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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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With the home becoming ever-more digital, we've seen a steady increase of instances where technologies converge with traditional furnishings. The early stages of this domestic evolution have often involved chairs and cabinets, but we may be on the cusp of a new phase with lamps. Yes, lamps.
At CES this week Soundolier showed off its "Duo," a combination speaker-lamp that can be purchased as a single fixture or as a pair for full stereo (and better lighting) for $280 each. Another $80 will get you the "Maestro," a wireless transmitter that pipes in music from your receiver, iPod or CD player.
And then there's this bonus feature: "A foot-controlled power and dimmer offer convenient control of the lamp for room lighting, theater-style dimming or anywhere in between." Bring on the Andre--it would make The Ladies Man proud.
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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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miDock Studio has a backward-slanted design
(Credit: Mike Kobrin)I'm a big fan of Polk Audio's bookshelf and floor-standing speakers, so when it released two iPod speakers, I just had to check them out. Both are available in black or white.
The miDock Portfolio ($119) is a portable model and is compatible with any iPod via the supplied plastic adapters. It also has an auxiliary input for non-Apple players, though it'll only charge dock connector-equipped iPods. The speaker is pretty small and folds up flat for traveling. It has four 1-inch drivers and runs on four AA batteries or the included AC adapter. I took a quick listen, and it sounds pretty good for something so small, and would be good for hotel rooms and such. The included carrying case is cute too.
miDock Portfolio folds up flat for travelling
(Credit: Mike Kobrin)Polk is also taking a run at the Apple iPod Hi-Fi with its miDock Studio, which is fairly large but still portable, thanks to battery or AC operation. Its two 3.25-inch full-range drivers and ported enclosure give it a reasonably beefy sound, even on the noisy CES show floor. I dig the backward-slanted design, which keeps the sound pointed at your head if you've got the speaker placed on a low table or the ground, as well as the simple six-button IR remote. And at $229.95, it's cheaper than the iPod Hi-Fi. Sadly, there's no carrying case for this one.
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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.
Thiel's new CS3.7.
Conventional wisdom says that a stereo or surround sound system is only as good as its speakers. That's why speaker designers often become celebrities in the world of high-end audio. One such celeb is Jim Thiel, who's been designing speakers for the company he co-founded for 30 years now. He calls his latest high-end creation the CS3.7 and it stands 45-inches tall, 12.5-inches wide, and 21-inches deep, looking more like a sleek piece of modern sculpture when compared to the bland boxes taking up space in Best Buy.
Mr. Thiel's gone to great lengths to suppress unwanted vibrations in the CS3.7. The top dome is made of a single piece of thick aluminum, as is the black front baffle, which holds the speaker's four drivers. The curved side panels comprise 15 layers of hardwood laminated together with rounded edges at the front to fight diffraction-- after all, we wouldn't want to disturb your audio's natural wave emissions. Looking at the speaker without its grill, you'll probably notice the strange looking, wavy fronts of the drivers. This nifty design lets Thiel keep the drivers flatter, to combat diffraction caused by traditional cone shaped woofers. Also, since the front baffle is angled slightly upward, the distance from the various drivers to your ears is more uniform. This is further enhanced by the coaxial design of the midrange and tweeter; the tweeter is mounted in the center of the midrange driver.
Jim Thiel with the CS3.7
Mr. Thiel's gone to great lengths to suppress unwanted vibrations in the CS3.7. The top dome is made of a single piece of thick aluminum, as is the black front baffle, which holds the speaker's four drivers. The curved side panels comprise 15 layers of hardwood laminated together with rounded edges at the front to fight diffraction-- after all, we wouldn't want to disturb your audio's natural wave emissions. Looking at the speaker without its grill, you'll probably notice the strange looking, wavy fronts of the drivers. This nifty design lets Thiel keep the drivers flatter, to combat diffraction caused by traditional cone shaped woofers. Also, since the front baffle is angled slightly upward, the distance from the various drivers to your ears is more uniform. This is further enhanced by the coaxial design of the midrange and tweeter; the tweeter is mounted in the center of the midrange driver.
