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HD DVD player sales in the US during a week from Jan 6 to 12, 2008, declined 88% to 1,758 units compared with the previous week, Tech-On! is reporting citing research company NPD Group.

Tech-On! further reports, “The period measured was immediately after US movie studio Warner Bros Entertainment had announced that it had shifted its support from HD DVD to Blu-ray Disc Jan 4, 2008.

Meanwhile, BD player sales grew 42% compared with the preceding week to 21,770 units, NPD said. An NPD analyst said Warner’s announcement might have impacted HD DVD player sales.

HD DVD supporter Toshiba Corp announced price reductions for its HD DVD players targeting the North American market following Warner’s announcement.” More at Tech-On!

Related:

HD DVD is ‘Missing the Boat’ in Australia

In the Battle of Formats Blu-ray Outsells HD-DVD in Europe

SUNNYVALE, Calif. — AMD on Monday, Jan 28, announced the immediate availability of the ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 graphics processor, expanding the visual boundaries of PC entertainment well beyond the 1080P High Definition (HD) threshold.

The industry’s first graphics processor to break the Teraflop (one trillion floating point operations per second) barrier, the ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 nearly doubles the performance of the award-winning ATI Radeon HD 3870 introduced in November 2007.

Through an elegant yet aggressive design, the 55 nanometer process-based ATI Radeon 3870 X2 combines two ATI Radeon HD 3870s on a single graphics board, connected through integrated CrossFire technology.

ATI Radeon 3870 X2 is also the first performance-leadership graphics product in the world to support Microsoft’s upcoming DirectX 10.1 technology. The ATI Radeon 3870 X2 delivers a new class of price and performance leadership with unbelievable enthusiast value at a suggested retail price of US $449.

This launch follows on the success of the recently released ATI Radeon HD 3400 and ATI Radeon HD 3600 series graphics products, completing a comprehensive portfolio of next-generation 55nm GPUs that deliver unparalleled price, performance and energy efficiency from entry-level to performance-leadership class products. More at AMD.

BENTONVILLE, Ark — Dec 06, 2007 — Wal-Mart announces today it is turning back the calendar with another “Black Friday”-style price event this weekend, unveiling new “Secret In-Store Specials” today on Walmart.com. With savings up to 30% on electronics and other items, Wal-Mart also brings the popular Webkinz toys to its stores nationwide for this event, beginning 8 a.m. Friday, Dec. 7 through Sunday while supplies last.

Since Nov 2, Wal-Mart has offered three rounds of “Secret In-Store Specials,” revealing on its Web site groups of items with incredible values for Christmas shoppers. Millions of customers have signed up for e-mail and text message alerts through Walmart.com to learn of these specials as soon as they are unveiled.

A few examples of the items and prices available tomorrow at 8 a.m. include:

• 50 inch Vizio plasma TV - $998
• 1 MB Gateway Laptop - $398
• Toshiba HD-A3 HD-DVD player (with 12 free HD-DVDs) - $298

Through the weekend, Wal-Mart will continue to keep spirits festive offering free photos with Santa in stores from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturdays and Sundays and exciting demonstrations and samples in its Christmas Shops. More at Wal-Mart.

Dec 05, ‘07 — Video Ezy and Blockbuster have thrown their support behind Blu-ray, saying HD DVD was “missing the boat” and not taking the Australian market seriously enough, Sydney Morning Herald reports.

SMH further writes, “Paul Uniacke, managing director of the Franchise Entertainment Group, which owns Video Ezy and Blockbuster in Australia, said the local roll-out of HD DVD had been too slow as its supporters did not see Australia as an important market compared with the US and Europe.

According to market-watcher GfK, 2241 stand-alone Blu-ray players have been sold in Australia to date, compared with 609 HD DVD players.

But Sony has moved more than 100,000 units of the PS3, which has a built-in Blu-ray player. Only 2461 add-on HD DVD players for the Xbox 360, which cost $249.95, have been sold so far.

The trend in player sales is consistent with sales of HD movies. More than 102,000 Blu-ray movies have been sold to date, as against just under 18,000 HD DVD movies.

Blockbuster in the US has supported Blu-ray exclusively for months and, locally, its head of product, John McKay, said Blockbuster would buy only Blu-ray titles “for the foreseeable future”.” More at SMH.

Taipei, Taiwan — Nov 30, ‘07 — DigiTimes is reporting on AMD’s plan to drop the price of its Radeon HD 3850 and 3870 GPUs by around $20, citing sources at graphics card makers.

DigiTimes further writes,”In response to AMD’s plans, Nvidia also notified its partners that it will consider following up with price reductions of its own, causing several makers to delay mass orders to prevent themselves from absorbing the price damage, according to the sources.”

The original official Radeon HD 3850 and 3870 prices were US$179 and US$219. More at DigiTimes.

