Toshiba HD-XA1 HD DVD Player beats Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Pioneer Blu-ray players to Win Sound & Vision Product of the Year Award

http://www.dvdrecorderworld.com/news/433

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Added on January 28, 2007, 4:37 amhttp://www.ropeofsilicon.com/news.php?id=5179


Not that 300 titles for a year isnt enough. Regular consumers do not even own 300 DVDs after 10 years of collection .. so the talks of Blu-ray have more exclusive studios than HD DVD .. Mute!!

Universal to release ATLEAST 100 Exclusive HD DVDs in 2007
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http://www.businessofcinema.com/?file=story&id=2049

Bringing further heat to the burgeoning HD DVD format, Universal Studios Home Entertainment will release more than 100 new film and television titles in 2007.

Perennial favorites such as Scarface and classics like 40-Year-Old Virgin, Battlestar Galactica S1 and Oscar-winning Brokeback Mountain will be joined by dozens of new titles released day and date with the DVD.

Since the format's inception in April 2006, Universal Studios Home Entertainment has released 60 titles on HD DVD, and currently boasts four of the top 10 best-selling HD DVDs year-to-date, including Casino, Serenity, Fearless and Miami Vice.

Tapping into the studio's vast library, the 2007 slate kicked off on 18 January with the release of The Mummy Returns, followed by Brokeback Mountain, starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal on 23 January, 2007. Following shortly thereafter will be such day-and-date new releases as Golden Globe-nominee Hollywoodland on 6 February. More than 90 per cent of the planned 2007 Universal titles will be released as combo discs - which feature an HD DVD version and a standard DVD version of the movie on the same disc.

"With more than two million HD DVD players expected in the market in North America by the end of 2007, Universal Studios Home Entertainment is committed to expanding its portfolio of compelling HD DVD content and further igniting consumer demand. By releasing most of our titles as combo discs we effectively satisfy consumers' multi-viewing habits, providing them with the most cost-effective option to watch their favorite films in either their DVD or HD DVD players," said Universal Studios Home Entertainment president Craig Kornblau.

Among the additional new titles to be released in 2007 are the Oscar-nominated Children of Men, The Good Shepherd, and Smokin' Aces. Also on deck for release this year are such highly anticipated catalog favorites as Bruce Almighty; The Bourne Identity; Meet The Fockers; American Pie; Inside Man; Pride & Prejudice; The Big Lebowski; Liar Liar; Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels; Brazil; Erin Brockovich; Shaun of the Dead; Dawn of the Dead; Slap Shot; and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

This post has been edited by g5sim: Jan 28 2007, 05:11 AM

Give the thread starter some credit, Bluray > HDDVD. Rejoice.

I forgot to add, we can all now have some quality HD content on our LIBRARY (harddisk) from u know where.

This post has been edited by redken: Jan 28 2007, 01:03 PM

Uh Doooh! Im into both, remember? Where does all this talk about me into bluray only comes into the picture?

Good news all round, but guess what, even the XA1 model are not here yet. Are we cheering for them Yanks for dictating what format should we go for, while we here watch from the sideline while waiting for the players to arrive?

Except for children of Men, Brazil and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the rest of the titles doesnt even worth to bat an eyelash at. Now Cars and both Pirates, that im drooling about.

You see, the more the HD-DVD folks trumpets the format, the more i thank them, since im into the format as well. Just that , some folks trumpet the HD-DVD in the valiant attempt to make sure their sole choice of format doesnt go down the drain as if their lives depended on it. Or defended it like their lives depended on it rather. Give me both. Both sides of the format fanboys are like salesman to me, they sell their format , i reap the results.

i am giving him the credit lah .. he started the thread so that people can fight in it .. so i entertain him lah

I know where our HD Library is

HMM? Open secret

Hopefully some nice codecs will surface to further squash the file to a more 3rd world country internet frenly size.

Oiii, more entertainment value please, all these article quoting posts are like a boring RTM newscaster. More mudslinging, more fire and pitchforks!

