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Blu-Ray

sony playstation day 08 london

Sony PlayStation Day London '08 Roundup


Sony Playstation Day London 08

Men In Black Becomes First International BD-Live Title

PlayStation owners around the world were treated to a Blu-ray Disc Profile 2.0 update in firmware 2.20, which enabled the special features of BD-Live titles on the PlayStation 3, but outside of the U.S. that really didn't mean much...until now. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment have found a way to make you buy Men in Black again as they announce the Will Smith / Tommy Lee Jones sci-fi classic (is it too early?) as the first BD-Live release for the international market.
"SPHE is delighted to bring BD-Live to International markets for the first time," stated Matt Brown, EVP, International, SPHE, "This follows a successful launch in the US in March and is just the start of the exciting possibilities that will soon be available on high definition Blu-ray Disc."
Interactive features include a BD-Live multiplayer interactive trivia game and exclusive downloadable theatrical previews. Finally, interactive trivia on Blu-ray. Hopefully they'll be kicking things up a notch with future interactive releases. Men in Black the You Might As Well Buy It Again On Blu-ray version will be out June 17th. More »

revenge of blu-ray

Another Manufacturer Says Xbox 360 Blu-ray Coming This Year

A report from Taiwanese news source Economic Daily News says that Pegatron Technology—a recently formed subsidiary of Asus that shouldn't be confused with the Decepticon leader—has received an order from Microsoft to manufacture a Blu-ray equipped model of the Xbox 360. According to the report, Pegatron says that it plans to begin production on the HD version of the Xbox 360 soon, with plans to ship within the next six months, aiming for a pre-holiday release. More »

playstation 3

Analyst Warns Movie Studios That People May Be Playing Games On PS3s

Blu-ray campers may not have as much to boast about, according to one analyst, who questions how big of a contribution the PlayStation 3 install base really is to the format. ABI Research analyst Steve Wilson says that "the state of the Blu-ray player market is not all that encouraging," according to a Next Gen report on the study.

With an estimated 85% of Blu-ray playing devices being PS3s, Wilson says that those invested in the format should maybe concerned that owners of the console may actually be playing games on it. That's clearly trolling, Steve! Are you implying there are no PlayStation 3 games?

Analyst: PS3 a Crutch to the Blu-ray Market [Next-Gen]


psp

New Blu-Ray Player Lets You Record TV On Your PSP

Still waiting on that promised ability to transfer Blu-Ray's from a PS3 to a PSP. In the meantime, I'm going to point out something you're never going to buy, and a situation you'll most likely never find yourself in, but is interesting nonetheless. At least on a trivial level. Above is Sony's BDZ-A70 Blu-Ray recorder, which lets you watch TV, then record that TV onto a Blu-Ray disc. And also a PSP. I know, you can do that already in a less-than-legal sense, but having it officially embraced by Sony like this suggests the little handheld will find itself integrated more and more into Sony's non-gaming lineup as it spreads its multimedia wings.
Sony's New Blu-ray Recorder Moves TV (not BD) Vid to PSP [Giz]

hd dvd

Microsoft Didn't Back The Wrong Format Horse, Yo

That little HD DVD experiment was pricey! But when you are Microsoft, what are trivial things like money? Nothing! Just look how smug Xbox 360 UK boss Neil Thompson is. Think the death of HD-DVD keeps him up at night? No way. This guy sleeps like a baby. No, he sleeps like two babies. Says Thompson:

The horse that we're fundamentally backing is the one that says the future of entertainment content is online digital distribution. I would argue that we backed the right horse... If we're sitting here in 12 or 18 months time, we'll be saying 'why were people even thinking about a disc format when it's really about digital distribution?' Our strategy's been developed for the last six or seven years, and ever since we launched the platform it [online content] has been our big, big, big bet.