LONDON — Nov 27, ‘07 — In the battle of formats, High definition movie DVDs in the Blu-ray format have outsold the rival HD DVD standard in Europe this year, breaking the 1 million barrier and constituting 73 percent of all HD movie discs sold, says Reuters.

“Citing industry sales data by Media Control Gfk International, the Blu-ray disc association said in a statement on Tuesday Blu-ray movie disc sales had topped 1 million units and when counting Blu-ray gaming discs the total number produced for sale in Europe exceeded 21 million units.

Sony’s PlayStation 3 game console includes a Blu-ray Disc drive.

Hollywood and electronics manufacturers are hoping that new high-definition DVDs, with better picture quality and more capacity, will revive the slowing home DVD market. But the launch of the next-generation DVD players has been complicated by the fact that there are two competing technologies available, Blu-ray and HD DVD.

HD DVD was developed by Toshiba while Sony backs the Blu-ray standard”. More at Reuters.

Nov 20, ‘07 — Speaking exclusively with High-Def Digest, Jim Noonan, SVP of Strategic Promotion and Communication for Warner Home Entertainment Group says its previously announced Blu-ray / HD DVD hybrid disc won’t be hitting stores anytime soon.

High-Def Digest further explains, “roughly six months after unveiling “Total HD” plans, Warner announced it was delaying its plans for Total HD until early 2008, but said it remained committed to the concept, promising ten to twenty launch titles upon the format’s eventual release.

Though the studio had since remained mum on the status of its plans for the hybrid format, a Warner exec has now confirmed to High-Def Digest that all current plans for Total HD have been shelved in response to a perceived shift in retailer needs following Paramount’s move to HD DVD exclusivity. “The short answer is, for the moment, it [Total HD] is on hold,” said Noonan citing reason that, they were the only studio producing content in both formats.

More at High-Def Digest.

SANTA CLARA, CA—November 19, 2007—This holiday season a new era of PC games, featuring advanced new graphics effects, will immerse gamers in cinematic realism like never before. Games like Crysis, Unreal Tournament 3, and Call of Duty 4 are sure bets to be at the top of the holiday gift list for the significant gamer in your life.

And to supply the best visual experience when playing these new games, a new generation of notebook PCs equipped with ultra-modern GPUs (graphics processing units), such as the just-released GeForce 8800M notebook GPUs from NVIDIA, will soon be available for order from notebook makers.

Delivering the best performance for both DirectX 10 and DirectX 9, the GeForce 8800M GTX and GeForce 8800M GTS GPUs fill the top enthusiast GPU product positions in the popular NVIDIA GeForce 8M Series product line, continuing the company’s five generations of performance leadership in notebook GPUs. The new GPUs feature NVIDIA’s new, extremely efficient, unified architecture that delivers astounding levels of performance compared to previous generation GPUs.

In addition to serving as the core of a great, notebook gaming platform, the NVIDIA GeForce 8M Series GPUs feature the NVIDIA PureVideo HD engine for superior quality playback of HD DVD, Blu-ray, and HD movie downloads. The GeForce 8M Series also contain NVIDIA’s PowerMizer technology that intelligently balances battery life and performance.

“Alienware’s philosophy when designing the industry’s most powerful 17 and 15-inch notebooks was the commitment to using only the best components designed around the most current technologies,” said Frank Azor, Executive Vice-President for Alienware’s Product Group and Marketing. “Alienware proudly announces that our next generation notebooks, the Area-51 m17x and Area-51 m15x, launching early next year, will feature the raw power and vivid detail of NVIDIA’s GeForce 8800M GTX.”

Notebooks with the new GPUs will soon be available for order from notebook makers worldwide including Alienware, Eurocom, Gateway, and Sager in North America; AIRIS, Chiligreen, Cizmo, Cybersystem, Ergo, Nexoc, Novatech, Plaisio, Rock, and XXODD in Europe; MouseComputer in Japan; and Pioneer Computers in Australia. More at nVIDIA.

SUNNYVALE, Calif. — November 15, 2007 –AMD today announced the introduction and immediate availability of the ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series of graphics processing units (GPU).

As the world’s first series of graphics processors to deliver Microsoft’s DirectX 10.1 support, 55nm process technology and tri and quad multi-GPU support with ATI CrossFireX, the ATI Radeon HD 3800 series ushers in a new era of enthusiast gaming performance at mainstream price points.

The ATI Radeon HD 3800 series will be introduced in two variants at launch, from US $179 MSRP, the ATI Radeon HD 3850 with 256MB of GDDR3 memory and from US $219 MSRP, the ATI Radeon HD 3870 with 512MB GDDR4 memory. The launch of the ATI Radeon HD 3800 series redefines the enthusiast segment and puts high performance gaming in reach of more users than ever before. This innovative new series of graphics products also represent the first step in the launch of AMD’s upcoming enthusiast platform codenamed “Spider.”

