CSI helped defined HD in its early years and now it will finally be available on Blu-ray. The show, along with ER, was one of the first primetime programs to showcase why the 16:9 format at a higher definition was so damn spectacular. I don’t even think CSI: Miami would still be on the air if it wasn’t for the HD eye candy compensating for the horrendous acting. Anyway, the show’s first season should hit shelves on May 12 for a yet to be announced price. Now, lets see some more HD shows hit the Blu-ray format starting with BSG, The Office, and ER. → Read More
Oh boy. After 12 seasons stuck in standard definition, South Park will finally be shown in glorious high-def. The new season starts on March 11th and is a long time coming. The season 13 premier hopefully sets a standard that the likes The Simpsons and Family Guy must follow. I mean, come on. It’s 2009 and those cartoons are some of the last prime time shows stuck in the past. Some would argue that cartoons in HD makes no sense, but to them (mainly Doug) I say ‘Are you dumb?’ → Read More
Sound & Vision has a list of what they feel are the top high definition shows this fall. CSI: Miami Pushing Daisies The Mentalist Heros True Blood The Office Dexter While I don’t disagree with first two, Dexter (best show on TV, btw) and True Blood should be higher on the list. Plus SNL, Stargate: Atlantis, and ER all better looking than The Office. Great show, but there are better eye candy shows out there. Any others? → Read More
I’ll be honest. I’ve never met anyone in real life who subscribes to DISH Network, but I’m fairly convinced that the company does exist and probably turns a profit. If you happen to be a DISH subscriber and you have one of the HD packages, then you, my friend, are in for what appears to be some sort of treat. Tomorrow, DISH will start rolling out a big, fat update to all of its MPEG-4 HD DVR boxes. The update will allow the boxes to display high definition content in glorious 1080p resolution. Says DISH, “By early August, all DISH Network customers with MPEG-4 HD DVR receivers will have the only set-top boxes in the nation enabled to display 1080p content, allowing them to maximize the full potential of their 1080p-compatible HDTV sets.” So if you’re really into HD, this might get you a little boner-y. The update is set to dovetail with DISH’s TurboHD service, which is an “all-HD suite of programming packages” and the recent launch of the company’s Echo XI satellite. DISH currently offers 114 national HD channels and plans to have 150 by year’s end. → Read More
Samsung adds some over-the-air HD goodness to its line of LCD monitors with the 22-inch T220HD, 24-inch T240HD, and 26-inch T260HD, priced at $429, $549, and $599, respectively. All three models feature an integrated ATSC/ClearQAM tuner for watching over-the-air TV channels. The 24- and 26-inch versions each feature two HDMI inputs while the 22-inch model features just one. Contrast ratio for all three is 10,000:1 and the resolution is 1680×1050 on the small one and 1920×1200 on the two larger ones. [via Electronista] → Read More
Good morning and happy Monday to everyone. My name is Doug and I’m here to tell you about three new hard drive-based camcorders coming from JVC. It’ll be fun! Okay, so we’ve got the Everio GZ-HD10, the Everio GZ-HD30, and the Everio GZ-HD40. All three of them do high definition, while the HD30 and HD40 can do dual-mode recording – either MPEG-2 format or AVCHD format. The GZ-HD10 just does AVCHD. If you’ve owned an Everio camcorder in the past, you’ll know that the MPEG-2 format is finicky at best, as its actually recorded as an .MOD file that can’t be opened by too many video editing programs without a little grunt work. I have an Everio and I use Sony Vegas to edit video, so I need to rename every file extension from .MOD to .MPG first and THEN re-encode them into actual MPEG-2 files (even though the MOD format is supposedly MPEG-2) before I can edit them. It’d be great to just drop the actual files into Vegas, which I’m guessing can be done with the AVCHD files, so these cameras are appealing in that sense. → Read More
There’s certainly no shortage of flash-based camcorders these days and the trend, happily, has been to improve the image quality of these inexpensive-yet-pocketable devices. I had the chance to try out a relatively affordable high definition camcorder recently; the $150 566V from DXG. → Read More
DXG (yes, that DXG) has announced the 569V series of flash-based high definition camcorders. I’m currently playing with the 566V, which is similar to the 569V except that it’s shaped more like a conventional camcorder. I’ll have a review up soon. Anyway, the 569V is now available at Radio Shack and other fine retailers for just under $170. It records 30-frames per second high definition video at 1280×720 resolution and has a nice-sized 3-inch LCD screen. Like most other DXG devices, it’s not just a camcorder. You can take photos, record voice memos, use it as a mass storage device, and more. Video clips are recorded in .MOV format (H.264) and there’s a 2X digital zoom which, if it’s anything like the 2X digital zoom on the 566V, is nothing to write home about. The camera comes with 32MB of storage, so you’ll need to pick up an SD card if you want to shoot anything of substantial length. It’s available in silver or black. → Read More
