Hewlett-Packard strikes Blu note for DVDs
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PC buyers can look forward to DVDs with up to 10 times the storage they now have when Hewlett-Packard rolls out machines supporting next-generation DVD technology next year.
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(InfoWorld) - Visitors to the IFA consumer electronics show, which opens Friday in Berlin, will have ringside seats to the war over high-definition disc formats raging between Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD. As the two formats duel for the title of successor to current DVD movie discs, many European consumers haven't decided which kind of player they will buy. "Everyone is waiting for IFA where many new products are expected to be announced," said Frank Simonis, chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association. Both HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc have sold in lower quantities in Europe than in other regions and prices are still relatively high, between â¬599 (US$814 ) and â¬899, according to Simonis. Currently, five manufacturers have launched Blu-ray Disc players in Europe, including Sony Corp. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (Panasonic). Five additional vendors are expected to launch Blu-ray Disc players at IFA, while companies with players already in the market plan to introduce devices with new features, Simonis said. Many of the manufacturers are major suppliers of HDTV sets and hope to leverage that expertise to "accelerate the adoption of Blu-ray Disc," he said. The format has received a big boost from its use in Sony's PlayStation 3 games console, with sales of more than 1.4 million units in Europe, according to Simonis. The HD DVD camp is also bringing new wares to IFA, according to Frank Eschholz, business development manager of HD DVD products at Sony Deutschland GmbH. "There will be new devices and new features and more." Both types of players are designed with many of the same components inside and offer many of the same features, according to Simonis. But one of Blu-ray Disc's key benefits is its ability to store up to 50G bytes of data, he said. "Studios want to pack a bunch of extras onto discs in addition to the movies, and Blu-ray Disc allows them to do so," he said. The Blu-ray Disc camp, however, was jolted when Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation announced last week that they would align themselves exclusively with the HD DVD high-definition format. The decision comes at a time when market indicators have been pointing to competitor Blu-ray Disc as having the lead. In addition to next-generation movie-disc players, visitors to this year's IFA can expect to see plenty of HDTV sets, camcorders, digital cameras, MP3 players and notebook computers. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. will introduce new products in all those categories, according to a spokeswoman. The company may launch two handsets as well, she said. Sony has decided to return to IFA after its absence last year, with plans to exhibit new Blu-ray Disc players, new Walkman music players and HDTV sets, according to a spokeswoman. More information about IFA -- the letters stand for Internationale Funkausstellung, although the full name is rarely used these days -- is available at the show's Web site .
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Sony Corp  said on Wednesday it  will launch four models of new Blu-ray high-definition optical  disc recorders in November in Japan, as its format battle with  the HD DVD camp heats up.
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Wal-Mart Stores Inc  has  decided to exclusively sell high-definition DVDs in the Blu-Ray  format, dealing what could be a crippling blow to the rival HD  DVD technology backed by Toshiba Corp .
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Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) showed off 14 new imaging and printing products during an event in Frankfurt, Germany, where executives showcased the HP LaserJet 4345mfp multifunction copier, which they said can crank out up to 45 pages per minute for a third the cost of similar machines.
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Time Warner's Warner Bros  studio plans to announce it will release next generation DVDs  on Sony Corp's Blu-ray format exclusively, two sources familiar  with the plans said on Friday, dealing a big blow to Toshiba  Corp'sHD DVD format.
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NEW YORK -- Toshiba Corp. on Monday announced an aggressive campaign to bolster its HD DVD movie disc format against Sony-backed Blu-ray technology, cutting prices on players to as low as $149.99.
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Sony Corp  said it will launch four models of new Blu-ray high-definition optical disc recorders in November in Japan, as its format battle with the HD DVD camp heats up.
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Sony Corp (6758.T) said on Wednesday it  will launch four models of new Blu-ray high-definition optical  disc recorders in November in Japan, as its format battle with  the HD DVD camp heats up.
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Panasonic has developed a Blu-ray Disc drive for laptop computers and plans to unveil it at January's Consumer Electronics Show, the company said today.
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Sharp Corp (6753.T) said it would launch  a Blu-ray high-definition DVD recorder with a 1-terabyte hard  disk drive (HDD), the world&#39;s largest storage capacity on any  Blu-ray recorder, as it competes with the HD DVD camp.
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CHIBA, Japan  - Sony Corp. 6758.T said on   Tuesday it would launch its Blu-ray high-definition optical   disc recorder in Japan in December with an expected price tag   of around 300,000 yen ($2,550) for a model with a 500-gigabyte   hard disk drive.
