KEWL NEWS!

All the News that's Fit to Post!

The End of an Era...and the Future of Blu-Ray

by Scott Adams

Today, October 27th 2008...Marks the end of a 30 year reign of a great electronic product. Yes, that's right...JVC (the last company to support it) has stopped production of VHS recorders. I remember my dad buying a Panasonic VHS recorder (Gosh, it was a giant piece) we hooked it up and popped in a TDK T-120 cassette and recorded some HBO. I must have watched "Smokey and the Bandit" and "Jaws 2" about a thousand times...

So, you better back up your home movies...your old machines will die and will slowly go away...like your 8-track...Time to upgrade to Blu-Ray or wait till everything moves to digital download.

Blu-Ray is my next move...but, I am waiting until this coming "Black Friday"..(The day after Thanksgiving) Word on the street is that Blu-Ray players are going to go for as low as $150. Currently, they are $225 - $350.

If they want everyone to make the move to Blu-Ray...they are going to have to do two things...One, get the price of the players down to under $200 bucks..(which they are doing)...Two, get the price down on the Blu-Ray discs from the current $30 to around $19...Three, get the studios to release some of the bigg boys on Blu-Ray...not crappy old titles like "Universal Soldier" and "RV"...If customers could get their hands on "Jaws", "Star Wars" , "Alien" or "Raiders of the Lost Ark"...Oooo how about "Jurassic Park"...in High-Def...I promise you, the format would take off. We are talking about Lucas and Speilberg so...I am not holding my breathe...(I am hearing that the Indiana Jones series is being prepped for release) We shall see.

The War is Over! Blu-Ray is the Victor

by Scott Adams

I am a big enough man to admit when I am wrong...I was wrong. I picked my dog in the fight...HD-DVD. Stick a fork in it... it is dead, Blu-Ray is the winner.

Toshiba have stopped production on their HD-DVD player. as well as Microsoft have announced they are going to stop selling their XBox 360 add-on.

All of the major studios have dropped HD-DVD format and moved to Blu-Ray. Now, like other early adopters, have to re-buy their movie collection.

It's over. The new format is set. Now you can come and get your Blu-Ray player. I have to get mine.

mjkjl;

DirecTV to Add Video On Demand by July 2007!

April 28th

Here's some kewl news on the DirecTV front. Plans are in motion to bring VOD to DirecTV subscribers. Customers will have upwards to 2000 movies (some of which will be offered in HD) & TV shows at their fingertips. Secret testing will begin in May- if all goes well, service will be start in July...cross your fingers - VOD is a great feature that ,right now, is offered only by cable providers like Comcast.

1080p - Don't Believe the Hype

by Scott Adams

Some one told the world that 1080i stinks and 1080p is the only format that matters. I'd like to slap that guy.

First off - 1080p ( or 1080 progressive ) 1080p resolution--which equates to 1,920x1,080 pixels--is the latest HD Holy Grail. That's because 1080p monitors are theoretically capable of displaying every pixel of the highest-resolution HD broadcasts. On paper, they should offer more than twice the resolution of today's 1,280x720, or 720p, HDTVs and projectors.

1080i, the former Grail of HD, actually has an identical 1,920x1,080 resolution but is an interlaced format (the i in 1080i). The odd-numbered lines of resolution appear on your screen first, followed by the even-numbered lines--very quickly, I might add. Progressive-scan show all of the lines of resolution in a single pass, which makes for a smoother, cleaner image.

Okay, now, What is Broadcast in 1080p that I can watch? Nothing .That's right, nothing. Today's high-def broadcasts are done in either 1080i or 720p, and there's little or no chance they'll jump to 1080p any time soon because of bandwidth issues. Now Denon announced their new DVD players are going to upconvert standard DVD movies to 1080p resolution, but that's just make something look as good as it can...not as good as it is...or could be.Right now, the only 1080p content available is high-def DVD players, Blu-ray & HD-DVD will output in 1080p. Who will win that battle is still up in the air ...and a whole 'nother article.