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Jan 28 2007, 02:32 PM

i know you will like them

Yup, the HD-DVD side "fired" the salvo already with that article. Waiting for the Bluray people to counter-strike! If nobody, then i'll be the devil's advocate and go Bluray for a while before turning neutral again.

fire rock lah you

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Added on February 2, 2007, 4:29 amon behalf of stringfellow: well, the so called researcher's name is Bottoms. What else can I say !


Researcher Sees Blu-ray Victory


http://homemediaretailing.com/news/html/br...rticle_id=10208

Understanding & Solutions is keeping a close watch on the launches of both high-definition formats, HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc. While it's a little early to call a winner, Blu-ray has the strongest possibility to dominate the market quickly, thanks mostly to the PlayStation 3, according to the company. Home Media Magazine talked to co-founder Jim Bottoms about what his firm sees for the future of the high-definition formats.

HM: What kind of hardware adoption should we expect to see as the year progresses, now that there are several different hardware options for both formats, including the PS3?

Bottoms: Top line, we reckon something like a million players were shipped through into consumers' homes in 2006, including gaming formats. Of that 1 million, about 750,000 were PS3. It's been our contention all along that both formats would almost be neck and neck, with Blu-ray having stronger industry support on the hardware side and content side and HD DVD getting out first and having lower price points. Each group has got its advantages, but what really changes the picture is PS3. It is poised to be in virtually 25 million to 35 million homes in the next two to three years.

HM: So it could be an all Blu-ray high-def market in just a couple of years?

Bottoms: I would be absolutely amazed if the format war goes on much further than mid-2008. If you look at what happened in 2006, 80% of what has sold through is Blu-ray. In 2007, [Blu-ray] will be at least that percentage again, but it won't be a million players we're talking about. We're probably looking at something like 8 million units selling through this year across all product types and formats, so by the end of 2007, moving into 2008, it's possible that 5% or 6% of U.S. homes will be owning a high-definition playback device. And about 80% of those devices will be Blu-ray.

HM: Will Sony be able to keep up the manufacturing to hit that 25 million to 35 million PS3 target over the next couple of years?

Bottoms: Well, that's the question, isn't it? But if you look at PS2 and [the original PlayStation], that's the kind of volume those systems saw.

HM: The higher price of the PS3 compared to those previous players doesn't seem to be a stumbling block. Is that because it seems like a value to get the Blu-ray capability as well as the gaming system?

Bottoms: The thing is, at this early stage, we are selling to the enthusiast. The people who are driving high-definition, be it on players or PS3, are people who have been waiting for years, who have spent $5,000 or $6,000 bucks on a TV. It almost doesn't matter. It will matter in two or three years as it moves into a mass-market product. With standard-definition DVD, players were available for about two years before the PS2. The early adopter already had adopted their video player. Then along comes a gaming player that was also a video console, but it was a more expensive entry point. There was a penalty for it. This time around effectively PS3 is the first Blu-ray player available, and by the way, it comes in at $600, and -when to buy a Blu-ray video-only player was $1,000 or $800 - it actually became for someone who wants a Blu-ray player a very compelling purchase. And, by all accounts, PS3 is a much better Blu-ray player than the PS2 was a DVD player.

HM: Are software buy rates for Blu-ray movies bearing out the theory that people would see the PS3 as more than just a gaming device?

Bottoms: More than 70% of people buying a PS3 have a strong interest in acquiring movies for it. Until the PS3 was launched, software sales were probably three to one in HD DVD's favor, but once the PS3 came out, the pendulum swung dramatically. Volume per title grew something like 700%. By the end of the year, most of the top selling high-definition titles will be Blu-ray discs.

HM: Do you think high definition will reach mass market in two to three years, and do you mean that as in pricing or as in the kind of consumers who are buying high-def hardware and software?

