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Panasonic Adds MKV Support to 3-D Blu-ray Players[teaser]The DMP-BDT300 is the first of the 3-D BD player crop to earn DivX Plus HD certification. [/teaser] There's something great about a company that does something so helpful for their consumers. Panasonic has just announced that the DMP-BDT300, and all of the other Blu-ray players they'll be releasing this year, will support DivX Plus HD. DivX Plus HD combines H.264 video and AAC audio for a high quality picture and 5.1 channel audio, and it comes packed in an MKV file format. It's about the best you're going to find for high definition video in a digital format. Since Panasonic's new line of players all boast DivX Plus HD certification, you can play AVI, DIVX and MKV files with no problem. All that HD content you've been downloading will be fully compatible with all of Panasonic 3-D players. Source: PanasonicPosted Wed May 5, 2010 at 08:00 AM PDT by: -
Polaroid Will Be Selling a 100-inch HDTV[teaser]Starlight is on board to manufacture and distribute. [/teaser] The agreement between Polaroid and Starlight normally wouldn't bear looking at. It's a standard arrangement, and Starlight already makes plenty of products for budget brands like Emerson, Philips and Hitachi. Under the agreement, Starlight will be making Polaroid televisions for the next six years. Where it gets interesting is in the product plans. Starlight says that it will be creating LCD televisions for Polaroid from 12 inches on up to 100 inches. At first glance, the large size LCDs seem like something made for commercial and advertising use, but Starlight specifies that this will be for retail in both the US and Canada. "Polaroid-branded TVs from Starlight will embody sleek design with crystal-clear HD images combined with the value and quality the market demands," says Polaroid president Scott W. Hardy. Take that one with a grain of salt. Still, we'll see what happens when these sets start showing up in stores later this year, just in time for the holidays. Source: PolaroidPosted Wed May 5, 2010 at 06:00 AM PDT by: -
Digital Delivery of 3-D Coming Soon to RoxioNow[teaser]Sonic Solutions has just announced a program to fully support what they're calling the next big thing in home video. [/teaser] Sonic Solutions launched their new "Total 3-D" initiative today, designed to make them a leader in 3-D video. To start with, Sonic Solutions has been working to develop new 3-D disc authoring technologies. They'll be behind a lot of the Blu-rays that you see hitting shelves, in one way or another. But it's the consumer side that's really interesting. Sonic says that the RoxioNow service (formerly CinemaNow) is primed and ready to start delivering 3-D content. It's already powering 3-D displays in storefronts, all Sonic is waiting for now is the consumer content. There's also Video Lab 3D, which allows users to turn their 3-D content into standard DVDs for playback on compatible devices. "Our 'Total 3D' initiative is the next step in our Hollywood-to-Home strategy," says Sonic's Mark Ely. "The expertise we gain on the professional side allows us to engineer better consumer products with higher performance and broader compatibility." Source: Sonic SolutionsPosted Tue May 4, 2010 at 11:00 AM PDT by: -
LG Announces Entry Level 3-D Sets[teaser]The LX6500 series made its Korean debut today, with a US release expected soon. [/teaser] LG's LX6500 line products are designed to act as entry level 3-D sets. They're for those customers not looking for the best of the best, but something that just plain works. Pricing is pretty reasonable as far as 3-D televisions go. The 42 inch model costs the equivalent of $2,400 while the 55 inch set runs around $4,400. The LX6500 has a nice slim 22mm bezel and a few internet based features, which will likely change a bit when it comes stateside. It's LED backlit, sports 240Hz tech and its energy efficient. It's not the fanciest set by any means, just a nice, solid 3-D television. A set of 3-D glasses come with it, but extras will be available at around $110 each, or, as the Google Translated Korean press release puts it, "Built-in 3D glasses, a dog is to purchase additional quantities will be sold at 120,000 won." Source: LG (Translated)Posted Tue May 4, 2010 at 09:00 AM PDT by: -
More Customers Consider Cutting Back on Cable[teaser]Based on a Yankee Group survey, as many as 1 in 8 will be scaling back or cutting the cord completely.[/teaser] Television is a landscape that's still broadly dominated by cable, but increasing numbers of customers are cutting back, or dropping their subscriptions altogether. According to the latest survey from Yankee Group, 1 in 8 cable customers will either scale back their service or drop it in the next 12 months. While dropping cable is certainly the lesser chosen of the two paths, eliminating premium channels is becoming more common. Waiting for a movie to come on, or hoping it's available on demand, just doesn't stack up when compared to the cost and benefit associated with Netflix or Redbox rentals. And if you're willing to wait a bit, those Showtime and HBO shows do end up streaming, or on Blu-ray. Part of the problem, according to Yankee, is the rising cost of cable. Programming fees are going up, which means subscription prices must to go up to maintain company profits. Source: Yankee GroupPosted Tue May 4, 2010 at 07:00 AM PDT by: -
