News and other tidbits that Chad Cloman finds interesting enough to share
Last Friday, Warner Bros. announced that it would drop the HD-DVD format for movie releases after May 2008, and will exclusively use the Blu-ray format. This is a significant strike for HD-DVD, as only two of the eight major US studios are using it. In the days following the announcement, the internet has been full of speculation that HD-DVD has lost the format war.
Link: http://arstechnica.com/…
“At midnight on February 17, 2009, all full-power television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting in analog and switch to 100% digital broadcasting.”
What does this mean for you, the informed Chad’s News reader? First, this won’t affect you if you have cable or satellite TV. The digital TV transition only applies to over-the-air broadcasts (think rabbit ears). Second, most newer televisions can handle digital, so it will only apply to older, analog-only TVs. In order to continue using an older TV after the transition, it will be necessary to have a converter box.
When passing this bill, the US Congress realized there is a specific demographic that has older televisions without cable or satellite: poor people. Not wanting to anger this group, Congress wisely created a coupon program, whereby the US government will pay up to $40 towards the purchase of a converter box. Apparently demand is quite high, as over 1 million households requested coupons in the first 4 days or so.
Should you have questions about the transition or if you want to sign up for the coupons, check out the link below.
Link: https://www.dtv2009.gov/
(via ars technica)
Regular Chad’s News readers know that we’ve been covering the format war between HD-DVD and Blu-ray. LG Electronics has decided to make the point moot, by releasing a player that can handle both formats.
Link #1: http://us.lge.com/…
Link #2: http://us.lge.com/…
Toshiba has fired a salvo in the HD format war with an HD-DVD player that’s selling for $99, while Sony’s Blu-ray devices are going for hundreds more. Sony, however, is still getting a boost from the Blu-ray players embedded in its PS3 game consoles. Who’s going to win? Stay tuned for more updates.
Link: http://www.videobusiness.com/…
(via Engadget)
Come February 2009 traditional analog television broadcasts will end, making older, analog-only television sets obsolete. The linked article explains the switchover, as well as steps you can take if you don’t want to upgrade to a newer TV.
Link: http://komando.com/…
Being an early adopter for Sony’s high-definition Blu-ray technology may not be a wise choice. Some players are not able to handle the BD+ copy protection scheme (which is part of the standard but is only now being implemented).
Link: http://arstechnica.com/…
Here is a media server for the hard-core videophile. It can handle four simultaneous inputs and has 4 terabytes of storage. Sure beats the TiVo (although the media server isn’t really priced for the mass market).
In the wake of its decision to ditch iTunes, we now know what NBC was really up to. It will be offering free downloads of popular television shows. The downsides are that a special player is required (Windows only), the content can only be viewed for a seven-day period from the show’s air date, and there are embedded advertisements that cannot be skipped. NBC intends to implement a pay system in the future, where users will “own” the download and be able to transfer it to iPods and such.
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/…
(via Kim Komando)
Chad’s News has previously discussed the Blu-Ray/HD-DVD format war, but we thought it worth noting that Blu-Ray has recently received an unexpected vote of confidence. Thieves broke into a video store and stole the entire stock of Blu-Ray discs while ignoring the HD-DVD section.
Link: http://www.engadget.com/…
(via digg)
Blockbuster has taken a side in the high-definition DVD format war, opting to go exclusively with Blu-ray. This could be a big factor in deciding which format makes it in the long run.
Link: http://www.foxnews.com/…
(via Kim Komando)
For the discerning consumer, here’s a benchmark DVD that will show any weaknesses in that high-priced HDTV you’re thinking of purchasing.
Link: http://www.hqv.com/
(via Consumerist)
I’m all for à la carte cable television, where consumers get to choose (and pay for) only those channels they want to receive. I can understand why the cable companies are reluctant to provide this service, but I don’t see why the FCC has been dragging its heels. It really seems like a no-brainer.
Link: http://arstechnica.com/…
