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Startup Company Milleniata Boasts an Indestructible Disc[teaser]For now they're sticking with 4.7 GB discs that will be able to be read by DVD and Blu-ray players. [/teaser] DVDs and Blu-rays are used for more than just watching movies and installing games - they're a space efficient way to back up large amounts of digital data. The problem is that they're not exactly durable. Discs crack, scratch, and sometimes just fall apart on their own. A company called Milleniata claims to have the solution. Their new M-Discs are made out of a stone-like substance that requires no reflective or die layer and is durable and resistant to scratching. The company claims that you can move it from liquid nitrogen to boiling water without damaging it, which certainly can't be said for current discs. The Department of Defense backs up those claims, reporting that the discs suffered no damage at all after rigorous testing. By comparison, the report states that every other disc tested was less reliable after the stress tests. "Many of the discs were so damaged that they could not be recognized as DVDs by the disc analyzer." While these new discs aren't going to be used in the kinds of Blu-rays we enjoy movies on any time soon, this can be seen as a positive sign of things to come. LG is already working on a drive to write to these new discs, and the discs themselves are surprisingly inexpensive - just $3.00 a discs. Could this mean a scratch free, crack free future? We sure hope so. Source: Computer WorldPosted Wed Aug 10, 2011 at 07:00 AM PDT by: -
Active 3D Television Makers Band Together to Find a Standard[teaser]The partnership says that we can expect to see these new glasses in the market by 2012. [/teaser] Samsung, Sony, and Panasonic may be competitors, but they all know that a war between active 3D television standards won't be helping anyone, especially with passive 3D tech on the rise. That's why they've banded together with glasses maker Xpand 3D to come up with a glasses technology that works for them. The new glasses will use RF technology rather than infrared, but will still include IR protocols for backwards compatibility for all 2011 active 3D televisions. The new glasses and standards are expected to roll out in 2012. "Through this alliance, we all look forward to addressing critical industry issues to enable a better consumer experience across products," says Sony's Jun Yonemitsu. "We believe active 3D technology is the most suitable method to deliver full 1080p picture quality to each eye, giving consumers the 3D experience they most desire." Source: SonyPosted Tue Aug 9, 2011 at 11:00 AM PDT by: -
Pioneer Intros its New Flagship Elite Receiver[teaser]The SC-57 boasts a new amplifier, networking capabilities, and DTS Neo: X compatibility. [/teaser] Pioneer has launched a pair of new receivers - the SC-55 and the SC-57, the latter of which is the flagship for the Elite line. The receivers are nearly identical in most respects, but the SC-57 boasts THX Ultra 2 Plus certification while the SC-55 does not. Both receivers benefit from the brand new D3 amplifier architecture. This new tech allows the receivers to be more power efficient, and disperse heat better. You'll also find that the SC-55 and SC-57 have lower total harmonic distortion than previous modes, thanks in part to a new signal path that's a third shorter than the 2010 models. Pioneer has packed AirPlay into its new receivers, which is becoming a regular if not required feature for new components. It also utilizes Air Jam, which lets you connect as many as four Bluetooth devices. You'll have to purchase Pioneer's Bluetooth adapter of course. The SC-55 and SC-57, both of which offer Marvell Qdeo processing, are available now through authorized dealers. The 55 comes in at $1,600 while the 57 carries an MSRP of $2,000. Source: PioneerPosted Tue Aug 9, 2011 at 09:00 AM PDT by: -
NAD Ships a Networked Digital Media Tuner[teaser]The new player offers streaming, playback of digital files, and an AM/FM tuner. [/teaser] It used to be that a tuner did one thing and one thing only. If you were a fan of AM or FM radio, you got a tuner. If you didn't care about the radio, you didn't. NAD's new C 446 tuner does a lot more than just radio. It boasts the ability to playback digital music files in a variety of formats including MP3, FLAC, and AAC. Thanks to the built in Wi-Fi you can also stream directly from a networked device. The C 446 is built for audio quality and uses high performance circuitry along with a 24bit/192kHz DAC to ensure excellent playback. It also offers the option of sending your AM/FM signal out through SPDIF rather than the stereo outs on the back of the unit. NAD's C 446 digital media tuner is available now at a price of $800. Source: TWICEPosted Tue Aug 9, 2011 at 07:00 AM PDT by: -
