A number of high def title announcements just arrived from Paramount Home Entertainment this morning with titles being slated for both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray Disc release simultaneously. Hustle & ...

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
Add one more dual format disc type to the pile, as Bandai Visual will bring the HD DVD/DVD Twin disc to the U.S. June 26, with the release of its bestselling OVA Freedom, and will also be one of the first releases to include HDi network capabilities. As opposed to the combo releases so far that have HD DVD on one side, and DVD on the other, the Twin disc allows up to three layers of either HD DVD or DVD content on the same side of the disc, no flipping necessary. Your old-school DVD player might have trouble with the disc, so its been limited to Japan-only releases so far. Bandai's been working with Microsoft and Memory-Tech to tweak the VC-1 codec for Japanese anime, and the company says after this they will start releasing other HD DVD and Blu-ray titles in Japan and overseas. The SRP for Freedom Vol.1 (of 6) is $39.99 and while we don't know much about the series beyond its mix of CGI and 2D animation, it does heavily repre...

This scan of Game Informer magazine is supposedly definitive proof that the black Xbox 360 is coming. Yes, the same mysterious black 360 we've been talking about since last year.
GI says the new system will have a 120GB hard drive, HDMI output, and be priced at $479. It will not have an internal HD DVD drive.
We'd chalk this up to April Fools pranks, but Game Informer says that this is 100% real and that they don't do April Fools. – Jason Chen
Game Mag Says Black Xbox 360 Is Coming [Kotaku]

Filed under: Gaming

Well what do you know, Microsoft's apparently preparing to launch the 360 in black with HDMI (and an HMDI cable, ha!), and a 120GB drive for $479 in late April, as rumored. Joystiq seems to think it's not a hoax, but instead a legitimate leak from Game Informer, which supposedly had the details. Also noted, the 120GB drive will be available separately for under two bills, no internal HD DVD (duh); no word on integrated WiFi (don't hold your breath). We're still skeptical, but hey, we're still very interested, too. 
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time
Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

It looks like the Blu-ray camp managed to scare the pants off Toshiba with all of their world domination talk so in response, Toshiba has lowered the MSRP on the HD-XA2, the HD-A20, and the HD-A2 down to $799, $499, and $399, respectively. If accurate (right now we're relying on an early OneCall catalog), the price drop will start on April 1st. Either way, a price drop may be what HD DVD needs to boost those lagging sales, so if it's bunk Toshiba would be wise to consider it anyways. – Louis Ramirez
Toshiba's MSRPs Beginning April 1st [AVS Forum]

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

At just about the one year anniversary of the format war, it looks like Toshiba is throwing the next punch. HD DVD will be one step closer to that magic price point of $299, with that latest update of the MSRP of their HD DVD players. According to a few retailers at the AVSFroum on April 1st Toshiba will change the MSRP and the least expensive model; the A2 will now have an MSRP of $399. The A2 isn't the only model with a new price, as the other two models see a drop as well, the A20 will be $499 and finally the high end model, the XA2 for $799. So if price was the only thing stopping you from getting in the HD DVD game and the Xbox360 add-on just isn't your style, then now might just be the time. Of course some of you will still be waiting for the $600 Blu-ray player instead.

[Thanks, WiFiSpy] 
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transfor...

Paramount Home Entertainment and Dreamworks Home Entertainment have just unveiled the full details about bringing Clint Eastwood’s acclaimed film Flags OF Our Fathers to HD-DVD and Blu-Ray in ...

What do you get when you take an indoor pool, a sedentary family, and an insatiable desire for Judge Judy? A spacious home theater with stadium-style seating. Among the impressive equipment they used to fuel this home theater are a Marantz projector mounted to the ceiling, 106-inch Draper screen, wiring through the pool's plumbing, and six stadium-seats in the back for when their friends come over.
Cool, yes, but we'd actually prefer both a pool and a theater. Perhaps a Jacuzzi theater where we can lounge while watching our Blu-ray and HD DVDs. – Jason Chen
Pool Transformed Into Home Theater [Electronic House via Neatorama via Uber Review]

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

It really doesn't take a keen eye for news these days to spot the all-out PR blitz by team Blu-ray to convince the masses that the format war is over and Blu-ray has won. Now Toshiba is finally sticking up for itself, in specific response to Blu-ray's recent CeBIT press conference. Olivier Van Wynendaele, Deputy General manager of HD DVD at Toshiba, calls the Blu-ray claims "propaganda" and disputes the Blu-ray points. For instance, the new 3:1 sales figure being touted by the Blu-ray Disc Association in regards to Blu-ray to HD DVD sales is claimed by Wynendaele to be artificially inflated by free Blu-ray movie vouchers being redeemed by PlayStation 3 owners. He also notes that Toshiba has sold 200,000 HD DVD players in the US, in comparison to the 30,000 standalone Blu-ray players sold, and that it's not clear yet how many Blu-ray movies the two million PS3 owners are going to be watching. Olivier also promised that Toshiba will under...

As previously mentioned, The Blu-ray Disc Association has been claiming victory in the format war stating their sales are 3:1 compared to HD DVD. At the consumer electronics show CeBit this week, Toshiba Europe has categorized these claims as propaganda. Olivier Van Wynendaele, Deputy General Manager of HD DVD for Toshiba stated that the Blu-ray sales [...]