dvd

We looked at the MP80D's little brother, the MP70D, a few months back, and this beast is similar--but with a larger screen (8 inches to the MP70D's measly 7). It's a decent little DVD player--it does that job really quite well. Sharp picture, actually in sync with the sound, all the options you'd expect, and it's all very easy to use.

The problems arise when you try to use the integrated Freeview TV. Standing on the top floor of our new office, waving the flimsy aerial around like a glow-stick in a nightclub had Crave … Read more

And then there were two.

Samsung will join its archrival LG in releasing a combo HD disc player later this year. According to a brief press release, the Korean consumer electronics giant will introduce the BD-UP5000 "Duo HD" player this year. The release also specified that the player will "fully support both HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats and their interactive technologies, HDi and BD-Java." No pricing or additional feature details on the Samsung BD-UP5000 were made available.

The official announcement of the BD-UP5000 confirms rumors that have been percolating for months. Most recently, Home Theater Blog … Read more

We kind of really love pirates around these parts, but there are limits to everything. Take this 14-inch TV, for example, manufactured for Disney by Japanese electronics company Runat. It's got a skull and crossbones on top, a pirate-worthy set of buttons, and some additional swashbuckling decor, but I personally find it rather lame. It's possible to integrate pirate imagery into household gadgets in far more effective ways.

Besides, the makers of this TV should really get with the program. If you're going to make a Pirates of the Caribbean TV-DVD player, it had better at least … Read more

Earlier today, we noticed a small item that was little bit buried on Engadget HD. The post referred to a report from Hi-Def Digest that said that Universal Studios Home Entertainment was "lessening its support for the controversial HD DVD/DVD combo format," and had "reconfigured the planned April combo releases of The Jerk and The Nutty Professor to be HD DVD-only." The article went on to say that the "latest move by the Universal comes on the heels of news late last week that the studio is discontinuing two of its most popular combo … Read more

The rumors were true: an upgraded Xbox 360 will be hitting stores later this spring. As reported at Gamespot, the Xbox 360 Elite will feature a black finish, a 120GB hard drive, and an HDMI output. The new unit will be available in North America on April 29 at a cost of $479. The Xbox 360 Elite will include a wireless controller, a wired Xbox Live headset (both in matching black), along with all manner of relevant cables: HDMI, Ethernet, and the combination composite/component A/V cable for connecting to standard and high-def TVs that lack an HDMI jack. … Read more

iLetYou is a new rental marketplace for DVDs and video games. If you want to rent a disc but don't want to sign up for a membership service like Netflix or Blockbuster, it's a good option. Most rentals are $2 or $3 for a week, with no recurring fee. It's also likely to be more reliable than a user-to-user swapping service like PeerFlix (which I use and like, although I've learned not rely on it).

The service also looks like a good bet for mom-and-pop video stores that want to put their rental inventories online. Many … Read more

Ah, the art of blogging. Today, AOL's Engadget reported that according to some alleged retail insiders who frequent the AVS Forum message boards, the much-rumored price drop on HD DVD players is about to become a reality. According to said blogger, on April 1 the HD-A2 will be repriced at $399 MSRP (down from $499) and the $799 HD-XA2 will also shed $100. That all may be true, but the fact is a quick check over at Amazon would reveal that the price cuts are already in effect. The HD-A2 is $356.99 and the HD-XA2 is sitting at … Read more

With so many iPod accessories geared toward fitness activities, we appreciate that someone is catering to our lifestyle as well--in the kitchen. The DCD 778 "Docking Entertainment System" from Philips is a compact multimedia system designed to mount under a cabinet alongside the microwave and other appliances.

Kitchen systems are nothing new, but this one packs in a lot more than the usual combo. iLounge says this all-in-one package has a TV with an 8.5-inch wide LCD and can play DVDs, CDs and AM/FM radio and, of course, iPod tunes with two 2-inch speakers. And even … Read more

The Blu-ray Disc Association in Europe is making some big claims.

"Within three years it will just be Blu-ray," Frank Simonis, the group's European chairman, said Thursday at the CeBit tech show in Hannover, Germany.

While it's impossible to know how the next-gen DVD battle will turn out--we don't all have access to Simonis' crystal ball--Blu-ray does have a bit of a head start over rival format HD DVD with Sony's PlayStation 3.

That's because there's a Blu-ray player in every PS3, 1.84 million of which were sold in Japan and … Read more