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LAS VEGAS -- Supporters of the two rival next-generation disc formats are slugging it out this week at the Consumer Electronics Show, with HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc predicting victory in the quest for a unified high-definition standard. HD DVD is banking its prediction of success in large part on the arrival this year of low-priced players from China and other Asian countries. The Blu-ray camp, meanwhile, believes the PlayStation 3 rollout, together with overwhelming studio and consumer electronics support, will boost software sales to such a degree that HD DVD will have no choice but to throw in the...

An anonymous computer programmer may have skewed the competition over standards for high-definition DVD discs by possibly defeating a scheme that both sides use to protect digital content. The standards, HD-DVD and Blu-ray, are being backed by rival coalitions of Hollywood studios and consumer electronics and computer companies that are eagerly marketing a new generation of digital media players and video game machines tailored for widescreen TVs. The HD-DVD coalition includes companies like Microsoft, Intel, Toshiba and NEC; the Blu-ray camp has Sony, Philips and Samsung. Among studios, Universal is exclusively backing HD-DVD. Paramount and Warner Brothers also support HD-DVD,...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The companies behind an encryption system for high-definition DVDs are looking into a hacker's claim that he has cracked the code protecting the new discs from piracy, a spokesman for one of the companies said on Thursday. A hacker known as Muslix64 posted on the Internet details of how he unlocked the encryption, known as the Advanced Access Content System, which prevents high-definition discs from illegal copying by restricting which devices can play them. The AACS system was developed by companies including Walt Disney Co., Intel Corp., Microsoft Corp., Toshiba Corp. and Sony Corp. to protect...

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese consumer electronics maker Sharp Corp. (6753.T: Quote, NEWS , Research) said on Tuesday it has started the commercial production of blue laser diodes, taking aim at a market with strong growth potential.Sharp in November began volume output of blue laser diodes, used to read and write data on high-definition optical discs, at 150,000 units a month at its existing plant in western Japan, Sharp spokesman Hiroshi Takenami said.The diodes can be used in DVD players based on the Blu-ray format, championed by Sony Corp. (6758.T: Quote, NEWS , Research), as well as competing HD DVD technology, promoted by...

There are many reasons to buy an HDTV now. 1) Your team could be good this year. 2) There’s more stuff on high-definition TV than ever. 3) Prices are dropping. If you’re looking, here are some things you should know: DLP •Millions of tiny mirrors reflect light to produce a picture. You can recognize DLP (digital light processing) sets in the store: They’re the big, boxy televisions. LCD •Electrically charged liquid crystals untwist just enough to let the correct shade of light pass through. PLASMA •Bits of gas are ignited to produce light. FAQs Which is better, LCD or plasma?...

Just a week after we told you about the three guys that filed for a patent on a triple layer DVD, a company has come up with a way to make cheap multi-layer DVDs. Apparently the two camps are not at odds, one having patented the technology, the other patenting the application. The technological breakthrough comes one week after three employees at movie studio Warner Bros. filed a patent for the application of multiple formats on a single DVD disc. "There's no collision between Warner and us. They patent the application, we are patenting the technology. These are complementary patents....

Double disc might end hi-def war Many people are buying big screens to show hi-def films Inventors have come up with a design for a disc that can store copies of films in rival high-definition formats.A US patent has been filed for the discs that could hold both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray versions of movies. Currently movie makers and technology companies are dividing into camps that back either one or the other of the two formats. The creation of the discs could end the looming battle over the different high-definition formats. Format wars The design of the disc patented in...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood is hoping high-definition DVDs will reignite a slowing market for movies at home, but they have drawn mixed reviews from retailers and analysts due to technical issues and a bitter format war. The competing formats, Sony Corp.-backed <6758.T> Blu-ray and Toshiba Corp.-championed <6502.T> HD-DVD, aim to provide better picture quality and interactive features, but some early viewers have been underwhelmed. "Neither format is selling well or at the level I had expected. I had expected early adopters to step up and other retailers have had the same experience," said Bjorn Dybdahl, president of San Antonio,...

New digital media features are boosting the CD and DVD burning capabilities of Macintosh computers, and are quickly and quietly transforming the rest of the electronics landscape as well. Last week, Santa Clara, Calif.-based Sonic Solutions (Nasdaq: SNIC) debuted a new technology, Toast 7 with Blu-ray Disc support, the first ever application of that kind for the Mac. The optical disc recording technology provides Mac users with the ability to store up to 50 GB of data on a Blu-ray recordable or Blu-ray rewritable disc. By Gene Koprowski

European Commission said a full investigation may follow Just when we think that Blu-ray and HD DVD will start showing up in mass production, the two formats enter into more trouble, this time with the European Commission. According to reports, the European Commission believes that the companies that are backing each format may have licensing terms that breach European competition rules. The report said that the European Commission launched an unofficial antitrust probe this month. Toshiba, the leading company behind HD DVD and Sony the leading company behind Blu-ray both received letters from the European Commission earlier this month. According...