High-Def Digest-Digest: August 8, 2011by Dick Ward [teaser]So you've been going out to the beach, hitting the gym, going for walks, visiting amusement parks and doing other summery things. We get it, you can't always be up on the latest news in the world of HD entertainment. Lucky for you we stay inside to chronicle all of the best news of the past few weeks into a handy digest.[/teaser] Blu-Ray News Best Buy Gets 'Rio ,' 'Ice Age,' and 'The Chronicles of Narnia' 3D Blu-Rays Early If you're planning on picking up one or all of these flicks, they're available now at Best Buy while other retailers have to wait until the 30th. You'll get a $10 discount if you buy two, and a $15 discount if you pick up all three. 'Straw Dogs' Announced for Blu-ray The combination of Dustin Hoffman and Sam Peckinpah in this dark thriller makes 'Straw Dogs' a very good watch. Supplements have yet to be detailed for this one, but we hope to find out more before its September 6th release. 'Smallville: The Complete Tenth Season' Announced and Detailed for Blu-ray 'Smallville' may be over, but you can still enjoy the final season of the long running show when it hits Blu-ray on November 8th. Features include commentaries on two episodes, unaired scenes and featurettes. 'Pulp Fiction' & 'Jackie Brown' Blu-rays Detailed Both of Quentin Tarantino's flicks feature brand new digital mastering, lossless soundtracks and a bevy of special features. Both 'Pulp Fiction' and 'Jackie Brown' will be hitting shelves on October 4th. 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' Collector's Edition Blu-ray Delayed As much as we know you'd love to get your hands on the collector's edition classic film with Gene Wilder as Wonka and the special features that accompany it, you'll have to wait just a bit longer. It's been pushed back from October 4th to October 18th - two more weeks of waiting! 'Cape Fear' Announced and Detailed for Blu-ray Remakes are usually disappointing, but Martin Scorsese brought new life to 'Cape Fear' with an all-star cast including Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, and Juliette Lewis. You'll be able to pick this one up on October 18th. 'The Crow' Blu-ray Detailed If you haven't seen this incredibly dark love story set against the backdrop of 1990s Detroit then you really should. It's a cult classic and the final performance of Brandon Lee, who died far too young during the shooting of this film. The Blu-ray hits shelves on October 18th, just in time for Halloween. Gear and Industry News Pioneer Elite LCD TVs are Back! The Pioneer Elite brand hasn't been involved in televisions for some time, but a licensing agreement with Sharp puts them back on the market. Can Sharp's take on the sets live up to the Pioneer legacy? We'll find out this week when the 60 inch model reaches retail. Logitech CEO Steps Down - Revue Price Drops to $99 With all the problems it has, the Logitech Revue was a hard sell at $299, especially since the upgrade to improve functionality is still on the way. At $99 though, it's a much easier purchase, and may even end up being a very smart one. LG Announces Its New LW9800 TVs LG's high end sets boast offer smart TV features, 2D to 3D conversion, and Nano Full LED backlighting technology. LG's president even goes so far as to refer to the series as "the crown jewel of TVs." They'll be shown publicly this September, and hopefully priced and dated around the same time. Sony Making Big Changes to its TV Business While Sony may still be a big name in the home theater space, their TV business isn't exactly thriving. CEO Masaru Kato says that big changes are on the way, some of which have already been implemented. Panasonic Announces Its First Full HD 3D Home Theater Projector Panasonic has waited a while to put out its first 1080p 3D home theater projector, but from the specs it seems as if the wait has paid off. The projector boasts Overdrive Technology to help eliminate 3D crosstalk and employs a Red-Rich lamp for strong luminance of red colors.Posted Mon Aug 8, 2011 at 01:25 PM PDT by: -
DirecTV Growth Slows - VOD Sales Down[teaser]Though the growth may be slower, subscriptions are still growing. [/teaser] Cable and satellite subscriptions are slowing due to cost cutting, cord cutting and a still difficult economic climate. That doesn't mean everyone's losing customers though, and that's something that DirecTV CEO Mike White stresses. "We weren’t down versus a year ago; we just weren’t up 20% [like] we were in the first quarter," says White. That's an important distinction to make, especially in a market where the possibility of losing more customers than you're gaining is a distinct possibility. One of the things that White says is essential moving forward is an expansion of the TV Everywhere. "It’s critically dependent on the distribution relationships," says White. He says that the challenge moving forward with online streaming and similar services lie not with the technical side of thing, but with contracts. Source: Home Media MagazinePosted Mon Aug 8, 2011 at 12:30 PM PDT by: -
Dish Network Will Launch a Subscription Based Streaming Service[teaser]The recent Blockbuster acquisition makes that very possible for the company. [/teaser] "Everybody's enamoured with Netflix. Who's to say we can't do the same thing?" Those are the words of Dish Network president Joe Clayton, who has been talking up plans to launch a streaming service that could rival Netflix. When the company purchased Blockbuster earlier this year, analysts explored the possibilities for the company and one thing that kept coming up was subscription based streaming. In his recent interview with the LA Times he takes the "maybe" out of the picture. "We have access to the studios, we have access to huge movie libraries," says Clayton of the planned streaming service. As far as a timeline for this new service, Clayton simply says "Sooner is always better." Source: LA TimesPosted Mon Aug 8, 2011 at 11:00 AM PDT by: -
