China Blue takes on Blu-ray
Just when you thought the format wars were over and it was safe to buy a Blu-ray player it looks like the losing HD-DVD format may be staging a stealthy comeback Although Blu-ray won the battle in Europe, the US and Japan, on the other side of the World, in China, it is trailing behind the recently launched China Blue HD (CBHD) format. CBHD is very closely related to HD-DVD thanks to some clever licensing agreements between the DVD Forum and China’s Optical Memory National Engineering Research Centre (OMNERC) based in Tsinghua University. The principle differences concern compression and CBHS has more powerful copy protection, as piracy is a big concern in China. Already Warner Home Entertainment has announced support for the format in China with titles such as the Harry Potter Series, The Golden Compass and Blood Diamond likely to be the first into the shops. There’s speculation other major studios could follow suit
Vista Service Pack 2 Try Out Available
If you don’t mind taking a teensy-weensy risk Vista Service Pack 2 Release Candidate is now available for download from Microsoft. You could be one of the first kids on the block to give it a whirl. This is more or less the finished version that will be unleashed onto the general public in a few weeks time, provided no last minute bugs are found. That’s where you, as an unpaid guinea pig come in. Just in case something does go wrong Microsoft won’t be there to help, it’s a try it at your own risk type deal, but you will get the benefit of several bug fixes an uprated Search facility and improved support for Bluetooth and Blu-Ray. Read more
Hybrid DVD/Blu-Ray Disc Trialled
In an effort to help speed the up-take of HD video Pony Canyon in Japan is set to release what is believed to be the first commercial hybrid DVD and Blu-Ray disc. And before you say it has been done before, with DVD/Blu-Ray ‘flippers’ (i.e. DVD on one side and Blu-Ray on the other, this one is different. This disc uses a technology developed by JVC a couple of years ago, it’s s single-sided multi-layer construction, with the Blu-Ray layer on the top, and one or two DVD layers underneath. The clever bit is a semi-reflective layer separating the Blu-Ray and DVD layers, this reflects blue laser light, but the red laser, used to read DVD passes through to the layers beneath.
Consumers just not that interested in Blu-ray DVD
Apparently, the world agrees with HD DVD’s original proposition: For a high definition video disc format to be adopted, it has to be inexpensive enough for people to consider in comparison to current generation standard definition choices.
The “widespread reluctance to commit to Blu-ray” by consumers (as described by ABI Research) is obvious just by just looking at the fully stocked shelves of retail stores. Only 1 in 4 people surveyed said they might buy a Blu-ray DVD player in 2009 according to this new survey of a 1000 consumers. Obstacles to adoption? The $300 high cost of players relative to current generation players and the excessive cost of video discs from $20+ each. Read more
