As a tech journalist, I meet a lot of other tech journalists and obviously we talk constantly about technology and the TV show Lost. As you might imagine, Toshiba and HD DVD have been the topic of many recent conversations. What I’ve been able to glean is this: most of us geeks would have been …
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February, 2008
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21 February
Paramount and Onkyo flee HD DVD ship
In a series of moves which won’t shock anybody, several of the companies which had pledged allegiance to HD DVD have now jumped ship into Sony’s waiting arms (life buoys?). Paramount Home Entertainment, which signed an exclusivity agreement in December for 18 months, issued a statement to the The Hollywood Reporter which simply said: “We are pleased that the industry …
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20 February
Archos TV+: Half PVR, half media streamer
By now, everyone understands that Apple TV is a disappointment. Not only is the original hardware not up to much, but the new firmware update is also delayed, and probably still won’t bring much of any real use to the UK. So we’re always keen to see what the competition is up to. In this case, the Archos TV+ is …
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19 February
HD DVD is dead. Really, they’ve checked its pulse this time
Psychic powers weren’t required to have seen this coming — although it was rather sooner than expected — but today Toshiba announced that it would no longer be supporting its own format, HD DVD. Blu-ray is officially triumphant and tech journalists worldwide now have one less thing to write about. Although the format war is over and we can all …
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19 February
Toshiba officially quits HD DVD
Toshiba has officially announced it is pulling out of HD DVD production leaving Sony’s Blu-ray the format war victor and ending weeks of speculation. In a statement on its Japanese website Toshiba says it has “decided it will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders”. Toshiba said it will begin to reduce shipments of HD DVD …
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18 February
Toshiba to announce “war is over”
With an announcement from Toshiba imminent, the next-gen movie format war is almost at an end, with HD-DVD falling to its Sony-boosted rival, Blu-ray. According to Japanese financial newspaper Nikkei, Toshiba is expected to announce its immediate withdrawal from the HD DVD business in a press conference at 5PM Tuesday Tokyo time (7PM EST). Toshiba president Atsutoshi Nishida is expected …
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18 February
Has Blu
The war is over. Well, that’s the buzz from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where everyone’s talking about Warner Bros’ suspiciously timed decision to dump HD DVD and become a Blu-ray-only studio. The announcement came on Friday — two days before tech journos from all over the world rocked up to CES to hear Toshiba extol the virtues …
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18 February
Who decides if Blu
At the official launch of Blu-ray in Australia, proponents of the next-generation optical disc format tell CNET.com.au how much of a role consumers, movie studios, manufacturers and the porn industry play in the format war. Michelle Garra, chair of the Blu-ray Disc Working Group Australia and Michael Hoog from the Blu-ray Disc Association in the US share their favourite Blu-ray …
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15 February
Panasonic DMR
There’s got to be someone left with some VHS tapes. While most of the world has upgraded to DVD, there’s someone out there who is refusing to pay for another copy of Star Wars. If that’s you, then Panasonic has a product it thinks you might be interested in — if it can prise you away from your money. The …
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14 February
Panasonic plasma TVs: Now with added Wii
At its 2008 product showcase in Valencia, Panasonic revealed that every year, literally some people manage to hurl their Wii controllers at their expensive flat panel TVs. Anyone who reads gadget sites will have read these tales of woe and possibly even seen the photos. The good news is that Panasonic has created a Wii-proof TV. Well, it’s Wii-proof as …
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