Toshiba, the chief backer of HD DVD, the loser in the high-def disc format wars, has announced what it calls a “reverse class-action” suit against every household that failed purchase an HD DVD player since the format launched in 2006. The lawsuit charges that, by failing to support HD DVD, their non-customers “handed the format war to Blu-ray on a silver platter and deprived future customer of their right to make a choice.” (more…)
Keyword Archive:
HD DVD
April Fools! (Toshiba to Sue Everyone Who Didn’t Buy HD DVD)
Tuesday, April 1st, 2008Blade Runner Final Cut Officially Announced
Thursday, July 26th, 2007The long-awaited “Final Cut” of Ridley Scott‘s landmark science-fiction cult classic Blade Runner has been officially annouced. It will have a brief theatrical run in New York and Los Angeles beginning on October 5, 2007. The DVD will be released in two, four and five-disc sets on December 18th.
The four-disc set will include all four officially released cuts of the film, including the 1982 U.S. theatrical version, the original international version and the 1992 “Director’s Cut.” The five-disc box set will come in a briefcase like the one carried by Harrison Ford in the movie and a model “spinner” (the flying cars seen in the film). The fifth disc will contain a rare “workprint” cut of Blade Runner. For this privilege, you will have to shell out about $80.
I will make every effort to attend one of the theatrical showings of the Final Cut and have a review for you. If you want to read more, you can read the official announcment on The Digital Bits.
An HD DVD tidbit you might find interesting…
Wednesday, May 10th, 2006As many of you might know, HD DVD is Toshiba’s candidate for a high definition replacement for good old DVD (which is less than ten years old and probably doesn’t need replacing in a lot of people’s eyes, but that’s a story of another day).
Lorin Thwaits didn’t even bother to hook his new Toshiba HD DVD player to his big screen TV. Instead, he took it apart to see what makes it tick (do not try this at home, folks!). (more…)
Getting High Def with a Little Help from your Friends
Wednesday, January 11th, 2006Gentle readers,
2006 promises to be a significant year for those of us who love to watch movies in the comfort of our own home theater. This year the home entertainment industry will launch not one, but two different high-definition formats that they hope will some day replace DVD. We’ll see about that.
The fact that there are two formats that pretty much do the same thing proves that the consumer electronics industry hasn’t learned shit since the VHS/Betamax war a quarter-century ago. Have two competing formats means that they will carving up what is already a relatively small portion of the overall television market. This is on top of the general confusion it will inevitably cause among consumers. I’d like to do what little I can to clear up some of this confusion by laying out some of the differences between the two contenders.
HD-DVD is being championed by Toshiba while Blu-ray is being pushed primarily by Sony. Both formats have other companies behind them but these two are the primary movers.
R.I.P. HD DVD (2002-2008)
Tuesday, February 19th, 2008It’s over.
The white flag has flown. The tattered remnants of the Red army have laid down their arms. The bitter conflict that has divided the land is now decided. It is time for the period of reconciliation to begin.
Today, February 19, 2008, the final nails were driven into the coffin of HD DVD. Toshiba, the driving force behind the format, announced that they were ceasing development of new players and technology. Universal Studios, the most stalwart of the format’s supporters, announced that it would start releasing movies on Blu-ray. The dominos that started to fall on January 4th, when Warner Brothers announced their plans to go Blu-ray exclusive, are all now down.
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Posted by Paul McElligott in Commentary | Comments Off