Posts Tagged ‘blu-ray’

New standard could pave way for higher capacity Blu-ray discs
Already feeling the pinch of a mere 25GB per layer on a Blu-ray disc? Neither are we, but it looks like Sony and Panasonic have been busily working on ways to boost capacity nonetheless, and they've now devised a new method that seems to be on the fast track to becoming a standard. The best news is that it doesn't involve a change in Blu-ray optics, but rather something called the Maximum Likelihood Sequence Estimation evaluation index (or i-MLSE -- the "i' is just for kicks, it seems), which is a new means of estimating the read error rate of discs on the fly that has apparently be made possible thanks to "recent hardware advancements." According to Sony and Panasonic, that should now allow discs to hold up to 33.4 GB per layer, but it's not exactly clear what that means for existing Blu-ray players (a little firmware assistance seems to at least be a conceivable option, though). There's also no timeline for a rollout just yet, but Sony is reportedly now set to propose widespread adoption of i-MLSE to the Blu-ray Disc Association, of which it just so happens to be the leading member.

New standard could pave way for higher capacity Blu-ray discs originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Jan 2010 10:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MSI Wind Top AE2220 unboxing and impressions
In the land of netbooks and nettops, the tried-and-true all-in-one PC still has a place in this world yet. MSI is living proof of that, with its 21.5-inch Wind Top AE2220 bringing Windows 7, multitouch and an eye-pleasing design to the collective masses. Said machine just started shipping to consumers at the tail end of last month, and we've been fortunate enough to spend a few weeks tinkering with one of the most cost effective AIO options on the market right now. Thankfully for those who enjoy doing anything with relative speed, MSI overlooked the Atom range and went straight for the Core 2 Duo lineup, and for those with a bit of extra coin to spend, there's even an optional TV tuner and Blu-ray drive. Care to see how we felt about this touch-friendly rig after some extended play time? Read on to find out.

Continue reading MSI Wind Top AE2220 unboxing and impressions

MSI Wind Top AE2220 unboxing and impressions originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I Don’t Think You Understand How Cheap Blu-ray Really Is [Home Entertainment]

The downward trajectory of Blu-ray player prices matches DVD almost to the dollar—actually, Blu-ray’s cheaper. And that’s not considering inflation, or that the best players do a whole lot more than Blu-ray. It’s not what Blu-ray makers wanted.

Sony was firm for a long time on not dipping below an MSRP of $300 to battle cheap Chinese players, but already by the end of last year, the Chinese manufacturers were losing just as much money as the big guys like Samsung. The chart, using data from the Envisioneering Group in the WSJ article, shows the average price of players for each format in the years following their launch—DVD in 1997, Blu-ray in 2006.

It just stands to reason if we’re not going to spend as much time watching Blu-ray as we did DVD—considering all of the other places we can watch video that’s easier good enough—we’re probably not gonna pay as much for it. As awesome as Avatar may be, I’m not really sure if 3D’s gonna change that fact, at least not in our tiny living rooms. [WSJ, Chart Data by Envisioneering Group]








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Gifts For People Who Hate the Holidays and Everything They Stand For [Giftguide]

The Holidays are depressing. Religious celebrations aside, they're filled with time spent with a family you didn't choose, little sun, zero free time and an obligation to buy stuff for other people. Do you know someone with this outlook?

Here are the gifts you should give to that guy. And by give, I mean quietly sneak up and shoving it in his mail slot, because if he's anything like the Holiday Haters we know, he'll have barricaded himself in and shut off all forms of communication with the outside.

And if you hate the gallery format as much as he hates the holidays, click here.

A Philips GoLite Blu: If someone hates the holidays, it's likely that they hate the holiday season as well. Part of that is due to seasonal affective disorder, which in layman's terms, means you're not getting enough sunlight and you're depressed as a result.

The Philips GoLite Blu, which we reviewed last year, really helps lift mood. It might not make your pal's mood go from a 2 to a 10, but it'll definitely get him up into the 6 or 7s. $150 [Amazon]

Cellphone Flask: If your friend really hates being around family, there's few (legal) ways of making the time go by faster than getting stupidly drunk. But what if they're gifted with at least a little semblance of tact and don't want to go all out with a flask? Then here's the cellphone flask. Provided the guy's family is as dumb as he claims, they might not realize that this silver beauty really hides a few ounces of vodka and not his office email. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll have to take this call. $10 [Amazon]

Yule Log Christmas Fireplace Blu-ray: This combines the traditional holiday tradition of sitting in front of a fireplace with the more palatable tradition of sitting in front of a TV. Your friend might hate the former, but he must still enjoy TV, right? Right? With the newly-updated Blu-ray version, he can just leave it on and enjoy the fake flames while doing whatever it is he does normally. Which, if our guess is right, is planning his own death. $11 [Amazon]

Festivus Pole LED Color Light Kit: Your loved one may hate the holidays, but what about Festivus? Bordering somewhere between a real holiday and a crappy meme that will not die, Festivus is the holiday for hipsters too cool or too poor to celebrate one of the "traditional" ones. On the plus side, you get a pole, so why not decorate it with some LED lights from China? $18 [Chinavasion]

Ex-lax Chocolate Laxatives: One hilarious way to a party is to have all the guests run home with Christmas sweaters tied around their pants. Any holiday hater will die to have these miracle pills in their arsenal of holiday-escaping gadgets, even if it isn't quite that gadgety. Think of it as Batman's utility belt if Batman really wanted to get out of a get together and was willing to wait 6 to 12 hours. $9 [Amazon]

Withings Wi-Fi Scale: Nothing pisses off a holiday hater more than someone actually enjoying themselves. How does one undo this mirth? By showing them how much weight they've gained since November. The Wi-Fi scale is fantastic because there's no hiding your weight—it gets uploaded automatically, online, and converted into graph form. Take that, innocent person who's just trying to celebrate the holidays. $160 [Gizmodo]

Swine Flu Protection Kit: Another thing holiday haters hate worse than the holidays is getting sick during the holidays. With the swine flu protection kit, even if your friend isn't actually safe from disease, he has peace of mind. [Amazon]

A Donation In His Name: For a person who hates the holidays and everything they stand for, giving him a present that's actually a present to someone else is the worst thing imaginable. It's like telling him that you HAD the excess money to spend on a present, but decided to give it to someone else instead. Or, like waving a bowl of food in front of a starving child and saying that there's a hungrier child that this is going to instead, and thanking him for his kindness. Don't do this!

All Giz Wants is our annual round-up of favorite gift ideas, including amazing attainable objects and a few far-out fantasies. We'll be popping guides catered to different interests regularly until Christmas, so keep checking back.




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Gifts For People Who Hate the Holidays and Everything They Stand For [Giftguide]

The Holidays are depressing. Religious celebrations aside, they're filled with time spent with a family you didn't choose, little sun, zero free time and an obligation to buy stuff for other people. Do you know someone with this outlook?

Here are the gifts you should give to that guy. And by give, I mean quietly sneak up and shoving it in his mail slot, because if he's anything like the Holiday Haters we know, he'll have barricaded himself in and shut off all forms of communication with the outside.

And if you hate the gallery format as much as he hates the holidays, click here.

A Philips GoLite Blu: If someone hates the holidays, it's likely that they hate the holiday season as well. Part of that is due to seasonal affective disorder, which in layman's terms, means you're not getting enough sunlight and you're depressed as a result.

The Philips GoLite Blu, which we reviewed last year, really helps lift mood. It might not make your pal's mood go from a 2 to a 10, but it'll definitely get him up into the 6 or 7s. $150 [Amazon]

Cellphone Flask: If your friend really hates being around family, there's few (legal) ways of making the time go by faster than getting stupidly drunk. But what if they're gifted with at least a little semblance of tact and don't want to go all out with a flask? Then here's the cellphone flask. Provided the guy's family is as dumb as he claims, they might not realize that this silver beauty really hides a few ounces of vodka and not his office email. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll have to take this call. $10 [Amazon]

Yule Log Christmas Fireplace Blu-ray: This combines the traditional holiday tradition of sitting in front of a fireplace with the more palatable tradition of sitting in front of a TV. Your friend might hate the former, but he must still enjoy TV, right? Right? With the newly-updated Blu-ray version, he can just leave it on and enjoy the fake flames while doing whatever it is he does normally. Which, if our guess is right, is planning his own death. $11 [Amazon]

Festivus Pole LED Color Light Kit: Your loved one may hate the holidays, but what about Festivus? Bordering somewhere between a real holiday and a crappy meme that will not die, Festivus is the holiday for hipsters too cool or too poor to celebrate one of the "traditional" ones. On the plus side, you get a pole, so why not decorate it with some LED lights from China? $18 [Chinavasion]

Ex-lax Chocolate Laxatives: One hilarious way to a party is to have all the guests run home with Christmas sweaters tied around their pants. Any holiday hater will die to have these miracle pills in their arsenal of holiday-escaping gadgets, even if it isn't quite that gadgety. Think of it as Batman's utility belt if Batman really wanted to get out of a get together and was willing to wait 6 to 12 hours. $9 [Amazon]

