I'm going to let you guys in on a secret that I snuck out of the Sony marketing playbook. Shh, don't tell anybody, OK? Here it is: people are stupid, and if you lie to their faces they will believe it. If you're in the middle of a disaster, tell people your company has never been better. If the biggest product launch in your company's history is tanking, tell people it's selling like hotcakes. If you say it enough times, it'll become the truth!
You don't have to look far for an example of this type of Dubyaesque behavior in action. Here, let me lay a nice quote down on you, courtesy of Jack Tretton, the CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America, shouting some horseshit:"April or May is when we feel like we're going to catch up to demand and have product fully in stock across North America and stay there."Wait a second, are you trying to claim that there are shortages of PS3s out there? That somewhere in this vast country there is a kid who really wants to drop $600 on a PS3, i...

The Sony line show began with the company boasting about the 164 Blu-ray titles now on the market, comprising 19 of the top 20 box office hits. Sony officials tried to impress with their own stat, telling us that Blu-ray is outselling HD DVD by three to one. But it wasn't all bluster and braggadocio. See a few items that caught our eyes at the show; let's walk and talk in the gallery. – Charlie White
galleryPost('sonyline2007', 9, 'Sony Line Show 2007 Highlights');

Sony's latest Blu-ray player, the BDP-S300, will have the "same capabilities" as the current $999 BDP-S1, but cost only $599. In comparison, the cheapest HD DVD player (the Toshiba HD-A1) is about $399 to $499 depending on where you look.
With the price difference just $100 or so, it seems like Sony's bridged the gap in such a way that only movie selection will determine what the average consumer buys. As for the discs themselves, if you've seen our Frankenfight, gives the slight edge to Blu-ray and HD DVD depending on whether you like audio or extras. Otherwise, Superman's super bulge looks just as big on Blu-ray as it does on HD DVD. – Jason Chen
Sony announces cheaper Blu-ray Player [Yahoo News via Blu-ray Freak]

Toshiba reveal plans to develop a new 51 GB format HD DVD disc HD DVD format developer Toshiba has said that they are now submitting specifications to the standard’s overseer for a new 51 GB format HD DVD disc. This is now likely to further expand the controversy on which format of the two (Blu-Ray and HD [...]

Sony BDP-S300: Cheaper Blu-Ray player from Sony Japanese consumer electronics maker Sony has said that they are going to launch a cheaper Blu-Ray player in the market. This is expected to help them take on Toshiba and other HD DVD backers in the storage media market. This new player named BDP-S300 will cost $599. It is likely [...]

Toshiba Qosmio Q30 with HD DVD-R now on sale Japanese tech giant Toshiba has announced that they are now selling their Qosmio Q30 notebook computer in the Japanese market. This is the first notebook in the market to feature a HD DVD-R drive. This drive is the read-only version of the HD DVD format and supports [...]

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
AACS has already been compromised in at least two widely known ways, after DRM hackers posted on the Doom9 forums methods to retrieve and utilize volume, and later, processing keys to copy every Blu-ray and HD DVD movie released so far. Today a third method has appeared, as poster ATARI Vampire reports they were able to find the "sub device key" of the WinDVD 8 playback software. That key identifies the player and allows it to decode AACS protected titles. You might remember the software was also the victim of a simple "print screen" attack several months ago that was quickly patched. The method used to find it was based on arnezami's previous approach of watching memory dumps and finding it through a "bottom up" approach. Coming on the heels of the cracks already widely available, this doesn't really affect the current state of easily copied high def movies, but could make disabling the vulnerable player from playing future releases, finding t...

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
The Blu-ray and HD DVD battle has entered a new era, as preliminary Nielsen VideoScan stats show the BDA's baby sold more -- a ratio of 100 Blu-ray to every 98.71 HD DVD discs, sorry still no hard numbers here -- since their inception last year. As we all know, HD DVD was first to market and had enjoyed a lead on Blu-ray ever since, but then things started to turn with the launch of the PlayStation 3. The studios supporting Blu-ray finally began releasing significant numbers of titles and haven't looked back. Each team put its own spin on the numbers, with HD DVD-backing Universal pointing out that despite a 5:1 advantage in hardware due to the PS3, disc sales are still nearly even, while Blu-ray supporter 20th Century Fox sees the format war as being in its "final phase," and fence-straddling Warner merely noting that both formats are "selling well". Still, with the exception of the LG combo playing BH100, none of the major players have shown ...

The drumbeat says Dell may be considering retail. Plus: Tell us about your favorite hackable Xbox 360 HD DVD player. In Gadget Lab.