, doesn’t digital distribution cost a lot less than shipping discs all over the world? I have no numbers to back that up, but having a movie on iTunes seems like it should cost less, bandwidth and all that included, than the alternative. Basically, as consumers discover the numerous ways to download movies, both legally and illegally, the studios will be forced to move away from relying on disc sales to make money. Yes, just like the music industry had to do. That said, there’s still something about buying a disc and plopping it in your player, then sitting back and watching a movie. Not for me, I’ll download all day long, but the guy who works all day then just wants to see a movie before going to bed without having to fiddle with his computer. → Read More
Sometimes I like to take a break from the cutthroat world of technology reporting to immerse myself in the moving and imaginative stories of a group of men and women from a simpler time of cutthroat…well…throat cutting, as it turns out. I’ve you’ve never seen HBO’s Deadwood and you happen to be looking for a way to spend ninety bucks, you wouldn’t be disappointed to own the entire series. It only lasted three seasons but a lot of great shows only lasted three seasons; Deadwood, Arrested Development, and Family Guy, for instance. They brought Family Guy back eventually, though, and I hear it’s doing quite well. Anyway, my point is that Deadwood was a great show and going outside during the summer is highly overrated. Enjoy! Deadwood: The Complete Seasons 1-3 [Amazon.com] → Read More
Japan thinks that a video of a couple of women are looking you in the eye for 96 minutes will make you more confident. That’s the content of a DVD [JP] which has been released by Japanese entertainment powerhouse Avex a couple of days ago. The girl in the video is just one of 50 women of different ages and nationalities. So what is this about? The DVD is aimed at curing shyness, especially in Japanese men who are too afraid to talk to women. By looking at the girls on video, viewers are supposedly able to reduce the level of nervousness the next time they encounter females in real life. → Read More
I have an upconverting DVD player that I love. I can watch my SD copy of Transformers at 720p on my Olevia HDTV. While it looks great, it’s still not true HD, it’s interpolated. But that’s not stopping Toshiba from embracing the technology, and doing so in spite of the victory against it in the next-gen format war by Sony’s Blu-ray. It’s not saying that it won’t ever break down and create Blu-ray players, but it’s notable that Toshiba would rather upgrade ten-year-old technology than embrace the new hotness. We’re hoping Toshiba swallows its pride and changes its mind. We love Toshi products and would love a Toshiba Blu-ray player for our system, but we’re not going to hold our breath. → Read More
Blu-ray isn’t dead yet. Sales of Blu-ray players in Japan topped sales of regular DVD players for the first time last month, an indication that consumers are finally warming up to the high-def format. Spun a different way, sales of Blu-ray alone in April were three times the amount of both Blu-ray and HD DVD combined in January. Reasons for the sudden uptick in sales include people finally coming to terms with the end of the high-def format war to HDTVs no longer being seen as a luxury, but merely the type of TV that one buys now. Sales are expected to rise even further as manufacturers slash prices in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics. I’ll get by with rips, thanks. → Read More
Yeah, that rumor saying you’d be able to buy certain movies from iTunes the same day as their DVD release was true. Real recognize real. New releases will set you back $14.99, or 1/1000th of a Euro, for a download, while a 24-hour rental costs $3.99. PS, lol @ Bayern Munich. PPS, keep the Blue Flag flyin’ high. Thank you. → Read More
Remember DIVX? Not DivX the codec, but DIVX as in Digital Video Express — from Circuit City — the ill-fated self-destructing DVD system from lo those many years ago. A similar idea just might be able to succeed where DIVX failed. Or not, who knows? Anyway, whereas DIVX relied on special DVD players that could play DIVX discs (and also regular DVDs), a new disposable DVD coming from a German company called DVD-D will supposedly work in any DVD player, will cost €3.99 ($6.44 US) and will expire in 48 hours. According to the Register… DVD-D Germany Ltd’s ‘Einmal’ (German for ‘once’) – discs incorporate a self-destruct chemical coating to render them unreadable after a pre-set time. The process begins as soon as the discs are removed from vacuum-sealed packaging. After 48 hours (or longer, depending on the price) the DVD gives a ‘No disc’ error when put into a DVD player or PC. There appears to be no DRM (digital rights management), so you couldcopy the disks, if you’re quick enough. The DVD-D discs are available in Germany currently and may or may not make it stateside. I’m guessing probably not, with all the On-Demand and Apple TV stuff. Would any of you red-blooded Americans do this? Let’s assume that they’d cost $4 apiece here, not $6.44. Let’s just forget the whole weak dollar thing never happened. → Read More
This just in: HD DVD is in trouble, much to the chagrin of our own intrepid HD DVD-lover Devin Coldewey. According to a Reuters report, Netflix said that it’ll be offering Blu-ray DVDs exclusively. It’s been divvying up both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs but will stop purchasing HD DVD movies today and phase out its inventory by the end of the year. Netflix says chooses Blu-ray format over HD DVD [Reuters] → Read More
[photopress:hddvdwins.jpg,full,center] Welcome to the Unreasonable Stance, where our own Devin takes the minority opinion on a tech matter and defends it with convenient data, spun numbers, fanboyism, and insults until he proves, without a doubt, that those that disagree with him are filthy mouth-breathers. You’re probably thinking I’m crazy. Well, maybe I am. But that’s just because I have crazy love for HD DVD and have faith that it will end up on top of this little format scuffle. The “coup” by Blu-Ray has inspired some interesting, if misguided satire (Godwin alert), and convinced the easily swayed masses of critics that yes, it’s over. But it’s far from over — and this was only a glancing blow. HD DVD will bounce back for the knockout punch. → Read More
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