DVD Players

AACS confirms hacks on high-definition DVD players

2007-02-08T02:18:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A consortium of movie studios and technology companies backing the encryption system for high-definition DVDs on Thursday confirmed that hackers have stolen "title keys" and used them to decrypt high-definition DVDs through flaws in DVD player software. Both the title keys and a number of decrypted films have been posted on peer-to-peer Web sites for downloading and copying, a spokesman for the Advanced Access Content System (AACS) Licensing Authority said. The large size of the files and the high cost of writable hi-def discs make large-scale copying of high-definition DVDs impractical, but the attacks on the new format echo the early days of illegal trafficking in music files, AACS spokesman Michael Ayers said on Thursday. "We want to make sure we address this now.

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Get DVD, TV in your car sun visor

2007-02-06T02:20:00.000-08:00

Engdaget: This new aftermarket visor packs a seven-inch widescreen display, built-in DVD / CD /MP3 player, TV tuner, and even includes an SD slot and USB port for additional expansion options. Moreover, you'll get integrated controls and a wireless remote, and while we're not sure if this thing includes a built-in speaker, we do spot a couple of headphone jacks just in case. So if you're looking for an admittedly tacky way to add a bit of in-car entertainment before your next journey, the Sun Visor Theater is available now for $299.95 (around €231). sun visor theatre .

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Will dual-format players end the battle between HD DVD and Blu-ray?

2007-02-02T02:20:00.000-08:00

Will hybrid Blu-ray/HD DVD players like the LG Super Multi Blue Player put an early end to the next-gen format war? ABI Research believes so. In a new research note, the firm calls the LG dual-format player an "exit strategy" from the nascent format war and forecasts that the dual-format players will become the standard. Most consumer electronics makers and movie studios are anxious to head off what could be a long and tedious format war. Two competing formats means consumers scratching their heads in the aisle of their favorite big-box retailer and wondering which expensive player they should buy. A hybrid player removes that doubt because the buyer is guaranteed compatibility with both formats. Keeping the hybrid down At the moment, there are two significant barriers to the widespread adoption of dual-format players: price and availability.

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10 American Pie Naked Mile DVD Winners

2007-01-31T02:19:00.000-08:00

Time to pick hte 10 winners of American Pie Naked Mile on DVD. This Pie is filled with the trademark laugh-out-loud, I-can't-believe-they-actually-did-that antics, high energy and hilarious fun that have shocked and delighted audiences who remember "their first piece" of American Pie. The ever-lovable and befuddled Mr. Lowenstein (American Pie veteran Eugene Levy) returns in this newest adventure, joined by the legendarily oversexed Stifler tribe including paternal horn dog Mr. Stifler played by Christopher MacDonald (Happy Gilmore). This time, events take place in the world of college during one of the most raucous weekends of campus life -- when students let off steam to relieve the pressures of final exams by running in the legendary Naked Mile. "For the huge fan base anxiously awaiting their next 'slice' of American Pie, this newest DVD Original release is indeed cause for rejoicing," stated Craig Kornblau, president, Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

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In 2005, 18.744 Million DVD Players Were Sold In China With Sales ...

2007-01-29T02:22:00.000-08:00

In 2005, 18.744 million DVD players were sold in China with sales revenue reaching RMB11.528 billion. The market retained a rapid growth while sales revenue grew slowly due to the intense competition. Sales volume rose by 2.242 million units, or a 13.6% increase compared to 2004; sales revenue increased by RMB 0.501 billion over 2004, or a 4.5% year-on-year growth. The compound growth rate of sales volume reached 45.3% from 2001 to 2005 and that of the sales revenue 14.9%. Scale and Increase of Sales Volume in China DVD Player Market, 2001-2005 The consumer behaviour and consumption characteristic are different according to regions. For instance, the consumers in North China pay much more attention to the brand, quality as well as services; the consumers in East China are not so sensitive to the price, but care more about the brand favourite and have a high demand for the functions; However, the consumers in southwest and northwest regions are more practical and show obvious attention to the price fluctuation.

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Bvlgari Bvlgari-bvlgari bb33sldauto Watch [Perfect Christmas Gift Idea] (Mechanical movement with automatic winding, Black leather strap, Stainless st...

2007-01-23T02:34:00.000-08:00

Mechanical movement with automatic winding. Black leather strap. Stainless steel case. Black dial with Arabic numerals at 6 and 12 oclock position and indexes. Date indicator at 3 oclock position. Double logo engraved on the bezel. Water resistant to 30 meters. Sapphire crystal. Case diameter: 33 mm

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DVD Review magazine to feature James Bond book for 100th issue

2007-01-23T02:23:00.000-08:00

DVD Review is to mark its 100th issue with a retrospective guide to the best DVD packages and a James Bond covermount book in the UK - reports Brand Republic. DVD Review, which launched in 1999, said the March issue would include a "100 greatest discs of our time" article, featuring the best-rated films reviewed in DVD Review since it began, including 'Lord of the Rings', 'Terminator' and 'Pirates of the Caribbean'. The issue will also feature an exclusive covermount book called 'The James Bond DVD Dossier', containing a review of every James Bond DVD, a preview of the forthcoming 'Casino Royale' disc, and a "Bond Bible" of 350 007-related facts. Cassie Whittell, editor of DVD Review, said: "The magazine is the UK's bestselling DVD title and we have some exciting plans to continue its development as we guide readers through the high-definition format war." The 100th edition, which comes out February 1, will also contain articles on Blu-Ray and HD-DVD releases and an interview with Kevin Smith, director of 'Clerks', 'Chasing Amy' and 'Dogma'.

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HD DVD players to go below $500 in 2007?

