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Developments in the Blu-ray/HD DVD format war kicked into high gear in the past couple of months. November and December saw the bulk of the long-delayed HD product lines finally hitting store shelves: Blu-ray players from Sony, Panasonic, and Philips; the PlayStation 3; the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on; and the second-generation Toshiba HD DVD players. In the new year, both camps came out swinging at CES 2007. With so much news to process, we've taken the opportunity to collect all the major developments into one easily digestible chunk.
Enter the combo player: LG officially unveiled the BH100, the first device to play both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs. Despite the caveats--it's $1,200, and the HD DVD functionality lacks that format's HDi interactivity features--this breakthrough player is the first model that's essentially future-proof. High-definition cinephiles will be able to buy movies on either format without fear of backing the wrong horse. The best news? The BH100 is already on store shelves.
...and the combo discs: LG offered hardware détente, while Warner took the software angle. Warner's new Total HD format (THD) puts an HD DVD and a Blu-ray version of the same movie on a single disc, which Warner pledges will sell for the same price as its single-format counterpart. Like the LG, it's a great hedge against the uncertain HD future.
51GB triple-layer HD DVD disc: Size matters, and Blu-ray has long been trumpeting its 50GB dual-layer disc capacity over HD DVD's 30GB. The underdog struck back with news of a 51GB triple-layer prototype. That puts HD DVDs ahead by a nose--at least until Blu-ray's rumored quad-layer 100GB discs hit the streets.
New HD DVD players: To date, only Toshiba's been producing set-top HD DVD players, albeit sometimes relabeled under the RCA brand. Toshiba expanded its second-generation lineup by one--adding the HD-A20, a $600 player that offers 1080p output)--but the company will finally be getting some company. Chinese manufacturers Shinco, Alco, and Lite-On are set to offer more affordable players later in the year, and the more familiar Onkyo and luxury Meridian lines will also be joining the camp.
New Blu-ray players: Samsung announced that its second-generation Blu-ray player, the BD-P1200, will sport cutting-edge HDMI 1.3 output despite costing $800 when it debuts in March; that's a 20 percent discount from the first-generation BD-P1000, which hit stores just a few months ago. Sharp also pledged to release its first Blu-ray player in 2007, while Panasonic, Pioneer, and Philips continued to highlight their recently released first-generation models. Sony, meanwhile, showed off two "Sapphire" Blu-ray prototypes, follow-ups to its brand-new BDP-S1. Of course, the PlayStation 3 remains the most affordable Blu-ray player on the market, with none of the players announced at CES 2007 beating the $500 and $600 price points of the two PS3 models.
Sales figures--who's winning? Both HD DVD and Blu-ray are fledgling formats, but that doesn't stop each camp from bragging that they've already left the other in the dust. While the numbers should be taken with a huge grain of salt, it appears that the two game consoles seem to be leading the charge for HD movies: Microsoft is said to have sold about 100,000 Xbox 360 HD DVD peripherals. Meanwhile, almost 700,000 U.S. consumers have picked up Sony's Blu-ray-capable PlayStation 3. HD DVDs total install base stands at just 175,000 (including, presumably, those Xbox 360 drives), though the camp has pledged to ship 2.5 million players by the end of the year (1.8 million of them from Toshiba).
It's all about the content: Hardware's all fine and good, but these formats will live and die based on the available content. To that end, Team Blu-ray looks to be ramping up in 2007 after a slow start. Disney, Fox, and Sony Pictures announced a slew of titles that won't be available on HD DVD, while Paramount and Warner will be releasing HD versions of fan favorites--including Blade Runner and the Matrix and Harry Potter films--in both formats. Universal remains the lone major studio that's exclusively publishing on HD DVD. It's little surprise, then, that the total number of Blu-ray titles (currently around 150) will soon begin to surpass the available HD DVD catalog. In other words, the burden is on HD DVD to continue to offer compelling content in light of the forthcoming deluge of Blu-ray movies.
The porn factor: There was a lot of ink on the fact that the adult industry has chosen HD DVD over Blu-ray. It turns out that Blu-ray isn't totally giving porn the cold shoulder, but the industry does appear to be backing the easier-to-produce HD DVD format instead. As Bill Hunt points out at The Digital Bits, the analogy with VHS and Beta isn't likely to hold up here (the appearance of adult movies on VHS was said to be a key factor in that format's eventual victory over porn-free Beta): With digitized smut readily available online, the adult industry's apparent preference for HD DVD isn't the slam dunk that some are painting it to be.
