definition

Best Buy kicks HD DVD while it's down

Already starting the week off on a bad note, HD DVD's day just keeps getting worse.

Starting next month Best Buy says it will prominently display Blu-ray players and discs in its stores and recommend the format over rival HD DVD, according to a Reuters report.

"Because we believe that Blu-ray is fast emerging as that single format, we have decided to focus on Blu-ray products," Brian Dunn, Best Buy's president and chief operating officer, said in a statement Monday.

It's not an exclusive arrangement since Best Buy says it will still continue to offer … Read more

Netflix picks Blu-ray, rattles HD DVD

If Warner Bros.' decision to go exclusively with Blu-ray Disc was an industry-rattling earthquake, Monday's news that Netflix would begin to phase out HD DVD rentals is an inevitable aftershock: much smaller impact, potentially damaging, and still leaves everyone feeling unsettled.

By the end of the year Netflix will no longer offer HD DVD movies to customers, opting to exclusively stock Blu-ray Discs in its online rental service. In the company's announcement, Netflix said it made the decision based on Blu-ray's recent momentum--Universal and Paramount are the only remaining major Hollywood studios with agreements to release … Read more

The Definitive fake surround speaker

One of the biggest trends in home audio is surround-sound audio from a single speaker, and that's only further emphasized when audiophile speaker companies like Definitive Technology jump on the bandwagon. Definitive Technology has announced the Mythos SSA50, a single-speaker surround-sound system that uses nine drivers to create a faux-surround sound effect--making it sound like there are rear speakers where there are none. The technology is far from new, and the Mythos SSA50 will have to compete with similar products like the Yamaha YSP-4000 and the Philips HTS-8100.

Single-speaker surround systems always seem on the verge of going mainstream, … Read more

Open-source Sunday School: Pretending to be vs. being

Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow. ( Isaiah 50:11)

This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible, and partly because of the rich imagery, but also because I run afoul of it all the time. The verse deals with self-aggrandizement and becoming a law unto oneself.

In the open-source world we see it with people trying to define open source to fit their chosen business model or philosophy - drafting off the value the words "open source" connote. It's not that everyone needs to adopt the same business/revenue model, but rather that we need to be clear about what we're selling.

Microsoft has actually been one of the best (positive) examples of this.… Read more

High-def TV in the great outdoors

Got some gardening to do but don't want to miss Oprah while you're out weeding?

Oregon-based Planar Systems is joining the burgeoning outdoor-display market with a 42-inch high-definition monitor designed specifically for outdoor viewing.

The weatherproof WP-42HD, manufactured under Planar's luxury video brand, Runco, utilizes LCD technology and glass with element-proof bonding to deliver a wide-screen flat-panel monitor that's supposed to withstand temperature shifts, exposure to moisture, dust and oils, and intermittent direct water spray--way more wear, in other words, than the TV in your living room.

Planar says you're free to leave the display … Read more

Best Buy TVs now all digital

It's a lot harder to find an analog television at Best Buy these days. That's because as of the beginning of October, Best Buy stopped selling them, according to an Associated Press report. The largest consumer electronics chain in the U.S. will now only sell televisions with digital tuners.

It's not a huge surprise. The government-imposed digital television mandate is fast approaching. By Feb. 18, 2009, TV broadcasters will be required to broadcast only digital signals, and TVs with only analog tuners will be unable to pick up the new broadcasts. As part of the gradual … Read more

Sling tries for a Solo home run

After hitting a veritable grand slam with its sale for $380 million Monday, Sling Media is back at the plate already, hoping to connect for another hit with its next Slingbox.

Still buzzing from the news of its acquisition by EchoStar, the Foster City, Calif., company is expected to release a new model of its place-shifting gadget on Thursday. This version will be called the Slingbox Solo, and its features and price fall right between the high-end Slingbox Pro and low-end Slingbox A/V, both released exactly one year ago. (Sling also confirmed that it will not be refreshing the … Read more

Storage start-up fits 250 hours of HD content on one disc

An Israeli start-up has created a way to store a whole lot of data on optical discs using fluorescence.

The TeraDisc looks like a regular CD, except it's chartreuse and see-through. Mempile says its disc will start off able to store 600GB to 700GB and in a year will be able to write 1TB worth of data. There are two physical layers of plastic, but 200 virtual layers on the one-sided disc. That means 250 hours of high-definition content or 300,000 digital photos. HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc can currently hold about 50GB of data on dual-layer discs. … Read more

MGM to make its HDTV premiere

The studio that brought Scarlett O'Hara, Dorothy and James Bond to the big screen is thinking smaller these days. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) is set to debut a high-definition channel on DirecTV beginning this fall, according to Reuters.

Though the TV channel is a first for MGM in the U.S., the studio currently has several European channels. The content lineup will be a combination of films and original programming. Rival Hollywood studio Universal has had its own HD cable channel programmed with TV and movie content from parent company NBC Universal since 2003.

The MGM channel will be one of … Read more