Ricoh, the Japanese electronics giant, has come up with a component that will let manufacturers built drives that read and record both HD-DVD discs and Blu-ray discs, potentially brining some peace to the disc wars. Ricoh will show the device at the International Optoelectronics Exhibition '06 near Tokyo, which takes place near Tokyo on July 12-14, according to EE Times. The company will start selling it to manufacturers by the end of the year. The part in question is a diffraction plate. Say what? It basically sits between the laser and the lens and adjusts the light beam so that...

FORMAT BATTLE: HD-DVD may have a slight edge in the format battle for next-generation DVD players, with the Blu-ray camp saying they're not yet ready for Europe DPA , HAMBURG, GERMANY Monday, Jul 10, 2006,Page 12 The on-again, off-again story of advanced optical-disc recording will keep consumers on tenterhooks yet again this autumn, with manufacturers in the Blu-ray camp still not ready to introduce their movie-players to the huge European market. Pioneer, one of the stalwarts of the Blu-ray camp, admitted this week it would not be ready to launch the players by the time of the Sept. 1 to...

TOKYO (XFN-ASIA) - Ricoh Co has developed a device that can read both the Blu-ray and HD DVD next-generation DVD formats, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported. The newspaper, without identifying any sources, said Ricoh was aiming to commercialize this technology as soon as the end of next year.

The first Blu-ray DVD discs have been released in the US ahead of the launch of the first Blu-ray player on 25 June. The move marks the start of a Sony-led campaign in the next generation DVD format wars against the Toshiba-led HD DVD system. The battle to win consumers began in March 2006 when Toshiba released the first HD-DVD player. The introduction of two different formats has split the electronics industry and Hollywood film studios. Historic fight Many people liken the fight to the 1980s tussle between VHS and Betamax. Then, Sony lost out to rival JVC in...

Samsung Blu-ray Player Spotted On Store ShelvesPurav Sanghani - June 16, 2006 6:45 AM Initial Thoughts: Not Perfect In recent news word on the street was that Samsung would be pushing back the launch date for its set top Blu-ray player as many others had done in the last week. Surprise, surprise Blu-ray fans! The first Blu-ray player is here. Units of Samsung's BD-P1000 began making their way onto Best Buy store shelves this past week as an AVS Forum poster has stated. The lucky one, or unlucky if you're not a Blu-ray supporter, has picked up his unit for...

CHOICE IS A BEAUTIFUL thing, whether it's picking stocks, voting for a politician or ordering pizza toppings. However, when it comes to the ongoing battle of the high-definition DVD formats — Blu-ray Disc vs. HD DVD — choice is a burden consumers will have to bear. That is, if they opt to choose at all. The first Blu-ray player in the U.S. is coming from Samsung next week — HD DVD players hit store shelves in the U.S. in mid-April — and I can't help but think that those early adopters who choose wrong will get burned. Recall how Sony...

THOSE WHO IGNORE HISTORY are doomed to repeat it. One of life's more satisfying ironies, however, is that the same fate often befalls those who fixate on history. Consider the coming train wreck of Sony's PlayStation 3.At this year's annual Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, Sony announced that its next-generation video-game console will begin retailing in November for $599 (or $499 for a stripped-down version). The news rippled through the gaming industry, the consensus being that Sony had doomed its new system with such a high price tag. Traditionally, home video-game consoles have sold for $199 to $299.This news...

Pioneer ships PC-based Blu-ray disc drives Posted by on 18 May 2006 - 00:55 - Source: BusinessWire The following text is a complete press release, unmodified by CD Freaks. If you don't want to view these kind of news posting you can disable them in your preferences page once logged in. Please send your press releases to news@cdfreaks.com May 17, 2006 12:00 PM US Eastern Timezone Pioneer Ships PC-Based Blu-ray Disc Drives; Innovative Drive Significantly Increases Storage Capacity for Professionals LONG BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 17, 2006--Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. is now shipping the industry's first Blu-ray Disc (BD) computer drives. The...

Today, Sony made two big announcements: the new AR series laptop that's equipped with an integrated Blu-Ray recordable drive, and the UX Series UMPC. The AX laptop will have a 17-inch XBRITE screen with a native resolution of 1920x1200, the Intel Core Duo T2500, and 2GB of RAM; The UX will weigh 1.2 pounds, sport a 4.5-inch touchscreen that slides upwards, and a wireless WAN cellular modem. More here.

JOHN DVORAK'S SECOND OPINION The perfect marketing storm Commentary: Battle over HD video formats will be bloody By John C. Dvorak Last Update: 12:02 AM ET Apr 26, 2006 BERKELEY, Calif. (MarketWatch) -- Over the next two years the public is going to witness a replay of the great Beta versus VHS wars of the 1970's with a twist. In this case it's going to be HD-DVD versus Blu-ray. Both are after the next generation recorded video standard. The winner gets the royalties for the licenses as well as an edge in selling players. To consumers the differences between...