Discs? Microsoft doesn't need no stinking discs.
Xbox 360 Chief Rings The Changes [The Guardian via CVG]

blu-ray

Microsoft Puts Lite-On Rumors To Rest

DigiTimes may stand by their informant who claimed that Lite-On was manufacturing Blu-ray drives for the Xbox 360, but Microsoft—who DigiTimes claimed refused to comment on the rumor, making it all the jucier—has apparently sent a statement to TechRadar denying that Lite-On is producing Blu-ray drives for their console.

"No. Lite-On is not manufacturing Blu-ray drives for Xbox 360. As we have stated, games are what are driving consumers to purchase game consoles and we remain focused on providing the largest library of blockbuster game available.
Hmmm. I wonder if DigiTimes will back down now that Microsoft has spoken, or if they'll continue following the mystical BluBox 360 with a different drive manufacturer at the helm.

Microsoft: Lite-On NOT making Blu-ray drive [TechRadar]


rumor

Alleged Xbox Blu-ray 360 Could Put 360 Back In Red

Yesterday, DigiTimes reported that the Xbox 360 would be getting a Blu-ray drive. Today, they aren't backing down from the rumor reporting more intel from "industry sources."

The sources told DigiTimes that Xbox 360 Blu-ray drives manufactured by Lite-On would cost Microsoft $95-$100 a pop—a significant margin higher that their current DVD drives that run $18-$20. Especially with Sony in a unique position to limit supply of some Blu-ray drive components, this could mean that Microsoft's Xbox 360 would once again cost more to produce than Microsoft recouped in sales.

But if said scenarios is true, DigiTimes is overlooking on option in Microsoft's playbook.

More »

sony

What's The Deal With Those PlayStation 3 Mandatory Installs? I Mean, Hey...

Good things come to those who wait. That may not sell you on the ten to twenty minute installs required by some PlayStation 3 games like Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds or Devil May Cry 4, but for the time being some gamers are going to have to live with it. But what's the real deal behind the delayed satisfaction? Is it merely developer "laziness"? Crappy tech?

It's not merely "laziness" or the result of multi-platform lowest common denominator programming, even games like Gran Turismo 5 Prologue come equipped with a 12 minute install. So, what's the deal?

More »

blu-ray

Xbox 360 Blu-ray Rumor Boomerangs Back

We know. We're actually a little sick of the Xbox 360 might get Blu-ray rumors, wait, no they aren't, too. But according to DigiTimes' industry sources, optical drive manufacturer Lite-On is developing a built-in Blu-ray for a future version of the Xbox 360 console. And Lite-On will begin shipping out the components in the second half of 2008.

Additional geek note: said future blu console will feature a 170-watt power supply. Exciting! We'd remind you again that this is all still considered rumor to the nth degree, but you're old pros by now.

Lite-On developing BD-ROM drives for Xbox 360, sources say
[DigiTimes]


europe

Why Was Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Download Borked?

Hey Sony, what gives?! Gran Turismo 5 Prologue was supposed to be ready to download in Europe starting, uhhhhh, yesterday. But it wasn't! Europeans who wanted to play it had to get off their arses and hoof it over to their neighborhood game retailer and purchase the game on Blu-ray disc. Well, we wanna hear what went wrong. According to Sony:

Unfortunately due to some last minute technical difficulties, we were unable to publish the new content to the PS Store yesterday. We are working to resolve these issues and will let you know as soon as new content is posted.

Guess that'll hafta do. Though something like "We fucked up" would've been a little more colorful.
Technical Difficulties [VideoGamer]

hd era

Research: PS3 To Drive Blu-ray Market, Sell 13 Million Consoles By End Of '08

New research from analysts at Strategy Analytics says that the Blu-ray equipped PlayStation 3 will drive adoption of the format into 2009, with 29 million homes expected to have at least one player by the end of the year, 13 million of those from console sales. The report goes on to predict that standalone players will lead the charge at some point in 2009, with 132 million homes Blu-ray capable by 2012. That factors in PCs, dedicated players and consoles.

