Filed under: Industry, Blu-ray, HD DVD, Other hardware, Players, Others

Though the clear winner and loser in the format war was Sony and Toshiba, respectively, quite a few behind the scenes supporters are now facing similar celebrations / dilemmas in dealing with the fallout. A new report takes an in-depth look at how chip makers are faring, and while not surprising, we are told that both NEC and Broadcom are reeling after HD DVD went under, and will have to “absorb software R&D costs that can’t be recouped.” On the flip side, parties such as Sigma Designs and IBM have their lucky stars to thank, as the former even attempted to ally with Toshiba but were spurned in favor of Broadcom. Interestingly, the article also notes that many fencesitters are now looking to jump in, which could hopefully lead to increased competition and lower overall prices for those anxious to snap up a Blu-ray player in short order.

[Thanks, Daniel H.]

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Filed under: Industry, Other formats

Yeah, companies have been trumpeting their capability to crank out discs that will last long after Martians come and evaporate our minds here on Earth for some time, but for archive junkies out there, more is always superior. On deck this day is Mitsubishi’s ARLEDIA DVD-Rs, which reportedly feature corrosion-resistant coatings made from gold and silver. ‘Course, you can only write to these at 8x, but they are expected to last about twice as long as traditional recordable discs. Not like you’ll be around to prove ‘em wrong, though.

[Via Impress]

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Filed under: Cable, New content

While we’re pretty sure New Jersey residents (along with many other cable subscribers nationwide) were envious of Virginians earlier this month, it looks as if Comcast is taking its additions up north. Reportedly, the cable company is scheduled to add SportsNet New York HD, USA HD, Sci-Fi HD, Food Network HD, A&E HD, HD Theater, The History Channel HD, HGTV HG and Animal Planet HD to the lineup on March 27th. Granted, not all parts of NJ will be affected, but we are hearing that systems in the Jersey Shore communities from Sandy Hook down to Long Beach Island should find ‘em late next month.

[Thanks, Joe O.]

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Via [Engadgethd]

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Filed under: Gadgets

Now that the HD DVD/Blu-ray battle seems to be over with Blu-ray declared the winner, investing in a high-end Blu-ray player isn’t a foolish endeavor. Goldmund, the high-end AV manufacturer that created the amazing home theater I toured last October, has come out with the Eidos 20 BD, a Blu-ray player that offers an “AC-Curator” power supply circuit which dramatically improves picture and sound stability and dynamics, “Mechanical Grounding” construction which removes from the player mechanism spurious vibrations blurring the video signal and increasing jitter and “Magnetic Damper” a device lowering reading errors. The Eidos 20 BD is priced at $16,900.

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Filed under: Industry, HBO-HD, Internet, New content

Get set, HBO fans, as the content (some of it, at least) you know and love is now available on the world’s most overly populated video sharing site. Shortly after announcing HBO on Broadband, the network is branching out even further by inking a deal with YouTube to provide “select promotional content on HBO’s new branded YouTube channel.” Starting today, videos from Flight of the Conchords, The Wire, Def Comedy Jam, Real Time with Bill Maher, Real Sports, Extras, Stand Up Comedy, Habla y Habla and Entourage will be available for viewing, while full-length clips from In Treatment will also be offered up. Now, if only YouTube would get with the program and go high-def, we’d really be satisfied.

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Via [Engadgethd]

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Filed under: Media streamers, Others

When CES 2007 came around, a good portion of the US stopped and thanked their lucky stars as MediaGate’s fairly well-spec’d lineup finally came stateside. Now, the same firm is introducing the MG-350HD’s (pictured) successor, the MG-450HD. Said entertainment server enables owners to wirelessly stream HD video, music, and other media to an HDTV or stereo from their Personal computer, and it also fetches content from networked hard drives and locally attached USB drives. Unfortunately, this one caps out at 802.11g, but it does include HDMI, optical / coaxial digital audio outs and Ethernet to boot. At $249, it’s still a bit more expensive than Popcorn Hour’s highly praised A-100, but loyalists probably won’t mind.

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Filed under: Industry, HD DVD, Other formats

Granted, Netflix did warn us that renting HD DVDs from it would become a lesson in futility in due time, but we’re receiving multiple reports that the company has already began switching queued HD DVD titles to vanilla DVDs. If this is going on en masse, that’s a pretty quick changeover, to say the least. So, dear readers, have any of your HD DVDs mysteriously morphed into regular DVDs overnight? Sound off below!

[Thanks, Chris and Aaron]

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Filed under: Industry

According to research firm Parks Associates, revenues from home theater and distributed audio systems will almost double over the next five years and reach $11-billion. If the current housing slump has you thinking that you’ll be in your current abode forever and miss out on your share of that whole-home pie, take heart — the firm expects to see growth in the retrofit market as well. As wireless networking equipment makes it cheaper and easier to saturate your home with entertainment bits, getting a whole-home system won’t require new construction or major renovation. Receivers with multiple zone support are common these days, but EHD readers know that all the necessary pieces for whole-home entertainment (audio and video, please) are showing up in the market; what’s really needed is some integration and streamlining. So bring it on, manufacturers; pulling cables through walls is no fun!

[Image courtesy CEPro]

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Via [Engadgethd]

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Filed under: Blu-ray, Players, Panasonic

By our count, Panasonic’s DMP-BD30 wasn’t a half bad Blu-ray player from day one, but apparently, it just got a whole lot better. Effectively immediately, owners can surf on over to the firm’s website and grab hold of the v1.6 firmware, which promises to fix the LFE audio issue that some were experiencing. Additionally, Panny informs us that BD-V (PiP) playability and HDMI compatibility are also improved upon, but no further details are given. Anxious to update? Head on down to the read link to get your download on, and stop on by the via to see how others have fared.

[Via AVSForum, thanks Brian L.]

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Filed under: Gadgets

Zippos have long been the Cadillacs of the lighter world, and other than getting regular external fashion and color updates the basics have always been the same. Until now. Now we have Zippo BLU, which trades in the old fuel for a hot-burning butane based flame. Blue and stick straight (even in the wind) it’s got cool points coming out its ears. And along with the new fuel the Zippo BLU lighters have an updated external design to set them apart from their longstanding cousins, even though they keep all the good stuff (one-hand operation, the trademark flint-wheel ignition system, and lifetime warranty). $30+

Via Dvice

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