NAD Launches its Most Affordable A/V Receiver[teaser]It's not something you'll find at Walmart, but at $900 it's the cheapest that NAD has out. [/teaser] Blu-ray players tend to hover at around the same price, and while TVs vary by screen size, there seems to be a generally agreed upon price for each size of TV. Receivers, on the other hand, can range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand. NAD is a company whose receivers fall on the expensive side of the equation. They're made for folks who are particular about their audio and especially those who put music first above all else. The new T 748 holds this ideal true, but at an affordable price. The T 748 offers features you'll find on higher-end NAD receivers, like a high-speed DSP for decoding of high def audio formats, the EARS surround mode for converting stereo sources and support for 3D at 1080p. NAD's new T 748 is shipping now to dealers. You can pick it up at an MSRP of $900. Source: ecousticsPosted Mon Aug 8, 2011 at 09:00 AM PDT by: -
Bonus View Digest - August 5, 2011[teaser]Another week down and another load of Bonus View posts to cull through. This week we added another blogger – everyone welcome Wayne Rowe to the team! One of our bloggers took a bit of time off to add another tiny person to his family. Through all that though The Bonus View was able to keep you up to date with all the latest news, reviews, and recaps from around the high-def world.[/teaser] Blu-ray News This week Josh gave us the heads up on what we should look for on the Blu-ray shelves this week, along with an idea that maybe the Borders liquidation sale has finally come down to a price people wouldn't mind paying. Check out your local going-out-of-business Borders and see if you can score any good Blu-ray deals. Theatrical News Luke Hickman saw this week's movie releases and let us know if they were worth our time. Read reviews of 'The Change-Up' starring Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman, and see if the 'Planet of the Apes' prequel is worthy of your box office cash. Luke also told us a little bit about the new book by screenwriters Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant called Writing Movies for Fun and Profit: How We Made a Billion Dollars at the Box Office and You Can, Too! Now this seems like it will be pretty funny. Meanwhile, on the movie trailer front E had you covered with a discussion about trailers for 'In Time', 'Haywire', 'Sushi Girl', and 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'. Video Game News New blogger Wayne Rowe was brought on to cover the world of video games, among other topics. This week he delved into the always controversial topic of violent video games and discussed the Supreme Court's recent ruling on the subject. Dick Ward also covered the lackluster titles that were being released this week in the video game world. TV Recaps This week we had recaps for all your favorite summer shows. Take a gander at recaps for 'Alphas', 'True Blood', 'Burn Notice', 'Curb Your Enthusiasm', 'Haven', and 'Suits'. Special Features This week we saw quite a few special feature articles. The Weekend Roundtable and the Mid-Week Poll were there, but we also resurrected an old feature with Wayne Rowe called "One From the Vault." Here we take a look at rare, hard-to-find movies that are streaming on Netflix at the moment. This week Wayne takes a look at 'Zone Troopers'. Finally, our blogger Aaron Peck had his first kid over the weekend! A son. He wrote a short post about how he's going to introduce the world of film to him and how he'll hopefully love it just as much as he does. Thanks you for your continued support of High-Def Digest and The Bonus View. We promise to keep bringing you the best in news and opinion on everything hi-def! Have a great weekend!Posted Fri Aug 5, 2011 at 11:30 AM PDT by: -
Pioneer Elite LCD TVs are Back![teaser]There's no plasma in sight, but Sharp and Pioneer hail their new LED backlit LCD as providing the best picture quality on the market today. [/teaser] "Over the past 25 years the Elite brand has developed a loyal and avid fan base of audiophiles and videophiles," says Sharp marketing manager Tom Evans. He's right of course - Pioneer Elite is a well respected brand, especially when it comes to TVs like the legendary Kuro. Fans of Pioneer Elite sets may be a bit disappointed that there's no plasma, but Sharp is confident that you'll be blown away by what their LCD set has to offer. It boasts full LED backlighting, local dimming, a yellow sub-pixel, video streaming and everything else you'd expect to find in one of Sharp's high-end sets. The new Elite is THX certified and can be adjusted via Elite Pure Mode to replicate the look of an older Pioneer Elite set. It also offers Elite Advantage LiveSM which lets you connect directly to a personal advisor who can help you with calibration, picture adjustment or just basic setups. The true test of the displays will be what they look like when you sit down in front of them though. You'll be able to get a look at the $5,999, 60 inch model when it hits high-end retailers next week. By the end of the month, those same shops will have the 70 inch, $8,499 model for your consideration. Source: EngadgetPosted Fri Aug 5, 2011 at 11:00 AM PDT by:
