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Blockbuster is Up for Sale[teaser]If you've got $300 million laying around, you could own a struggling mega-franchise of your very own. [/teaser] Poor 'Blockbuster' hasn't been doing so well these past few years. After battling bankruptcy and trying out new business strategies it seems that Blockbuster is finally throwing in the towel. "Its business has continued to deteriorate so much that existing creditors couldn’t agree to put more cash into the business," says Edward Woo, researcher at Wedbush Securities. "Now it's left with no choice but to sell itself, or consider the possible option of a Chapter 7 liquidation." Assuming the major studios are willing to work with the new owners and provide Blockbuster with the same deals its getting now, the price looks to be around $290 million. Now Blockbuster just has to hope someone's willing to pay it. Source: Home Media MagazinePosted Wed Feb 23, 2011 at 09:00 AM PST by: -
Sony Launches Streaming Music Service "Music Unlimited"[teaser]It's powered by Qriocity and available now on connected Sony devices. [/teaser] The name Qriocity is a hard sell, but even worse might be the name of the company's new streaming music subscription service "Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity." Seriously, that whole thing is the name. Name aside, Sony's new service is actually quite impressive. For $3.99 you can use it as an ad-free radio station that adapts to your likes and dislikes based on your ratings. For $9.99 you can jump on and listen to the song or album that you want, create custom playlists and access premium channels. If you already have music on your computer, you can add that into the mix too. It's a nice feature that makes it simple to stream music from your existing collection without having to open another program to do it. Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity is available now and can be found at Qriocity.com. Source: PR NewswirePosted Wed Feb 23, 2011 at 07:00 AM PST by: -
Amazon Launches Free Streaming Video for Prime Subscribers[teaser]It's only a selection of 5,000 titles, but that's not bad at all for the price. [/teaser] It's been suspected that Amazon would launch a streaming service of its own for a few years now and it seems the idea is finally coming to fruition. It's not as impressive as we hoped, but it's a nice start, especially considering the price. A total of 5,000 titles are up to watch right now and are able to be streamed in HD, though early reports say that the quality isn't up to part with Netflix. On the plus side, it seems that any device that can already handle Amazon's video on demand service can access these movies. It seems clear that Amazon isn't pushing to be the new Netflix, but simply offering a new feature for customers that already subscribe to Amazon Prime. Could this be a test of things to come? We'll see. Oh, and if you're an Amazon Prime member that isn't paying for the service, like students who get Prime for free, you won't be getting these movies. Paying customers only. Source: EngadgetPosted Tue Feb 22, 2011 at 11:20 AM PST by: -
Roku Sells Millionth Box - Celebrates With a Giveaway[teaser]You could nab yourself a 46 inch TV, a year of Netflix, and more. [/teaser] The folks over at Roku have reason for celebration as they've just sold their millionth Roku box. You can bet they're partying in their offices, but they want to let the fans in on it too. To show their appreciation, Roku is giving away some prizes. At the very top is a 46 inch Insignia set that comes paired with a Roku XD|S and a year of broadband. Ten lucky winners will take home the second place prize - a Roku XD|S and three months of free Netflix. In addition to the physical prizes, you have a chance at a Hulu Plus subscription, Amazon Video on Demand credit and a year's worth of Crunchy Roll. You can swing on over to Roku's website right now and add your name and photo for a chance to win. Source: RokuPosted Tue Feb 22, 2011 at 11:00 AM PST by: -
Samsung and LG Expect 3D TV Sales to Jump This Year[teaser]Both companies are looking for increases. Samsung says sales increase will be five fold. [/teaser] More and more TVs are being made with 3D built right in, which means companies should see an increase in sales this year. LG and Samsung are banking on more than just the fact that almost all high-end TVs are 3D TVs. Last year, Samsung sold 2 million 3D television sets. In 2011, the company expects to sell around 10 million. Sales that high would certainly help to confirm the public acceptance of the 3D viewing experience. Though LG is going down a different branch technology-wise, they're in agreement with Samsung about sales. Though the company hasn't disclosed its 3D sales figures for last year, LG is expecting to move 5 million 3D televisions this year. Source: USA Today (via Engadget)Posted Tue Feb 22, 2011 at 09:00 AM PST by: -
Denon Upgrades High End Receivers - Adds Audyssey Features and More[teaser]The upgrade is slated to hit in October, and will include 3D pass-through capabilities. [/teaser] When you buy a cheap receiver, chances are there won't be any sympathy when it goes out of date. You'll just have to buy a new one. When you get high-end gear though, the companies tend to be a lot more interested in keeping you on as a customer. Denon is no exception, and will be offering a hardware and firmware upgrade to owners of their high-end AVR-5308CI and AVP-A1HDCI receivers this October. "Early adopters who purchased the flagship AVR-5308CI A/V receiver and AVP-A1HDCI Preamplifier nearly 4 years ago bought them with the confidence that they would experience the very best home entertainment for years to come," says Denon's Jeff Talmadge. If you want to get more details on the upgrade, you can sign up to be alerted by email from Denon. Source: eCousticsPosted Tue Feb 22, 2011 at 07:00 AM PST by: -
Comcast Launches a 24/7 3D Channel of its Own[teaser]Not only will the channel offer sports and movies, but live concerts as well. [/teaser] DirecTV isn't the only game in town when it comes to 3D. Comcast has officially launched its own 3D channel called Xfinity 3D. It sounds promising too, since new and live content is hyped over filler documentaries. It's not that documentaries on scary castles, the ocean, the sun and dinosaurs aren't interesting, it's just that they're not incredibly compelling. Both 3D channels offer documentary content, and plenty of 2D channels do too. The thing that's setting Xfinity 3D apart - at least for now - is the promise of live content. The first night kicked off with the 2011 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic which was followed by a Kings of Leon concert. Events like this make Xfinity 3D look very appealing. Source: EngadgetPosted Tue Feb 22, 2011 at 05:00 AM PST by: -
Disney Raises Prices to Netflix and Redbox[teaser]Both companies will be paying full wholesale pricing of $17.99 per title. [/teaser] Disney movies are big money. Rental services know it, customers know it and most importantly Disney knows it. They don't do anything on the cheap - at least when it comes to their incredible collection of animated features. Redbox and Netflix are starting to feel the results of that philosophy. No longer will they be getting cheap videos from Disney. Starting with 'Secretariat,' they're paying the same $17.99 as everyone else. "Each of our studio partnerships is unique," says Redbox president Mitch Lowe. "Disney has been a consistent partner since day one, and we are proud to feature Disney titles day-and-date at our more than 26,000 locations nationwide." It's hard to tell what kind of effect this will have on each of the companies. Redbox will likely not change its strategy too terribly much, but since Netflix seems to be steering away from physical media we could see fewer discs purchased. Source: Home Media MagazinePosted Mon Feb 21, 2011 at 12:25 PM PST by: -
HD Advisor Surprise Symphony No. 94Editor's Note: Each Friday, High-Def Digest's own HD Advisor will answer a new round of questions from our readers. If you have home theater questions you need answered, send an email to [email protected]. If you've already sent a question and don't see it answered yet, please be patient as we work our way through them. To browse through previously answered questions, visit the main HD Advisor page. Answers by Joshua Zyber Audio and Video Drop-Outs Q: I primarily watch Blu-rays on my main home theater set-up. This includes a Panasonic 65" VT25 plasma television, an OPPO BDP-93 Blu-ray player, and a Pioneer VSX-1020K A/V receiver. Occasionaly I will lose both audio and video for just a split second. The television screen will go black, sound is lost completely, and the audio decode display on my receiver will go blank. This lasts for literally less than one second, but I have never experienced this on any of my other televisions, or other A/V receivers. I have a feeling that this entire event is being caused by my receiver, as the television itself has never lost audio and video, or either whilst viewing without the receiver turned on. I have both audio and video going through my receiver via HDMI. If it were the television causing this, I believe I would only lose my video signal. If it were the Blu-ray player causing this, I don't believe it would manifest itself this way. Moreover, I previously used a Sony BDP-S770 before obtaining the OPPO, and this happened once or twice while using that player. If this is being caused by my receiver, is it putting my television, speakers, or Blu-ray player at risk? It's quite disturbing to experience it happening, especially if I have the volume cranked up. Is this an issue that would warrant contacting Pioneer and pursuing a service request? Or is it happening too infrequently for them to be able to pinpoint the problem? I have owned many other HDTVs, receivers, and Blu-ray players, and this problem is unique to my current primary home theater set-up. Do you have your video and audio going through your receiver via HDMI? Have you ever experienced anything like this? A: It sounds to me like you're probably experiencing HDMI handshaking problems somewhere in your signal chain. If the HDMI connection loses its "handshake," video and audio will cease to transmit until the handshake is re-established. If you have an A/V receiver in the middle of your signal chain, the Blu-ray player needs to handshake with the receiver, and the receiver needs to handshake with the TV. The problem could be occurring at either of these junctures. If you believe the receiver is at fault, I would recommend testing this by connecting the Blu-ray player directly to your TV for a while. If you continue to get the drop-outs, the problem must be in either the Blu-ray player or the TV. I would also recommend that you make sure that all of your equipment that offers the ability to upgrade firmware (the OPPO player certainly does) is currently up-to-date in that regard. As I recall, the first batches of the OPPO BDP-93 player were known to have handshaking issues with certain brands of receiver. OPPO later issued a firmware update that fixed this. If your firmware is current, I would suggest that you attempt to contact OPPO Digital first, because I know that company to be more responsive than Panasonic or Pioneer. If you provide them with the details of your signal chain and your issue, they might be able to replicate the problem on their end. Do you have other video sources (such as cable TV?) routed through the same A/V receiver? Have you experienced drop-outs with those? If the drop-outs only occur on Blu-ray, this leads me to suspect the Blu-ray player, or the specific combination of the Blu-ray player with that model of receiver, is the culprit. As for whether these drop-outs are harmful to your equipment, I don't believe so, unless you've also experienced a loud audio pop when it happens. The audio pops could damage your speakers. If that isn't the case, drop-outs like this are really more of a nuisance than anything. You should certainly do what you can to get them corrected, but I doubt that you've caused any permanent harm to your home theater gear. Time Compression on Broadcast TV Q: I've noticed multiple times that movies on TV will be noticeably sped up. The first time I noticed this was 'Spider-Man 3'. If I remember correctly, the channel was TBS. It took me a few minutes to figure out what was putting me off so much. But as soon as I got it, it appeared horribly jarring. It really made the whole thing look cheap. Of course, the commercials were in normal speed. That particularly offended me. I've seen the problem several times since on various channels. Is this now normal? And are the networks just doing it so they can fit more commercials? And how long has this been going on? A: Unfortunately, time compression of movies broadcast on television is not a new phenomenon. Networks have done this pretty much ever since the first movies were ever aired on TV. It's especially prevalent on basic cable channels, but the major networks do it too. Aside from the pay channels, broadcast TV schedules are almost always divided up into neat blocks of half-hour and hour segments. The running lengths of theatrical movies, on the other hand, are rarely so regimented. If a network has a two-hour timeslot to fill, but the movie it wants to air is 2hr. 3 min., it's very rare that a network will let the movie run over. The options instead are to cut footage or speed up the playback so that the movie finishes faster. Depending on the exact length of the film, some combination of both may be used. Of course, you also need to factor commercials into this. Advertising is how the networks actually make money. Per their contracts with the advertisers, the networks will not edit or speed up the commercials. From a business perspective, the ads are more important than the movies being shown. The pressure to fit more commercials into the time slot with the movie often leads to some very aggressive editing and time compression. The pay channels (HBO, Showtime, etc.) are more flexible with timeslot scheduling, don't have commercials, and don't usually have censorship requirements. So, these issues are less common there. That's the benefit of paying for those stations, I suppose. (Editor's Note: Though I recently watched 'The American President' on HBO and was stunned to realize Richard Dreyfuss, the chief foil for the entire movie, had been completely cut from the last half of the film!) "Flipper" Discs Q: Summit Entertainment recently started releasing "flipper" discs. That is, a disc authored with Blu-ray on one side and DVD on the other. I first noticed this on the 'Letters to Juliet' Blu-ray, and then the trend popped more recently with 'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse', and 'RED'. I have not noticed any other studio releasing these flipper discs. I'm wondering if this affects the video quality of the Blu-ray video transfer on the disc? I would assume that dividing up that much disc space for a separate DVD transfer would have to take away from what could have potentially been invested in the Blu-ray video transfer. Am I wrong in believing this? A: "Flipper" type discs like you describe should not compromise the Blu-ray video quality. They essentially amount to a Blu-ray and a DVD glued together back-to-back. The Blu-ray content and the DVD content remain separated to their own disc layers, and are not intermingled together. The DVD content won't be taking up any disc space on the Blu-ray layers. I don't have any of the titles you cite, but the Blu-ray spec provides for dual-sided discs that can contain two layers per side, for a total of four layers per disc. This means that a "flipper" disc can store the same full 50 GB of content on the Blu-ray side as a normal one-sided disc. (Assuming that's how the studio has chosen to author and press the discs, of course.) Homework Assignment: You Be the Advisor The HD Advisor knows many things, but he doesn't know everything. Some questions are best answered with a consensus of opinions from our readers. If you can help to answer the following question, please post your response in our forum thread linked at the end of this article. Your advice and opinions matter too! Bandwidth Limiting Issues with Streaming Content Q: My Roku box and PS3 were working well streaming content in HD, until recently. After hours of talking to AT&T, Netflix, Roku and Vudu help lines, I am still unable to play any of the above in HD. I have checked all port settings and firewall settings for the units. Have any other readers had this trouble? When I directly asked AT&T about bandwidth limiting these devices (Roku, PS3, Vudu), they would not answer my question! The really strange thing is that my computer can play Netflix and Amazon in HD and pulls 5.5 mbps. I'm at a loss. Check back soon for another round of answers. Keep those questions coming. Joshua Zyber's opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of this site, its owners or employees.Posted Fri Feb 18, 2011 at 11:00 AM PST by: -
LG Releases Flicker Free 3D TV in Korea[teaser]The impressive LED backlit set lets you use passive glasses and promises a better 3D picture than most. [/teaser] Like all tech companies these days, LG is high on 3D. Like all of the other major television makers, LG wants to be your go-to choice for 3D sets. Unlike most other companies though, LG is using passive technology for their new set. The CINEMA 3D TV uses what LG is referring to as flicker free technology but would be more accurately called passive tech. It's the same kind of 3D you get in movie theaters, some projectors and Vizio's large 3D set. LG boasts that their adaptation of the 3D technology is the best yet, offering a wider viewing angle, brighter images and fewer visual interruptions than sets offered up by competitors. LG's CINEMA 3D TV, also known as the LW5700, has made its debut in Korea. A global rollout is planned for March. Source: eCousticsPosted Fri Feb 18, 2011 at 10:00 AM PST by:
