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1. Blu-ray player prices congregate at $400 while HD DVD hits rock bottom

   (Trendwatch/Trendwatch Features)

   Wednesday, 23 April 2008

   ... different story for Samsung's BD-P1400.  That player reached a new record high price this week.  It has jumped a significant $40 in the past two weeks to an average of $397. Meanwhile, the Sony ...

2. Blu-ray prices continue to climb

   (Trendwatch/Trendwatch Features)

   Wednesday, 02 April 2008

   Pricewatch - Sony, Sharp and Panasonic Blu-ray players continue to climb an upward price slope as demand has increased and competition decreased in the high definition video market, TG Daily found.  ...

3. Pricewatch: HD DVD in free fall, Blu-ray continues upward trend

   (Business and Law/Business and Law Features)

   Monday, 03 March 2008

   ... no direct impact of the HD DVD shutdown, with prices remaining stable and trending lightly upward. Sharp’s BD-HP20U, Sony’s BDP-S300, Panasonic’s DMP-BD30K as well as Samsung’s BD-P1000, which is not listed ...

4. DVD Forum sets new rules on China HD DVD format

   (Hardware/Hardware Features)

   Friday, 29 February 2008

   ... government. In a separate decision, Toshiba was confirmed to chair the Steering Committee from February 2008 to February 2010. The vice chairs are held by Sony as representative for the consumer electronics ...

5. Sony details next-gen Blu-ray players

   (Consumer Electronics/Consumer Electronics Features)

   Tuesday, 26 February 2008

   With its position all but sealed up as the king of high definition home media, Sony has shed some light on its next wave of Blu-ray Disc players, including new features like Internet connectivity. Culver ...

6. HD DVD’s rise and fall: A timeline

   (Hardware/Hardware Features)

   Tuesday, 19 February 2008

   ... since the beginning of the format war to provide an overview of the events that led up to Sony’s success and Toshiba’s loss. On the following pages, we are listing all important HD format war articles, ...

7. HD DVD defeated: Toshiba halts production of players

   (Business and Law/Business and Law Features)

   Saturday, 16 February 2008

   ... redirect its HD strategy towards Blu-ray. This move could be embarrassing for the software giant at the very least, as it will force the company to concede to Sony’s HD strategy and its competing Playstation ...

8. HD DVD: Time to quit?

   (Games and Entertainment/Games and Entertainment Opinion)

   Monday, 11 February 2008

   ... or $1000. Turns out that Sony in fact may have won the war with what many of us considered a failure – the Playstation 3.   Read on the next page: Why video gamers are critical for HD success   ...

9. Netflix drops HD DVD

   (Games and Entertainment/Games and Entertainment Features)

   Monday, 11 February 2008

   ... high-def DVD titles only in the Sony-developed Blu-ray format. The online movie rental company intends to phase out HD DVDs by the end of this year and, as of now, is purchasing HD titles in Blu-ray only. ...

10. Update: Blu-ray and HD DVD support demystified

    (Trendwatch/Trendwatch Features)

    Thursday, 31 January 2008

    ... believed to outpace what Blu-ray can do, and it has been that way since both formats officially launched. Sony is just now beginning to match HD DVD's enhanced navigation and video control features. ...

11. Don't say goodbye to HD DVD, yet

    (Trendwatch/Trendwatch Features)

    Thursday, 17 January 2008

    ... HD DVD.  This gave a tremendous push to Blu-ray's existing lead and dominance with studio support. "This was a big win for Sony and Blu-ray will certainly increase its share of the market," ...

12. Digital Playground drops HD DVD

    (Games and Entertainment/Games and Entertainment Features)

    Wednesday, 16 January 2008

    ... factors in determining the success of a new format. The fact that HD DVD had the adult film industry on its side was seen as a big plus for it, especially because Sony was purposefully not allowing any ...

13. Consumers beginning to drive the HD market

    (Games and Entertainment/Games and Entertainment Features)

    Thursday, 20 December 2007

    ... which will never come down, such as Sony’s AACS encryption. You have to pay Sony the flat fee regardless.” He added that DVD sales in the adult film industry are down about 30% year-over-year, ...

