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Developments in the Blu-ray/HD DVD format war kicked into high gear in the past couple of months. November and December saw the bulk of the long-delayed HD product lines finally hitting store shelves: Blu-ray players from Sony, Panasonic, and Philips; the PlayStation 3; the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on; and the second-generation Toshiba HD DVD players. In the new year, both camps came out swinging at CES 2007. With so much news to process, we've taken the opportunity to collect all the major developments into one easily digestible chunk.
Enter the combo player: LG officially unveiled the BH100, the first device to play both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs. Despite the caveats--it's $1,200, and the HD DVD functionality lacks that format's HDi interactivity features--this breakthrough player is the first model that's essentially future-proof. High-definition cinephiles will be able to buy movies on either format without fear of backing the wrong horse. The best news? The BH100 is already on store shelves.
...and the combo discs: LG offered hardware détente, while Warner took the software angle. Warner's new Total HD format (THD) puts an HD DVD and a Blu-ray version of the same movie on a single disc, which Warner pledges will sell for the same price as its single-format counterpart. Like the LG, it's a great hedge against the uncertain HD future.
51GB triple-layer HD DVD disc: Size matters, and Blu-ray has long been trumpeting its 50GB dual-layer disc capacity over HD DVD's 30GB. The underdog struck back with news of a 51GB triple-layer prototype. That puts HD DVDs ahead by a nose--at least until Blu-ray's rumored quad-layer 100GB discs hit the streets.
New HD DVD players: To date, only Toshiba's been producing set-top HD DVD players, albeit sometimes relabeled under the RCA brand. Toshiba expanded its second-generation lineup by one--adding the HD-A20, a $600 player that offers 1080p output)--but the company will finally be getting some company. Chinese manufacturers Shinco, Alco, and Lite-On are set to offer more affordable players later in the year, and the more familiar Onkyo and luxury Meridian lines will also be joining the camp.
New Blu-ray players: Samsung announced that its second-generation Blu-ray player, the BD-P1200, will sport cutting-edge HDMI 1.3 output despite costing $800 when it debuts in March; that's a 20 percent discount from the first-generation BD-P1000, which hit stores just a few months ago. Sharp also pledged to release its first Blu-ray player in 2007, while Panasonic, Pioneer, and Philips continued to highlight their recently released first-generation models. Sony, meanwhile, showed off two "Sapphire" Blu-ray prototypes, follow-ups to its brand-new BDP-S1. Of course, the PlayStation 3 remains the most affordable Blu-ray player on the market, with none of the players announced at CES 2007 beating the $500 and $600 price points of the two PS3 models.
Sales figures--who's winning? Both HD DVD and Blu-ray are fledgling formats, but that doesn't stop each camp from bragging that they've already left the other in the dust. While the numbers should be taken with a huge grain of salt, it appears that the two game consoles seem to be leading the charge for HD movies: Microsoft is said to have sold about 100,000 Xbox 360 HD DVD peripherals. Meanwhile, almost 700,000 U.S. consumers have picked up Sony's Blu-ray-capable PlayStation 3. HD DVDs total install base stands at just 175,000 (including, presumably, those Xbox 360 drives), though the camp has pledged to ship 2.5 million players by the end of the year (1.8 million of them from Toshiba).
It's all about the content: Hardware's all fine and good, but these formats will live and die based on the available content. To that end, Team Blu-ray looks to be ramping up in 2007 after a slow start. Disney, Fox, and Sony Pictures announced a slew of titles that won't be available on HD DVD, while Paramount and Warner will be releasing HD versions of fan favorites--including Blade Runner and the Matrix and Harry Potter films--in both formats. Universal remains the lone major studio that's exclusively publishing on HD DVD. It's little surprise, then, that the total number of Blu-ray titles (currently around 150) will soon begin to surpass the available HD DVD catalog. In other words, the burden is on HD DVD to continue to offer compelling content in light of the forthcoming deluge of Blu-ray movies.
The porn factor: There was a lot of ink on the fact that the adult industry has chosen HD DVD over Blu-ray. It turns out that Blu-ray isn't totally giving porn the cold shoulder, but the industry does appear to be backing the easier-to-produce HD DVD format instead. As Bill Hunt points out at The Digital Bits, the analogy with VHS and Beta isn't likely to hold up here (the appearance of adult movies on VHS was said to be a key factor in that format's eventual victory over porn-free Beta): With digitized smut readily available online, the adult industry's apparent preference for HD DVD isn't the slam dunk that some are painting it to be.
Cracked security: HD DVD and Blu-ray were both supposed to include military-grade encryption that would keep the HD content safe from pirates. Apparently, however, it's taken hackers less than a year to crack open the AACS protection found on both formats, resulting in HD copies of Serenity appearing on BitTorrent within days. Now come rumors that Blu-ray--despite having an extra level of copy-protection--is ripe for the plundering as well. If true, it could mean that both formats could amp up their guard, activating heretofore dormant security measures such as the image constraint token (lower resolution via component video).