2007-01-21T02:22:00.000-08:00

HD DVD players may enter a much more affordable market towards the end of this year, with some manufacturers claiming that we could see sub-$500 units. Most of it is speculation, driven by lowered cost for components like chipsets as time goes on, and a reduction in units coming off the line dead. It isn't too far off, given that some players can now be had for $600, such as from Toshiba. Blu-ray is still a bit more expensive, which may gave HD DVD a boost, since cost is hugely important for most home consumers. .

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Leopard Might Have New DVD Player Software. Would You Care?

2007-01-19T02:24:00.000-08:00

Now that the iPhone is out in public, attention is gradually drifting back towards, well, the Mac. And all the heat is on Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. A lot is on deck for the operating system, including a bunch of cool features shown at last summer's WWDC and a rumored major interface change called "Illuminous." The latest report to surface is that among the Illuminously changed applications from Apple will be the DVD playback software. No actual screenshots exist, just artist renderings. It seems like a nice update, if accurate. But here's the big question that occurs to me as I read the scuttlebutt about the mooted update: Does the interface of DVD player software matter anymore? Technorati Tags: apple Let me explain where I'm coming from on this one.

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Second-generation HD-DVD players are upping their performance ...

2007-01-17T02:25:00.000-08:00

I've been kind of hanging back in the movie format wars. I have to be reminded that there's a Blu-ray player in the house, and it never occurs to me to rent a Blu-ray movie. Nothing has come out yet to justify the cost. I also don't have the 360 HD DVD player. It's a good buy at $200 and I've come close a few times, but I know I wouldn't use it enough to justify the price. I did enjoy reading the review of Toshiba's second-generation HD DVD player, the HD-A2; the performance and aesthetics are a big jump from the first generation. The review was positive, and now I really want to watch King Kong on HD DVD. Still, with such a big leap in quality in just the second-generation players, and with Blu-ray getting a huge shot in the arm from PS3 sales, is it still too early to jump in and enjoy the high-definition waters? Have you bought a player, and if so, what model and what are your thoughts on it? When does the price start to look tempting? I'm waiting for sub-$200 players to hit before my mother and similarly slow-moving adopters jump on-board.

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Porn industry standardises on HD-DVD

2007-01-15T02:27:00.000-08:00

The adult movie industry seems set to standardise on the HD-DVD format, and it appears that Sony has banned pornographers from using its Blu-ray discs.Reports from the adult industry exhibition in Las Vegas suggest that all the major adult movie studios are standardising on HD-DVD, citing the lower costs of production as the primary driver.But there are reports that Sony may be encouraging this by banning Blu-ray disc manufacturers from accepting adult content at all. .

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Philips DVD Players Play Nice With iPods

2007-01-13T02:20:00.000-08:00

Yesterday at the Philips press conference they announced two DVD players with iPod docks. The 7-inch DCP750 and 8-inch DCP850 boast swivel screens and support DivX playback on DVD+-R, DVD+-RW, and (S)VCD formats. Each player includes a car adapter to keep the rugrats quiet or feel free to drain the 2.5 hour battery watching all that pron I know you all have. Not to shabby for $150 and $200. 7 incher 8 incher tr { border: 0px } td { cellborder: 10px} table { border: 1px solid black } This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 9th, 2007 at 11:08 am and is filed under News, Philips, dvd player, ipods, CES 2007. You can follow comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a comment. .

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SanDisk unveils digital flash DVD player

2007-01-11T02:21:00.000-08:00

SanDisk Corporation has introduced USBTV, a new, industry-wide initiative that is expected to enable consumers to easily move digital content from their PCs to their televisions for viewing in full, big-screen comfort. The announcement was made during a press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), where the platform technology was demonstrated and several industry leaders announced their support for USBTV.We believe that USBTV represents an exciting new category of flash-based products that will bring digital downloading of video to a broad spectrum of new consumers who prefer viewing on their TV sets rather than on a PC screen, said Eli Harari, SanDisk CEO. USBTV has the potential to become an industry-transforming category as significant as the introduction of the DVD and VHS players, because in the convergence of the Web and home entertainment, USBTV solves in a simple, elegant way the last 10 feet of the content portability problem in the home between the PC and the TV, he said.

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Philips Tablet DVD Players: Details, Details, Details

2007-01-09T02:27:00.000-08:00

Turns out the promise they showed back in November mostly holds up, as we were fairly impressed with the PET line of tablet DVD players Philips showed us. Besides looking great, they have DVD+/-RW, VCD, MP3/WMA-CD, CD and CD-RW music playback, as well as a USB port for uploading and displaying images. Best of all is the price, with the 8.5-inch 830 model running $199 and the 10.2-inch 1030 model at $279. The battery life is disappointing though, with a measly three hours for the 830 and five hours for the 1030. Both drop this quarter. – Matt Buchanan .

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Consumers one step closer to copying digital movies to DVD with ...

2007-01-07T02:27:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES -- Hollywood studios have approved a new technology and licensing arrangement that should remove a major obstacle consumers now face with burning movies they buy digitally over the Internet onto a DVD that will play everywhere. Sonic Solutions Inc. is introducing on Thursday the Qflix system for adding a standard digital lock to DVDs burned in a computer or a retail kiosk. The lock, known as "content scrambling system," or CSS, is backed by the studios, TV networks and other content creators and comes standard on prerecorded DVDs today. All DVD players come equipped with a key that fits the lock and allows for playback. But movie download services such as Movielink, CinemaNow and Amazon.com's Unbox haven't been able to use CSS because studios fear widespread DVD burning could lead to piracy.