14. Wal-Mart puts "cheap" Chinese HD DVD player on sale

    (Consumer Electronics/Consumer Electronics Features)

    Thursday, 29 November 2007

    ... as Toshiba's A2, as well as an Ethernet port, which is a requirement for HD DVD players.  It has an HDMI output. Wal-Mart's cheapest Blu-ray Disc player is the Sony BDP-S300, which it it ...

15. Resident Evil Blu-ray to have Resident Evil PS3 demo

    (Games and Entertainment/Games and Entertainment Features)

    Monday, 19 November 2007

    ... it will be Sony's first title to be compatible with the new standard for BD films.  This means it will include things like picture-in-picture commentary, memory of previously watched scenes, and ...

16. Sony details first BD Profile 1.1 Blu-ray movie

    (Consumer Electronics/Consumer Electronics Features)

    Wednesday, 14 November 2007

    Sony will be the first to release a Blu-ray Disc movie title using new technical specifications, including a feature that memorizes all the content that has already been accessed on the disc. Culver ...

17. Toshiba sells nearly 100,000 HD DVD players last weekend

    (Consumer Electronics/Consumer Electronics Features)

    Wednesday, 07 November 2007

    ... greater than Sony's BDP-S300 Blu-ray player over the past several months.  The S300 is the top-selling Blu-ray player aside from the Playstation 3. Of course, because of the PS3, Sony has been ...

18. Sharp develops Blu-ray recorder with terabyte hard drive

    (Consumer Electronics/Consumer Electronics Features)

    Wednesday, 26 September 2007

    ... devices for either HD DVD or Blu-ray. Blu-ray backer and co-creator Sony announced earlier this month it is going to stop production of all DVD-based digital video recorders in Japan and focus exclusively ...

19. Target reportedly doubles Blu-ray shelf space

    (Consumer Electronics/Consumer Electronics Features)

    Monday, 17 September 2007

    ... from the one that is likely to win." Earlier this year, Target and Sony announced that the retailer would sell Blu-ray hardware exclusively and would pass on stocking HD DVD players.  However, ...

20. Integra announces HD DVD player

    (Consumer Electronics/Consumer Electronics Features)

    Thursday, 06 September 2007

    ... third-party manufacturers.  Even though several big-name companies have come forward with Blu-ray Disc players, Sony branded devices account for more than 90% of the standalone Blu-ray players that ...

21. Paramount and Dreamworks go HD-DVD: Sony’s curse continues

    (Games and Entertainment/Games and Entertainment Opinion)

    Tuesday, 21 August 2007

    ... back and look at the number of media formats Sony has tried to bring to market exclusively, the failures are daunting. They included BetaMax, Memory Stick, Universal Media Disc, Mini-Disk, Professional ...

22. Blu-ray, HD DVD topple VHS sales

    (Games and Entertainment/Games and Entertainment Features)

    Thursday, 09 August 2007

    ... still behind. With the highly contentious battle between Blu-ray, fronted by Sony, and HD DVD, backed mainly by Toshiba and Universal, there was mounting concern that wary consumers would back off of ...

23. The brand new $113 Toshiba HD-DVD Player: Are the HD wars over?

    (Consumer Electronics/Consumer Electronics Opinion)

    Friday, 27 July 2007

    ...  to tell the difference anyway).   Is this the death blow to Blu-ray?  No. Sony has deep pockets too and they aren’t likely to give up without a fight (plus, they now have Target and BJ ...

24. Sony: Target says yes to Blu-ray, no to HD DVD

    (Trendwatch/Trendwatch Features)

    Thursday, 26 July 2007

    ... video rental chain Blockbuster, Target has decided to only stock Blu-ray Disc players, passing on rival format HD DVD.   HD DVD players for 2007 ... Blu-ray players for 2007 ... Sony issued a statement ...

25. Toshiba cuts price for entry-level HD DVD player to $299

    (Consumer Electronics/Consumer Electronics Features)

    Monday, 02 July 2007

    ... currently about 50% more expensive (if we leave refurbished and open-box items out of consideration). Online shops are offering Sony’s BDP-S300 or Samsung’s BD-P1000 players in the $450 – ...

26. Buy a Blu-ray player, get five free movies

    (Consumer Electronics/Consumer Electronics Features)

    Thursday, 28 June 2007

    ... willing to throw in five free movies.  People who buy any Blu-ray player from July 1st to September 30th will get five movies from various labels including Sony (of course), Disney, Fox, MGM, Paramount, ...

27. Blu-ray, HD DVD no shows at pro A/V event

    (Consumer Electronics/Consumer Electronics Features)

    Thursday, 21 June 2007

    Though Sony and Toshiba were both at InfoComm, the country's biggest trade show for professional audio/video equipment, neither of them had their hi-def players on the front lines. Anaheim (CA) - ...

28. Blu-ray Pirates defeats HD DVD Matrix

    (Games and Entertainment/Games and Entertainment Features)

    Friday, 01 June 2007

    ... according to statements made by a Warner Bros representative earlier this year.  Disney, however, has no plans to bring any of the Pirates movies to HD DVD, due to a strong commitment to Sony's ...

29. Opinion: Blu-ray not even close to winning format war

    (Games and Entertainment/Games and Entertainment Opinion)

    Friday, 20 April 2007

    ... consumers to believe Sony has already beaten HD DVD, but nothing could be further from the truth.   HD DVD players for 2007 ... Blu-ray players for 2007 ... When I first heard about Blu-ray and ...

30. Blu-ray edges out HD DVD yet again

    (Consumer Electronics/Consumer Electronics Features)

    Friday, 20 April 2007

    ... the Sony-backed format.  It became the first high definition video to sell more than 100,000 copies and reach the top-selling DVD list on Amazon.com. In an interview with trade magazine Video Business, ...

31. Mercury Computer Systems claims 10X improvement in HD encoding speed

    (Hardware/Hardware Features)

    Tuesday, 17 April 2007

    ... in AVC/H.264 encoding times with an encoding engine built on the Cell Broadband Engine, the same chip that is used in Sony’s PlayStation 3 console. Las Vegas (NV) - Video professionals know that ...

32. 100,000 HD DVD CE players sold in the U.S.

    (Consumer Electronics/Consumer Electronics Features)

    Tuesday, 17 April 2007

    ... sales numbers of the PS3’s Blu-ray drive: According to Nexgenwars.com, Sony has sold about 2.8 million PS3s and Blu-ray drives so far. The battle between the HD DVD and Blu-ray camps will be heating ...

33. HD video playback and recording added to Nero

    (Software/Software Features)

    Monday, 16 April 2007

    ... feature will be the support of the AVCHD codec which is used in some of the newer Sony and Panasonic camcorders.  Nero will now be able to capture the MPEG-4 AVC stream from camcorders and will be ...

34. Samsung announces plans for Blu-ray/HD DVD combo player

    (Consumer Electronics/Consumer Electronics Features)

    Friday, 13 April 2007

    ...  On the same note, Blu-ray fronter Sony is in a partnership with NEC, which has pledged support for HD DVD.  Also, Buena Vista, Paramount, and Warner Bros have all released titles on both formats ...

35. Toshiba officially releases entry-level 1080p HD DVD player

    (Consumer Electronics/Consumer Electronics Features)

    Wednesday, 11 April 2007

    ... remains Toshiba’s high-end HD DVD player with an MSRP of $800. The cheapest way to get a Blu-ray player is still Sony’s Playstation 3, which is available from about $500. Samsung’s BD-P ...

36. Will HD DVD be dead in one year?

    (Trendwatch/Trendwatch Features)

    Friday, 16 March 2007

    The battle between the HD DVD and Blu-ray camps has gone into a new round at Cebit - with HD DVD promoters touting the formats advantages and almost claiming victory over Blu-ray, while a Sony executive ...

37. Numbers are mixed for 2006 format wars

    (Consumer Electronics/Consumer Electronics Features)

    Monday, 05 February 2007

    ... for BD movie playback. Even though the hardware competition leaves some uncertainty, the movie part of the equation belongs to Blu-ray. The Sony-led format accounted for three of every four high-def movies ...

38. Scalers beat HD DVD and Blu-ray at CES 2007 - analysis

    (Consumer Electronics/Consumer Electronics Features)

    Wednesday, 17 January 2007

    ... each unit that changes hands. Toshiba is penetration pricing - you could think that they actually want to win this battle against Sony and they are foregoing the healthy margins to get there. Toshiba knows ...

39. CES 2007: Warner announces HD DVD - Blu-ray combo disc

    (Trendwatch/Trendwatch Features)

    Tuesday, 09 January 2007

    ... industry over Sony's and Toshiba's inability to agree on a common high-definition video standard. There's a lot at stake for many companies both industries, which - given today's size of ...

40. CES 2007: HD DVD slams Blu-ray, talks innovation

    (Trendwatch/Trendwatch Features)

    Monday, 08 January 2007

    Strategically scheduled right after the Sony press conference, which for all intents and purposes was the main Blu-ray event, the HD DVD conference wrapped up a long day of major press events. Talk about ...

41. CES 2007: Toshiba to offer 1080p HD DVD player for $600

    (Trendwatch/Trendwatch Features)

    Sunday, 07 January 2007

    ... to get their hands on 1080p TVs and players. Toshiba's new HD-A20 HD DVD player is the most affordable way yet to watch 1080p movies, besides Sony's (Blu-ray) player that comes with the Playstation 3. ...

42. CES 2007: LG to roll out dual-format Blu-ray/HD DVD player in Q1

    (Trendwatch/Trendwatch Features)

    Sunday, 07 January 2007

    ... high-definition battle between Sony (Blu-ray) and Toshiba (HD DVD), then LG's new Super Multi Blue BH100 is your first opportunity to be on the safe side - no matter which format will gain the upper hand ...

43. Consumer Electronics Show 2007

    (Event Coverage/Event Coverage Features)

    Sunday, 31 December 2006

    ... another frivolous iPod add-on or a valuable accessory? Aliph's Jawbone headset and Noise Shield sound too good to be true Sony shows OLED TV prototypes Toshiba offering four embedded NAND ...

44. HD DVD gets early lead over Blu-ray in online discussions

    (Trendwatch/Trendwatch Features)

    Wednesday, 06 December 2006

    ... unfamiliar with the advantages of both formats, does underline one point that most critics are rightfully questioning: It harks on Sony's past. Sony has a history of starting media format wars that ultimately ...

45. More than 1.5 million HD DVDs shipped

    (Business and Law/Business and Law Features)

    Thursday, 16 November 2006

    ... launch of the Playstation 3, which not marks the introduction of Sony's new game console, but also Sony's formal entry into the Blu-ray market, the HD DVD Promotion group reminded us that the HD DVD format ...

46. Stream uncompressed HD video with new wireless specification

    (Consumer Electronics/Consumer Electronics Features)

    Wednesday, 01 November 2006

    ... electronic manufacturers that include LG, Matsushita, Samsung and Sony. While the spec isn't finalized yet, it will probably function in the 60 GHz band which can transfer at more than 25 Gbps allowing ...

47. NEC ships hybrid Blu-ray/HD DVD chip

    (Business and Law/Business and Law Features)

    Tuesday, 10 October 2006

    ... hybrid players, but may be contractually prohibited from making them. LG even cancelled their hybrid plans and went ahead with making only Blu-ray players and recorders. Sony's Blu-ray license apparently ...

48. High-def media to dominate home video market by 2012

    (Trendwatch/Trendwatch Features)

    Tuesday, 10 October 2006

    ... format or a combination HD DVD/Blu-ray player being introduced to the market," Kagan said. Related article: Sony to ship 50 GB Blu-ray movie discs this week  ...

49. Blu-ray and HD-DVD to freeze competition until 2007 due to laser diode shortage

    (Consumer Electronics/Consumer Electronics Brief)

    Tuesday, 29 August 2006

    ... Although several vendors, including Royal Philips Electronics, Hitachi-LG Data Storage (HLDS), Sony, Matsushita Electric, Lite-On IT and BenQ, already announced BD or HD-DVD drives, only Pioneer and Plextor ...