Throwing their hat into the digital distribution ring, Nintendo is set to launch their own video service some time next year. Taking a different approach to the service then their competitors, the service will only air “cartoons and other entertainment content” specifically made for the service.
The highly anticipated Blu Ray release of The Dark Knight, touting the VC-1 codec has sold over 600,000 copies on day 1! Compared to the former record holder, Iron Man which sold 260,000 copies on during it’s first day of sales.
Analysts claim first week sales could total as high as 1 million for the film, however some still remain doubtful. We will keep you posted regarding this matter.
Good news for Netflix, Xbox 360, and WMV HD enthusiasts! It seems Netflix streaming on the Xbox 360 will be using the VC-1 codec!
The movies will be streamed at a bitrate of 2.6 to 3.8 Mbps at 720p. The frame rates will range from 24 to 30p.
On the audio side of things, the films will not have 5.1 audio.
Netflix further stated, as broadband speeds improve so will the quality of their streams.
[Via Format War Central]
You might be thinking, didn’t they [Netflix] get rid of HD DVD’s in February? Kind of, although going Blu Ray exclusive Netflix still kept HD DVD’s, they just didn’t stock the newer titles. If your still ordering your HD DVD’s from Netflix, you have until December 15th 2008 to get them or their gone! Any HD DVD’s in your queue will be converted to their DVD counterparts.
In February of 2008 Toshiba announced the end of the format war by dropping support for their HD DVD format. Microsoft, Universal, and Paramount/Dreamworks followed suite days later. HD DVD’s still live on in China under the name “CBHD” and in the hearts of the many who once fought so dearly for the ill format.
Anyone of our readers still get their HD DVD rentals from Netflix?
[Via EngadgetHD]
Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, Disney’s GM of domestic home entertainment claims Blu Ray’s biggest hurdle is indeed the economy.
The economy is the biggest challenge, because there are just so many pieces to the Blu-ray puzzle that consumers face,” said Lori MacPherson, GM of domestic home-entertainment at Disney. “You need the high-definition television set, you need the player, you need the cables, you need the software ….
Disney isn’t alone, Fox, Paramount, and even Sony commented on the economy and Blu Ray,
The economy is hitting everybody,” said Danny Kaye, exec vp research and tech strategy at Fox. “But we still look forward to a great fourth quarter
Paramount’s VP of Marketing Chris Saito had this to say,
I know the economy is tough right now, but the manufacturers are really bringing down the price of their HDTV sets,
Rich Marty from Sony made the following statements,
“We’re all constantly looking at (disc) pricing, What it amounts to is that we’ll wait until after the fourth quarter and see how it goes.”
What are your thoughts? It seems like the industry can’t make up their minds about the economy and it’s impact on the entertainment industry. Every time someone says one thing another steps up to contradict. With Fios and Vudu touting more HD titles than Blu Ray with the convincence factor, could consumers overlook the added benefits of a disc?
(Note: Actual Drive Image May Vary)
Despite losing out to Blu Ray just months ago, companies are still showing HD DVD the love. This time Other World Computing has announced 2 external Blu Ray drives compatible with both Windows and Mac OSX. The drives have the ability to read/write HD DVD, DVD, and CD discs but surprisingly only have the ability to read Blu Ray discs.
OWC have also announced the drives are fully compatible with Apple iTunes, Apple Disc Burner, Apple iDVD 5, Apple DVD Studio Pro, EMC Retrospect Express, NTI DragonBurn, Roxio Toast, Roxio Easy Media Creator, and Nero Burning ROM.
A price point has not been announced for the drives, if they are reasonably priced it could be a great opportunity for HD DVD owners to jump on the Blu Ray bandwagon ensuring their discs will still work on the device.
Official Drive Page (At least, we think this is the drive in question)