A plague on both their houses? Perhaps the biggest issue still facing HD DVD and Blu-ray is the fact that neither could win. After years of false promises, so-called digital delivery is finally becoming a reality. Industry heavy hitters Microsoft (Xbox 360 Video Marketplace) and Apple (iTunes Store) are already offering movies and TV shows in DVD and true HD quality, and the online options will only multiply as broadband bandwidth continues to expand. While they face a variety of their own challenges and shortfalls (restrictive digital rights management, rental versus "ownership" pricing models), such services seem to be the wave of the future, especially with devices like the Xbox 360 and the forthcoming Apple TV making it easy to watch the content on the big screen instead of a computer.
And that, in a nutshell, is the status of the Great HD Format War--just 17 days into 2007.
Coby's 20GB MP-C951 MP3/video player
If you buy one of Coby's new MP3 video players when they become available this spring, you'll also get a coupon good for 50 songs from eMusic.
The flagships of Coby's new models are the 20GB MP-C951 ($249) and the 30GB MP-C961 ($279 to $289), both stylish players with red-backlit, touch-sensitive buttons arrayed on a handsome black plastic case below a bright, 2-inch LCD. Both units can handle a variety of A/V formats--MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV, and Xvid--and include an FM radio with recording capabilities and a voice recorder.
Also eligible for an eMusic coupon are the smaller (1.66-inch LCD) but similarly styled and featured MP-7055 (512MB, $69.95), the -7085 (1GB, $79.95), and the -7095 (2GB, $89.95) flash players, as well as the white mini MP-C7052 (512MB, $59.95), the -7082 (1GB, $69.95), and the -7092 (2GB, $79.95), which sport a 1.8-inch LCD and the same set of features and format support.
All of these players come with an installation CD, stereo earbuds, and a USB 2.0 cable, and all are compatible with Windows and Mac OS X.
On Sale Now: $136.99
View the latest prices for Coby MP-C951 (20GB)
Seamless Internet's S-XGen ultramobile PC
In what seems to be the Swiss Army knife of portables, the S-XGen ultramobile personal computer (UMPC) from Seamless Internet includes an Intel PXA270 Xscale 520MHz processor running Windows CE 5.0 operating system, Microsoft Office Mobile, 256MB of RAM, a 20GB hard drive, Wi-Fi (802.11b), Bluetooth and tri-band GSM/EDGE/CDMA EV-DO network access, Ethernet and USB ports, a 4-inch TFT LCD touch screen, a 280 pixel Web video camera, and a fold-out QWERTY keyboard, all of which collapse into a package measuring 6.5x3.8x1.25 inches and weighing 14 ounces.
Eight hours of battery life accommodates a full day of computing as well as MP3 and video playback. Considering this exhaustive list of attributes and its price--$1,395--the S-XGen is clearly targeted toward the serious mobile warrior.
Challenging the Keyspan TuneView is iJet's black two-way RF iPod remote (available in March for $129.95), which lets you view your tracks and control your player from up to 500 feet away. (This was measured in an open space, always a popular RF-range caveat; since there are walls in the real world, your results may vary.)
The iJet is a fraction of TuneView's size, just a bit smaller than a Nano. Both your iPod and the remote charge in a dock, which transmits the contents and EQ settings menus to the remote for viewing and choosing in its 4-line OLED.
The iJet, which is likely to be marketed by DLO through a new partnership between the two companies, also can control Apple's Jukebox function. ABT was showing an all-black version; there may or may not be a white version.
A full charge of iJet's rechargeable battery supplies enough juice for six hours of constant use and weeks of just lying around not being used. But since it's small enough to lose, we'd keep it in its dock.
HandHeld Entertainment's Zvue Model 260
One size fits all with the latest memory-free MP3/video player from HandHeld Entertainment, the Zvue Model 260. Instead of making several models of different capacities, Zvue lets you decide how much memory you need. The entry level configuration of the Model 260 ($99.99) will include a starter 512MB SD card instead, but the slot will accept a card as large as 4GB when it becomes available mid-year.
Physically, the silver-and-black player bears more than a passing resemblance to an iPod. It measures 4.16 x 2.4 x 0.5-inches, a hair long and thicker than a video iPod, and at 3.93 ounces is about an ounce light. It's got a square, 2.5-inch color screen, three transport keys just below the screen, a small speaker and a circular menu navigation wheel on the bottom half.
To support its entire line of players, Zvue has its own iTunes-like store for videos at its Web site. You can also use the 260 to access open source video sites Dorks.com, FunMansion.com and YourDailyMedia.com.
Three versions of the thin Wallet MP3 player
The MP3 player takes on a whole new dimension--literally--with the Walletex Wallet MP3 player. It measures a measly 2mm/0.091 inch thin--thinner than a pair of credit cards and slim and tough enough to store in a credit card wallet slot.
