soundberry HD-DVD

Laser Blu( o me glio Blue ray) ha perso la lotta? Ma non e' mai detta l'ultima parola

Per me l'ago della bilancia potrebbe essere questo:

China. HD-DVD-Minus is the national standard over there. All cheap players from China will be HD-DVD compatible.

TOKYO --(Business Wire)-- Nov. 29, 2004 -- Toshiba Corporation disclosed today that the company has received separate commitments of support from Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, New Line Cinema, and Warner Bros. Studios, respectively for the next-generation, high-definition DVD disc format, HD DVD. HD DVD is the newly developed high definition DVD disc standard being developed at the DVD Forum, which represents over 230 consumer electronics, information technology, and content companies. HD DVD innovations include higher resolution video and audio available on a suite of disc capacities adaptable for longer or shorter programs - along with advanced navigation, web connectivity, and new consumer options. HD DVD supports such essential features as advanced content access and robust content security technology, which are critical to the studios. A single, dual-layer HD DVD ROM disc, which has a 30-gigabyte capacity, can hold as much as eight hours of high-quality, high definition movie content. HD DVD is based on the same physical disc structure as DVD, which secures easy backward compatibility with today's DVD, and enables manufacture of highly reliable hardware and discs at a reasonable cost. Mr. Tadashi Okamura, President and CEO of Toshiba Corporation, said: "We are delighted that the HD DVD format has been independently endorsed by Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, New Line Cinema, and Warner Bros. Studios. We sought to contribute to development of the format through a close dialogue with Hollywood studios and extensive technical discussions within the DVD Forum, an approach that has been validated by these endorsements. "HD DVD offers the necessary combination of picture quality, content security and advanced features, including interactivity, plus reasonable manufacturing costs. We believe this is why HD DVD is gaining broad acceptance and has won the support of each of these four leading studios," Mr. Okamura continued. "Endorsement of HD DVD by these leading Hollywood studios is a great impetus to assuring the timely launch of HD DVD and to assuring that consumers have a range of attractive choices in both hardware and software. Major Hollywood studios are expected to release a number of movie titles, including new releases, to support the smooth progress of HD DVD in its initial year. Hundreds of other titles will also be available from other international content holders." The DVD Forum has been working on the fine details of the HD DVD specifications for almost two years, including physical, file format and application specifications for recordable and ROM discs. The DVD Forum approved the version 1.0 physical specifications for HD DVD-ROM in February 2004, followed by version 1.0 of the HD DVD-Rewritable format in September 2004. Completion of the HD DVD-R, a one-time recordable format, is also expected by year end. "Every facet of HD DVD development is on track," said Yoshihide Fujii, President and CEO, Toshiba's Digital Media Network Company. "As we enter the age of high-definition broadcasting, consumers increasingly want HD content for their high definition, large-screen displays, and HD DVD naturally fits in with this trend. HD DVD will open up new horizons in visual entertainment." "With the emergence of a wide range of advanced digital devices, assurance of robust content protection is of primary importance to the sound development of both the hardware and software industries," said Mr. Fujii. "We intend to reinforce close collaboration and dialogue with other hardware manufacturers, content holders and software distributors to meet this objective." The HD DVD format will enable the most advanced content protection technology; AACS (Advanced Access Content System), currently being developed by major international CE, IT companies and Hollywood studios, is expected to be selected. HD DVD players are expected to become available in late 2005 and widely available in 2006. Toshiba plans to launch its first HD DVD products, a CE player and recorder, in the fourth quarter of 2005. The company also plans to release notebook PC with a built-in HD DVD drive at the end of 2005.

Quindi ill prossimo anno sono annunciati dalle Major cinematografive gli HD-DVD,che con nuovi lettori potranno essere letti in alta definizione e con un NUOVO dolby di maggior qualita'.Il decoder attuale nell'ampli e' totalmente inutile sara' inutilizzato.I nuovi lettori universali ed i futuri HD-DVD hanno/ avranno il decoder nel lettore:soldi sprecati averlo in ampli HT integrati peraltro malsuonanti in relaione al loro costo.

