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Blu-ray has a shelf life of 5 years says Samsung

We all love having the latest technology but if you want to experience the Blu-ray format we suggest you get to the shops pronto, Samsung have said that they believe that within 5 years the Blu-ray format will be replaced by a different technology.

Andy Griffiths, Director of Consumer Electronics at Samsung UK told Pocket-lint in an interview that “I think it (Blu-ray) has 5 years left, I certainly wouldn’t give it 10″. He also went onto say that he thinks 2008 is Blu-rays year and that they have a huge back order at the moment.

You can purchase Blu-ray films on sites like LoveFilms, plus you can now buy Blu-ray players much cheaper than before due to the head to head fight with HD DVD players.

Although, there seems to be a new technology that Samsung are getting excited about and that is OLED, The new technology which is ready to rock is on a back burner due to high manufacturing costs. It’s said that once the OLED is at an appealing price for the consumer it will be launched, but they don’t expect this for some time.

Source: pocket-lint

Toshiba’s HD-DVD Revenge: XDE DVD player, XD-E500 1080p

It was both painful and expensive for Toshiba when their HD-DVD format lost to Sony’s Blu-ray, but it looks like there is some HD-DVD revenge on the way.

Toshiba is launching its new upscaling technology called XDE; this stands for eXtended Detail Enhancement. Toshiba’s first product using this technology is a DVD player named “XD-E500 1080p/24fps”.

XDE promises to make your ordinary DVD’s look similar to Blu-rays thanks to some new upscaling technology. While Blu-ray has not made the public dump their DVDs yet, Toshiba wants you to keep your current DVD collection.

The XD-E500 DVD player will upscale your DVD video to 1080p, and it will also play many file formats including: JPEG, MP3 and DivX.

If Toshiba’s new XDE technology takes off then it cause a major blow to Sony’s Blu-ray, why would you want to buy more expensive Blu-rays when you can watch your large collection of DVDs in high definition?

The XD-E500 will be available this month for $149.99, we do not have a UK release date yet or price but will update you when its released. We are also hearing that televisions with “eXtended Detail Enhancement” may be on the way as well.

Source: Read

The death of HD DVD continues, renaming players to clear shelves to combat format fallout

What will they do next when it comes to the format war fallout? Well it is clearly shown by the links below and the source links as well that in an attempt to clear the Read more

It is starting: Toshiba HD-A3 HD DVD drops to $99 with 7 free HD DVDs

We all like deals of course we do, but this one is special. We have been talking about format wars for quite a long time now with Blu-ray becoming the winners all round and Read more

The Most Successful: Toshiba HD DVD or Betamax

Toshiba’s HD DVD was launched in 2006 and early 2008 they have said they will stop making HD DVD’s and the players, that’s a defeat in less than 2 years, which shows Sony’s Blu-ray crushed HD DVD. Although Sony’s other format (Betamax) got beaten in the last format war between VHS and Betamax, although I would say Betamax was much more successful compared to HD DVD.

HD DVD lasted under two years before defeat, while Betamax launched 1975 and by 1980, it had 30% of the North American market and 25% of the UK market Read more

Toshiba release new firmware update for HD DVD players

Toshiba have just recently released their new firmware update for a few of their HD DVD players which include the A3, D3, A30 and A35 which have basically migrated from Read more

Rise in Sales of HD DVD in the US

It looks as if the sales of HD DVD hardware is now making a recovery in the States, a dip in sales appeared when Warner Bros said that they were going to ditch the format.

At the week ending 19th January the players sales came in at Read more

Samsung DB-UP5000: $799 Dual Format Player with Blu-ray & HD DVD

So with the High definition format war well on the way, which do you choose? Well I have the answer for you…why not have both Blu-ray and HD DVD.

That’s right, with the Samsung DB-UP5000 you get a dual format player Read more

UK Launch Feature Packed Venturer SHD7001 HD DVD Player

The $200 bargain HD DVD player is now coming to the UK, the feature packed Venturer SHD7001 will be priced at around £199, not as cheap as the US one but still a great deal Read more

$500 lost on every $99 HD DVD Player

Lots of you have heard about those $99 HD DVD players that were being sold for a moment at Walmart and Best Buy.

You’re probably smart enough to realize that Toshiba isn’t making much scratch on these things, but for reference, the first HD-A1 HD DVD player, cost Read more

Toshiba Vardia RD-A301: record high-definition HD DVD content to DVDs

Is this Toshiba Vardia RD-A301 what you’ve been waiting for?

Well here it is. Toshiba have just announced their new Vardia RD-A301 recorder.

This recorder conforms to the HD Rec extension which Read more

Wal-Mart, Ultimate Electronics, Bjorn: not stocking Venturer SHD7000 HD DVD player

The Venturer SHD7000 HD DVD player is the “cheapest standalone high-definition format player” and priced at $199.

Sadly it’s got a fight on its hands as although it’s the cheapest, the major American retailers (including Wal-Mart, Ultimate Electronics and Bjorn’s) do not want commit to stocking the HD-DVD player Read more

Helios H2000 multi format DVD player for only $99 next month

Helios is becoming a very popular name and last year seemed to be going well for the H4000 DVD player, but now they have a new boy in town which is the very cheaply priced Helios H2000 multi format DVD player for only Read more

Denon Blu-ray player & receiver concept: 2030 is here

Concepts always leave you with your mouth open wide and this concept is no exception for wide open mouths, this is the Denon Blu-ray player and receiver concept that looks so futuristic we thought that Read more

Toshiba HD DVD Player for ONLY $99 with FREE Movies

Now get this, please be seated for this one. A HD DVD player (and yes we said HD DVD) for only $99 and that is not all, you also get 3 FREE movies with it as well, this is part of Home Media Expo promotion. Toshiba released this to Read more

Sharp SD HX500: Flat Panel Home Theater System

When looking for a digital flat panel home theater system most people will first shop based on budget and not on what they really want, this is the Sharp SD HX500 which will set you back around the $600 mark, which is not bad for the features Read more

Pioneer LX01: new all-in-one home theater system

I love to see new technology in the home theater product line, but when it’s a new home theater system that is built like a tank it’s the biggest let down ever.
Now this product is the Pioneer LX01 which is a home theater system with DESIGN in mind and that’s perfect for consumers that love electronics with style.

If you love silver kit in your entertainment room then you best walk away now as the Pioneer LX01 has a stunning all-black glossy finish Read more

Under $300 Get the DVD player, the Amp, and the Surround Speakers

These days it does not take much money to get a complete home theater experience as for under $300 you can get the DVD player, amp and Surround Speakers.
Home-theater-in-a-box packages have a big appeal to many that love the all-in-one simplicity, but then you must always remember you get what you pay for so you will not get the same experience as a more expensive separates-based system.

The Philips HTS6500 is one such device that is rated highly by many people who have brought it and comes in at under $300 from Circuit City

N-Vi CD/DVD Player Processor/Amplifier

This is a high-end hi-fi system that combines home theatre, DVD player, audio pre-amp and 5 channel power amplifier (everything you need in one box).
The n-Vi delivers true to life music and video in the home, currently you also have an optional Read more

Toshiba HD-DVD Player

The Toshiba’s HD-DVD player will first appear in Japan as most new tech does these days and then followed by the US hardware launch which many people in the UK and Europe will get people in those countries going to import sites and a lot of people cannot wait.
Who will win the battle to succeed the popular DVD format, will it be Blu-ray or will it be HD-DVD, only time will tell but Toshiba hope this HD-DVD player will help them on there way to success.
The unit will have an HDMI output, but other than that we do not know much more information, if anyone has news please let us all know.