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• Record-breaking 165,000 PS3s sold at UK launch

  New format becomes fastest-selling home console ever over its debut weekend.
  ChartTrack has confirmed that 165,000 PS3 units were sold during the console's launch weekend.
  
  The figure is three quarters of the total 220,000 UK launch stock for day one, and makes PS3 second only to PSP in the overall launch weekend sales stakes. The Sony handheld shifted 185,000 in its opening weekend back in September 2005.
  

  
  
  

  
  PS3’s record-breaking debut for a home console comfortably beats the previous top seller Nintendo Wii, which sold 105,000 after its frantic launch weekend in December last year. Fellow format rival Xbox 360 racked up an estimated 70,000 at launch in December 2005.
  
  The figure also means that Sony has not sold all of its opening weekend stock, something the platform holder claims is part of its overall strategy at retail.

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  Tuesday, March 27, 2007

• Blu-ray hopes to beat HD DVD within 3 years

  The Blu-ray disc association has said that it hopes to have won the format war within 3 years.
  
  "Within 3 years it will just be Blu-ray", Frank Simonis, the Blu-ray Disc Association's European chairman, said at the CeBIT technology trade show.
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  Wednesday, March 21, 2007

• Toshiba HD DVD player US price drop coming next month

  HD DVD is already considerably cheaper than its Blu-ray alternative, but Toshiba is looking to make it even more so with the rumour that its three HD DVD players are set to become even cheaper from next month.
  
  According to reports online, on 1 April, its will apparently cut the price of its three-machine line-up by up to $200.
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• First Total HD Combo Discs Could Be Ready by Early Summer

  Warner continued to promote its Total HD Blu-ray/HD DVD combo format at this week's IRMA Forum, indicating that initial limited-capacity discs could be ready for market as early as this June.
  
  Unveiled back in January at CES, Warner's Total HD format is the studio's proposed solution to the ongoing next-gen format war, offering a Blu-ray version on one side of the disc, and an HD DVD versionnon the other. The studio has said that the combo discs would be compatible with all Blu-ray and HD DVD players, and would retail for little more than current single-format releases.
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• Universal Announces Mega-Wave of HD DVD Catalog for June

  Universal Studios Home Entertainment will bring more than a dozen new catalog titles to HD DVD this June, top-lined by the hits 'Bruce Almighty,' 'Daylight' and 'Liar, Liar.'
  
  In the studio's biggest one-day announcement ever for HD DVD, they have unveiled a two-tier June attack comprised of a lucky thirteen new catalog faves.
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• HD DVD's Second Generation: Toshiba HD-XA2 Review

  It has certainly been an exciting, turbulent year in the world of home theater. Less than 12 months ago, Standard-Def DVD was the end-all in home video, but now we have two new High Definition disc formats vying for position as its next-generation successor. First out of the gate, Toshiba launched their HD DVD format in April of 2006 with two player models, the entry level HD-A1 ($499) and the high-end HD-XA1 ($799). Despite the price disparity, the two players were identical in playback function and quality, distinguished only by an RS232 port and motorized flip-down front panel on the more expensive model. Internally, they otherwise had the exact same electronics. Both produced outstanding video and audio when paired up with an impressive assortment of high-quality software from Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal, and later The Weinstein Company. However, as a first generation product, HD DVD came with one serious drawback: the stability and reliability of its hardware.
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• WarHawk on Blu-ray after all

  Last week we heard that WarHawk would be an online-only game, leading to speculation that the game would be offered for download via Sony's PlayStation Store.
  Advertisement
  
  Not so, says the American arm of SCE. "Officially, WarHawk will be released as a Blu-ray-based product. It will see release in late summer," the company told IGN.
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• Sharp develops 6x HD DVD and Blu-ray laser burner

  Sharp has developed a blue-violet laser able to burn double-sided, dual layer HD DVD and Blu-ray discs at 6x speed. With 210mW of output power, it is reportedly the world's most powerful laser.
  
  Sharp has also said that by 2008, they'll have developed 8x speed burning, with 10x by 2009.
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• Warner set June date for production of first single-layer Total HD discs

  Warner Brothers' continue to push forward with their Total HD hybrid discs. We first reported on them at this year's CES, and now WB say that the initial limited-capacity discs could be ready for market as early as June.
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• Blu-ray Disc Association launch 'BD Light' license for independent content producers

  In recognition of the many smaller independent labels producing content, who don't have the budget or sales volumes of the major Hollywood studios, the Blu-ray Disc Association has introduced the 'BD Light' license agreement, which reduces the fee from $3000 to $500.
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• HD DVD vs Blu-ray: more victory cries

  Another round of victory cries emanates from the various film studios, proclaiming that either HD DVD or Blu-ray is about to be defeated.
  
  20th Century Fox's Steve Feldstein believes that, "The format war is in its final phase." 20CF are a Blu-ray only operation.
  
  Universal's Ken Graffeo counters that you can't determine a trend over a couple of months, and Blu-ray's lead is only caused by more titles being available at present.
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• Blu-ray DRM defeated

  The copy protection technology used by Blu-ray discs has been cracked by the same hacker who broke the DRM technology of rival HD DVD discs last month. The coder known as muslix64 used much the same plain text attack in both cases. By reading a key held in memory by a player playing a HD DVD disc he was able to decrypt the movie been played and render it as an MPEG 2 file.
  