Sono inoltre stati annunciati (per il 2005)HD-DVD ibridi:quindi nello stesso disco ci saranno sia le tracce normali,lette da un normale lettore dvd, che quelle HD-DVD che richiederanno i nuovi lettori.Lettori che leggeranno sia dischi dvd che i nuovi hd-dvd con la nuova decodifica dolby.Questi dischi non potranno essere decodificati dagli attuali decoder dei HT integrati.Peraltro il decoder sara' nei lettori,inutile averli in nuovi ampli HT integrati.Ora si comprende meglio l'assurdita' di avere i decoder associati agli amplificatori.

Gli amplificatori sono tra i prodotti meno soggetti ad obsolescenza, integrandoli con i decoder come hanno fatto con gli integrati Ht vuol dire renderli periodicamente obsoleti.

Kralizec writes "PC World reports that Memory-Tech has developed a dual DVD, HD-DVD disc, which stores DVD content on the upper layer and HD-DVD content on the lower. The DVD data can be read by standard DVD players, giving customers the incentive to buy now, and reap future benefits by buying an HD-DVD player at a later time. Blu-ray suffered a heavy blow when HD-DVD gained the support of four major movie studios; could this be the knockout punch?" (The format was developed jointly with Toshiba.)

So, why do so many Hollywood studios want their HD-DVD? Probably because they're a whole lot cheaper to manufacture

The current specification version for HD-DVD-ROM and HD-DVD-Rewritable is version 1.0. The specification for HD-DVD-R is currently at 0.9. The first HD DVD-ROM drives are expected to be unveiled by Q4 2004, with mass production to start in Q1 2005.

The four Hollywood studios are Warner Bros. Studios, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures and New Line Cinema. Support from U.S. film studios is seen as vital in this format battle, just as it was when the VHS standard prevailed over Sony's Betamax two decades ago.

They represent about 45 percent of Hollywood's prepackaged DVD sales in the United States, Toshiba said.

The discs contain two layers, an upper DVD layer with a capacity of 4.7GB and a lower HD-DVD layer with a15GB capacity, says Masato Otsuka, general manager of Memory-Tech's engineering department.

Memory-Tech has already produced prototypes of the new type of discs and tested them in about 200 DVD players, including DVD recorders and PC drives. But it will take up to six months for the specifications for the discs to be completed, says Otsuka.

Toshiba, together with NEC and Sanyo Electric which are also backing the HD-DVD specification, all plan to have hardware on shelves at about the same time at the end of next year. These products include a sub-$1000 HD-DVD player by Toshiba and hard drives for PCs coming from NEC.

The three-format drive supports playback of read-only (ROM) and rewritable versions (RW) of HD-DVD and read-only, write-once (R) and RW versions of CDs and DVDs.

L'antagonista Laser blu:LA PS3

Blu-Ray discs are one of the newcomers on the optical disc scene. The first optical discs available to consumers were the large video laser discs that were marketed during the early 1970s. By the familiar CD became available. One compact disc was able to hold about 700MB (megabytes) of data. The first CDs were used for audio albums.

In the 1990s DVD (digital video discs) became popular. DVDs are the identical form factor of a CD but are able to hold much more data. The format was agreed upon because one DVD can hold a standard-length movie.

Blu-Ray is the next iteration on the optical disc timeline. The Blu-Ray standard was established to hold on standard-length movie in HDTV format, or high-definition television. Such movies are displayed in significantly higher resolution and therefore they require much more storage space. A standard Blu-Ray disc holds 27GB (gigabytes) of information which is about 40 times the amount of data that a CD can hold.

Although the technology is identical to CDs and DVDs, the fundamental difference with Blu-Ray is the laser that is used to read the discs. A blue laser (hence the name Blu-Ray) is used instead of the red lasers that are used on earlier discs. Blue lasers have a shorter wavelength (450 nanometers) than red lasers (650 nanometers), and therefore the beam can be focused on a smaller area which means that you can cram more data on an identically sized disc.

The new laser means that Blu-Ray discs are not readable on standard CD and DVD players and readers. Many Blu-Ray drives, however, will be backwards-compatible so they will be able to playback the older disc formats. The growth of Blu-Ray is expected to parallel the increasing popularity of HDTV and overtake legacy systems.