The wait is finally almost over. Sometime later this year, TiVo Series3 and TiVo HD owners have access to the wonderful world of YouTube, allowing them “to search, browse and watch these videos directly on their television sets through their broadband connected TiVo DVRs.” Dave Zatz finds it interesting that only Series3 and TiVo HD owners will be getting this feature, wondering if H.264 playback might also be on the way. Those of you who have ever watched a YouTube video on a high definition TV will likely agree that it” s not much to write home about. The possible inclusion of H.264 alongside the already-present MPEG-2 codec used by TiVo could, according to Zatz, make way for things like HD movies from Amazon’s Unbox service, HD video podcasts, and streaming HD content from your PC. TiVo to Provide YouTube Videos Directly to the Television [TiVo.com] via Zatz Not Funny → Read More
[photopress:twbb.jpg,full,right] There’s confusion surrounding the pending high-def release of There Will Be Blood. The movie, which will be released here in the U.S. by Paramount on HD DVD, was scheduled for an April 8 release. Then it disappeared from Paramount’s site. Axed? No. Hardly. Apparently Paramount was just restructuring its Web site to reflect a new March 4 release detail embargo. Basically, until March 4 you won’t hear a damn thing about its release. There Will Be Blood is one of the highest profile HD DVD releases due this Spring. (Others include Bee Movie, Sweeny Todd and Into the Wild.) So despite Toshiba’s throwing in the towel, certain studios here will support the format for a little while longer. Don’t trash your player just yet. Paramount Nixes ‘There Will Be Blood’ HD DVD? (UPDATED) [High Def Digest] → Read More
[photopress:popcorna100.jpg,full,center] Well, someone was impressed by Popcorn Hour, an inexpensive ($180) networked media streamer that handles pretty much every kid tested, pirate approved codec/container, save for Ogg—Xvid, H.264, MPEG2 and MKV are all playable out of the box. Three cheers for MKV support, since that’s the preferred container for high-def movie rips these days. She even decodes 1080p video, which is sorta rare for these devices. Point of fact, my iMac even has trouble decoding 1080p MKVs if I have anything other than VLC open. You won’t be hurting for outputs either, with component video and HDMI present. That should cover most of you. I should hope it covers most of you. On the surface it looks like a winner, one that can easily integrate into your AV setup. Beware of the bugs, however. One annoying one—the video signal drops out when switching between inputs. Certainly no deal-killer, but indicative of the lack of polish that many of these devices exhibit. Oh, and it supports BitTorrent. Install a hard drive and it’ll download torrents just like that. Top that, other devices. There’s one caveat you might appreciate. The A-100 is a pain in the ass to get a hold of. You have to sign up for some waiting list to get one. Sorry, not happening. If I didn’t already have my ghetto setup, I’d look into getting one, primarily because it supports the codecs and containers Apple won’t likely support on Apple TV. Product Page [Popcorn Hour via Boing Boing Gadgets] → Read More
[photopress:36050.jpg,full,center] Flickr’d Rumors point to a massive price drop for the Xbox 360′s HD DVD add-on. As a result of the format’s death, Microsoft will tell retailers to let the drive go for $50, a full $80 off the previous price. Why exactly you’d spend $50 on an outdated, dead technology I don’t know. You’re better off playing Mega Millions or going to the dog track. Actually, hold that thought. $50 isn’t bad if you already have an established HD DVD library and want to use the drive as a backup in case your main player drops dead. Right now. all the major retailers’ Web sites still show the $130 price tag. Maybe it’s slow coming. Mole report: Xbox 360 HD DVD drive for $49.99 [ars technica] → Read More
iPod Observer recently spoke with someone at Apple and was able to get a little more information about renting HD movies using the new Apple TV software. The basic gist is that HD movies can only be rented, not purchased. Standard definition movies can be purchased, but high-def movies can’t. The movies are streamed directly from Apple’s servers and displayed on your TV. Nothing is downloaded to the Apple TV’s hard drive or your computer, if you’ve got one connected. This is most likely to prevent piracy, according to the site. “It’s likely that these conditions were set by the studios to protect HD movies from ever residing digitally on the Apple customer’s Apple TV, being unlocked, and possibly pirated.” Apple Clarifies HD Movie Rental Operations [iPod Observer] → Read More
The very-nice people that work at CamcorderInfo.com down the street from me here in Boston got a first look at the new Canon HF10 high definition camcorder. I’ll let them do most of the talking but the basic pros include 16GB of flash memory, plus the ability to record on SDCH memory cards, full 1920×1080 resolution for true HD recording with a 17Mbps bitrate at 30P (it also does 60i and 24P). Cons include a proprietary shoe (you’ll have to buy all new accessories) and a mini HDMI port that renders your regular HDMI cables useless. Also, the camcorder seemed a little awkward to use (especially the zoom toggle). Canon HF10 First Impressions Camcorder Review [CamcorderInfo.com] → Read More
