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Toshiba to drop HD DVD?

Well it certainly seems that way according to an article in the Hollywood Reporter that quotes sources from Toshiba. Jodi Sally, VP of marketing for Toshiba America Consumer Products, was quoted as saying "Toshiba will continue to study the market impact and the value proposition for consumers, particularly in light of its recent price reductions on all HD DVD players." Another HD DVD source is quoted as saying “An announcement is coming soon, It could be a matter of weeks.”

It's unfortunate but not surprising given the hundreds of millions of dollars that Sony's Blu-ray camp has thrown at the movie studios. 

Earlier this week, Netflix and Best Buy announced their support for Blu-ray. You can also look to Amazon.com who is offering 50% off HD DVD's and other online retailers that have or will follow.

CES 2008: CES - It's a Wrap

Well, another CES has come and gone and I'm still recovering. The early numbers show the attendance was down from about 150,000 last year to about 140,000 this year. Really? I didn't notice, the show seemed more crowded and bigger than ever, covering over 8 football fields! There was so much to see and no matter how long you're there, it's still tough to see and touch everything. There really wasn't much this year that stood out and grabbed me. Yes, I laughed at Bill Gates final Keynote address, drooled over Panasonic's 150" Plasma TV that would require a crane to lift it into place, Kid Rock and the new Corvette ZR1, Comcast's new FREE VOD website Fancast, XStreamHD, Logitech's SqueezeBox Duet...actually, there was some cool stuff to see this year.

Here's some more great CES 2008 Wrap Ups:

About.com
Best of CES 2008

CNET CES 2008 Wrap Up
Home Audio Wrap Up
Home Video Wrap Up
HDTV Wrap Up
Computers Wrap Up
Emerging Technologies Wrap Up
Car Tech Wrap Up
Portable Wrap Up
Cell Phone & Smart Phone Wrap Up

DigitalCameraReview.com
CES 2008 Wrap-Up

Earth2Tech
CES Green Gadget Wrap Up

Engadget
CES 2008: Everything you must see
The Best of Crapgadget

Engadget HD
CES 2008: The Best and worst of HD
CES 2008: The Best of Set Top Boxes
CES 2008: The Best of LCD TV HDTVs
CES 2008: The Best of Plasma HDTVs
CES 2008: The Best of Blu-ray Players

GearLog
Best of CES 2008

Gizmodo
Best of CES 2008

Mahalo
Everything CES 2008
CES 2008 Videos

PC Magazine
Best of CES 2008

popgadget
CES - It's a wrap

Tech Digest
CES 2008: The 50 Hottest Products

CES 2008: CNET's Best of CES Awards

CNET has posted it's annual Best of CES Award winners. The winners range from a green eco friendly TV to DIY gadgets. Check it out...

Over 10,000 CNET members also voted on the People's Voice Award winners in each CE category.

You can also watch a video of the awards here.

Panasonic Announces New LiFi Rear Projection Technology

Panasonic has developed a new rear projection backlighting system called LiFi. Most rear projection TV's are using UHP lamp technology which uses filaments that will eventually burn out but LiFi does not so basically, you buy the set and it may last forever! Well, they are claiming at least that the bulb may never burn out. As an added bonus, the Lifi sets will have a much faster power up time which Panasonic says is about 10 seconds vs. 60 seconds with the traditional lamp systems.

Panasonic will will begin shipping the new LiFi powered LCD sets of 61", 56" and 50" in May 2007. No pricing as of yet.

[photo courtesy of Engadget HD]

CES: Day 2 Roundup

Sharp Introduces World's Largest LCD TV

The consumer electronics market is dog-eat-dog and here's another example...not. Sharp wasn't happy until it created what they are calling "the world's largest LCD TV set" which measures a whopping 108". Of course, no price has been set yet. Why do we need a TV this big? Do they think they will really sell any?

Optoma announces 120" DLP RPTV

Here we go again, another world's largest TV. This time it's the Optoma 120" 1080p DLP rear projection model...It's not a set that is likely to sell but I guess these TV manufacturers just want to prove they can outdo each other. They were actually crazy enough to release a price. Take a guess how much......$50k! Actually MSRP is $49,999. Good luck Optoma.

Philips debuts wireless HDMI

Philips announced the world's first wireless HDMI system which consists of a wireless transmitter and receiver capable of transmitting a full 1080p of lossless signal. Range is estimated at 25 feet. They say it is not susceptible to  interference from  other wireless devices such as WiFi, Bluetooth, cordless phones, etc. How do we know that this device won't actually create any interference of it's own which could be a problem for any digital off air signals. We'll have to wait and see.

DirecTV launches Video Gamers League

On the heels of causing a stir with it's announcement that it plans to add 100 national HD channels in 2007 comes the announcement of plans to launch a video gamers league called Championship Gaming Series. This new league will be include gamers from North America, Latin America, United Kingdom, Eurpoe, Middle East, Asia and Australia. I haven't even used my XBox Live subscription yet!

LG Electronics Unveils New ‘Super Multi Blue’ Dual-format PC DriveLG Electronics introduced Super Multi Blue optical storage drives featuring enhanced flexibility for the next-generation DVD formats and security features. All you need to know is that it will read and write in both high def DVD formats Blu-ray Disk and HD DVD.

TechCrunch Reviews Online Movie Download Services

TechCrunch has posted an indepth review of the top legal movie download services, basically comparing iTunes to GUBA, CinemaNow, MovieLink and AmazonUnBox. If you're on a Mac, you're only choice will be iTunes but if you have a PC, your options are wide open and you should explore them.

I really think IP Video is the wave of the future and downloading movies & TV shows on demand and will definately be the preferred delivery method within a few short years. For some, I'm sure you're already there. Leave a comment and let us know how you're using the various download services and who is getting your entertainment dollars.

Finally, a new DirecTV HD DVR!

And you thought it was only a myth! DirecTV has finally shipped, albeit a few, HR20-700 HD DVRs. Earl Bonovich at DBSTalk.com was able to get his hands on one and has been gracious enough to give us an in-depth hand-on review. Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: dvr, hdtv, high definition, directv, tivo

Review: Westinghouse LVM-42w2 42-inch 1080p LCD Monitor

Audioholics has posted an in-depth review of the Westinghouse LVM-42w2 42-inch 1080p LCD Monitor. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the results.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[via HDBeat]

Technorati Tags: hdtv, high definition, home theater, lcd, 1080p, television, westinghouse

Hitachi to offer quad tuner and PVR with LCD and plasma TVs

Hitachi will offer four tuners and a hard drive based PVR in their upcoming plasmas and LCD TVs

For its 50th anniversary, Hitachi has announced a new line of high-definition plasma and LCD televisions with a little more than just a built-in HDTV terrestrial tuner. The Wooo 9000 line of TVs has 4 tuners, (2 digital, 2 analog), HDMI input, SD memory card slots, USB, CableCard and a 10/100 Ethernet port for the PVR-based models. Hard-drive sizes or capacity is not known at present.

[via PVR Wire via DailyTech]

Technorati Tags: hdtv, high definition, hitachi, home theater, plasma, pvr, pvr wire, dailytech

Review: HD-DVD

Another review posted by Ben @ HDBeat and if you're at all thinking of buying a next-gen DVD player, you better read it. Could the DVD format war be over before they've really even begun? Sony, it's your turn...Remember Betamax?

Technorati Tags: dvd, hdbeat, hd-dvd, hdtv, high definition, home entertainment, home theater, movies, sony, toshiba