Cracked security: HD DVD and Blu-ray were both supposed to include military-grade encryption that would keep the HD content safe from pirates. Apparently, however, it's taken hackers less than a year to crack open the AACS protection found on both formats, resulting in HD copies of Serenity appearing on BitTorrent within days. Now come rumors that Blu-ray--despite having an extra level of copy-protection--is ripe for the plundering as well. If true, it could mean that both formats could amp up their guard, activating heretofore dormant security measures such as the image constraint token (lower resolution via component video).
A plague on both their houses? Perhaps the biggest issue still facing HD DVD and Blu-ray is the fact that neither could win. After years of false promises, so-called digital delivery is finally becoming a reality. Industry heavy hitters Microsoft (Xbox 360 Video Marketplace) and Apple (iTunes Store) are already offering movies and TV shows in DVD and true HD quality, and the online options will only multiply as broadband bandwidth continues to expand. While they face a variety of their own challenges and shortfalls (restrictive digital rights management, rental versus "ownership" pricing models), such services seem to be the wave of the future, especially with devices like the Xbox 360 and the forthcoming Apple TV making it easy to watch the content on the big screen instead of a computer.
And that, in a nutshell, is the status of the Great HD Format War--just 17 days into 2007.
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It's been a year since we were first introduced to Monsoon Multimedia's Hava device, a placeshifting product that delivered a handful of features--Wi-Fi connectivity, multicast functionality, and Windows Media Center integration--not found on the category-leading Slingbox. Hava went on to release its flagship product in late 2006, and the company has since licensed the technology to Pinnacle, which sells a Hava clone called PCTV To Go.
Streaming Hava content to the 360
(Credit: CNET Networks)At CES 2006, Hava was showing off a new entry-level product called the Hava Gold HD. It's housed in a different enclosure than the Hava Wireless HD, and it loses that device's Wi-Fi connectivity and built-in TV tuner, but it retains the same core functionality. The Hava Gold HD will retail for $129--about $20 less than the street price of its main rival, the Slingbox A/V.
Monsoon also disclosed that an upgrade of the PC viewing software that's expected to post later this week will add some custom remote skins (Comcast, Dish, DirecTV, Scientific Atlanta, and TiVo), which should help address a usability shortfall we found when reviewing the earlier product. Company reps also demonstrated the Xbox 360 working as a Media Center Extender for a PC streaming content from a Hava box.
Remote skins improve the user interface
(Credit: CNET Networks)While the capabilities of the Hava family of products remain impressive, the company will still need to continue improving the software and extending the number of compatible platforms in order to gain traction against rival Sling Media. Monsoon has pledged that a Windows Mobile Hava viewer will be ready "within weeks." That would be a nice addition, but it still leaves it lagging behind Sling's continually expanding list of compatible devices, including Macs, Windows Smart phones, Symbian smart phones, and--later in 2007--some Palm devices as well as the companion SlingCatcher box.
Silex Technology America's new wiDock is a pretty hip iPod dock that lets you sync your iPod wirelessly (if you just can't wait for that feature to show up in the iPod itself) via a built-in 802.11b/g module. Its 3.5mm stereo audio and S-Video outputs let you use the wiDock with your home stereo and television set, as well. The dock also has an IR sensor on it that lets you control playback with a standard Apple Remote. Not a bad product at around $120, though maybe not as cool as one with wireless USB, especially since the wiDock requires an existing wireless network.
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The Sherwood Newcastle R-972 will deliver HDMI 1.3 connectivity, six HDMI inputs, lossless audio decoding (Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio), and a graphic onscreen user interface when it's released in August for $1,500. (Note that the back panel image shows four HDMI inputs, but Sherwood has pledged that the shipping model will include six.) The product becomes the first officially announced receiver we've seen that incorporates all of those bleeding-edge features. Its step-down model, the R-872, offers similar HDMI and lossless decoding capabilities with "only" four HDMI inputs and a text-only onscreen interface, for $500 less.
The logos say it all.
(Credit: CNET Networks)If our Best of CES nominations weren't long closed, the R-972 would've been an easy pick for a home audio nod. That said, it's a fair bet that--by the August release date--we'll see similarly equipped models from the likes of Denon, Yamaha, and Onkyo (to name a few) being announced as well. In the meantime--if it lives up to its daunting spec sheet--the R-972 certainly looks to stand head and shoulders above any current model on the market.
