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Microsoft and Tesco Partner for Virtual DVDs

Fri Sep 11, 2009 at 01:00 PM ET
Tags: Microsoft (all tags)

Adding a dose of content to digital copies.

Digitally delivered movies have long been a bit lacking, especially for film buffs. While video quality is getting better, DVD and Blu-ray discs have always had the advantage of extra content. Those looking for audio commentary, deleted scenes, featurettes and the like have had no choice but to go with a hard copy. A recent effort by Microsoft and UK retail giant Tesco aims to change that.

Starting this August, Tesco will be allowing customers to purchase digital copies of certain movies for playback on Windows based or Apple computers that will meet DVDs feature for feature. Additionally, extra network connected BD-Live style features such as viewing parties and auto-updating trailers will be featured in these “virtual DVD” copies.

Rob Salter, director of entertainment at Tesco spoke highly of virtual DVDs. “For the first time, consumers will be able to enjoy a DVD equivalent experience with digital movies.” He also added that he sees a bright future for the new delivery method. “This is just the beginning. In the future we expect to offer our customers innovative digital solutions that far exceed the DVD experience.”

Source: Microsoft

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Windows 7 Adds Dolby Digital Plus Support

Thu Aug 20, 2009 at 03:00 PM ET
Tags: Microsoft (all tags)

Dolby announced recently that Microsoft will add support for Dolby Digital Plus to its Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate editions of Windows 7.

“A solid media experience is a critical part of [the] computing experience” stated Mike Nash, VP of Windows Product Management at Microsoft in a recent press release. “We are delighted to be working with Dolby Laboratories, the leaders in high-quality audio and surround sound, to provide Dolby Digital Plus to our mutual customers.”

Supporting Dolby Digital Plus is a strong step forward for Windows 7, and certainly not the last announcement that will be coming out of Microsoft, who seem to be interested in becoming a part of your home theater now more than ever.

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Official Zune Specs Outlined by Microsoft

Tue Aug 18, 2009 at 10:00 AM ET
Tags: Microsoft (all tags)

Recent leaks involving the Zune HD have provoked a huge amount of misinformation about the device, spurring Microsoft to correct it by delivering the full Zune specs.

For a mobile device, it’s pretty impressive. The 32GB Zune HD will hold up to ten hours of high definition video, or 48 hours of Zune optimized video, and sport a battery life that offers 8.5 hours of video playback on one charge.

While the 480x272 display isn’t going to send any videophile into frenzy, the Zune’s ability to output HD video at a respectable quality makes this a good piece of hardware to have around. With the addition of a docking station, the Zune HD will be capable of outputting HD 720p video at 30fps with a peak bit rate of 14Mbps. The docking station will also output optical digital audio.

It’s not Blu-ray quality by any means, but it will enable a fairly robust playback of high definition content from an incredibly portable device. Taking a Blu-ray player traveling, even a portable one, may be a bit prohibitive, but the Zune HD will provide HD playback capabilities anywhere it can plug in.

Of course, the Zune HD does audio too, boasting a 33 hour battery life for audio and a ridiculous amount of space to hold music as well as an FM and HD Radio tuner. Official specs are available in PDF form here.

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Zune HD Priced and Dated by Amazon

Wed Aug 12, 2009 at 01:30 PM ET
Tags: Microsoft, Amazon (all tags)

The 16GB and 32GB models come in cheaper than the iPod touch.

Though it appears to be down now, yesterday Amazon launched a product page for the Zune HD detailing not only pricing, but a release date for the highly anticipated portable video and music device. Seen as a strong competitor to the iPod Touch, the Zune HD is priced appropriately.

The 16GB model, the smaller of the two will sell at a price of $219.99, roughly $45 cheaper than the equivalent sized iPod Touch on Amazon. The 32GB player looks to sell at $289.99, a full $80 cheaper than the 32GB iPod Touch on Amazon, and $110 cheaper than buying the Touch directly from Apple.

Certainly Apple will have a retort in the coming months, but with the Zune capable of 720p video output and access to high def content via the Zune marketplace, Apple may have some work ahead of them.


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Microsoft Silverlight 3 Promises Simpler, Faster, and Better High Def Streaming

Mon Jul 13, 2009 at 11:30 AM ET
Tags: HD Streaming, Microsoft, Industry Trends (all tags)

And a boost for online video providers, finally able to offer true 720p

Microsoft unleashed the full version of Silverlight 3, the most recent edition of their Flash like application, on July 9th, and the internet is abuzz with the possibilities. Before we get into the nitty gritty of the exciting niche applications, here’s the big news: full 720p playback. Sure it’s almost certainly at a bit rate far below that of Blu-ray and almost certainly behind most TV channels, but it’s a good start.

Users will have a much more fluid experience with the aptly named “Smooth Streaming”, which will act to ensure an absence of stutters and loading times by making smart use of buffering. Also exciting are the possibilities of using Silverlight outside of the browser. Having a Netflix application for example, rather than logging on to a website, could be a very big deal in the future.

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Microsoft: “We’ll support Blu-ray”

Fri Mar 07, 2008 at 03:00 PM ET
Tags: Microsoft (all tags)

Amid rumors that Microsoft is in talks to add Blu-ray support to its Xbox 360 game console, CEO Steve Ballmer has indicated the company’s intention to support the remaining high-def format.

As reported by The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer took part in an onstage conversation at the company’s Mix08 Internet conference in Las Vegas Thursday, where the topics discussed included Microsoft’s high-def plans following the discontinuation of Toshiba’s HD DVD format.

Without offering specifics, Ballmer said the company will work to support Blu-ray.

“We've already been working on, for example, in Windows, device driver support for Blu-ray drives and the like,” Ballmer stated. “I think the world moves on. Toshiba has moved on. We've moved on, and we'll support Blu-ray in ways that make sense.”