  The latest Blu-ray hack was performed by muslix64 using a media file provided by Janvitos, through the video resource site Doom9, and applied to a Blu-ray copy of the movie Lord of War. In this case, muslix64 didn't even need access to a Blu-ray player to nobble the DRM protection included on the title.
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• HD or Blu-Ray movies, Warner doesn't matter

  Ladies and gentlemen gamers... there have been a lot of discussions about with next-generation DVD disc would be superior and which format "will win". Because both PS and Xbox360 (as accessory) have entry-level DVD players of the next generation, we feel it's our duty to inform you about this:
  
  The Warner brothers make it easy for everyone! They will release their movies on both formats. Simple as that, no everlasting wars, fights, friends who all of a sudden start hating each other or family dramas... Everybody will be able to make his or her own choice!
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• Paramount Catalog Classics 'Untouchables,' 'Warriors' to Hit Blu-ray, HD DVD

  Paramount Home Entertainment will add two cult favorites to their growing HD DVD and Blu-ray libraries this summer, with the release of 'The Untouchables' and 'The Warriors.'
  
  Both titles have long been favorites on DVD, and will finally be making their next-gen debuts on July 3.
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• Toshiba goes below $400 in retail for HD-DVD

  According to several retailers Toshiba will lower their Suggested Retail Prices on all of their HD-DVD players.
  
  New prices from April 1st are:
  
  Toshiba HD-DVD A2: $399 (Before: $499)
  Toshiba HD-DVD A20: $499 (Before: $599)
  Toshiba HD-DVD XA2: $799 (Already effective) (Before: $999)
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• Sony Announces Cheaper Blu-ray Player

  Sony today announced that it is bringing out a cheaper Blu-ray player early this summer, a crucial step in its battle to make the high-definition format the replacement for DVDs.
  
  The BDP-S300 will cost $599, yet will have the same capabilities as the $999 BDP-S1 Sony is currently selling, said Randy Waynick, senior vice president of the home products division of Sony Electronics.
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• Freedom Writers, Hustle & Flow, The Untouchables and The Warriors Coming to Blu-ray

  Paramount has just revealed four new titles that are coming to Blu-ray this summer.
  
  The first title on the way is Freedom Writers, which will be released on May 22, 2007. In it Hilary Swank plays Erin Gruwell, the real-life teacher at Long Beach’s Wilson High who inspired her students to overcome the gangs that divided them and the education system that forgot them. Based on the book The Freedom Writers Diary and supported by a cast of first-time actors who drew from their actual experiences on the street, Gruwell teaches us all an important lesson about tolerance and trust.
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• Toshiba HD-EP10 HD DVD Player Coming in Europe

  Toshiba announced at CeBIT a new HD DVD player for the European market, the HD-EP10. The mid-range model features 1080p output.
  
  The new player, priced at 699 Euros, will be available in May 2007.
  
  The HD-EP10 supports upscaling of video at 1080p and comes with an HDMI output. The supported audio formats include DTS-HD, Dolby NR TureHD (5.1ch) in addition to the Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus and linear PCM 5.1ch. Other outputs include component, S-Video, composite, 2ch analogue audio and an optical digital out. Unlike the top-end HD-XE1 model, there are no analogue 5.1 audio-out connections.
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• New Blu-Ray, HD DVD Drives and 20X DVD Burners at CeBIT

  Optiarc, Toshiba and Samsung showcased their upcoming products in the optical storage segment at CeBIT in Germany.
  
  Sony NEC optiarc
  
  The joint venture between Sony and NEC showcased the upcoming 20X DVD burners, as well as slim-type Blu-Ray drives for notebooks.
  
  The AD-7191A is an ATAPI Super-multi DVD burner capable of writing on DVD recordable media (DVD±R) at 20X, DVD-RAM at 12X, DVD±R DL/+RW at 8X and DVD-RW at 6X. The drive is expected in the market next month.
  
  The company also exhibited a serial-ATA, version of the AD-7173A, available under the code-name AD-7173S. The Labelflash direct disc labeling technology is supported by this model.
  
  In addition, Optiarc's new AD-7633A and AD-7960A 8x Super-multi DVD burners for notebooks were available at the company's booth. Both drives feature a slot-in loading tray.
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• HD-DVD Goes Portable thanks to HP HD100

  The sexy looking HD100 from HP is the first protable HD-DVD ROm we've seen that looks like a fully commercialised product. On the back of their on-going success with portable optical drives HP have prodcued this stylish looking high definition DVD player that will enhance the operation of suitably specced PC's. At around £400 UKP RRP (Mid March 2007) the unit comes with a hefty price tag.
  

  
  
  

  
  If you want to buy one of these choice HD-DVD Rom HP HD100 devices then we recommend CD-writer.com who have got them available for special order. Buy HP HD100.

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  Tuesday, March 13, 2007

• HD-DVD and Blu-Ray Movie Release Dates

  Thanks to our new HD movie release dates pages you can keep up to date with all the current and new releases and mae pre-orders for forthcoming title. See our Blu-Ray Movie and HD-DVD Movie pages.
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  Sunday, March 04, 2007

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Previous Posts

 

The Predicted Death of HD DVD
Tuesday, July 17, 2007

New Euro PS3 bundle
Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Firmware Updates for BD Players, Drives and Record...
Thursday, July 12, 2007

World's First 4x Write-Once Blu-ray Discs by Panas...
Thursday, July 12, 2007

Third Generation Blu-Ray Players
Thursday, July 12, 2007

Equal promotion for Blu-Ray and HD DVD
Monday, July 09, 2007

First Blu-Ray Player Announced by Sharp
Monday, July 09, 2007

Blu-Ray and HD DVD War
Friday, July 06, 2007

Optical Disc Burning
Friday, July 06, 2007

Blu Ray Technology
Friday, July 06, 2007

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