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Philips Electronics unveiled an  optical disk drive on Monday for use in computers that can burn  and play CDs and DVDs in three formats, including the new  Blu-ray standard.
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Hewlett-Packard, the top global PC vendor, Thursday introduced a multimedia notebook packed with high-definition features, including a screen that allows users to watch full HDTV movies.The HP Pavilion HDX laptop, targeted at multimedia enthusiasts, has a 20.1-inch high-definition screen that plays back true 1080p high-definition television, according to HP. Users will have the option of selecting from an HD DVD or Blu-ray Disc drives to play back high-definition movies.Powered by the Core 2 Extreme or Core 2 Duo processors from Intel, the system includes a hybrid TV tuner that lets users watch high-definition or analog TV broadcasts. The tuner will also provide digital video recorder capabilities, with users able to record and pause live TV.The system includes an Nvidia GeForce 8800M GTS graphics card with 512MB of video memory, HP said. It also includes has four Altec Lansing speakers with a subwoofer built in. The system will support storage of up to 500GB and have integrated wired and wireless networking.The system will run on Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate. Starting at $1,999, the system will ship in the U.S. this month, according to HP.HP on Thursday also introduced the Pavilion tx2000 tablet PC, a portable laptop targeted at students and professionals. Users can rotate the screen 180 degrees and use a stylus to capture handwriting or surf the Internet, according to HP.Powered by Advanced Micro Devices&#39; Turion 64 X2 dual-core processor, the PC comes with a 12.1-inch screen and Windows Vista OS. It will have a DVD+/- RW drive, up to 250GB of storage, integrated wireless and wired networking, a fingerprint reader and a webcam. It weighs 4.29 pounds (1.95 kilograms) with a four-cell battery, according to HP.The PC will be available starting at $1,299, depending on configuration. It will ship later this month in the U.S.The laptops were announced ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show, to be held in Las Vegas between January 7 and 10, where they will be on display.
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Sharp Corp  said it would launch  a Blu-ray high-definition DVD recorder with a 1-terabyte hard  disk drive (HDD), the world's largest storage capacity on any  Blu-ray recorder, as it competes with the HD DVD camp. Sharp,  along with Sony Corp  and Panasonic maker Matsushita  Electric Industrial Co , promotes Blu-ray optical disc  technology, while Toshiba Corp  and Microsoft Corp   back the rival HD DVD format.
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LAS VEGAS - Hewlett-Packard Co. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (Panasonic) have agreed to support each other's favored rewritable DVD technologies in some of their respective products, they said Wednesday at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
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Toshiba will discontinue its HD DVD products, it said Tuesday, handing victory to rival high definition disc format Blu-ray Disc.The company will no longer develop, manufacture, and market HD DVD players and recorders.It will reduce shipments of HD DVD players and recorders to retail markets and aims to cease the businesses altogether by the end of March.But the Japanese electronics giant pledged to provide full product support and after-sales service for owners of Toshiba HD DVD products.Recent changes in the market prompted the decision, Toshiba said. Early this year,&#160;Warner Bros. said it would stop issuing movies on HD DVD&#160;in the coming months and rely exclusively on Blu-ray Disc. The Hollywood studio was one of three major studios remaining in the HD DVD camp, and its defection created widespread belief that the battle between HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc was now over.More recently, major U.S. retail chain&#160;Wal-Mart announced it would phase out the sale of HD DVD products, moving to exclusivity with Blu-ray Disc. Electronics retailer Best Buy also said it would back Blu-ray Disc, but it did not say it would stop offering HD DVD.Warner made its decision based on consumer confusion and indifference to high definition movies, an indifference that cost Hollywood in lost revenue, it said. Wal-Mart said U.S. customers preferred Blu-ray Disc movies and hardware. Blu-ray Disc is the high definition disc format championed by Sony.&quot;This once again shows why incompatible and mutually exclusive formats should be avoided at all cost by the industry,&quot; said Carl Gressum, a senior analyst at Ovum. &quot;It reduces profitability and delays customer adoption.&quot;&quot;The big question is, however, the impacts on Toshiba as an electronics company,&quot; he added. &quot;It has after all bet its disc media business on HD DVD, as well as gone for HD DVD integration into some of its laptop PCs. The channel has inventory to clear, and demands from owners of HD DVD players.&quot;Toshiba said its decision came after careful analysis of the long-term impact of continuing the format war, and said a swift decision was called for to help the high definition market develop.The company also pledged to remain a player in the high definition market. Developing HD DVD created many assets for Toshiba and its partners, which include Microsoft, Intel, HP, and Universal Studios, the company said. Toshiba plans to work with these companies to seek future business opportunities.&#160;&#160;