Filed under: Laptops, Media PCs

Toshiba just launched a pair of updated Qosmio media laptops in Japan. A new G40/97D configuration sports a 17-inch WUXGA (1920 x 1200) display; 2GHz, T7300 Core 2 Duo proc; 256MB of NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics, 2GB (up to 4GB supported) memory, 320GB of disk (2x 160GB); Gigabit Ethernet; HDMI out; a 2 megapixel webcam; and an HD DVD-R drive. It also brings plenty of expansion with 5x USB, Firewire, multiple memory card support, and a PCMCIA and ExpressCard/54 slot. Pretty much what we've seen before. Now, however, we're looking at a pair of digital tuners so that you can record and watch that sweet, sweet TeeVee at the same time. It's also pre-loaded with CyberLink SoftDMA allowing it to pull your HD recordings off your VARDIA series of recorders wrapped in a DRM-ladden, DTCP-IP hard candy shell. Want more Tosh integration? Great, 'cause it also supports HDMI-CEC allowing the G40 to control your new HDMI connected REGZA series...

A press announcement was made this morning by Paramount Home Entertainment indicating that the studio will throw its entire weight behind HD-DVD starting August 28, abandoning Blu-Ray entirely. ...

Filed under: Announcements

We know not everybody has the home theater of their dreams. We know there are some of you out there that shop longingly at your local electronics retailer, dreaming of the day you can dump that crappy rig and get something the neighbors will be envious of -- or hear all the way down the block, anyway. That's where we -- and about five thousand dollars worth of gear -- come in. Let us trick out your home theater with a brand new LCD or plasma HDTV, Onkyo 7.1 surround system, TiVo HD DVR, Xbox 360 (with HD DVD), PlayStation 3, Harmony remote, Slingbox Pro, and more. Head over to Engadget HD to enter! 
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Home Entertainment
Media centers are all the rage of late, and for those of you hemming and hawing over an HD-DVD / Blu-ray decision, the MediaMax HD could make your choice a little easier... or harder. The two-part media center consists of the MediaServer unit, plus the MediaDeck 4 HD set-top box, and allows you to store any DVD-standard to disk and then distribute it to whatever room in the house you choose (provided that room has a MediaDeck 4 connected). The system uses its own proprietary interface to navigate through your collection, and can stream different movies to multiple rooms in the network. The MediaDeck 4 HD features HDMI, DVI-I, VGA, S-Video, and component video outs; optical and S/PDIF digital audio outs, plus up to 8-channels of analog audio. Axonix, the company which makes the systems, appears to offer two separate players for HD-DVD and Blu-ray, though you would think for this money they would combine the two formats, but that doesn't appear to be t...

Here's a ridiculous rumor that has just about zero chance to be true. Some guy on a forum says a Gamestop employee told him that Microsoft is bringing an Xbox Ultimate complete with HD DVD drive built right in. Judging from the "transcript" the user posted, neither him or the Gamestop employee really knew what they were talking about, but hey, this is a forum. What did you expect? Transcript:
Me: Hey, do you have the Premiums with the hdmi? GT: Those are called the elites. They are right there. ME: No, I mean the premiums, *points*, with hdmi. GT: They're not making them yet till like later. ME: They're making them now, I've seen pictures of them online. GT: No, they're not. You got it wrong. ME: Nowai. GT: Let me explain, they're making the elites into premiums, and dropping the core. ME: WHAA.. GT: Microsoft told me they're making the elites into premiums, and later they're releasing xbox ultimate. ME: WTF is that? GT: It's the xbox 360 that has a hdmi, and a HD-DVD dr...

Blu-ray high-definition movie discs outsold films on the rival HD-DVD format by 2-to-1 in the United States in the first half of 2007, Home Media Research said on Tuesday.

Ars Technica has a lengthy piece that re-sounds the battle cry against AACS, the copy protection scheme for Blu-Ray and HD DVD—specifically, the gimpage it's bringing to both PCs and Macs in order to sate Hollywood's fears of casual piracy.
The video path basically has to be locked down at every point, and both Microsoft and Apple's OSes are required to employ "techniques of obfuscation clearly designed to effectively disguise and hamper attempts to discover the approaches used" so it's harder to hack, among other great "features."
Because they want PCs and Macs to be able to play high-def content, neither Microsoft nor Apple are in a position to tell Hollywood to take a flying fuck, either—to wit, Vista's already loaded down with it, and Apple's on the Blu-Ray board, so expect them to saddle up soon enough.
The bottom line for end users is that they're stuck with a copy protection system that's a total pain in the ass, while it devours system reso...

Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment, is in a sticky situation. He needs to defend why his company exclusively backs HD DVD when the format is trailing Blu-ray by a long shot. Maybe glass-half-full talk day after day is what leads him to say things like this:
The people who have bought so far aren't early adopters, they are early, early adopters.We hate to tell you, Mr. Kornblau, but HD DVD has been on the market for almost a year and a half now. Those "early, early adopters" are who you should be calling normal customers. If not, we think something may be going wrong. [AP]

OPPO Digital claims that its DV-980H is the first to upscale a standard-definition DVD to 1080p and 7.1 channels of stereo sound. Who needs Blu-ray or HD DVD?

After making an announcement back in June, Onkyo is set to release their first HD DVD player, offering HDMI 1.3a with Deep Color technology, 24p playback, HD Audio, and 1080p upscaling. The DV-HD805 will also be one of the first to offer high bit rate audio streaming via HDMI.
The upscaling duty will be handled by Silicon Optix's HQV Reon VX processor and the onboard sound will support Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master Audio. If this sounds familiar, it's because the same technology resides in the Toshiba HD XA2. Though Onkyo has stated support for both HD DVD and Blu-Ray players , this is their first foray into either market. The DV-HD805 is set to release this fall for $899. [Onkyo]