HDTV

You can never be too rich, too thin, or have too many HDMI ports. If you just added a component to your home theater (a Blu-ray player, perhaps? Wink, wink) but don't have a port free on your TV, check out this no-brand 2-port HDMI switch. It's available from SuperMediaStore.com for just $22.99, ground shipping included!

The switch supports HDCP and resolutions of up to 1080p. It's a self-powered manual switch, meaning you'll have to haul your bum off the couch whenever you want to change inputs. You'll also have to supply a … Read more

At CES on Monday, I was invited over to the Blu-ray booth to speak with top executives at the major Hollywood studios supporting Blu-ray. And while I didn't have the chance to speak with every studio, I did get to speak with the president and chief operating officer at LionsGate, Steve Beeks.

And while Beeks seemed like he had solid command over the finer points of the movie industry, I was interested to see why his studio chose Blu-ray over the alternative.

Expecting the canned answer like, "Well, we thought it was the superior format and I'm happy to say that we were right," you could imagine my surprise when the very first reason he gave was Blu-ray's piracy controls.

For those of you who don't know, Blu-ray's piracy controls--largely based on AACS, BD+, and BD-ROM Mark--are easily the most stringent format to date and have only partially been circumvented to this point.

Regardless, I was utterly appalled at the thought that with all of its benefits--high-capacity, interesting new features to employ while playing movies, major industry backing--Beeks chose piracy as the first talking point.

Of course, I had to find out more.… Read more

Do you remember earlier this week when I told you that step one of ending the high-def format war relied on Sony's ability to get Warner on its side? Luckily for us, it happened (and yes, I'll take the credit for it).

Is this the most significant development of the entire high-def format war? Sure. But now that we know Warner is backing Sony, I can't imagine Toshiba is feeling good about itself. Not only did it cancel the big HD DVD party here at CES, but we have yet to hear any true official response. If you ask me, the company is in crisis mode right now and desperately trying to justify itself to Paramount.

And while all this is going on, I can't help but not care.… Read more

How many times over the past few months have you heard that "the worst is over" and the chances of the high-def format war finally coming to a close were increasing by the day? If you haven't heard it at least once, you're probably not reading the right stories.

But with all that going on, the war is officially a quagmire for both sides and the chances of getting out of this quickly are diminishing at an astounding rate. Consider this: as it stands, the Blu-ray camp commands roughly 49 percent DVD market share, while HD DVD is trailing slightly behind. To make matters worse, some reports suggest HD DVD may be gaining strength, although most buyers are sitting out.

So what's really going on with this war? Is there an end in sight? Even better, is there a solution in sight that can finally put this to rest? If you ask me, I think this could be over in a month if the Blu-ray camp follows three steps.… Read more

Many people erroneously assume that an HDTV automatically makes everything look better: TV, movies, their living rooms. The reality, of course, is that without high-definition video sources, images can look rather disappointing. A typical DVD player, for instance, produces only 480 horizontal lines of video; HDTVs are optimized for 720 or 1080 lines, which is why your DVD of The Matrix looks like poop.

One option is to spring for an HD DVD or Blu-ray player, but they're expensive, and there's that whole format-war thing. Bleh. A better option, at least short term, is an upconverting DVD player, … Read more

Still squinting into that old 17-inch LCD? Might be time for an upgrade. Widescreen monitors are all the rage nowadays, and with good reason: They're great for games, movies, TV, and even productivity (more screen estate means more room for windows, less scrolling, yada yada yada). I recently sprung for a 22-incher and couldn't be happier with it.

It's rare to find an LCD of that size selling for under $200, but Newegg.com has a deal that comes close: The Hanns-G HG-216DPO 22-inch widescreen LCD for $209, shipped. And no rebates!

Hanns-G isn't a household … Read more

In what could be the final blow to rear-projection HDTVs, Sony has announced that it will abandon its production of those sets and focus all of its efforts on "what people really want"--LCDs.

Of course, the news doesn't quite end there for LCD proponents. Rumors are swirling that Matsushita--Panasonic's parent company--is looking to get out of the plasma business and focus its efforts on developing LCDs. Not only would this move prove to be devastating to another LCD competitor, it could create an industry landscape that's dominated by LCDs and totally bereft of any other technology.

And in the end, is this consolidation of technologies really what we want? Is it really what we need? The answer may not be that clear cut--after all, do we really want LCDs for the next 10 years? Regardless, we need one technology--the best technology--to lead us into the next decade.… Read more

Ever since Apple enabled users to download movies on iTunes, the world waited with bated breath to see if the company would launch a movie rental service. Unfortunately, those people are still waiting.

But with a renewed sense of importance toward getting movies through iTunes into your hands, Apple may finally pull the trigger and create a full-fledged movie rental business.

Even better, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster believes that launch could happen at Macworld. As Munster points out, his team expects Apple to announce new partnerships with at least one more movie studio, and this may be followed by the immediate availability of a movie rental service.

If that's not enough to whet the appetite of Apple fanatics all over the world, Munster also believes the Apple TV will play a key role in the launch.

"If Apple begins renting movie downloads on iTunes, we expect a related software update to the Apple TV enabling movie rentals direct to the Apple TV. In fact, the Apple TV software currently includes 'iTunes Store settings' in its settings menu, but the option is essentially inactive," he wrote. "We expect this setting to be activated soon; users will likely be able to log into their iTunes accounts directly from the Apple TV and browse movie rentals, then download them directly to their Apple TV."

Of course, the story doesn't end there. Simply put, should Apple even consider movie rentals, and if so, what good will it be for the company? Suffice it to say, if Apple decides to give movie rentals the green light, it'll be one of the company's most intelligent moves in years.… Read more

So you bit the high-def bullet and popped for a Blu-ray player--or an HD DVD player. Either way, it's time to start building your movie library.

Best Buy is currently offering buy-one-get-one-free deals on both Blu-ray and HD DVD movies. Free shipping, too!

What's the selection like? Better than you might expect. Available titles include 300, The Departed, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and Ocean's Thirteen. (There are a couple turkeys, of course, like I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and Are We Done Yet?.) Interestingly, all the Blu-ray flicks sell for $29.… Read more