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Related links:
Ballmer lets out his inner Monkey at Mix08 event [Seattle PI]

Microsoft Bids Farewell to HD DVD

Tue Feb 26, 2008 at 08:00 AM ET
Tags: Microsoft, Xbox 360 (all tags)

To the surprise of no one, Microsoft officially announced Monday that it would withdraw from HD DVD, ceasing production of its Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on, effective immediately.

One of the format's key technology backers, Microsoft played a leading role in evangelizing HD DVD to the early adopter community from the format's earliest days. It also famously launched the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on in late 2006 in an effort to help combat Sony's Blu-ray enabled PS3.

In a statement issued Monday, the software giant said it would continue to provide standard product and warranty support for all Xbox 360 HD DVD Players in the market. The company also dropped the MSRP on its remaining stock to a record-low of $49.99.

The full text of Microsoft's statement follows below:

As a result of recent decisions made by Toshiba, Hollywood studios, and retailers, Microsoft plans to withdraw from HD DVD. Xbox will no longer manufacture new HD DVD players for the Xbox 360, but we will continue to provide standard product and warranty support for all Xbox 360 HD DVD Players in the market. As we stated earlier, we do not believe this decision will have any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the marketplace. HD DVD is one of the several ways we offer a high definition experience to consumers and we will continue to give consumers the choice to enjoy digital distribution of high definition movies and TV shows directly to their living room, along with playback of the DVD movies they already own.

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Related links:
Xbox 360 HD DVD Player [Xbox.com]

Microsoft Addresses HD DVD Reports

Mon Feb 18, 2008 at 08:41 PM ET
Tags: Microsoft, Toshiba (all tags)

Responding to reports that Toshiba will soon discontinue the HD DVD format, Microsoft says such a move would not hurt sales of Xbox 360.

The company went on to say that it would wait to hear from Toshiba before discussing its plans for the Xbox 360 HD DVD player.

The full text of Microsoft's statement follows below:

"We do not believe the recent reports about HD DVD will have any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the marketplace. As we've long stated, we believe it is games that sell consoles and Xbox 360 continues to have the largest next-gen games library with the most exclusives and best selling games in the industry. We will wait until we hear from Toshiba before announcing any specific plans around the Xbox 360 HD DVD player. HD DVD is one of the several ways we offer a high definition experience to consumers and we will continue to give consumers the choice to enjoy digital distribution of high definition movies and TV shows directly to their living room along with playback of the DVD movies they already own."

The unusual statement from Microsoft (a company reknowned for not addressing rumors or speculation) would seem to be yet another indication that Toshiba is on the verge of conceding defeat to the Sony-backed Blu-ray format.

Toshiba has reportedly scheduled a press conference for 5pm Tuesday in Japan (that's midnight tonight Pacific Time). Needless to say, we'll keep you up to date on any developments.

See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.

Related links:
Microsoft Not Worried About HD DVD [Kotaku.com]
Earlier on High-Def Digest:
Toshiba: Still Backing HD DVD -- For Now (Feb 18, 2008)

Microsoft Drops Price for Xbox 360 HD DVD Add-On (UPDATED)

Wed Feb 06, 2008 at 01:18 PM ET
Tags: Microsoft, Xbox 360, High-Def Retailing, Amazon (all tags) UPDATE: (5:35pm ET, 2/06/08) FormatWarCentral points out that Best Buy is now offering the Xbox 360 HD DVD player for $119.

Playing catch-up with a series of price drops on HD DVD players from Toshiba, Microsoft has shaved another $50 off the MSRP for its Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on.

That brings the new suggested retail price on the Xbox 360 HD DVD player in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to $129.99. (As we've previously reported, last August Microsoft dropped the price on the player to $179.)

Today's price drop from Microsoft (which is already reflected on the official Xbox site) comes on the same day that Amazon briefly offered the add-on for a mere $79.99. The web retailer promptly sold out of units at that price, and is currently selling the add-on via one of its partners for $155.67.

Purchases of the Xbox 360 add-on include a free HD DVD copy of of 'King Kong' inside the box, and qualify for an additional five free discs by mail as part of the HD DVD camp's "Perfect Offer" program.

(Thanks to Michael P. for the tip!)

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Related links:
Xbox 360 HD DVD Player [Xbox.com]
Perfect Offer -- Five Free HD DVDs (PDF) [Xbox.com]
Amazon: $80 Xbox 360 HD DVD player with 6 free HD DVDs and shipping [Engadget]
Earlier on High-Def Digest:
Microsoft Reduces Xbox 360 HD DVD Player Price (Jul 26, 2007)

NPD: XBox 360 HD DVD Player Sales Hit 269K

Fri Dec 14, 2007 at 01:06 PM ET
Tags: Industry Trends, Microsoft, Xbox 360 (all tags)

Life-to-date sales of the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on hit 269,000 in November, representing a 3.4% attach rate to the 360 console itself.

That's according to leading market researcher NPD Group, which released its November video game sales data late Thursday.

The newly-released data would seem to lend further insight to earlier numbers released by the HD DVD Promotions Group, which reported total sales of all dedicated HD DVD players (including the Xbox 360 add-on) at 750,000 players through November 25. The earlier numbers did not break out sales of the add-on vs sales of standalone HD DVD player sales.

November saw steep inclines across the board in the video game market, with sales of software, hardware and peripherals growing by 52% over last year's numbers. Game accessories alone accounted for $243 million in revenue.

See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.

Related links:
NPD November Numbers [Gamesutra]
Earlier on High-Def Digest:
HD DVD Promo Group: HD DVD Player Sales Top 750,000 (Nov 27, 2007)


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