Samsung BD-P1200
(Credit: Samsung)Samsung was the first to roll out a Blu-ray player last year, and now they're the first company to roll out a standard form-factor player with HDMI 1.3. The new BD-P1200 offers many of the same features as last year's BD-P1000: 1080p playback; DVD upconversion to 720p, 1080i, and 1080p; and a stylish design. The BD-P1200's HDMI output is also compatible with the consumer electronics control (CEC) format, which should enable compatible products to send commands between each other--for instance, a CEC-compatible TV could send commands to the BD-P1200 and tell it to turn on and start playing a disc.
HDMI 1.3 is definitely the main selling point, and it should allow for encoded Dolby Digital TrueHD and DTS HD Master soundtracks to be sent to a compatible receiver--such as the cutting-edge Sherwood Newcastle R-972 and R-872 we saw at CES. We emphasize should because there's a lot of confusion over next-gen high resolution soundtracks--we've contacted both manufacturers as well as Dolby and DTS several times and received conflicting reports about the audio capabilities of several Blu-ray and HD-DVD players.
Samsung says the BD-P1200 will sell for $800 and will be released in March. Anyone in the market for a Blu-ray player should remember that the PS3--if you can find it--can be bought for $500, and that LG's Super Multi Blue Player will get you both Blu-ray and HD-DVD compatibility for $400 more ($1,200) than the Samsung costs.
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Zyxel)
At CES 2007, Zyxel announced the DMA-1000, a digital media adapter for serving up multimedia files from the PCs in your home to your home entertainment system. The small adapter resembles a wireless router and, in fact, supports both wired and wireless connections via Ethernet and 802.11g Wi-Fi. In addition, it offers a USB port so that you can play files from any USB-based storage device, such as a flash thumbdrive or an MP3 player.
The DMA-1000 supports high-def streaming (1080i) and includes an HDMI connector, as well as S-Video. Unfortunately, 802.11g throughput is insufficient for HD streams, so you're probably better off using a wired PowerLine HD adapter for smooth video play. The DMA-1000 is UPnP and DLNA compliant, so it should play nicely with other UPnP and DLNA devices.
Zyxel expects to ship the $200 DMA-1000 in the first quarter of the year.
As reported last week, Warner Brothers announced yesterday at CES its introduction of a new disc format that will contain both HD DVD and Blu-ray versions of the same movie, so it would work with either type of player. Warner calls the new format Total HD.
The studio fleshed out a few more details at the press conference. It announced that major retailers Best Buy and Circuit City, along with online retailer Amazon, will stock the discs when they appear in the second half of this year. It also specified, according to Reuters, that the discs could be either single- or double-sided, and that Total HD discs would not cost more than standard Blu-ray or HD DVD discs in stores.
Warner is making the move after it became apparent that neither Blu-ray nor HD DVD is taking off all that quickly and that neither format seems to be on the verge of gaining the upper hand, even with the release of Sony's PS3, which has a built-in Blu-ray player. In other words, the company expects a long and protracted war, and I assume the overall cost to market a single disc rather than two separate packages of the same movie will be significantly cheaper. It also will help save precious shelf space in stores (eventually).
Warner's planning a supermerger.
Currently, only Warner and Paramount are putting out movies in both formats. Universal has sided exclusively with HD DVD, while Sony, MGM, 20th Century Fox, and Disney are all exclusively Blu-Ray.
In other CES format war news, LG announced a player that can handle discs from both formats. All I can say is that the whole thing is stupid, and I don't plan on buying either format any time soon, especially when I can easily click on a pull-down menu in my Netflix account and rent whatever movies are available in HD DVD or Blu-ray.
These are probably the greatest gadgets I've seen at all of CES. Massive HDTVs and supercharged game PCs are great, but they can't compare to products fashioned to look and act like the galaxy's greatest astrodroid.
Electronics company Nikko, best known for its remote-controlled cars, has announced a DVD projection system and a wireless, networked Webcam, both based on Star Wars' R2-D2. The nerd truly is strong in these ones.
