Blu-ray wins the format war by a forfeit

As if it wasn’t already a foregone conclusion, Toshiba has finally thrown in the the towel and stop production of its HD DVD players by March of this year. The news is not all that shocking given the decision in January by Warner Brothers to drop support for HD DVD and move over to Sony’s Blu-ray. Recently big players like Best Buy, Wal-mart and Netflix moved over to the Blu-ray camp, leaving HD DVD with very little supporters.

What does this mean for HD DVD adopters? There were plenty of home theater buffs that wanted the latest and greatest in HD and bought HD DVD players and movies that are now orphaned. The good news is these movies can live on in combo HD/Blu-ray players, making Toshiba’s decision a little easier for all. But what does this mean for the cost of Blu-ray players and movies? In part, the allure of HD DVD was the price. Toshiba was really first to market and first to slash player costs, in turn driving it’s adoption. And in most scenarios that usually produces a winner, but the consumers weren’t snapping up HD DVDs or the hardware. Most people were waiting to sidle up to a winner to this format war and the movie studios were all to aware of this. Sony can’t be in any hurry to start cutting Blu-ray equipment now that their major competitor has call it quits. I suspect we won’t see any price drop until maybe a Christmas push later this year.

TiVo won another round in its legal battle with Dish Network. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a ruling from a lower court that Dish Networks violated TiVO’s patent on a ‘multimedia time warping system’. Besides the fact that Dish is on the hook for $89.6 million in damages, they might have to stop selling DVRs and disable all functionality from their current recorders. That would mean some real pissed off customers.

With the validity of the patents, the damage award, and the jury verdict all upheld upon appeal, Dish appears to be out of options. The satellite TV provider is now faced with the unpleasant decision of whether to stop selling DVRs and shut off its DVR service, hope against hope that the Supreme Court decides to hear the case, or write an eight- or nine-figure check to TiVo to cover damages and license the patents. At this point, the latter option is Dish Network’s best bet.

This is obviously terrible news for Dish and great news for DirecTV, who have standing agreements with TiVo and still uses some of it’s software on their DVRs.

[via arstechnica]

DirecTV recently announced a new beta program called DVR Scheduler that lets you set up recordings from your mobile phone or on the web. The service lets you browse the 14-day program guide and schedule a program to record, as well as set its priority over other scheduled recordings. Customers with the DIRECTV PLUS DVR (models R15-100, R15-300, R15-500) and DIRECTV PLUS HD DVR (models HR20-700, HR20-100) will be able to use this service right now. DirecTV plans to expand the service to other DVR models including the DirecTiVo units. Your mobile phone must have internet functionality, like the Apple iPhone, RIM Blackberry and others from Motorola, LG and Nokia.

At Macworld today, Apple, Inc. unveiled the much rumored iTunes movie rental service. All of the major studios are on board, including Touchstone, Miramax, MGM, Lionsgate, Newline, FOX, Warner Bros., Disney, Paramount, Universal, and Sony. The initial library will include over 1,000 movies and will be available 30 days after the DVD release. You can watch the movies anywhere (on Macs, PCs, all current iPods and iPhones) and have 30 days to begin watching the movie and 24 hours to finish. At $2.99 for older titles and $3.99 for new releases and $4.99 for a limited set of HD movies, the prices are in line with other on demand services.

With the release of the rental service Apple has updated their Apple TV, calling it Take 2. The quality of the movies is said to be comparable to DVD for the standard rentals with HD movies now featuring Dolby 5.1 surround sound. The Apple TV also received a software update and is now a stand-alone product and can be used independent of iTunes. This with the new HD capabilities should make the Apple TV more appealing to home theater buffs. On aspect that was only briefly touched on is iTunes Digital Copy. On select DVD’s a free iTunes Digital Copy will be provided for personal use. When you insert a compatible DVD into your computer, the iTunes version transfers to your iTunes library, ready to watch or sync to your iPod, iPhone, or Apple TV.

LAS VEGAS –(Business Wire)– Jan. 10, 2008 Philips’ Eco FlatTV(TM) took home top honors today at the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) with the overall “Best in Show” in CNET’s “Best of CES” awards. The innovative Eco TV (42PFL5603D) is a high-definition LCD television that delivers superb picture quality while minimizing power consumption.
To qualify for “Best in Show,” the Eco TV won the television category for the “Best of CES” awards.

The Eco TV is designed with several power saving features such as a proprietary dimming technology that is designed to lower the LCD panel backlight to reduce power consumption without compromising the picture quality. A built-in light sensor automatically measures the viewing room’s ambient lighting and adjusts the television’s backlight for power efficiency.

As part of the Philips Design Collection, the Eco TV delivers precision picture quality and definitive style while incorporating lead-free components and flame retardant materials, which are safe to the environment. Furthermore, the packaging box and user manuals are all made of recycled materials.

“Philips has long been an industry leader in sustainability and it is an honor to be recognized for that commitment by an organization such as CNET,” said Paul Zeven, CEO, Philips Electronics, North America. “The Eco TV sets the standard in design and efficiency, giving consumers unmatched picture quality without the hefty power bills.”

Selected by CNET’s panel of expert editors, winners are recognized as the hottest products in their respective technology categories for their unmatched innovation and creativity, and their ability to excite consumers and help them explore a world gone digital. CNET’s editors received and reviewed hundreds of entries, as well as scoured the CES show floor for products to consider for the prestigious award.

The ten technology categories include: digital photo and video; car tech and GPS; cell phones and smart phones; computers and hardware; emerging technologies; gaming; home audio; home video; MP3 and portable video players; and televisions. A video of the winners and finalists showcasing their technologies can be found at http://www.cnet.com/ces.

“Chosen from hundreds of products at CES, Philips’ Eco TV demonstrates the creativity, excellence and vision that set the standard at CES,” said Jai Singh, editor-in-chief of CNET and senior vice president for Content Development. “The ‘Best of CES’ Awards brings together the top consumer electronics that will impact the coming year for consumer electronics.”

The Philips 42PFL5603D is one of several Philips Green Flagship products. Philips Green Flagship products carry the Philips Green logo and have been certified by external auditors that they are more than 10% more efficient than other products on the market within a given product category. The Eco TV will be available in March and will carry a suggested retail price of $1,399.

Building the future of complete integration in home audio, video, and automation

January 2008 — Bang & Olufsen, the Danish manufacturer of high end home theaters and custom multi-room video and music systems, showcases the Beo5 remote control, a product born from more than 15 years of research and development and following a project with NASA, at the 2008 CES in Las Vegas. Beo5 presents the future of audio, video, and automation integration – with a fully flexible and personalized remote control with a universal language that can operate any product combination, even products with features and functions that are not known yet. Beo5 can also operate select non-Bang & Olufsen products and represents a continuation of Bang & Olufsen’s commitment to one-touch operation, simplicity, and user friendliness since 1976.

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This one might fall into the too little, too late category. Samsung has released the BP-U5500 dual format HD player at this years CES. The hybrid plays both Blu-Ray and HD DVD discs. It’s looks sexy as hell, all sleek and black, but it might be a little late. With recent news that Warner Brothers will only produce Blu-Ray it seems the HD format war might be over. The BP-U5500 has an MSRP of $599.