blu-ray

100,000 standalone HD DVD players sold in U.S.

Just got an e-mail from the PR firm representing HD DVD, and the North American HD DVD Promotional Group has announced that "sales of dedicated HD DVD consumer electronics players reached more than 100K units sold in the United States, ahead of any other high definition format." I'm not sure why, but that figure doesn't include sales of HD DVD PC drives or the Xbox 360 HD DVD player, which the group says, "are also selling strongly."

I presume that Team HD DVD may not want to compare total HD DVD hardware sales to … Read more

Samsung announces "Duo HD" Blu-ray plus HD DVD player

And then there were two.

Samsung will join its archrival LG in releasing a combo HD disc player later this year. According to a brief press release, the Korean consumer electronics giant will introduce the BD-UP5000 "Duo HD" player this year. The release also specified that the player will "fully support both HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats and their interactive technologies, HDi and BD-Java." No pricing or additional feature details on the Samsung BD-UP5000 were made available.

The official announcement of the BD-UP5000 confirms rumors that have been percolating for months. Most recently, Home Theater Blog … Read more

Universal scrubbing HD DVD combo discs?

Earlier today, we noticed a small item that was little bit buried on Engadget HD. The post referred to a report from Hi-Def Digest that said that Universal Studios Home Entertainment was "lessening its support for the controversial HD DVD/DVD combo format," and had "reconfigured the planned April combo releases of The Jerk and The Nutty Professor to be HD DVD-only." The article went on to say that the "latest move by the Universal comes on the heels of news late last week that the studio is discontinuing two of its most popular combo … Read more

Watch Hi-Definition Movies anytime with the Samsung BD-P1200 Blu-Ray Player

When I want to watch a movie in all its Hi-Definition goodness, I just pop in a Blu-Ray disc into my PS3 and sit back and enjoy, but for the majority of you out there who didn't want a gaming console along with your Blu-Ray player, have no fear, there's an alternative for you. Samsung just released their latest Blu-Ray player, the BD-P1200, and wouldn't you know it, Dell is offering it for only $633.76 with free shipping. Hurry now before they pull it!

Thanks for the Blu-rays, Fox. Um, now what?

To: Fox Home Entertainment From: Caroline McCarthy, Crave Re: What's with the Blu-rays?

Fox, you have been all too generous. I'm not a movie critic. I'm not a DVD reviewer. I'm not even employed as a reviewer here at CNET. But it's always a pleasant surprise when a package arrives from you guys every few weeks and there's a complimentary Blu-ray Disc inside. Today, it was an especially nice surprise when Eragon showed up in my mailbox. (I'm a "so bad it's good" fan.)

But here's my dilemma. I … Read more

Toshiba chops $100 off HD DVD player

Ah, the art of blogging. Today, AOL's Engadget reported that according to some alleged retail insiders who frequent the AVS Forum message boards, the much-rumored price drop on HD DVD players is about to become a reality. According to said blogger, on April 1 the HD-A2 will be repriced at $399 MSRP (down from $499) and the $799 HD-XA2 will also shed $100. That all may be true, but the fact is a quick check over at Amazon would reveal that the price cuts are already in effect. The HD-A2 is $356.99 and the HD-XA2 is sitting at … Read more

Blu-ray Europe chairman suddenly clairvoyant

The Blu-ray Disc Association in Europe is making some big claims.

"Within three years it will just be Blu-ray," Frank Simonis, the group's European chairman, said Thursday at the CeBit tech show in Hannover, Germany.

While it's impossible to know how the next-gen DVD battle will turn out--we don't all have access to Simonis' crystal ball--Blu-ray does have a bit of a head start over rival format HD DVD with Sony's PlayStation 3.

That's because there's a Blu-ray player in every PS3, 1.84 million of which were sold in Japan and … Read more

HD DVD fanatics to attempt Amazon store run to boost format

April 15 may be known as Tax Day, but the HD DVD backers over at AVS forum are calling it something else: Buy HD DVDs from Amazon Day!

As one forum member put it: "The idea is to show support for HD DVD by buying movies on a specific day. There is no better way to show support for HD DVD than by backing it financially. That is the language the movie studios understand best. If there is a strong demand for HD DVD software, then hopefully Blu-ray-only studios will at least go neutral."

So far about a … Read more

'Casino Royale' Blu-ray cracks Amazon top 10; HD DVD slipping?

Say what you will about PS3 sales, but it seems clear that the game console is having an impact on the next-gen DVD war. This week the Blu-ray version of Casino Royale broke into the Amazon top 10 for DVD sales and four other Blu-ray titles sit in the top 100. On the other hand, the top title on HD DVD, Happy Feet, is currently ranked at No. 117.

In a recent column, I suggested to readers that they should keep an eye on The Departed--it's a Warner release and therefore available on both HD DVD and Blu-ray--to get … Read more

$300 Blu-ray player? Not so fast

Last Friday we reported on a quote from TV Week that Sony President and COO Stan Glasgow said Sony had plans to cut prices on its Blu-ray players to $299 by the end of the year. Well, don't update your Christmas list just yet. According to a Sony representative, Glasgow was misquoted. What Glasgow said, apparently, was that he felt the $299 price would be the tipping point where the average consumer would start to consider buying a Blu-ray player. Indeed, the Sony spokesman went on to specify that the company has no plans to roll out a Blu-ray … Read more