Bottoms: Both. We believe that you will see Blu-ray players at around $400 by the end of this year and HD DVD about $300. In the United States, it has to be less than $200 for mass appeal and less than $100 for an impulse purchase, but that will happen quickly. Going into [2008], I will sit and eat one of our reports if we haven't seen an HD DVD player for less than $200. Crudely, it costs about $100 more to make, at volume, a high-definition player than it does to make a standard definition player. Of course, those numbers are at volume and [the electronics companies] are not at that manufacturing volume yet.

HM: Does that mean that both formats could possibly exist simultaneously for some years to come if HD DVD companies dig in their heels?

Bottoms: We believe by the end of the year, we will see one format start to dominate. At the moment all the cards are stacked in favor of Blu-ray coming out on top. In reality, the only companies holding on to HD DVD are Toshiba and Universal and, yes, it will be a difficult pill for them to swallow to switch to Blu-ray. But it was a difficult pill for Sony to swallow when they had to start making VHS machines [after Betamax failed]. It will probably be easier for Universal because they don't have any real financial incentive to keep HD DVD going. Toshiba has got a strong vested interest in prolonging the life of the DVD format, and that's what HD DVD is all about. It's basically extending the DVD format as long as you can take it.


This post has been edited by g5sim: Feb 2 2007, 04:29 AM

Sure, you can have the best selling HD-playing player in the world, with all awards piled up onto it like pirates bounty on Isle de Muerta, but without the strong sale of software to make use of all that thingamajig award winning mumbo-jumbos, it's nothing but an expensive toaster oven.

Official tracking data from Nielsen VideoScan and The Digital Bits, has this to say about the current format war:-



A collective "Uh Oh" can be heard across the globe for what begins a format blatantly bashed for its non-relatable rootkit debacle from Sony, have momentum and picking up speed. With the arrival of Casino Royale, Pixar's Cars and Pirates of The Carribean 1 and 2, gloom and doom is approaching for the HD-DVD camp? Already the ratio is 3:1 in favour to Blu-ray for the week ending January 14th.

*Cue panicky background music for the sweaty palmed HD-DVD faithfuls*

It's sad in a way. PS the holygrail of console gaming has been reduced to just another home audio visual proponent.

If you recall your Video Game History 101, the PS2 too was bought during its first initial launch for its DVD playing capabilities. It's most bought after software? The DVD movie The Matrix. Are you saying history is about to repeat itself with that comment of yours?

Just because it plays movies well, doesnt mean the games arent coming. PS2 proves that to the naysayers last time, killing Dreamcast along with it.

yeah matrix .. coming soon to HD DVD *only* soon .. loving Warner !! Why? Blu-ray's $1000 interativity debacle ... no interactivity, no Matrix for Blu-ray .. atleast not yet

Java 1.1 coming soon, my friend. Until Warner actually announces any speck of information on releases of the Matrix trilogy discs, they remain neutral, as in support for both formats.

But since we're playing the movie-support-what-format-game, .........Star Wars Hexalogy, on Bluray ONLY, while the HD-DVD folks are clamoring for petitions to plead 20th CEntury Fox to come over to HD-DVD via PetitionOnline . The End.

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Added on February 3, 2007, 2:43 amJust to add salt to the wound as well, out of curiosity, try Google the title for the highest sellind DVD title of all time, and see what you get. If the record still holds, and i believe with the number it had made, it would be about a little clown fish living on the reef with his clown fish dad. And guess what? Bluray EXCLUSIVE , baby!. That if you want to go by the numbers and by past history.

If you wanna go with the present and the foreseeable future, what exclusives again Universal is holding against the Disneys (Pixars, Pirates), Sony Columbia Tristar (Spider-Mans), Fox (Star Wars Hexalogy), just to name a few.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Feb 3 2007, 02:43 AM

LMAO .. you are assuming studio exclusivity is here to stay ... wait till the Chinese beat the Japanese CE kings in HD DVD players development and flood the US market with $199 and $299 players .. then tell me about studio exclusivity.