On one side of the player are the usual transport keys that require a forceful push, which means the thing won't accidentally start playing when it's in your wallet and you're sitting on it.
Sticking out from one end is a unique all-purpose sliver USB jack that's the same thickness as the rest of the unit. This jack can be plugged into a standard USB plug for syncing and battery charging (2 hours to a full 5-hour play charge) and is also the headphone jack; the lanyard earbuds have a plug that fits around the sliver.
The top can be imprinted with any logos or graphics, so even if you can't find one in a store, there's a good chance they will be a popular promotional item. There will be 1GB ($80) and 2GB ($150) versions when they become available in March, and versions as copious as 8GB are possible.
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CNET Networks)
It's been a year since we were first introduced to Monsoon Multimedia's Hava device, a placeshifting product that delivered a handful of features--Wi-Fi connectivity, multicast functionality, and Windows Media Center integration--not found on the category-leading Slingbox. Hava went on to release its flagship product in late 2006, and the company has since licensed the technology to Pinnacle, which sells a Hava clone called PCTV To Go.
Streaming Hava content to the 360
(Credit: CNET Networks)At CES 2006, Hava was showing off a new entry-level product called the Hava Gold HD. It's housed in a different enclosure than the Hava Wireless HD, and it loses that device's Wi-Fi connectivity and built-in TV tuner, but it retains the same core functionality. The Hava Gold HD will retail for $129--about $20 less than the street price of its main rival, the Slingbox A/V.
Monsoon also disclosed that an upgrade of the PC viewing software that's expected to post later this week will add some custom remote skins (Comcast, Dish, DirecTV, Scientific Atlanta, and TiVo), which should help address a usability shortfall we found when reviewing the earlier product. Company reps also demonstrated the Xbox 360 working as a Media Center Extender for a PC streaming content from a Hava box.
Remote skins improve the user interface
(Credit: CNET Networks)While the capabilities of the Hava family of products remain impressive, the company will still need to continue improving the software and extending the number of compatible platforms in order to gain traction against rival Sling Media. Monsoon has pledged that a Windows Mobile Hava viewer will be ready "within weeks." That would be a nice addition, but it still leaves it lagging behind Sling's continually expanding list of compatible devices, including Macs, Windows Smart phones, Symbian smart phones, and--later in 2007--some Palm devices as well as the companion SlingCatcher box.
Harman Kardon's Guide + Play GPS-500
(Credit: CNET Networks)Harman Kardon is best known in the automotive world for its audio equipment, but here at CES 2007, the company has taken a leap into the crowded world of portable GPS devices with the unveiling of its Guide + Play GPS-500. Like most portable navigation devices on the market nowadays, the GPS-500 is more than a digital wayfinder: it can play a range of audio (MP3/AAC/WMA) and video (MPEG-4/WMV9) media formats and will even display album artwork in glorious Technicolor. Media is played from a 4GB SD card that slots into the top of the bezel. Maps and movies are displayed on the unit's 4-inch wide-screen touch-screen display, which presents a crisp series of menus for programming navigation or selecting media.
Navigation features include a route simulator (which lets drivers preview a route before setting out) and 2D, 3D, and split-screen views. Harman reps tell us that the device also features text-to-speech technology, which will enable it to read out road names during turn-by-turn voice guidance. The GPS-500 will go on sale sometime in March and will retail for around $500, putting it squarely into competition with the Magellan RoadMate 2200T and the Garmin StreetPilot c550.
Silex Technology America's new wiDock is a pretty hip iPod dock that lets you sync your iPod wirelessly (if you just can't wait for that feature to show up in the iPod itself) via a built-in 802.11b/g module. Its 3.5mm stereo audio and S-Video outputs let you use the wiDock with your home stereo and television set, as well. The dock also has an IR sensor on it that lets you control playback with a standard Apple Remote. Not a bad product at around $120, though maybe not as cool as one with wireless USB, especially since the wiDock requires an existing wireless network.
On Sale Now: $112.59
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A canvas headband wrapper with loop holders
(Credit: Jasmine France)Skullcandy, maker of some pretty rad accessories, showed off its new headphone lines including the Lowrider ($29.95) and the G.I. Stereo ($59.95). The Lowrider comes in nine color schemes (several designed to match the iPod Nano) and has DJ-style swiveling ear cups. Its 40mm drivers should give you enough bass to make you forget slamming into that tree on your snowboard.
Those needing a beefier set of cans can check out the G.I. Stereo line, which uses 41mm drivers and comes in black camouflage, khaki camouflage, or Rasta color schemes. The headband is thicker, and you get soft leather pads for the earphones (including an extra set), a quarter-inch adapter, inline volume control, and a carrying bag. You can also get a canvas headband wrapper with loops for holding...uhh...pens?
Lowriders come in plenty of cool colors
(Credit: Jasmine France)On Sale Now: $44.95
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