A look at how the supposed high-def "war" is shaping up.

Who'd have thought the next-gen format spin war would be full of half truths and twisted facts? Oh, right, EVERYONE. It all started from Sony's statement that Target stores will feature Sony's BDP-S300 as the exclusive high-definition player, and AP's article picking up on it saying Target was exclusively featuring Sony's player in lieu of selling any HD DVD players. That's exactly not true. Here's what Sony really said:
Beginning this fall and continuing at least through the holiday season, Target will feature Sony® Blu-ray Disc® players as the exclusive product in the emerging category of high-definition home video systems, as well as an expanded assortment of Blu-ray Disc movies. That sentence is vague enough that you can say Sony claimed to be the exclusive high-definition product sold at Target, both in terms of standalone players and overall. Sony's the exclusive standalone high def player, but not the exclusive high def player period. Target's still selling Xbox 360 H...

Video: Samsung shows off upcoming holiday products. Samsung showed off some products that aren't set to launch until the 2007 holiday season, including its own HD DVD/Blu-ray disc player, at the Clift Hotel in San Francisco on July 25.

Video: Samsung shows off upcoming holiday products. Samsung showed off some products that aren't set to launch until the 2007 holiday season, including its own HD DVD/Blu-ray disc player, at the Clift Hotel in San Francisco on July 25.

Today at Comic Con, Microsoft announced that their Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on would drop $20 to $179. We guess they mean "at all retailers" because we've seen that price before. In addition, buyers between Aug. 1 and Sept. 30 will be able to pick 5 free movies—though out of a collection of just 15 popular titles. This new deal is similar to the existing $299 player with five free movies offer that's been out for some time, though obviously the combination of this "price drop" and some free flicks makes for a reasonable upgrade. Personally, I'd rather see Xbox LIVE get a decent downloadable movie collection that consisted of more than Beerfest and Beerfest II: The Hangover. [press release]

Filed under: Gaming, HDTV
The already nicely priced Xbox 360 HD DVD player just got slashed to $179. The new US-only, retail pricing also includes 5 free HD DVD flicks when purchasing the player between August 1st and September 30th -- you know, the same time period 300 and Heroes goes on sale in HD DVD format. Unfortunately, the free titles must be made from a selection of just 15 pre-selected films which Toshiba considers "popular." Nevertheless, the $20 price cut makes the Xbox 360 HD DVD player all the more enticing as an easily hacked, USB-player for HD flicks on your PC.

[Thanks, Andrew and PacoDG] 
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

This holiday season target will start selling the Sony BDP-S300 Blu-ray player for $499 along with movies from Sony and Disney in their stores, but no HD DVD stuff. Target only offers HD DVD players in its online store. [Forbes]

Filed under: HDTV
Everyone's favorite wasteful format war took another strange twist today, with the AP reporting that Target will only stock Blu-ray players in its retail stores -- specifically, Sony's $499 BDP-S300. The decision, which Target and Sony are due to announce tomorrow, doesn't include Target's website, Xbox 360 HD DVD drive, or HD DVD movies, so it's not a particularly huge win for Blu-ray, with even Target saying things like "We are not proclaiming one format vs. the other as the preferred consumer technology." Still, coupled with Blockbuster's decision to only stock Blu-ray discs, it looks like the format war might be fought and won at the retailer level, not by consumers.

[Thanks, Keith] 
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

By trimming the price of an HD DVD player add-on for its Xbox 360 video game console and giving away movies with the player, Microsoft makes a bid to support the format.

Designed to be paired with Samsung's own line of Blu-ray players (like the Blu-ray/HD-DVD combo drive we told you about earlier), the HT-AS720 is a mid-range receiver for HD lovers. 650 watts of power will fill your room with sound and a variety of connection options will satisfy your home theater needs. Play with the dual HDMI-CEC inputs or utilize the single HDMI output for 1080p pass through. galleryPost('samsunghtas720', 3, 'Samsung HT-AS720');


Of course you'll get the classic Samsung black/silver/blue styling to match your other components. Not pictured are the five satellite speakers and subwoofer, but they're standard fare at this point. Price is still TBD, but given the lack of a Blu-ray or HD-DVD player and the price point of the HT-BD2 7.1 home theater in a box, I'd wager you'll be dropping under $300 for this beauty.
HT-AS720 5.1 Channel Blu Ray Receiver / Speaker System Consumers who already enjoy the full HD 1080p cinematic video quality of S...