The Bottomline is this - Your HD picture is only as good as your source material...period Actually, (and I know this is going to sound crazy) 1080p TVs & projectors do not accept 1080p sources...the only upconvert to 1080p...wow...( it's true). Not trying to tell you not to buy 1080p...just remember...most HD content is 1080i / 720p ...and in my personal opinion...1080i looks pretty darn good. Don't believe all the hype of 1080p...

Planet Earth Series Releases on HD-DVD!

by Scott Adams

Planet Earth is quite simply the greatest nature/wildlife series ever produced and it will be released on HD-DVD on April 24th. I would Highly recommend you grap this DVD to show off your theater. It is breath taking images shot with HD cameras. Everything from the beauty of polar bears to the slow-motion images of a seal escaping the jaws of a great white shark. So, if you have been waiting to buy an HD-DVD player, now is the time to take the plunge. With Toshiba dropping their prices $100 and XBOX360 add ons dropping to $130...it is a pretty kewl upgrade for your home theater.

* Directv to Add 100 HD Channels by the End of 2007!

The announcements of the new ABC Family HD, Disney Channel HD, ESPNEWS HD and Toon Disney HD services come in the wake of DirecTV's plan to provide over 100 channels of HD programming this year, which it first unveiled at the CES show in January.

ESPNEWS HD, available in early 2008, will be a 24-hour simulcast of ESPNEWS that will broadcast from a new HD studio in ESPN's digital newsroom in Bristol, Ct. that is currently under construction. ESPN Media Networks already offers ESPN and ESPN 2 in HD.

Disney will launch hi-def simulcasts of kids’ entertainment networks Disney Channel and Toon Disney early next year, as well as an HD simulcast of ABC Family.

In addition, Disney announced that this month DirecTV will began carrying Spanish-language network ESPN Deportes. The 24-hour sports network will be available to DirecTV’s approximately 1 million U.S. Hispanic customers nationwide and to its DirecTV Latin America customers in Puerto Rico.

Future Plans (Confirmed) Launching in 2007 -

MTV-HD
Golf Channel / Versus HD
USA Network HD
Sci Fi Channel HD
TBS HD in September 2007
A&E HD
Bravo HD
The History Channel HD
Cartoon Network HD in September 2007
FX HD
CNN HD in Septmeber 2007
The Weather Channel HD in Septemeber 2007
Food Network HD
HGTV HD
Speed HD
NFL Network HD (full time Channel)
National Geographic HD
Cinemax HD
Starz HD
Encore HD
Chiller HD
Big Ten Network HD - Possibily in August 2007
Sleuth HD
WGN SuperStation HD (Directv Expressed Interest in this channel)
ESPNews-HD By end of 2007
Toon Disney HD in early 2008
Disney Channel HD in early 2008
ABC Family HD in early 2008

And all Premium Channels in HD
Along with other unnamed unannounced Channels yet to launch in HD
Directv has signed aggreements with networks to launch 60 National Networks Channels in HD by 3rd Quarter 2007

with plans for *100 national HD Channels by end of the 2007

*Toshiba goes below $400 in retail for HD-DVD

Toshiba will lower their Suggested Retail Prices on all of their HD-DVD players - Starting April 1st - Very Kewl!

New prices from April 1st are:

Toshiba HD-DVD A2: $399 (Before: $499)
Toshiba HD-DVD A20: $499 (Before: $599)
Toshiba HD-DVD XA2: $799 (Already effective) (Before: $999)

No doubt this is very aggressive prices and to top it you can get 5 HD-DVDs for free through a mail in offer that is valid until 07-31-07

Rumors are also saying that the XBOX HD-DVD drive will receive a price cut. While we are talking rumors. A XBOX 360 with HDMI and 120 GB Harddrive is also said to debut this summer from Microsoft at $479.