Disney loves HDi. Warner france has already put the month and specs for Matrix, 1-3 and all the Harry Porter films. Guess what - all the titles are with HDi - In Movie Experience feature. The only reason these titles do not have the same release date for Blu-ray is because of that - IME feature. In fact warner only gave the date for HD DVD of ALL their planned releases with IME feature. The rest of the titles have the same release date for both HD DVD and Blu-ray. Twice as expensive but have the same level of interactivity as standard DVDs - how embarassing ..

anyhow, i prefer FunTastic4 then Spidey. But HD DVD players unconvert VERY near to some Blu-ray PQ anyway. oh maybe PS3 price will drop further in the coming months to like $199. I will definitely get one to watch FunTastic4, XMen, and few other fun FOX movies .... oh maybe not .. WHY .. studio exclusivity my bottom .. see below



wait isnt Underworld a Sony Picture Entertainment movie?

Video: 2.35:1 1080p High Definition
Audio: Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 English
Subtitles: English, Spanish Castellano

wait there is more, the extra feature are even more then the Blu-ray counterpart .. LMAO LMAO LMAO LMAO

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Added on February 3, 2007, 5:50 amOfficial site of Underworld at Sony Pictures ..

http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/cata...3396153813.html

exclusivity .. oh HD DVDs are region free...

Features Blu-ray = 8, HD DVD = 16. Isnt Blu-ray can fit 50GB vs HD DVD's 30GB only. Again how embarassing.

Blu-ray features:

1. Director's Commentary
2. Music Video: "Her Portrait in Black" by Atreyu
3. Original Featurette: Bloodlines: From Script To Screen
4. Original Featurette: Building a Saga
5. Original Featurette: Making Monsters Roar
6. Original Featurette: Music and Mayhem
7. Original Featurette: The Hybrid Theory
8. Original Featurette: The War Rages On

HD DVD features:

1. Audio Commentary with director Len Wiseman
2. Image Gallery
3. Biographies/Filmographies
4. Photo Gallery
5. Trailer
6. TV Spots
7. Featurette (6 min)
8. "Imágenes de rodaje" (15 min)
9. Interviews (12 min)
10. Making of (13 min)
11. Making of: Special Effects (13 min)
12. Making of: Making Monsters Roar (12 min)
13. Making of: "Especialistas" (10 min)
14. Making of: Production Design (13 min)
15. Making of: Music and Sound (12 min)
16. Unspecified Video Clip (4 min)

___________________________________

Dont hate me please .. thank you


This post has been edited by g5sim: Feb 3 2007, 05:50 AM

Ahahahah, the HD-DVD camp jumping up and down over a movie like "Underworld"? You can quote me this, as well as to the bank that "you will never see the big hitters go to the opposite camp". Something as trivial as "Underworld" may slip past conventional film studio segragation outside of MPAA jurisdiction in countries like Spain, but i dont see Spain being the main consumer of all things next-gen discs, do you? The battle will be decided in the land of Uncle Sam, provided the pirates didnt get to them first.

You still hadnt addressed the fact that Bluray b****slapped HD-DVD in sales 3 to1 in the latest Nielsen Videoscan data culling. Bluray's studio numbers advantage is slowly rearing its beautiful head,while the HD-DVD camp rejoice for victory over trickling oftitlesonce thought exclusive toBluray,then coming over to their side....how sad! While HD-DVD could scamper on with titles like "Underworld" to giggle over, try facing against the volume of 5 studios against its own 1. Disney may love HDi and gogaga over HD-DVD's IME features, but once Java 1.1 comes to fruition, there is no turning back. It is just a matter of time,and once time hits summer 2007,and all the pieces of the big picture falls into place, i'd say even Disney's offering alone could demolish HD-DVD's frail grasps on living past that point in time.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Feb 3 2007, 12:12 PM

i was merely trying to proof that BD strongest marketing point - studio exclusivity is nothing but ******* ... We might even see Disney titles showing up in Europe. By the way - for your information, anyone from USA can purchase titles from Europe, Australia, Japan, India even africa cuxz unlike Blu-ray - HD DVD is not region coded.