--------------------2006-----------------------------------

2006:On Wednesday, HD DVD�s principal developer, Toshiba Corp., unveiled plans for a 40-city retail and media tour to showcase the new format and build momentum for the launch.

The tour kicks off Feb. 22 in New York and Paramus, N.J., followed by stops in Boston; Chicago; San Francisco; Washington, DC and Los Angeles, among other cities.

The first HD DVD titles are slated to arrive March 28 from Warner Home Video.

Best Buy and Amazon.com will be among the first retailers carrying players and discs, according to studio sources. A spokeswoman with high-end electronics chain Tweeter said the stores will carry a limited inventory of both high-def players and movies at launch.

Saranno 24 i titoli in HD DVD disponibili negli Stati Uniti durante la fase di lancio, e i primi 5, tra i quali troviamo nomi del calibro di Batman Begins, Twister e Million Dollar Babe, saranno disponibili dal 28 marzo. Coloro che vorranno acquistarli troveranno un packaging un po� più arrotondato rispetto a quello attuale e un prezzo variabile tra i 29 e i 39 dollari. Ma i primi titoli sono attesi anche in Europa, soprattutto nei paesi più importanti dal punto di vista strategico, come Inghilterra e Francia: la data di introduzione non è ancora certa ma si presuppone un lancio all�Ifa e un arrivo sul mercato tra settembre e ottobre. L�Italia? Secondo Ron Sanders c�è ancora da aspettare.

Catalog Blu-ray Disc titles will sell at wholesale for $17.95, about the same as DVDs when that format hit the market in 1997. New-release Blu-ray Discs will wholesale for $23.45, a premium of 15 percent to 20 percent over what suppliers were charging for new theatrical DVDs.

Prevista uiscita a 600-800$

The nitty gritty of the two Toshiba players should be familiar to anybody who's followed the next-gen format fracas. The units support a variety of video codecs, including MPEG-2 as well as MPEG-4 AVC and VC-1. The more expensive HD-XA1 has a couple of cosmetic enhancements (a motorized drawer!), a backlit remote, and a selection of three different user interfaces, as well as some improvements to construction. It also has a pair of USB ports "for convenient connection of gaming controllers," according to the press release (no further details were provided). Interestingly, both players--and all forthcoming HD-DVD players--will only output high-definition resolutions via copy-protected HDMI outputs, so people whose HDTVs don't have HDMI or DVI/HDCP inputs won't be able to enjoy the improved image quality of HD-DVD. According to Pioneer and Philips, the competing Blu-ray players may still enable high-def output via analog outputs, but we're skeptical about that. If Blu-ray did allow HD resolutions via analog, it would have one more major advantage over the less expensive HD-DVD players.

Finche' non usciranno lettori utilizzante il nuovo chip di compatibilita' annunciato i lettori, entrambi laser blu, bleu ray e dvd-hd sono incompatibili:ogniuno legge i suoi dischi.

Questa la differenza:

The easiest way to explain HDTV is the amount of pixels the television or monitor is capable of displaying on screen. Regular PAL signals are capable of 640 lines of resolution and NTSC signals have 525 lines. The increase in lines and pixels on screen is what makes the HDTV picture appear not only brighter but also sharper and more detailed than a standard television.

Unfortunately, it�s not always easy to make the transition to HDTV and we all face the challenge of understanding the jargon and navigating the vast choices available and not to mention finally, making it all work. To help you get started, here is a helpful Digital Dictionary of basic terms and detials of what you will need to know you need to know.

HDTV Digital Directory :

HDTV: Hi-Definition Television means broadcast of television signals such as those produced by the Xbox 360 with a higher resolution than traditional formats (NTSC, SÉCAM, PAL) allow. Except for early analog formats in Europe and Japan, HDTV is broadcast digitally, and therefore its introduction sometimes coincides with the introduction of digital television (DTV).

HDMI (High Definition MultiMedia Interface): HDMI assures that the best video signal is always sent from the source (e.g., HDTV signal) to the display (e.g., plasma or LCD television). It does this by allowing uncompressed video and multi-channel audio data to be input to the display device through one single cable. The need for multiple analog connections for high-resolution audio and video are eliminated. Without an HDMI connection, one would need three video connections for high-definition video and six audio connections for high-resolution audio.

