Technology, WMV HD, XBLVM - by Mehar Gill - June 29, 2009 - 09:37 America/Chicago - Be first to Comment!
Xbox 360 owners in France will be pleased to hear their console will be getting Canal+ support, allowing them to streaming films, TV shows, and sports programming to their system. The partnership will allow French Xbox Live users to stream over 3,000 films, dramas, soaps, etc on demand.
The service is of course similar to Netflix in America and Sky TV in Britain. The partnership will later expand not only to other Canal+ services but other Microsoft products as well. This could include but is not limited to Windows Mobile, Zune, and Windows Media Center. Despite the image above, we are told it is possible to watch content full screen without the annoyance of avatars and other “background noise”.
Surprisingly, Xbox Live users in Canada are still waiting for such a service, we like to think they are holding the good stuff for us!
[Via Reuters]
Blu Ray, HD DVD, Technology, WMV HD - by Mehar Gill - June 24, 2009 - 12:18 America/Chicago - Be first to Comment!
Toshiba president Atsutoshi Nishida hinted at the possibility of Toshiba entering the Blu Ray market during a shareholders meeting in Japan.
“It makes no sense to decide not to enter the Blu-Ray market simply because we lost the DVD-format war. We cannot change the fact that we lost, but we would like to keep our options open,”
During the format war, Toshiba had backed the ill fated HD DVD format which was officially discontinued in 2008. Since then Toshiba has vowed not to adopt the format, instead opting to show consumers the benefits of their regular DVD’s. Toshiba owns a very powerful position at the DVD Forum, it remains to be seen how this impacts their DVD business.
Toshiba is also working on expanding flash technology for what many assume will be the successor to disc based media. Will Toshiba use Blu Ray and DVD to fund a new format war in the near future? Toshiba makes some amazing hardware, I for one own many Toshiba products, if Toshiba enters the Blu Ray market I will gladly support them!
[Via Nikkei]
Technology - by Mehar Gill - May 30, 2009 - 13:58 America/Chicago - Be first to Comment!
The HDMI Licensing Group has unveiled HDMI 1.4, the latest HDMI specification. HDMI 1.4 brings many enhancements that will make life much easier for tech enthusiasts. Internet access via HDMI is now a reality thanks to HDMI Ethernet Channel (HEC) which will allow up to 100Mbps transfer speeds between HDMI 1.4 compatible devices.
Another feature dubbed Automatic Content Enhancement (ACE), will allow playback of 3D video standards along with resolution support of up to 4,096 x 2,160 (dubbed “Quad-HD”) at 30Hz. The feature will automatically optimize video and audio outputs based on your TV’s specifications.
HDMI specification 1.4 capable products are set to hit markets worldwide some time in 2010, color us excited!
[Via Fudzilla]
WMV HD - by Mehar Gill - May 19, 2009 - 19:02 America/Chicago - Be first to Comment!
The History Channel has announced plans to air classic World War II footage in HD via a 10 part miniseries. The miniseries will feature 3,000 hours worth of color footage restored, “HDifiyed”, and feature a 5.1 audio track.
Being a big World War “buff” I’m pretty excited for this miniseries; don’t go in expecting a Band of Brothers production since you definitely won’t find it here. From early impressions it seems the miniseries will show the war from not only the view of the soldiers who fought but the civilians as well. I for one believe some of the best images to come from a war are those from the soldiers.
[Via EngadgetHD]
Blu Ray, HD DVD, Technology, WMV HD - by Mehar Gill - April 24, 2009 - 07:49 America/Chicago - Be first to Comment!
Chinese manufacturer’s TCL and Shinco have officially launched the first set of CBHD players in China coincidentally starting a format war against rival Blu Ray. The CBHD specification is heavily based of that of the ill fated HD DVD format, essentially starting a second format war against HD DVD and Blu Ray.
Both Shinco and TCL state CBHD players will cost approximately 40% less than any Blu Ray player currently available on the Chinese market. The players will launch at a MSRP of 2,000 Yuan ($300) which both companies believe is a consumer oriented price. When HD DVD and Blu Ray players launched in North America the price was well above the $1,000 range.
Ironically, Warner Bros. was the first Hollywood studio to jump on board the CBHD bandwagon, titles such as the Harry Potter series, Blood Diamond, Golden Compass and Speed Racer will be available for a mere 50-70 Yuan (approx $7.25 to $10.15).
Shinco and TCL believe by the year’s end they will be able to sell over 10 million CBHD players to Chinese consumers, by 2011 the manufacturer’s expect to ship roughly 70 million players.
If your hoping for a international release of the format if it ever takes off in China don’t get your hopes up, CBHD was a government backed initiative to make home grown alternatives and reduce licensing fees and piracy as much as possible. If the player is ever released outside of China we could see it move into neighboring nations. If you really miss HD DVD that much I doubt anyone could stop you from importing players and movies, just don’t expect backwards compatibility with your HD DVD collection.
[Via CDR Info]
