'Digital Video Essentials' Gets a New Date... For Now

After a series of last-minute street date delays, A/V guru Joe Kane's highly-anticipated HD DVD version of 'Digital Video Essentials' finally has a new street date... at least for now.

This first-ever next-gen version of Kane's seminal collection of home theater test patterns and calibration tools, the HD DVD edition of 'Essentials' was originally given a street date of November 14. It was then pushed back to December 5 only a few weeks before its release. Shortly after that, it was bumped yet again, with no new date in sight.

Now, amid much anticipation from high-end early adopters, the HD DVD 'Essentials' is at last back on the release schedule for February 27. Specs, features and the $34.95 list price remain unchanged. (A Blu-ray version has yet to be announced.)

Though such production delays are always frustrating, we have to admire Kane's long-standing dedication to perfection -- the standard-def DVD version of 'Essentials' was reportedly delayed for over a year. We're already barricading ourselves against further disappointment by working a bit of voodoo finger-crossing here at High-Def Digest to prevent any further postponements. Let's hope it works...

You can find full specs for 'Digital Video Essentials: HD DVD' in our HD DVD Release Schedule under Feb 27.