Withings Wi-Fi Scale: Nothing pisses off a holiday hater more than someone actually enjoying themselves. How does one undo this mirth? By showing them how much weight they've gained since November. The Wi-Fi scale is fantastic because there's no hiding your weight—it gets uploaded automatically, online, and converted into graph form. Take that, innocent person who's just trying to celebrate the holidays. $160 [Gizmodo]

Swine Flu Protection Kit: Another thing holiday haters hate worse than the holidays is getting sick during the holidays. With the swine flu protection kit, even if your friend isn't actually safe from disease, he has peace of mind. [Amazon]

A Donation In His Name: For a person who hates the holidays and everything they stand for, giving him a present that's actually a present to someone else is the worst thing imaginable. It's like telling him that you HAD the excess money to spend on a present, but decided to give it to someone else instead. Or, like waving a bowl of food in front of a starving child and saying that there's a hungrier child that this is going to instead, and thanking him for his kindness. Don't do this!

All Giz Wants is our annual round-up of favorite gift ideas, including amazing attainable objects and a few far-out fantasies. We'll be popping guides catered to different interests regularly until Christmas, so keep checking back.




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Blu-ray 3D specifications finalized, your PS3 is ready
In case plans by AMD and a slew of other tech vendors planning to showcase 3D Blu-ray compatible products at CES wasn't a tip-off, the updated specifications are done. The key details? First, that the Blu-ray Disc Association has chosen the Multiview Video Coding (MVC) codec to store 3D, so that even though it is now providing a full 1080p frame for each eye, it will only require about 50% more storage space compared to the 2D version, and all discs will be fully backwards compatible, in 2D, on existing players. Better than backwards compatibility, the PlayStation 3 will be forwards compatible with the new discs -- a new HDTV setup (the spec promises to work with plasmas, LCDs or projectors equally well) with IR emitters and glasses will still be necessary. According to the PR (after the break) we can expect Blu-ray 3D-stickered products in 2010, our only advice is to keep those responsible for the Cowboy Stadium abomination far, far away from it.

Continue reading Blu-ray 3D specifications finalized, your PS3 is ready

Blu-ray 3D specifications finalized, your PS3 is ready originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 05:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Adapter Puts Blu-Ray, Xbox 360, and PS3 On Your iMac 27 [Apple]

I’m impressed: Apogee’s new HDMI adapter will put any kind of high definition sources right inside your iMac 27-inch 2560 x 1440-pixel screen, including Blu-ray players, Xbox 360, and PS3. How is this sorcery possible?

The adapter works with the Mini DisplayPort in the iMac 27″, which is bi-directional. Right now, only this model of iMac supports this video standard. No price, no dates, no excuses not to buy this whenever it comes out. [Apogee via Electronista]








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What Is “Success” for Blu-ray? [Blockquote]

According to the president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Craig Kornblau, if 30 percent of a movie's home video sales today are Blu-ray, that's pretty damn good.

Consider the big picture laid out in the WSJ piece: Blu-ray, as a format, despite costing more per individual movie, only pulls around 14 percent of the revenue that DVD does. If you compare the formats at the same year in their life cycle, Blu-ray, in its fourth year, only has revenues that are about a quarter of what DVD made in its fourth year. Hrm, I guess those Flipper discs make a lot more sense now. [WSJ]




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What We Still Need on Blu-ray (And What Should Never Go HD) [Lists]

Some movies seems made specifically for Blu-ray's abilities. Some just don't get anything out of hi-def. So why is Hollywood so completely unable to tell the difference between the two? Let's pull it together, studios. For all our sakes.

Take a look at your Blu-ray library for a minute. See anything missing? If not, you're not looking hard enough. Because for every high-def release of The Proposal that Hollywood shoves out the door, a Raiders of the Lost Ark stays on the shelf. Right now, whether it's a rights issue or a matter of strategic timing, a team of highly qualified artists and technicians are putting the finishing touches on Cheaper By the Dozen 2's Blu-ray release instead of dreaming up interactive features for Alien.

That's just scratching the surface. Right now on Amazon you can buy a 20th Century Fox Blu-ray bundle of three genuinely funny comedies—Napoleon Dynamite, Office Space and Young Frankenstein—that have nothing in common other than being completely unnecessary to watch in high-def. You know what three movies Fox hasn't put on Blu-ray at all? A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

This shouldn't be so hard, Hollywood. Whatever problems you're working through right now, get it figured out. You've only got like 2.5 more years before broadband puts the whole Blu-ray concept completely out of business. To help get you started, here's a list of 20 movies we need right now, and 10 that you should pass on altogether, before you waste any more time.

20 Movies That Should Be on Blu-ray

And 10 That Really Shouldn't




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As Prices Fall, Blu-ray Players Are Invited Home
Analysts predict that sales will be up 112 percent over last year, one of the true bright spots in retailing this holiday season.

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