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Blu-Ray, HD DVD, Hybrid Players and Total HD

2007-01-05T02:28:00.000-08:00

It is confusing times for consumers looking to buy a new player for next-gen discs, as the war between HD DVD and Blu-Ray rages on. However, some companies are playing it safe by not choosing sides, leading to many great announcements for 2007. LG is announcing their release of hybrid next-gen players while Warner Brothers is announcing their plans to release the first hybrid movie discs, known as TotalHD. All these developments attempt to eliminate the fear of obsolescence that has been turning away many potential early adopters, stalling the widespread adoption of high-definition, and showing poor sales for next-gen products. Details on LG's hybrid players as well as the availability of Warner Bro.'s hybrid movie discs will remain a mystery until their full reveal at the upcoming CES.

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Toshiba to Roll Out Cheaper HD DVD Players Next Week?

2007-01-03T02:30:00.000-08:00

Toshiba is taking the gloves off next week at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, where the company might introduce a third line of HD DVD players that will be even cheaper than its current versions. Toshiba chief Yoshihide Fujii offers this tantalizing hint: "At first I thought the price threshold is $499. Maybe coming next is $399 and after that is $299." Perhaps Fujii isn't aware that Toshiba's much-improved HD-A2 player (pictured above), released a couple of months ago, can now be found on the web for $399. But that $299 price could be a number that opens the floodgates for HD DVD player sales. We'll be at Toshiba's CES press conference on January 7, and we'll bring you details as they happen. – Charlie White Toshiba Plans HD DVD Push [PC World] .

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DVD players finally outnumber VCRs

2007-01-01T02:23:00.000-08:00

Although DVD players dropped below the magic $100 barrier some time ago, they have only just caught up with the VCR, according to Nielsen. The media tracking firm says that DVD player ownership has finally surpassed VCR ownership for the first time. During the third quarter of 2006, 81.2 percent of all US households reported owning at least one DVD player compared to 79.2 percent for VCRs. That figure marks a 6 percent increase in DVD player ownership from the same period in 2005, while VCRs ownership fell. It's a far cry from 1999, when Nielsen first began tracking DVD ownership. At the end of the 90s, only 6.7 percent of households owned a DVD player, compared with 88.6 percent owning VCRs. The recent surge recent surge in DVD ownership is largely due to falling prices.

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AMD Live! to support HD DVD / Blu-ray in Q3 2007

2006-12-30T02:23:00.000-08:00

The cat and mouse game being played by Intel's Viiv and AMD Live! isn't exactly enthralling, especially when you consider a vast majority of the HTPCs out there get along perfectly fine without either label slapped on them. Nevertheless, AMD is hoping to garner a bit more attention by announcing that its media-centric platform will be gettin' friendly with HD DVD and Blu-ray late next year. In a (likely futile) attempt to grab a "bigger share of the multimedia market," AMD Live! will be supporting the two major high definition movie formats as of "Q3 2007," and sources with PC vendors reportedly stated that it could prove to be a boost for the blue-laser market. So while a select few wait around to see what the fuss will be about this time next year, we'll probably be content with all the options already surrounding us.

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DVD players finally overtake VCRs in US

2006-12-28T02:25:00.000-08:00

We can't remember the last time we even used a VCR (nor did we ever figure out how to program the clock on those blasted things), but apparently we (and probably you, too) are just a little ahead of the curve. According to a recent Nielsen study, there are finally more American households that have DVDs than have VCRs. Translated into statistics, that means that 81.2 percent of all households in the good ol' US of A have DVD players, surpassing the 79.2 percent that have VCRs. (We've got no idea how many of those are dual-use machines, however.) Nielsen's been tracking this trend since 1999, when only 6.7 percent of American households had DVD players; we take that to surely mean that by 2013 the six percent of people who have Blu-ray or HD DVD players currently will have finally settled on one of them newfangled hybrid devices that we're dying to get our hands on.[Via PVR Wire] .

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Interscope Makes Good on Faulty AFI DVD's

2006-12-26T02:26:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES, CA Tuesday Dec.26.2006 /netmusiccountdown.com/ -- A.F.I.'s new DVD "I Heard a Voice" apparently has an error on it, so Interscope is shipping out replacements to those affected by the problem.The issue is that some DVD players are having trouble with the main menu on the disc. If you're one of the unlucky few, find out how to get a new disc on the band's website, www.afireinside.com. More on A.F.I. Copyright ©2006, Net Music Countdown ®. All Rights Reserved. print it eMail it .

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MORE DVD SCANS

2006-12-15T02:24:00.000-08:00

Like this year's other Sept. 11 movie, United 93, Oliver Stone's World Trade Center was made with an unusual emphasis on getting the facts right. The two-disc Special Collector's Edition (Paramount Home Video, $35; also available on HD-DVD and Blu-ray for $40 each) contains a slew of making-of materials that go far beyond the usual congratulatory puffery, revealing the extent of the involvement the real-life participants had in the film. Perhaps the best of all is the 55-minute documentary A Common Sacrifice, which details the experiences of New York City Port Authority Officers John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno, whose miraculous rescue after being trapped under the rubble of the fallen buildings inspired the film. The extras not only add a level of appreciation for the film but also help answer the question of why it was made in the first place: To honor the extraordinary courage and heroism of the countless cops and firefighters who rushed to the scene that day.

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Toshiba Launches Second Generation HD DVD Players in Japanese ...

2006-12-13T02:27:00.000-08:00

Toshiba Corporation today announced the launch of its second generation HD DVD players in the Japanese market. The company will roll out two new players, HD-XF2 and HD-XA2, from late December. The new HD DVD players are smaller and offer improved speed in loading and response times over the HD-XA1, the world's first HD DVD player, brought to market by Toshiba in March 2006. The new high-end HD-XA2 supports Deep Color technology, an optional standard under HDMI that improves representation of color tones and achieves finer color gradation. HD-XA2 also provides support for the superior high-definition images of 1080p output. The two new players can playback pre-recorded HD DVD sources, delivering stunning digital high-definition pictures and crystal clear sound. Both players offer advanced navigation and interactive features unique to the HD DVD format.

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NINE INCH NAILS To Release 'Beside You In Time' DVD In February ...

2006-12-09T02:27:00.000-08:00

Jonathan Cohen of Billboard.com reports that NINE INCH NAILS will chronicle the tour in support of its 2005 comeback album "With Teeth" with the DVD "Beside You in Time", due February 27 via Interscope. The main body of the project features 19 songs, two of which ("Right Where It Belongs" and "Beside You in Time") can be viewed from alternate camera angles. Trailers from "Beside You in Time" can be viewed on the band's web site. The DVD will be available in standard form as well as in HD and Blu-Ray, although the regular edition will include audio mixes in Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1. "Beside You in Time" track listing: 01. Love Is Not Enough 02. You Know What You Are? 03. Terrible Lie 04. The Line Begins To Blur 05.

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Thieves steal DVD players

2006-12-07T02:27:00.000-08:00

HILTON HEAD ISLAND -- Four vehicles were damaged in the parking lot of a Hilton Head Island club after thieves broke in and stole DVD players on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to Beaufort County Sheriff's Office reports. The thieves were unable to get inside one of the vehicles, a 2006 Volkswagen Jetta, but damaged it by trying to pry open its doors, a report states. Damage was estimated at $3,000. The crimes occurred in the parking lot and parking garage of the Barony Beach Club, 4 Greenlawn Ave., between 7 p.m. Tuesday and 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to the reports. A DVD player valued at $200 was stolen from a 2005 Ford Explorer. The rear passenger's side window was broken. Damage was estimated at $200. A DVD player valued at $300 was stolen from a 2003 Ford Windstar.

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Stroke prevention DVD released

2006-12-03T02:25:00.000-08:00

A DVD aimed at preventing strokes and caring for stroke victims has been released, with stroke sufferers and their families presenting many of the segments. The Ultimate Video Guide to Stroke Prevention and Recovery has been designed to help the 7000 New Zealanders who suffer a stroke each year and for the 40,000 New Zealanders who had had a stroke. The DVD set of three offers educational and training materials authored by neurologist Professor Valery Feigin, through Stroke Educational Ltd in Auckland. Prof Feinin said strokes were the number two killer in the world, but 85 per cent of strokes were preventable. .

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New-age DVD players' battle paused

2006-11-27T02:30:00.000-08:00

Washington - Standing before two giant television screens and clutching a remote control in each hand, Tony Sardo grappled with a question that will confront millions of Americans this holiday shopping season. For an hour, he toggled between two new types of video-disc players offering brilliant images. He questioned a sales associate and weighed the none-too-low prices of the players, known as Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD. Finally, he did what many electronics customers are doing: He walked away without buying either. "It's too early to know which one to go with," said Sardo, 28, after browsing at a Fairfax, Va., electronics store for a next-generation DVD player to go with his new 42-inch high-definition television. "It's like betting on which team will win the Super Bowl before preseason games start." The fight between Blu-ray and HD-DVD, reminiscent of the 1980s battle between Betamax and VHS tape formats, isn't just vexing consumers like Sardo.

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Lite-On unveils HP-branded HD DVD external reader

2006-11-25T02:26:00.000-08:00

Lite-On is promising to launch an HP-branded external HD DVD reader - the hd100 - but hasn't yet revealed the price or availability of this next-generation drive. The hd100 is said to play back HD DVD movie discs on a PC at full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and connects via USB 2.0, rather than having an HDMI port. Our presumption is that the reader comes with suitable playback software and that viewing movies in HD requires a PC with a new, modern and fast graphics processor. We're less sure about whether the HP unit will also let you view HD DVD movies on a TV set fed by the PC but, if it does, then we guess that the PC will also need to have an HDMI output. The HP is a reader, not a writer, so can't burn to HD DVD blanks. It can, though read all standard DVD formats - with the exception of DVD-RAM - as well as CD-R/RW and CD-ROM.

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Toshiba second gen HD DVD players delayed worldwide

2006-11-23T02:21:00.000-08:00

Toshiba just couldn't let Sony hog all the high-def DVD spotlight with its delays, so it has pushed back its second generation HD DVD players in the US and abroad. Despite the lack of an official statement from Toshiba US, a dealer on AVS Forum revealed that due to problems with a chip from a third party supplier, the lower-end HD-A2 HD DVD player originally due out right about... now has slipped into the second week of December. The HDMI 1.3-equipped, 1080p displaying $999 HD-XA2 is now scheduled to just barely make a 2006 release in the last week of the year. In Europe Toshiba has officially announced the delay, now anticipating a "quantity of units" of the rebadged HD-E1 due in December and the HD-XE1 slated for 2007. Second gen hardware is generally expected to atone for the bug-ridden sins of its predecessors, so hopefully a short delay now means avoiding a quick patch later.

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SnapStream Adds DVD Burning for TV

2006-11-21T02:21:00.000-08:00

SnapStream has released a new version of its Beyond TV personal video recorder software, enabling users to easily create DVDs of their television show recordings through a burning plug-in. Version 4.5 is a free update for customers, but the plug-in will cost either $29.99 or $39.99 USD. Beyond TV, which competes with Windows Media Center on the PC, utilizes a computer's TV tuner card to schedule recordings, pause and rewind live TV, skip commercials and utilize a detailed program guide. Unlike TiVo, which offers a set-top box rather than software-only, SnapStream charges no subscription fees. .

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Toshiba debuts second-gen HD DVD players

2006-11-19T02:21:00.000-08:00

TOKYO — The introduction of two new HD DVD players by Toshiba Corp. represent the company's second-generation system that it hopes will boost sales above a half-million units by next spring. The players will be introduced in Japan, the U.S. and Australia beginning in December as Toshiba targets holiday sales. The basic model, HD-XF2, will sell of about $425 while the high-end HD-XA2 will sell for about $950. The pricier model will for the first time display 1,080-line progressive video. "Considering that the number of titles has just reached 100, with some in the United States, we have also sold tens of thousands of HD DVD players," said Yoshihide Fujii, president of Toshiba Digital Network Co. Brisk sales "encouraged us to introduce two models to the world market." Still, Toshiba originally planned to introduce second- generation players in the U.S.

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KISS To Continue Raiding Vaults For DVD Series - Nov. 16, 2006

2006-11-17T02:25:00.000-08:00

Gary Graff of Billboard.com reports: With the new "Kissology: The Ultimate Kiss Collection Vol. 1 1974-1977" lodged atop Billboard's Top Music Video chart, KISS' Gene Simmons promises there's more where that came from. "We hope it's going to be a 10-volume set," Simmons tells Billboard.com. "Volume 2 is being worked on right now. I'm not allowed to talk too much about it, but [it will be released] in the next six months to eight months. We don't want to wait. This is a lot of fun. People are enjoying this. We're actually proud of it." The first "Kissology" features vintage concerts from San Francisco, Detroit, Tokyo, Houston and New York along with TV appearances, promotional videos and a documentary about Kiss Day in 1975 in Cadillac, Mich. "Some of the stuff that tugs at my heart is the really, really early days," Simmons notes, "the sort of innocence of it when you're exuberant and happy to be alive.

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NXP intros advanced media processing for automotive DVD players

2006-11-15T02:23:00.000-08:00

NXP Semiconductors has unveiled an advanced media processor, the Nexperia PNX9520, to address the growing demand for best-in-class audio and video applications in the car. The Nexperia PNX9520 processor from NXP is an integrated solution for automotive infotainment, which offers unprecedented flexibility so that car manufacturers and tier-one suppliers can deliver a wide range of vibrant media technologies tailored for the needs of different markets. The solution is offering advanced software features, including the ability to implement the latest audio and video codecs as they become available, and add additional multimedia features as they develop and grow in popularity. In addition, the PNX9520 enables multi-speed audio encoding - so that passengers and drivers can enjoy music from their CDs, DVDs and digital music players by storing them on the car's hard disk drive for playback on the go.

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Police investigate counterfeit DVD sales

2006-11-13T02:50:00.000-08:00

Des Moines police are investigating a fraud case involving a vendor who was selling what appeared to be counterfeit DVD movies at a flea market today. Two Missouri men are thought to be involved in the pirated movie sales. Both left the monthly flea market at the Iowa State Fairgrounds this afternoon before police arrived. The men were selling new releases in look-alike packages for as low as $8, said another DVD vendor, Joe Sciarrotta, who alerted authorities to the counterfeiters. Titles offered included the Disney movie Cars and The Da Vinci Code, which isnt scheduled for DVD release until Tuesday. One man who bought a counterfeit copy of the movie Cars compared the packaging and DVD to a legitimate copy sold by Sciarrotta and found them markedly different.

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Universal HD DVD / Blu-ray players really on the way in 2007?

2006-11-11T02:46:00.000-08:00

EETimes has quoted several manufacturers of key components in next generation DVD players who say they are designing hardware specifically for such devices. We've already seen NEC's hardware and its (lack of) response among CE manufacturers, but someone must be ready to build such a device as they will soon be joined by fellow chipmakers STMicroelectronics and Broadcomm. They expect to have customers rolling out universal players next year, and that they will "represent a significant volume" in 2008 but couldn't name any or expected prices, citing NDAs. Making hardware capable of living up to the minimum specs required of both HD DVD and Blu-ray's capabilities won't be cheap or easy but their sources don't expect the price premium to be be very large, and mostly on account of royalties. We've been disappointed again and again so far on the possibility of combo players, we'll see if 2007 is the year.[Via CNET] .

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NEW! Transformers The Movie 20th Anniversary DVD Review at UGO.com

2006-11-09T16:50:00.000-08:00

Entertainment News Site UnderGroundOnline have posted a review of the recently released Sony BMG Transformers The Movie 20th Anniversary DVD Special Edition DVD. They write: It may have taken 20 years to get here, but the biggest cult movie of 1986 has finally been given the DVD treatment it deserves. For those of us who grew up watching Optimus Prime and the Autobots do battle with Megatron and the Decepticons, The Transformers: The Movie 20th Anniversary Special Edition has a lot more to it than meets the eye. Read the full review here at UGO.com .

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Toshiba giving away free movies with HD DVD players

2006-11-05T02:20:00.000-08:00

The battle for the next generation of high definition video formats is often portrayed as this generation's VHS versus Beta, but there is one aspect to the struggle that was not present in the old days: what if neither format gains popularity with consumers? Most people agree that as HDTV sets become more common in homes, consumers will start to demand higher resolution movies than standard DVD can offer. But that day may not be coming as fast as electronics companies are hoping. Toshiba, in an effort to spur HD DVD sales in the runup to the Christmas season, has started offering three free HD DVD movie titles with the purchase of a new HD DVD player. Three free titles is a big incentive to buy compared to the single title that comes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 HD DVD addon or the one free movie that comes as a pack-in with Sony's PlayStation 3, but there are some caveats.

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Warner Sneak Peeks Blu-ray, HD DVD Christmas Titles?

2006-11-03T02:40:00.000-08:00

After posting a tantalizing if brief teaser on its media website, Warner Home Video appears on the verge of announcing a trio of popular holiday-themed titles on Blu-ray and HD DVD this December. After postings for three much-loved Warner holiday titles appeared briefly yesterday, including 'A Christmas Story,' 'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation' and the 2002 live-action version of 'Scooby-Doo' (okay, maybe that last one isn't so beloved), the titles were promptly pulled with no explanation. .

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Farce Of The Penguins Passes Up Theaters For DVD

2006-10-30T02:29:00.000-08:00

Director Bob Saget will soon be right back where he belongs. No, not cuddling the Olsen Twins (creepy). On DVD and video. Saget's new film Farce of the Penguins was scheduled for a theatrical release, but the raunchy, adult-oriented spoof of the popular movie March of the Penguins has been bumped to a lower profile format. ThinkFilm has announced that the film will skip right onto DVD at the end of January. They're not willing to admit it sucks, instead they say the project fell behind schedule. They're impatient, and so they're just throwing it to DVD. Though the premise may not sound stellar, the movie includes the voice talent of big names like Whoopi Goldberg, Samuel L. Jackson, Jason Alexander, and Dane Cook. Saget wrote, directed, and conceived the thing himself after watching March.

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HD DVD stung by the Blu-ray

2006-10-26T03:18:00.000-07:00

Most industry wars fought for profit and control end up making average citizens the biggest losers. Those simply wanting to live their lives and maybe bask in some pretty high-definition video without the fear that their hard earned money is being wasted are about to suffer significantly. The battle to see who will be profiting from your desire to see the individual pores on Scarlett Johanssons beautiful face is just gearing up. With two new formats, HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc, competing to replace DVD within the next six months, both parties are moving to ensure that youll be shelling out for their product first. Developed by Toshiba and backed by the likes of Microsoft, Sanyo and NEC, HD DVD uses similar production methods as those used by DVD discs and thus allows them to be produced for significantly cheaper.

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Eros Group introduces portable entertainment DVD players from ...

2006-10-16T03:14:00.000-07:00

Eros Group, the sole distributors of world-renowned brands like Hitachi, Samsung (digital products), BenQ, & Taurus & one of the leading players in consumer electronics, telecom and allied multi-products in the Middle East region has recently introduced a new hi-tech range of Hitachi Portable DVD Players (PDV 701S, PDV 851S, PDV 1021S) in the UAE. .

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'The Marine' Dollar-Store DVD Lunacy

2006-10-14T03:13:00.000-07:00

Dismissed from his overeager military duties in Iraq, John Triton (John Cena) returns home to settle down with his wife, Kate (Kelly Carlson, "Nip/Tuck"). On their way to a romantic getaway, Kate is kidnapped by a gang of ruthless diamond thieves, led by the vicious Rome (Robert Patrick). Trying to figure out a way to fence the loot while struggling to keep two steps ahead of John and his path of vengeance, Rome and the gang find out soon enough that the only thing worse than robbing a South Carolina jewelry store is having a former marine chasing after you. The last film to debut a professional wrestling actor was last May's Kane stinker "See No Evil." At the time, I was pretty sure it was the dumbest movie I'd see all year. After watching John Cena's big screen gumball, "The Marine," I stand corrected.

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dvd shrink

2006-10-10T03:13:00.000-07:00

I am using dvd's with the MID of MCC. When I am backing up my dvd's I use dvd shrink then then it automatically burns with nero. The problem (if you can call it that) is that now that I am using the pioneer is that it automatically chooses to burn at 16x speed (the maximum) using this process. Now I don't know how entirely true this is but I always thought that generally speaking the lower the speed you burn the more stable it is and yesterday (burning at 16x) I got my first coaster. 1. Does anyone know whether burning at a higher speed really does affect the outcome of the cd? 2. Does anyone use this process in dvd shrink and knows how to lower the burn speed to 8x? ----- Specs: amd 3200, 1 gig 400mhz, 160 gig sata, 80 gig ide, geforce 6800, MickyD's Quote : life is a fucker, deal with it .

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CEDIA 2006: 2nd Gen Toshiba HD DVD Players

2006-10-08T03:15:00.000-07:00

Today Toshiba also announced the addition of two HD DVD players to their line of HD DVD players. But before I get to that, I need to mention some funny tidbits the PR lady said. She rambled about how well the HD DVD launch went in April, then she mentioned that there are Toshiba HD DVD players in approximately 30,000 homes and each of which bought 25-30 HD DVDs. What the f—25-30 HD DVDs per player. Sounds a bit ridiculous, but could be true. You A/V nuts love to spend money. Now, on to the new players. The HD-A2 (top) is the lower-end HD DVD player revision. This player will be available in October for $500. It has a 720p/1080i resolution, HDMI 1.2 and a much-needed, improved, remote. It also has a slimmer design than its predecessor, the HD-A1. The HD-XA2 (bottom) is the higher end HD DVD player revision.

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'Shark is Still Working' teases tentative DVD art

2006-10-06T03:21:00.000-07:00

"Jaws" fans are one step closer to the event documentary we've been waiting for since last summer as "The Shark is Still Working" is nearing release. The official site for the film is now teasing that "the end is near, folks!" and to fuel your expectations for the film even more, the producers of the film have posted what they're calling the tentative, but hopefully near final DVD art as it will appear in stores in "the not-too-distant future."The makers of "Shark" allow that the final decision for the DVD art remains in Universal's hands, but any "Jaws" fan will attest that the art (see below) certainly represents Steven Spielberg's film in the way that filmgoers have known and loved for over 30 years now. While there were many vocal complaints online about the imitative art on the 30th anniversary edition of "Jaws" on DVD, the makers of "Shark is Still Working" are hoping to present their work with the unmistakable image that fans truly adore: that of artist Roger Kastel's original key art of the shark for the film.

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'Clean' DVD players can cut 'objectionable' content

2006-10-04T03:15:00.000-07:00

Washington — No bare buttocks of Will Ferrell in the streaking scene of the movie "Old School"? Less blood and gore in the Vietnam War flick "Platoon"? At the end of "Gone With the Wind," Rhett telling Scarlett, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a ... bleep?" All hypothetical instances that could become reality. A congressional committee considered Tuesday whether companies should be allowed to use digital technology to edit movies to make them "family friendly" and distribute them for home viewing. The issue "is about control — the control of an artist, in this case a filmmaker, over artistic expression, and the control of parents over the content of that artistic expression for home viewing by their children and families," said Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection.

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Contest: Scarface: Platinum Edition on DVD

2006-10-02T03:13:00.000-07:00

Scarface: Platinum Edition will hit DVD shelves on October 3rd, and we have a copy of this classic gangster film for one lucky /Film reader. All you need to enter is to e-mail us through the linked contact form with the reason why you should get this DVD (note: you must first register with /Film). On October 10th we will e-mail the person who presents the best answer. .

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Group test: Upscaling DVD players

2006-09-24T03:20:00.000-07:00

If like us you're planning to sit on the fence for the forthcoming high definition format war, waiting to see which one out of Blu-ray and HD-DVD will turn out to be the next Betamax, in the meantime you'll no doubt want the best possible picture from your DVDs to do justice to that spanking new HD-ready TV. That's where upscaling DVD players come in, taking your standard 576-line DVD resolution and with help from some clever technical wizardry and an HDMI socket, 'upscaling' the image to high definition resolution, most commonly 720p or 1080i. Upscaling DVD players have been around for a couple of years now so there are plenty of models to choose from and prices vary wildy. With that in mind, we've boldly gone through the entire price spectrum for this test, from Sharp's 80 quid cost saver right through to Denon's monster-sized £2,700 disc spinner, to see how much of a difference you actually get for your cash.

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New DVD releases: 'Stick It,' 'The Proposition,' 'Backdraft ...

2006-09-22T03:16:00.000-07:00

Writer-director Jessica Bendinger, who wrote the hit cheerleading comedy "Bring It On," resurrects much of the tone and irreverent style of that flick, transplanting it to the gymnastics world. Missy Peregrym stars as a once-promising teen gymnast who's been an outcast since foundering at a championship but is drawn back into competition under the guidance of a tough coach (Jeff Bridges). Bendinger, Peregrym and other cast and crew provide commentary for the movie and deleted scenes, and the DVD has featurettes focusing on the gymnastics action, including a profile of the athletes who handled stunts for the actors and full gymnastics routines. DVD, $29.99. (Disney) "The Proposition" The Western gets a bloody update with this bleak saga set among outlaws, aborigines and British colonists trying to bring law and order to 1880s Australia.

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Paramount to Bring 'Reds' to Blu-ray, HD DVD

2006-09-18T03:23:00.000-07:00

In a surprise announcement, Paramount Home Entertainment has added Warren Beatty's Oscar-winning historical epic 'Reds' to its November Blu-ray and HD DVD lineups. On the surface, releasing a somewhat forgotten 1981 catalog title as one of your initial launch titles might seem a bit strange, because generally the studios tend to stick to new releases and well-known action blockbusters when introducing a new format. However, 'Reds' does possess a sweeping visual grander that should be tailored made for high-definition, so we're intrigued to see the results. In any case, Paramount will release 'Reds' simultaneously on both Blu-ray and HD DVD on November 7. Each boasts a 1080p video transfer minted from the same master, and an identical set of extras, which will mirror the upcoming 25th Anniversary Edition standard-def DVD release, including a six-part "Witness to 'Reds'" documentary and theatrical trailer.

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New Denon DVD Players to Feature HQV Video Processing Engine

2006-09-16T03:23:00.000-07:00

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 13, 2006--Denon has announced the introduction of two new DVD players that will feature HQV processing. The Denon DVD-3930CI (MSRP $1499) features Realta HQV(R) processing, and the DVD-2930CI (MSRP $849) features Reon-VX HQV processing. "In 2005 we launched our flagship DVD player, the 5910, featuring HQV processing, and it received rave reviews and won almost every single industry award, including Digital Entertainment Group's 'DVD Player of the Year,' and 'Product of the Year' from Audioholics.com and Electronic House magazine. With this incredible success, it only made sense for us to move HQV processing to the next level of our product line," said Jeff Talmadge, Denon's Director, Product Development and Systems Integration. The Denon DVD-3930CI offers many of the same leading-edge characteristics as Denon's acclaimed flagship player, the DVD-5910CI, including Silicon Optix's Realta HQV video processor.

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Beyond the Ocean on DVD

2006-09-14T03:19:00.000-07:00

Beyond the Ocean, a new film by Tony Pemberton that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, has been released on DVD with never-before-seen bonus short Description of a Struggle starring Parker Posey. Pemberton, who was named one of Variety's Top Ten Directors to Watch, spent three years filming Beyond the Ocean on a bare-bones budget in Moscow and New York City. Shooting an independent film in two countries offered Pemberton countless creative challenges. His Russian mother-in-law feigned illness and wept hysterically before Ukrainian border guards would allow 30 cans of cheap film stock into Russia, and Pemberton had to hire a posse of ex-KGB agents to retrieve footage and equipment being held for ransom by an angry DP. Pemberton spent two years in Moscow raising money to process and print his film before he finally completed post-production.