Don't Forget To Check Out "THE BONUS VIEW!"[teaser]If you're just reading the main sections of High-Def Digest, then you're only getting half the HDD experience! Don't forget about our newest feature: The Bonus View![/teaser] In case you missed the announcement, High-Def Digest started a new Blog last week that lets us show you the world of HD from a few new angles. The week is just starting, but we've already run the latest installments of some of our popular new features. So far we've covered the weekend box office, unearthed another bizarre little motion picture nugget, visited a G.I. Joe Collector's Convention, and asked the most important question of our day, "Just how old IS Jack Bauer?!!" So there you have it, visit the blog, leave your comments, share your favorite stuff on Facebook and come back tomorrow for more. Check out The Bonus View now!Posted Mon May 3, 2010 at 01:30 PM PDT by: -
James Cameron Sells NASA on a 3-D Mars Mission[teaser]Now that's one 3-D IMAX movie I wouldn't want to miss. [/teaser] The next Mars rover, Curiosity, will be launching in 2011 with a 3-D camera on board, in partial thanks to James Cameron. The plan from the beginning was to include a 3-D camera on the trip, but budget cuts forced the team to rethink the camera. It's not cheap creating a camera that's capable of surviving space travel, let alone the atmosphere of Mars. When it comes to 3-D cameras, which are already a good chunk of change more than standard cameras, things get even more expensive. Hearing of the decision to ditch the 3-D camera, James Cameron gave NASA administrator Charles Bolden a call. Cameron was able to convince Bolden that it was essential to take a 3-D camera on board, not for the science, but for inspiring the public. After all, it's been a while since there's been anything in space exploration that people could really rally behind. Exploring the actual Martian landscape in 3D at an IMAX theater may be just enough to get the public back behind NASA. Source: CBS NewsPosted Mon May 3, 2010 at 10:30 AM PDT by: -
Over Fifty Percent of Homes Have HDTVs, Less Than Fifty Percent Have an HD Signal[teaser]Is this an indicator that people are still buying HDTVs while not understanding HD programming, or that high definition television just doesn't matter to some people? [/teaser] The latest numbers from Neilson leave things ambiguous. 53 percent of homes are equipped with an HD television, but only 46 percent "are able to receive an HD signal." That means 7 percent of US homes have HDTV, but don't subscribe to an HD cable or satellite service. What's not accounted for in the numbers, is whether these people have access to HD through other means. Game systems like the Xbox 360 and PS3 are high definition sources. Blu-ray players, of course, put out an HD signal, as do internet stream and download services. So it could be that there are a lot of people out there that just don't care about HD programming, or, sadly, don't understand it. It could also be that a lot of people out there just don't care about HD television. Hopefully we'll get a nice breakdown sometime in the future. Source: NielsenPosted Mon May 3, 2010 at 09:30 AM PDT by: -
Redbox Records Record Profits – "Too Soon to Tell" Effect of Delayed Releases[teaser]It's been a good couple of months for Coinstar. They've got huge profits, agreements with the major studios, and Blu-rays on the way to their Redbox kiosks. [/teaser] Redbox kiosks have been doing great, which means Coinstar, the company that owns them, is doing great too. They made 6.4 million dollars in profit in the last three months; triple what they made last year. That 28 day window for releases hasn't hit yet though. "We’re very new into this, because we’re only a few days into this new window," says Coinstar CEO Paul Davis. But it may even out based on their newly increase access. "One of the things that happened with the workaround is we didn’t get the quantities we wanted to stock in our machine, " said Davis. It looks like Blu-ray is finally on the way, but it's going to start in the markets where Blu-ray disc sales are strongest. "We’ll try our best to match where the market is," said Davis, adding that though a price still isn't set in stone, you're not going to see dollar-a-day Blu-rays. "because we’re paying more for it, obviously." Source: Home Media MagazinePosted Mon May 3, 2010 at 09:00 AM PDT by: -
Samsung Fixes the 'Avatar' Blu-ray Issue[teaser]The firmware is out and now all Samsung Blu-ray players should be able to enjoy 'Avatar.' [/teaser] Early Samsung players – the BD-UP5000 and the BD-P1400 – had a bit of an issue with 'Avatar' when it came out on Blu-ray. Because of a new digital rights management (DRM) technology, the movie just plain wouldn't play on those earlier players. Thanks to a pair of firmware updates, the issue has now been resolved. If you own one of the two problematic players, you can jump onto Samsung's site, download and install the appropriate firmware, and you're good to go. What looked like a big compatibility problem is now a non-issue. But there's still a lingering question of just how long firmware updates will be able to future proof older players. Source: SlashgearPosted Sun May 2, 2010 at 02:15 PM PDT by:
