Whilst the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray format war rages on, there are still some manufacturers telling us to ‘give peace a chance’. So for those of us who want to sit on the fence and have the best of both worlds LG have kindly launched the BH200, their second generation combined Blu-Ray and HD-DVD player. For those of you who have already invested in the BH100, here are the extra bells and whistles that you’re missing out on ;)

* The HD-DVD has played catch up and now has the HDi features of the Blu-Ray
* The Blu-Ray portion features the latest Java functionality such as storyboards
* There’s an ethernet connection for Internet features
* HDMI 1.3 output
* 1080p res at the oh-so important 24 fps

The BH200 will also set you back US$1000 slightly less than the BH100 was originally released for, but presumably still more than what a BH100 will now cost you assuming the BH100s are even still for sale!

These dual-format units are obviously targeting the hesitant and indecisive and the manufacturers are also hoping consumers will ignore the fact that the players cost more than twice the price of a single format player. So whilst they may be the way of the short-term (peaceful) future, with such prohibitive price tags I’m not so sure they are the long term answer. However imagine if a manufacturer released a dual format player that was only say 25% more than a cheap single-format player, now that could bring ‘peace in our time’!

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Having drooled over the REGZA LCD TV range, the boys at Toshiba have rolled out a couple of HD DVD players for at least their European fans to drool over as well. The HD-EP30 and HD-EP35 will be available ‘en Europa’ from October and will retail some where around 349 euros and 449 euros respectively. So what’s the skinny on these puppies?

Well both models have 1080p image support whilst the HD-EP35 boasts Toshiba’s REGZA link plus Deep Colour functionality. Part of the REGZA link functionality includes the ability to control a full range of Toshiba units with one remote, a feature any better half is bound to appreciate!

Audio wise the HD-EP35 supports High Bit Rate Audio (7.1 channels) plus Dolby Digital Plus, True HD and DTS HD formats. Sounds good? Well, you’d better check them out soon as I’m sure they’ll be selling like the proverbial hot cakes as soon as the present giving season gets under way.

Source: Pocket-Lint

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Last Thursday Microsoft announced a price cut to their HD-DVD add-on for the Xbox 360. The player was cut by US$20 to US$179 and when combined with the price of an Xbox 360, the total cost still undercuts the Sony PS3 which boasts an integrated Blu-ray player. Thus the Xbox plus HD-DVD player add-on is currently the cheapest way to watch hi-def movies.

The price cut on the player takes effect from 1 August and included in the promo are five free HD-DVD movie titles from a selection of 15. Don’t get too excited as I’m not expecting these 15 titles to be blockbusters!

Microsoft also announced that the ‘Boys Own’ movie ‘300′ will be available at the Xbox Live Marketplace on 14 August as well as on HD-DVD. Ladies, sounds like a great combo for a birthday pressie for that special boy guy in your life, Xbox, HD-DVD player and the movie ‘300′. ;)

Source: Boy Genius

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One way to avoid the format wars involving HD DVD and Blu-ray is to opt for the Samsung BD-UP5000, a dual format player. Samsung have just announced that the ‘neutral’ player will be available in October this year and will cost around 550 Euros (US$750), not a bad price to have the best of both worlds. According to the blurb from Samsung back in April

Samsung’s Duo HD player (BD-UP5000) will fully support both HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats and their interactive technologies, HDi and BD-Java. With the Duo HD consumers can enjoy additional studio content such as trailers, director’s comments, more elaborate interactive menus and behind the scene footage. The new Duo HD joins Samsung’s next generation DVD line-up which includes Samsung’s second generation Blu-ray player available at retail this month. Together, these two models offer the consumer a strong line of High-Definition players to match Samsung’s award winning, and best selling, line of HDTVs.

The price stacks up well against the competition with the LG BH1000 rocking in at US$1200. So for all the people who enjoy sitting on the fence this could just be the player you’ve been waiting for.

Source: Pocket-lint

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Guess what, even if HD-DVD’s are being outsold by Blu-Ray discs, the first format has recently launched a high capacity disc, taking the lead on the market from this point of view. The disc is created by Toshiba, and based on a triple layer technology, adding up to three layers of 17GB each. That sums up to 51GB.

That extra gigabyte is all they needed to beat the Blu-Ray record. The highest capacity Blu-Ray discs at the moment are those dual-layered 25GB each disc that can store 50GB the most.

This was rumored even since this year’s CES, but the current rumors say this could be released late this year, in the 4th quarter most likely. Currently, there is no valid information on manufacturing costs, other features or side-effects. However, it’s obviously the so-called format war is far from being over.

Since sales reports show that Blu-Ray discs are being sold in better numbers than the HD-DVD ones, would you consider switching to the last just because of that extra GB?

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At last, Toshiba announced that it will organize a showcase at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show edition in Las Vegas. Sample shipments of the device will be available by the end of the month.

The SD-H903A model is the first HD-DVD desktop writer designed for desktop computers integration.

“Ideally designed for single-bay desktop PCs with its multi-functional capabilities, Toshibas SD-H903A is the perfect solution for professional high-definition content creation. In addition, consumers can capture content, edit home videos and create vast digital content repositories for movies, music and photos. With dual layer discs, HD DVD provides 30GB of storage capacity which can accommodate up to four hours of HD DVD movie content with extended cuts and interactive features, up to five full-length standard DVD films, up to 7,500 MP3 songs or up to 30,000 high-quality images”

Toshiba officials, press conference

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