The ATI Radeon HD 3800 series also introduces the world to ATI CrossFireX, AMD’s innovative next-generation multi-GPU technology designed to deliver unprecedented performance scaling with support for two, three and four graphics processors in CrossFire configurations. At launch, the ATI Radeon HD 3800 series will support dual-GPU CrossFire with tri and quad-GPU support scheduled for January 2008.

Graphics bandwidth is also greatly enhanced with the introduction of PCI Express 2.0. Delivering over 16 gigabytes per second of bi-directional bandwidth, PCIe 2.0 doubles the bus data rate over the previous generation. The combination of PCIe 2.0 and HyperTransport3 on next-generation AMD platforms provides a dramatic increase in the amount of system bandwidth for high definition, multi-GPU PC gaming.

With the launch of the ATI Radeon HD 3850 and ATI Radeon HD 3870, AMD has answered the call of HD video enthusiasts with top-to-bottom support for the Unified Video Decoder (UVD). The addition of UVD ensures exceptional platform efficiency and image quality in HD-DVD and Blu-rayTM decoding for both H.264 and VC-1 specifications. Enhanced HDMI functionality also continues on this series of products with integrated HDCP and audio for HDMI video. More at AMD.

New York, NY — Nov 08, ‘07 — The head of Sony Corp., Howard Stringer, said Thursday that the Blu-ray disc format the company has developed as the successor to the DVD is in a “stalemate” with the competing HD DVD format, chiefly backed by Toshiba and Microsoft.

“It’s a difficult fight,” said Stringer, speaking at the 92nd Street Y cultural center in Manhattan.

Toshiba has been selling its players for as low as $99 at Wal-Mart and Best Buy, heading into the holiday season, while Blu-ray players cost around $450. The HD DVD camp also scored a significant win in August, when it induced Paramount Pictures to drop most of its support for Blu-ray and put out high-definition movies exclusively on HD DVD.

“We were trying to win on the merits, which we were doing for a while, until Paramount changed sides,” Stringer said. At the same time, he played down the importance of the battle, saying it was mostly a matter of prestige whose format wins out in the end.

“It doesn’t mean as much as all that,” Stringer said. He added that he believed there was an opportunity of uniting the two camps under one format before he became CEO, and he wishes he could travel back in time to make that happen.

Nov 07, ‘07 — SlySoft is claiming to have that “impenetrable” copy protection technology BD+ cracked. 

SlySoft team member, Tom, at SlySoft forum proudly declares victory against BD+ with  their latest version of AnyDVD HD 6.1.9.6 beta. He also takes time to write a “loving” note to Twentieth Century Fox.

In his words:

“6.1.9.6 2007 11 07

• New (Blu-ray): AnyDVD ripper copies BD+ titles
• New (Blu-ray): Removed “BD+ not supported” warning, as all available BD+ titles can be copied with AnyDVD ripper, or can be watched on HTPC without HDCP using PowerDVD 3104 and AnyDVD. Reports indicate, that burned BD+ titles work on PS3 and standalone players as well.
• Note to Twentieth Century Fox: As you can see, BD+ didn’t offer you any advanced security, it just annoyed some of your customers with older players. So could you please cut this crap and start publishing your titles on HD DVD? There are thousands of people willing to give you money.
• Note to people considering to invest in HD media: Please buy HD DVD instead of Blu-ray. HD DVD is much more consumer friendly (e.g., no region coding, AACS not mandatory). Don’t give your money to people, who throw your fair-use rights out of the window.
• New (HD DVD & Blu-ray): Support for more MKBv4 titles
• Some minor fixes and improvements
• Updated languages”

More at Slysoft.Forum.

Statement from Jonathan Magasanik, Vice President and General Merchandise Manager, Home Electronics, Sears Holdings.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., Nov. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — There have been numerous statements in the media today, attributed to Toshiba, indicating exclusive support for the HD-DVD format in Kmart stores.

These statements are false. Kmart intends to support both the HD-DVD and Blu-ray platforms, and has no plans to support either platform exclusively. More at PRNewsWire.

Nov 02, ‘07 — Dell has started selling the latest addition to its fleet of flat panels, 24-inch E248WFP widescreen LCD monitor, with amazing HD resolution and blazing fast response time, for just $469.

At a Glance

- 1920 x 1200 native resolution – Stunning detail and more viewable real estate without compromising desk space
- 5 millisecond response time (typical) – Helps reduce ghosting and motion blur when gaming or watching movies
- 1000:1 contrast ratio – Produces darker blacks for sharper images, crisp text, better color saturation and greater detail for HD entertainment
- High Definition (HD) – Supports higher definition than HD Television and comes with an integrated DVI-D with HDCP connection
- Dell TrueColor Technology – Richer, life-like imagery that has accurate color representation better tones and hues. Reds, greens and blues are deeper and more vibrant. The Dell E248WFP features a 92% color gamut.

More at Dell.

Nov 01, ‘07–As wal-Mart promised us yesterday, holiday deals has started arriving earlier this year. Starting Friday, Nov-02, 8 AM you can get this Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player for $99 and other ”In-Store Specials” at your local Wal-Mart.

Best Buy too has also jumped in to race of holiday deals not to left behind by Wal-Mart and is offering the same High-Def DVD player for $99. Though at the time of posting it was out of stock at Best Buy. More at Wal-Mart, Best Buy.

Enjoy a Full HD 1080p Visual Feast. 

Taipei, Taiwan; Oct 26th, 2007 – In order to cater to user requirements for a motherboard that supports full high definition multimedia, ASUS, world leader in production and design of motherboards, has announced the release of the new Intel G35 chipset series of motherboards, the ASUS P5E-V HDMI and ASUS P5E-VM HDMI. With HDMI connector onboard, this series of motherboards will provide users with the ability to showcase high definition multimedia. 

Integrating the Best Display Outputs into One:  

The ASUS P5E-V HDMI and P5E-VM HDMI motherboards are outfitted with advanced multi-display output modes and onboard HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface). By delivering multi-channel audio and uncompressed digital videos with HDCP copy protection found on HD DVD and Blu-ray Discs via a single cable, HDMI simplifies cabling and allows users to transform their PCs into outstanding home entertainment solutions with full HD 1080p visuals. This will allow users to enjoy popular HD video content on large-screen TVs/monitors, as only HDMI can display the highest video quality perfectly without distortions. Additionally, the bundled HDMI to DVI conversion adaptor allows users to support DVI outputs. 

Quad PC Desktop Space for Effective Multi-tasking: 

The Quad-Display output allows users to utilize 4 monitors for increased multi-tasking work efficiency by not wasting time alt-tabbing between programs. With just an add-on graphics card, they will be able to easily work on up to 4 different applications in full screen mode and instantly quad their PC desktop space. For example, users can browse their picture library thumbnails on one monitor, use the second to view them in full screen, edit them on a third, and browse the Internet / read emails on the fourth. 

More at ASUS

On the heels of Wal-Mart, Circuit City has started selling Toshiba A2 HD DVD player for $197.99. Add it in to the cart to see yourself. This year’s “Day After Thanks Giving Sales” going to be too good with deals like this popping up way early in the game. Circuit City

As per AVS Forum, Wal-Mart will start selling Toshiba’s A2 HD DVD player for $198 on November 3, ‘07. Forum member cdzie1 has posted this picture as a visual proof. Few forum members are reporting that some Wal-Marts have started selling this very low, low priced Toshiba A2 HD DVD player.

More at AVS Forum

Los Angeles - Reuters - October 24, ‘07 - Blu-ray DVD titles outsold rival HD-DVD titles by almost 2-to-1 in the first nine months of the year, but analysts expect additional HD-DVD support and new hit releases to “transform” the high-definition DVD battle score in the fourth quarter.Home Media Research, a division of Home Media Magazine, said on Tuesday total U.S. sales of Blu-ray discs, using a Sony-backed technology, totaled 2.6 million units from January 1 through Sept 30, versus 1.4 million HD-DVD discs sold.

One big factor giving Blu-ray an edge has been the popularity of Sony’s PlayStation 3 game consoles, which also include a Blu-ray disc drive. It’s going to be 2008 before the dust will really starts to settle. For now, its like watching a yacht race.

More at Reuters

Technobob is reporting on a little upstart disc format known as HD VMD. “New Medium Enterprises’ (NME) proprietary HD VMD (Versatile Multilayer Disc) format uses standard red lasers, but crams in 4 layers per disc to handle the data needs of full high-definition content. First generation VMD will store up to 24GB, but there are already plans in the works to expand this capacity further using more layers, and potentially thinner wavelength blue lasers as prices come down.

Just this week, the first HD VMD players have begun to show up on Amazon, with prices starting at just $189.

NME claims the format supports full 1080i and 1080p resolutions, as well as bit rates up to 40 Mbps (about half way between the two competing HD formats). The players support video compressed in MPEG- 2, MPEG-1, VC-1, H-264(AVC) formats. As an added bonus, HD VMD is region free, so you don’t have to worry about where you bought your discs. Audio support includes Dolby Digital and DTS, but none of the more advanced audio formats you might find on Blu-Ray and HD DVD players. Even the least expensive HD VMD players offer HDMI and component outputs, and will scale old-school DVDs up to 1080p over the HDMI connection. The most obvious downside to the budding format is the current lack of available content. ”

More at Technobob…