HDTV compatible: Describes a television that cannot show HDTV resolution, but can receive and show HDTV at a lesser quality.

HD ready: Describes a television that is capable of displaying one or both of the prescribed hi-definition television formats (720p, 1080i) but is not equipped with the requisite tuner/converter to receive digital signals.

DVI (Digital Visual Interface): DVI is a standard that provides a high-bandwidth, low-cost digital interface between a video source and a display device. It is capable of carrying uncompressed highresolution video transfers of HDTV signals, and supports real-time complex graphics displays and user interfaces found in program guides and other interactive features for high definition television.

SDTV: Standard-definition television or SDTV refers to television systems that have a lower resolution than HDTV systems (704x480 or 640x480). The term is usually used in reference to digital television, in particular when broadcasting at the same (or similar) resolution as analog systems.

Analog: An analog TV does not display progressive-scan DVD or HDTV. It displays only standard-definition programs found on regular TV, cable or satellite.

Digital Television (DTV): A digital television displays progressive-scan DVD and can usually display HDTV signals.

Enhanced-Definition TV (EDTV): Enhanced-definition television displays a minimum of 480p lines and is the next step up from SDTV. An EDTV can show an HDTV image but doesn't provide as much detail as higher-resolution displays.

XGA: The Extended Graphics Array, is an IBM display standard introduced in 1990. Today, it is best known as a synonym for the 1024 × 768 pixels display resolution.

VGA: Video Graphics Array (VGA) is an analog computer display standard first marketed in 1987 by IBM. VGA is referred to as an "array" instead of an "adapter" because it was implemented from the start as a single chip, replacing the dozens of discrete logic chips covering a full-length ISA board.

p: Progressive or non-interlaced scanning is any method for displaying, storing or transmitting moving http://www.msxbox-world.com/images in which the lines of each frame are drawn in sequence. This is in contrast to the interlacing used in traditional television systems.

Progressive scan is used in most CRTs (tube) or computer monitors. It is also becoming increasingly common in high-end television equipment, which is often capable of performing deinterlacing so that interlaced video can still be viewed.

Advantages of progressive scan include:

· Subjectively increased vertical resolution. The perceived vertical resolution of an interlaced image is usually equivalent to multiplying the active lines by about 0.6. This explains, for example, why HDTV standards such as 1080i (1920x1080, interlaced) in most cases deliver a quality equal to or slightly poorer than that of 720p (1280x720, progressive), despite containing far more lines of resolution.

· No flickering of narrow horizontal patterns

· Simpler video processing equipment

· Easier compression

i: Interlace is a method of improving the quality of http://www.msxbox-world.com/images displayed on a video imaging device (usually CRT tube) without increasing analog bandwidth. It was invented by RCA engineer Randall Ballard in the late 1920s, and was ubiquitous in television until the 1970s, when video from home computers and videogames reintroduced progressive scan http://www.msxbox-world.com/images. Today interlace remains in heavy use for video, being used for all standard definition TV, as well as the popular 1080i HDTV standard.

Aspect ratio: Standard television has a 4:3 aspect ratio - it is four units wide by three units high. HDTV has a 16:9 aspect ratio, more like a movie screen.

Resolution: The lowest standard resolution (SDTV) will be about the same as analog TV and will go up to 704 x 480 pixels. The highest HDTV resolution is 1920 x 1080 pixels. HDTV can display about ten times as many pixels as an analog TV set.

Frame rate: A set's frame rate describes how many times it creates a complete picture on the screen every second. DTV frame rates usually end in "i" or "p" to denote whether they are interlaced or progressive. DTV frame rates range from 24p (24 frames per second, progressive) to 60p (60 frames per second, progressive).

Currently, most manufacturers of CRT-type (tube) TVs are choosing 1080-line interlaced (1080i) as their high-definition native-display rate. These TVs usually also have 480p as a native rate, for compatibility with progressive-scan DVD, and with digital SDTV signals. The most popular display rate for HD-capable flat-panel plasma and LCD TVs is 768-line progressive (768p). This is very close to the 720p HDTV standard which is one of the 3 HDTV (480p, 720p 1080i) standards the Xbox 360 supports..

elevato rapporto qualita'/prezzo: Questo funziona bene! low cost!