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Toshiba's HD-E1 & HD-XE1 HD DVD players for Europe: 1080p, HDMI ...

2006-09-13T05:53:00.000-07:00

Definitely providing a look at what the follow ups to the HD-A1/XA1HD DVD players here will look like, Toshiba is prepping their HD-E1 and HD-XE1 players for Europe at IFA 2006. Other than sporting what appears to be a more compact design, the low end HD-E1 player due in November includes 720p/1080i output, HDMI 1.2, and support for Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD audio for 599 euros. The top of the line HD-XE1 player adds 1080p and HDMI 1.3 to the list of features when it releases in December. The lower end model will only output 2 channel audio via analog, while the more expensive player includes a 12bit/296MHzDAC and 5.1 analog audio output. HDTV UK has noted that the XE1 will include DVD upconversion to 1080p via HDMI, but neither player will include support for managed copy.

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IFA 2006: Toshiba Announces European HD DVD Players

2006-09-10T06:04:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in my preview that High Definition was likely to be the dominating theme of IFA 2006 and so it proved. As you would expect, Toshiba was making hay with HD DVD while Sony and its Blu-ray brand continue to dawdle. Available from mid-November and early December respectively, the HD-E1 (above) and its bigger brother, the HD-EX1, will bring high definition media players to the mass market for the first time. Costing from just 599 euros (404), The E1 will support HD DVD discs at up to 1080p resolution and will playback DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-R DL, DVD-RW and all types of CD. The HD-EX1 does all this too but will set you back significantly more (899 euros -607) because it has the power to output existing DVD content to 1080p while the E1 is limited to 720p and 1080i.

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Hardware.info: 'ATI and nVidia crush high-end DVD players'

2006-09-10T06:03:00.001-07:00

We often discuss the difference in quality of a normal, everyday, progressive scan DVD player, with the fancy upscaling types, that promise better image quality. Some say they are great, others say it's all hype. In this interesting comparison though, Hardware.info compares 12 high end DVD players, to a PC housing a decent graphics card. In this case, they are looking at ATI and nVidia cards. They make their comparisons using the popular benchmarking program, HQV, which is used by many sites to help in determining picture quality. Even though they stack the PC cards up against some big name DVD players like Denon, they have come to some interesting conclusions, as we can read from the not so cryptic headline! .

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UK first in queue for Tosh's HD-DVD players

2006-09-10T06:03:00.000-07:00

Deck your DVD cabinet with boughs of holly: Tosh's new HD-E1 and HD-XE1 players, slated to arrive on these shores by Christmas, will be here in November. The HD-DVD boxes are going head to head with the higher capacity Blu-Rays from Panasonic and Samsung, which are poised and ready to go next month. But while Samsung's BD-P1000 is rumoured to be going on sale for just under a grand, the cheapest Toshiba will sell for less than half that amount. The high-end XE1 will have 1080p support while the E1 makes do with 1080i. Both will be slimmed down from their American versions. Just 10,000 of the players are promised in the initial Euro shipment. Toshiba assures us the first wave will be coming to the UK. However, we'll have to share them with the French and Germans. We were impressed by our first look so get ready to queue.

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Toshiba Plans Nov. European Launch for HD DVD Players

2006-09-10T06:02:00.002-07:00

Toshiba has set a mid-November launch date for its standalone HD DVD players in Europe. The firm will launch the HD-E1, followed by the HD-EX1 in December. Both players are backwards compatible with existing DVD and CD formats, the company said. Small Business CRMFind the CRM solution that fits your business. These flexible and easy-to-use solutions are tailored to help you acquire, retain and develop customers. .

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ATI, nVIDIA graphics cards trump dedicated DVD players

2006-09-10T06:02:00.001-07:00

Judging the quality of a moving image is an extremely subjective task, so it's with a little trepidation that we report on Hardware.Info's test which compared two graphics cards with twelve dedicated HDMI-enabled DVD players on the same Samsung 24-inch LCD monitor. The tests found that the PC -- which alternated between a ATI Radeon X1900XTX running Cyberlink PowerDVD 7 and nVIDIA's GeForce 7900GTX running the card's PureVideo software -- offered substantially better video quality than the DVD players, but here's where the subjectiveness comes in: the testers chose to rely entirely on the HQV benchmark DVD -- which requires a human to rate each test -- to discern the quality of the playback. The test was also exclusively based around the HQV DVD, with not a single "real world" test in sight.

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Failure to Launch (DVD)

2006-09-10T06:02:00.000-07:00

I love Matthew McConaughey. No, not in a Brokeback Mountain kind of way (although I am very fond of Heath Ledger) but in a Hey, thats my kind of guy kind of waykind of. My personal sense of manliness, acquired (right or wrong) from a baby boomer upbringing filled with TV westerns, Jimmy Stewart reruns and Easy Rider on the big screen, is somehow justified when watching a McConaughey film. From his laid back Wooderson in Dazed and Confused to the do-the-right-thing defense lawyer in A Time to Kill to the unlikely heroic submarine captain in U-571, McConaugheys characters were the guys you wanted on your side. And even when most critics were torpedoing his Dirk Pitt role in Sahara, this reviewer defended the over-the-top action pic as a boatful of exhilarating fun. That said, the love affair is now on thin ice.

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