Since we favorably reviewed the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 1080 projector that's now shipping for a mere $3000, we felt compelled to also review the Panasonic PT-AE1000U, especially since Panny reduced its price to exactly the same $3000 level as soon as the Epson model was released.
We had a chance to put both of the projectors on our test bench, studying their output with the same content and test patterns running through each unit's three LCDs. It was a fair matchup, with the two similarly equipped projectors playing back the same program material. In this battle royale, which projector emerges victorious?
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Out of the box we noticed the Panasonic projector was slightly bigger and boxier than its Epson counterpart. No rounded corners here, but let's get beyond the superficialities. Looking around the back, we immediately noticed there are two HDMI ports, compared with the Epson's one. There's also a ...

Warner Home Video has unveiled details about their upcoming romtantic comedy Music And Lyrics starring Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore, to be released on DVD, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray Disc. First you're ...

Whether you're making home Blu-ray movies to distribute to your friends or just backing up all your data with 50GB chunks, Blu-ray seems to be the way to go if you've got a Mac. FastMac's latest Blu-ray drives are the first sub-$500 BD burners that we've seen, and work fine with Mac Pro, PowerMac G3-G5, eMacs and iMac G4s.
Check out their full spec list after the jump for the types of Blu-ray discs it works with. But still, five hundred bones is a lot to fork out if you don't really need it for work or to make money. There's a reason why Blu-ray and HD DVD porn movies cost $49.99 each.
Specifications:
* Up to 8x DVD±RW, 2x BD-RW
* Up to 50 GB of Storage on 1 Dual-Layer Disc
* Compatible with all CD and DVD media
* Bootable, OS X Native, Plug and Play Drive
* 100% PC & Mac compatible*
Works With:
* Mac Pro
* PowerMac G3
* PowerMac G4
* PowerMac G5
* eMac...

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
One of the reasons why we still love component video is because of the availability of component video matrix switches. Matrix switches are like a Ethernet switch for HDTVs, they allow any source to connect to any HDTV throughout your house. That way you can stack up all your equipment in your closet, and enjoy any one of your sources on any one of your HDTVs. Finally regular consumers can get the same matrix action out of their HDMI gear, with Gefen's new 4x4 HDMI Matrix switch, which routes your video and sound, and can be controlled via IR or a RS-232 connection for your home automation system. As cool as this product is, it isn't for everyone. The switch costs $1,999, and who knows how much those long HDMI cables from the closet will cost you, but if you have four HDTVs, a Series3 TiVo, an Xbox360, an HD DVD and a Blu-ray player, you can probably afford it. 
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Office Depot Featured Gadge...

Does anyone out there really have enough devices to warrant an 8-port HDMI switcher? I mean, you could have a PS3, an Xbox 360 Elite, a HD DVD player and a Blu-ray player, and despite the redundancies and pointlessness in having all of those things you'd still have four empty ports.
But then, I guess this thing isn't really for regular consumer use, seeing it's meant to be mounted in a rack and not sit on top of a receiver. And $900 isn't a very consumer-friendly price for a boring old switcher. But hey, if you're one of the half dozen or so people out there who really need to be able to switch between eight HDMI devices, go nuts. –Adam Frucci
Product Page [Akihabara News]

When the Elite showed up earlier today, I decided to cut to the chase and test the only thing that matters on it: the HDMI output. It's not a new console. Almost everything about the Xbox 360 in white stands true for the Elite: It theoretically doesn't run cooler, or quieter, or faster, and you've already seen the beauty shots, videos, guttings, and more weeks ago. Don't let the black paint job distract you; the only thing you need to ask is if it improves the video quality? After 7 hours of testing, with standard definition DVDs, HD DVDs, benchmark discs, WMV movies from Marketplace, games, and even photos, I have my verdict:
The XBox Elite's HDMI output is the best around for all the formats I mentioned above.
Should you buy it?
Gamers who have an Xbox 360? No!
Videophiles looking for an HD DVD player? No!
Videophiles looking to get into the Xbox Live video marketplace? Yes, but know that this bitch is still loud.
Guys like ...

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
That sound you're hearing is your hopes of a $299 HD DVD player anytime in the immediate future deflating, that is, is Fuh Yuan is to be believed this time around. Unfortunately, it seems that the firm pulled the trigger a bit too soon on a hopeful order, as a recent retraction on the company's website insinuates that Wal-Mart simply inquired about their ability to "provide a schedule" along with "cost and quantity" details for Wally World to evaluate. Currently, it seems that the "capacity is still under consideration," but it did leave the door open to believe that this idea may still be churning in the background by cordially inviting anyone with an up-to-snuff manufacturing facility to ping them for more details. The good news is that a sub-$300 HD DVD player isn't a matter of "if," it's just a matter of "when," and as long as Wal-Mart keeps burning down price barriers, we're sure it'll surface (arguably) soon.

[Thanks, Jimmy]&nb...

Wal-Mart denied rumors that it had placed a substantial order with a Taiwan supplier for ultra-cheap HD DVD players that could swing the format wars in that direction.

Remember those rumors that Wal-Mart was going big in HD DVD and ordering 2 million cheapo Chinese HD DVD players? Yeah, that's not so true. Fuh Yuan, the company supposedly taking the orders, just posted a correction regarding the orders, saying they "had not received yet." Wal-Mart just asked them for a cost analysis and timing appraisal, and may choose them to provide the players if everything looks dandy. Did you know Fuh yuan is supposedly, according to a translation in AVS forums, going to IPO soon? Convenient.
Wal-Mart itself said they can't comment on whether there was a deal brewing, but did say they plan to sell both Blu-ray and HD DVD until one of them sucks slightly less than the other.
In more non-news, we called it that Blu-ray would only be winning for another 5 minutes before HD DVD threw a statistic in their favor across the wires. To the Blu-ray's millions of discs sold, HD DVD is actually at 998,059, just 2,000 units of Blu-ray's million disc march. ...

Good news for Blu-ray fans. Sony's just announced that they're ramping up blue laser diode production yet again, which will lower the price to just around $8 each by June. What will this mean to you? Well, seeing as the diodes were the reason for the PS3 shortages this fall (and contributed to both the PlayStation's and Blu-ray players' high prices), this huge windfall of diodes could mean lowered prices for all Blu-ray related items.
Some analyst from Wedbush Morgan Securities agrees, saying "Sony is definitely in a position to cut price," and that prices will be lowered once costs hit around $499. So those of you who are on the fence about dumping $599 may want to wait it out just a little longer.
Also, since HD DVD also uses blue laser diodes (a different type, and they just don't call theirs blue), this news could also mean they will ramp up production of theirs as well. – Jason Chen
Blue Laser Costs Coming Down; Could PS3 Price Cut Be Far Behind? [G...