dvd

I think of this as a marriage between two of the most hated concepts in technology.

NXP Semiconductors and Kestrel Wireless next week will show off a solution that lets DVD makers embed RFID tags into their products. The RFID tag will disable the disc until the point of sale. Thus, if the DVD is stolen out of a warehouse or shoplifted from a store, it won't work. Granted, hacks will emerge, but it makes theft more difficult and it certainly increases the risk that you'll get your one dollar's worth when you buy pirated movies in … Read more

To ensure that the kids don't miss too much screen time during this year's summer road-trip season, Disney is about to launch its dual-screen mobile DVD system. The system features two screens with a choice of Disney-inspired faceplate designs (including Pirates of the Caribbean and Tinker Bell) that strap onto the back of the front-seat headrests.

The screens come with built-in speakers and (mercifully) headphones, as well as a 12-volt power adapter for plugging into the car for powering. There's even a subscription-based option to filter out bad language from the programs that the kids are watching. … Read more

Digg.com users, very upset at the news aggregate site for deleting articles containing an encryption key that could be used to crack the digital rights management on HD DVDs, have inundated the site with thousands of recommendations to pages that contain the code. The protest was apparently heard by Digg administrators, who later reversed the ban.

On Tuesday night, the "All topics" category contained several pages of the most popular articles recommended by Digg readers populated only by links to sites that contained the code, as well as messages deriding the Motion Picture Association of America, a … Read more

Digg exploded into riot on Tuesday.

A story was posted that contained the hexadecimal decryption key that allows Linux users to decode and play HD DVDs. The Digg staff received a request from the Advanced Access Content System License Administrator to remove the story, interpreting the request as following the law and as falling under Digg's preexisting terms of use that prohibit the posting of infringing content. Jay Adelson explained this in his blog post at 1 p.m. on May 1.

The Digg user community was not to be silenced, and found a way to route around this … Read more

Because Crave leads such an active social life (read: we can't stop playing World of Warcraft), we're very rarely around to watch TV. This means Freeview hard-drive recorders are absolutely invaluable. One of our faves was the excellent Panasonic DMR-EX75, so we're overjoyed to see an upgrade: the DMR-EX77, which allows digital recording to either DVD or its built-in 160GB hard drive.

The EX77 also has a built-in Freeview receiver, so there's no messing around with those pesky Scart leads to plug in your Freeview receiver and suffering a loss in quality as everything is converted … Read more

Our Xbox 360 Elite review sample showed up late yesterday afternoon, and we're working up a full review. But that's gonna be a 3,500-word monster intended more for casual gamers and tech newbies who don't know a thumbstick from a joystick or a shoulder button from a trigger. For those in the know, here's the crib sheet on the Elite.

Cosmetics: The Xbox 360 Elite has a matte-black finish. I strongly prefer it to the "iPod white" color scheme of past Xbox 360 models. The included wireless controller and Xbox Live headset are … Read more

For the past 12 to 18 months, astute readers may have noticed an increased bit of hedging in our reviews for AV receivers. Yes, even low-end receivers offer more features and flexibility than $1,500 models did just three or four years ago and yes, there are plenty of great-sounding receivers available out there at great prices. But smart shoppers looking for a no-compromise, future-proof AV receiver have been stymied, even if they've been willing to pay upwards of $2,000.

At least, that was the case--until today. Onkyo has become the first mainstream manufacturer to officially announce an array of home audio products that offer the two big features that have been MIA on home audio products to date: HDMI 1.3; and onboard decoding of Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks found on HD DVD and Blu-ray discs. The news itself wasn't a surprise, as most of the details had been leaked on the Web earlier this month. And there is no doubt that other manufacturers will be announcing similarly equipped receivers in the next few weeks and months. But because specs, pricing, and availability have been confirmed, we can now say authoritatively that Onkyo looks to be offering some of the most exciting--and surprisingly affordable--A/V receivers seen in recent years.… Read more

It's not clear to us why someone would need a boombox with a built-in LCD to watch DVDs, but we want one anyway (naturally). Part of the reason is the sleek black design of this media mini-center from Germany's Yamada.

The colorfully named HTV-200XU also comes with a TV tuner, FM radio and a burner to rip CDs as well as DVDs, for 220 euros (about $300). Coolest-Gadgets says it can also connect to the TV, though we're not sure why you'd want an LCD boombox for that.

The screen is only 7 inches, but that'… Read more

Just got an e-mail from the PR firm representing HD DVD, and the North American HD DVD Promotional Group has announced that "sales of dedicated HD DVD consumer electronics players reached more than 100K units sold in the United States, ahead of any other high definition format." I'm not sure why, but that figure doesn't include sales of HD DVD PC drives or the Xbox 360 HD DVD player, which the group says, "are also selling strongly."

I presume that Team HD DVD may not want to compare total HD DVD hardware sales to … Read more