The R2-D2 DVD Projector is a 480p home-theater projector that looks just like the beloved robot. The 20-inch-tall projector features built-in speakers, an iPod dock, a memory card slot, and even an FM transmitter to broadcast audio around the house. Best of all, the projector moves just like R2-D2. Using a Millenium Falcon-shaped remote control, the projector can be piloted around the home with its three, wheeled legs. Built-in safety sensors help prevent the droid from taking spills or bumping into objects. Most importantly, it sounds just like R2-D2, with 11 different beeps, boops, and whistles randomly playing when it's in motion.
The R2-D2 Wireless Web Camera is a similar geek-worthy marvel. The tiny Webcam is just over half a foot tall and communicates wirelessly with a computer. The wireless aspect is important, because the R2-D2 Webcam can roll around just like its big brother. Since it's networked, you can actually log in to the Webcam while you're out and pilot it around your house, using R2-D2 as your personal spy droid. Like the projector, the Webcam has built-in sensors to help prevent crashes and falls.
Finally, Nikko showed off a lightsaber-shaped USB handset for VoIP services like Skype. Modeled after Luke Skywalker's lightsaber in Star Wars: A New Hope, it doesn't look like the most comfortable USB phone. But its sound effects, lights, and sheer authenticity will make any fan proud to talk on it.
These gadgets might be cool, but they'll set you back a pretty penny. The R2-D2 DVD Projector will retail for at least $2,500. The R2-D2 Webcam and the lightsaber USB handset will be sold as a pack and will retail for about $350. True fans will have to wait a while: These truly impressive Star Wars gadgets won't ship until spring.
The Neosonik A/V Controller and HDMI dongle
(Credit: CNET Networks)Speaker wires and A/V cables are the bane of any home theater system. In recent years, most mainstream manufacturers have offered one of two options to cut the number of wires: produce virtual surround systems that offer only one or two speakers (plus a subwoofer); or utilize a wireless rear speaker module that eliminates the need to run speaker cables the length of the room (but still necessitates quite a few cables of its own). But true wireless A/V systems have remained elusive.
The A/V controller offers HDMI 1.3 connectivity
(Credit: CNET)Enter Neosonik. The start-up hi-fi company is using CES to highlight its home theater technology that enables wireless audio and video. The hub of the system is a supercharged A/V controller with multiple analog and digital inputs (including HDMI 1.3 ports). In addition to performing all the standard functions of a high-end A/V receiver, the controller can wirelessly broadcast 5.1 audio channels to each of the companion speakers in the Neosonik system. Even more impressive, the controller broadcasts wireless HD video to a tiny dongle that plugs into the HDMI port of your HDTV.
We didn't get a chance to see the Neosonik video streaming in action (though CNET has seen the system prove its mettle before), but the system was delivering silky-smooth CD sound to a pair of wireless tower speakers in Neosonik's demo suite. It's impressive, to be sure, but it's worth noting that it's not completely wireless: each component (the A/V controller, the five speakers, the subwoofer, and the HDMI video dongle) needs to be plugged into the wall for power, of course. And the A/V controller will still have all of your A/V components wired into it.
Totally wireless--except for the power cord
(Credit: CNET)That said, the Neosonik is--from a conceptual standpoint--about as close to ideal as one can expect. While we've seen wireless surround speakers (Avega Systems' as-yet-unreleased system from CES 2006) and wireless video (Philips Wireless HDMI system) before, the Neosonik is the first to combine them into one system.
Neosonik expects to begin shipping several wireless components and systems by mid-2007, with prices ranging from $6,000 to $10,000. But perhaps more enticing is that the company is planning on licensing its technology to other manufacturers under the name "AirPower A/V." The company is hoping that AirPower becomes a universal standard for home consumer electronics across several brands, not unlike Wi-Fi or DVD. For many of us, that's a dream that can't come soon enough.
(Credit:
BornRich)
If you're not wandering the floors of Macworld, CES, the Detroit Auto Show or, for that matter, the neighborhood grocery store, you'll likely need some equipment of your own to virtually experience the spectacles in comfort. That's where Empower Technologies comes to the rescue with its iMedia Chair showcased this week on various displays this week.
Not only does this Barcalounger on steroids have a built-in 15-inch LCD, but it also boasts a THX-certified surround-sound system piped directly from your iPod controlled by a separate 3.5-inch touch screen, as BornRich points out. We also appreciate the effort to strike a balance in home decor, falling somewhere between the lobby-looking "Ronda Media Chair" and the rather pretentious "Amadeus Sound System." As they say, it's the next best thing to being there--maybe even better.