"once" Java 1.1 .. i love the use of future tense in BD when the products are already in the market. Consumers pay $1,000 so that they can waste half a year to get BDA to ready Java in June 2007. When the HD DVD counter paid $500 and enjoy amazing interactivity from day one of purchase. Great! .. long live Blu-ray.

on the 2-1 sales of Blu-ray, you have checked the news havent you. Try reading the videoscan data instead reading third hand information interpreted by god knows who. But no worries, like you, i was misleaded by BDA web propaganda machines. below are are better representations of the Videoscan data. It represent the total sales of HD DVD vs Blu-ray till 7th, 14th and 21th Jan 2007. As you can see clearly, where is Blu-ray outselling HD DVD 2-1? The information you is merely the % of weekly sales of Blu-ray vs HD DVD titles in which 100% can be representing ONLY 100, 1,000, 5,000 or 10,000 total disk sales. Now every Blu-ray fan boys should be worry. With <>700,000 Blu-ray players sold vs HD DVD's mere 200,000 figure, HD DVD's total disk sale is STILL MORE than Blu-ray.

Oh one more thing, rumour has it , the 28th Jan 2007 weekly sales data will show HD DVD leading Blu-ray. The Blu-ray fan boys at AVS whom earlier embracing the Videoscan data are already backtracking from taking the Videoscan data whole heartedly .. hell that was funny

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Added on February 3, 2007, 1:42 pmoh one more thing, if you check the graph closely, HD DVD is actually distancing itself from Blu--ray in 21 jan as compared to the 7th Jan figure. 7th Jan (54%-46%=8%) but in 21th (55%-45%=10%). And the fanboys are sooo excited about the figure for ?

Don't hate me because i present rasional facts... please ! I love you all !

This post has been edited by g5sim: Feb 3 2007, 01:42 PM

Keep ur jargon's to urself. If u have the time, perhaps write a fairy tale about it. Or even better use the time to grow up.

Back then, there wasnt any format battle. DVD was elected by the electronics community which puts a stop a rising format battle with another what, i think MMD os something like that.

Which so far havent prove profitable to the original creators because hefty royalties are not imposed. Sony being the big lame o decided they want a bigger piece of the cake because they have been losing money for the past two years.

Touchy,touchy! I was merely addressing the brought up fact that someone here was commenting the PS3 being a media player first and gaming machine later,and pointed out that PS2 was the same case 7 years ago, even though this has absolutely no bearings whatsoever in the current format war . Didnt have anything to bring to the table? Dip below the table and have table scraps.

Interesting point there g5sim,from that point of view, Bluray has a lot of catching up to do. Now this is what the threads needs,more graphs and numbers, than someone deftly and baitingly pretend to be sad for the PS3 as a media player.

On one side, we have IME/U-Control which i absolutely love and adore, and on the other side, the movie titles that i most probably want, that most probably will appear only on one format, unless Warner's TotalHD format takes off. When push comes to shove, I think i'll take the movies over the special features/extras although time will tell if this gen's HD format will provide immersive interactive experience with its extras. Question is, will the solitary case of "Underworld Evolution" happens to flagship titles like "Finding Nemo", " Spider-Man 2" or "Star Wars Episode III"? You be the judge.

P/s: The holy grail of video game has not been reduced to a mere media player, that is part of its function. Deal with it.

Sort of puts an end to your numerous pretenses at being neutral, doesn't it? PS2 was the holy grail of its generation. At least one more year before anyone can even begin make such a claim for a current gen console. If he were actually neutral that is.

But it seems like you like numbers, and according to those, the 360 is the current holy grail by a mile, quoting the webpage you gave us in your first post.
http://www.eproductwars.com/vg/

This post has been edited by ikanayam: Feb 3 2007, 11:05 PM