Authors David Mercer and Peter King write that Europe will be the largest market for Blu-ray players—they do love their PlayStations—with the US and Japan placing and showing.

I just got No Country For Old Men on Blu-ray in the mail from Netflix, which is also probably not that interesting unless you're getting Blu-ray royalties. Or you're a stalker.


ps3

PS3 Firmware 2.20 Available Now

Late March it is. My PS3 just politely informed me that firmware 2.20 is now available, and is dutifully downloading & installing as I type this. In case you need a final reminder, this update brings us a whole bunch of improvements to the PS3's Blu-Ray playback (including Blu-Ray Live), as well as nifty features like letting you use your PSP as a remote control for your PS3 for music playback.

update

Sony: PSP Portable Copy Not Coming with 2.2

Turns out it's a good thing I was so dubious.

SCEA contacted us today to let us know we were right to doubt, the Playstation 3's firmware 2.20 update will not include Portable Copy support, despite reports to the contrary.

Too bad, I'm about to go away on a trip for a few days and was thinking I might be able to bring some movies with me. Of course, I'm also still confused about whether all Blu-ray movies will be copyable or if it will be only for movies that have an extra PSP file included on the disc.


rumor

Watch Blu-ray on Your PSP with Latest PS3 Update

Despite no mention of the feature on the official Playstation Blog or press release, PC World is reporting that the Playstation 3's next update, firmware 2.20, will include support of Portable Copy.

Portable Copy will give Playstation 3 and Playstation Portable owners the ability to buy a Blu-Ray movie, insert it into their PS3 and download a standard res version to their PSP.

While this would be pretty exciting news the fact that Sony has yet to mention it will be on this latest firmware update leaves me a little dubious about the whole thing. We know it's coming, I'm just not sure it will be with this firmware.

I guess we'll know soon enough, when the firmware hits.

PS3 Firmware Update Enhances Blu-ray Capabilities [PC World]

UPDATE: Turns out the rumors were wrong. Portable Copy isn't coming with 2.2.


hd-dvd

Best Buy Offers Gift Cards for HD-DVD Players

Are you one of the unfortunates stuck with a now useless HD-DVD player? Did you purchase it at Best Buy before February 23rd? If you answered yes to both of these questions, you can return that old door stop to Best Buy and get a $50 gift card in return. According to CNN it is estimated that upwards of $10 million in US Gift cards. HD-DVD owners will be found through Best Buy's Reward Zone program, service plans and online orders. The gift cards will automatically be mailed out to qualifying folks at the beginning of may. If you are not a Reward Zone member you can bring in your BB receipt or credit card info. They will also be offering an online trade-in center where customers can unload their unwanted players beginning March 21.

Those stuck with HD-DVD players getting gift cards {CNN.com - Thanks, Robert]


hd dvd

Toshiba To Lose $666 Million (Cue Scary Music)

Man, losing is hard. Not only that, it's expensive. Back in February, Toshiba pulled the plug on its HD DVD, thereby ending the format war. That, along with the falling price of flash memory chips, means that profits are expected to drop 125 billion yen, compared to the 137.4 billion yen profit it recorded last year. The decision to stop making HD DVD players alone will cost Toshiba 65 billion yen. That's US $666 million dollars. 666? That's certainly an omen!
HD DVD Defeat [BBC]

blu-ray

Blu-ray Rental Gets Serious In Japan

Starting march 19th (tomorrow!), Japanese rental chain TSUTAYA will begin offering Blu-ray discs for rent at ten shops in big cities across Japan. The service will include rental at TSUTAYA bricks and mortal shops and at its online TSUTAYA DISCAS shop. The aim is to have Blu-ray available at every store nationwide by the summer. TSUTAYA's the biggest rental chain in Japan, so for Blu-ray, this is a pretty big deal. I'm curious: Is it possible to rent Blu-ray elsewhere, Japan or not?
Starting March 19 [Game Watch Impress via My Game News Flash]