The iH10: Radio and iPod speaker for $49
(Credit: SDI Technologies)
SDI Technologies, the maker of the hot-selling iPod clock radio, is showing new affordably priced iPod speaker accessories at CES, including two small home-based units, the iH10 ($49)and iH4 ($49), and the portable iH19 ($69), which comes in multiple colors. The company also has a license to use the Timex name in upcoming iPod clock radios, so this is clearly an accessory company on the move. During my tour of the SDI meeting room (for dealers), I was shown a couple of more novel iPod accesories, including a speaker with a built-in iPod dock that looks like a water bottle and fits into the water-bottle holder on your bike.
The iH19: Beach friendly and portable ($69)
(Credit: SDI Technologies)
Plus, they also had a waterproof iPod-speaker for the shower and a speakerphone with a built-in iPod dock with integrated Bluetooth that allows you stream music from Bluetooth mobile phones. Unfortunately, SDI wouldn't provide pictures of those models--or allow me to take pictures of them--but reps said they would be officially announced within the next few weeks. All the new iHome models are due to come out this spring, though no firm dates were given.
This $49 iH4 clock radio is available with
different-colored lights
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Eton's Sound 200 will cost $250.
(Credit: David Carnoy)You may not have heard much about Eton, the sole licensee of Grundig for all of North America, but you may have seen some of its portable radio products in a Sharper Image catalog. The company had a well-priced and decent-performing iPod speaker last year, the Eton Sound 50, and at CES it was showing a couple of new products, including the Apple Hi-Fi-like Sound 200, which will come out in March for $250. Along with an iPod dock on top of the speaker, there's also a USB port for playing back tunes from a USB thumbdrive and an SD card slot for playing tunes directly from a memory card.
The Sound 101 has Sirius Satellite Radio capabilities and an iPod dock.
(Credit: Eton)In March or April, the company will also start selling the Sound 101, a $200 single-speaker system that comes with an external, detachable iPod dock and Sirius Satellite Radio support (subscription required).
With its growing selection of attractive desktop radios and iPod dock systems, Eton appears bent on taking on Bose and more realistically, smaller but more established players in the desktop radio market such as Tivoli Audio.
Thiel's SCS4 sports a coaxial driver design.
When people think of the high end speaker maker Thiel, affordable isn't the first word that comes to mind (though quality certainly is). But, they're working to change that (the affordable part). For the first time in the company's history, they've introduced a box speaker (i.e. not an in-wall) for under $1,000, the new Coherent Source SCS4 LCR two-way bookshelf speaker. Thiel mounts the two drivers in a coaxial design, which means that its 1-inch metal dome tweeter is mounted in the middle the 6.5-inch woofer. If you didn't know better, you might think that there's only one driver. But the speaker's full dynamic range would quickly prove you wrong. Plus, the coaxial design ensures that all the directional sound from the speaker reaches your ear at the same time, whether you place the speaker upright or lay it on its side.
Designed by the company's namesake, Jim Thiel, the SCS4 measures an accommodating 17.5-inches tall, 8.5-inches wide, and 11.25-inches deep. Given its size and dual-orientation capability, the SCS4 can easily be used for all positions of a surround sound system, to create a consistent multi-channel experience. As always, Mr. Thiel aimed for low distortion with his new bookshelf, this time employing a short coil/long gap, copper stabilized motor system, and a neodymium magnet in the woofer, which is also sports a reinforced metal diaphragm that is shaped to act as a waveguide to minimize diffraction in the tweeter's output. He also includes his phase correct crossover system, which is designed to eliminate phase distortion.
Available in Natural Cherry, Dark Cherry, and Black Ash finishes, the SCS4 is slated to ship in February and should cost about $990 each.
