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Harman Founder Dies at 92 - Company Plans Commemorative Line[teaser]Harman was a businessman and a philanthropist, staying active all his life. [/teaser] At a certain age, most people start to kick back and take things easy, but that wasn't in the cards for Sidney Harman, founder of Harman Kardon. He worked well into his retirement years, not officially retiring until the age of 88. After his retirement he took a position at the University of Southern California as a polymath professor. Not long after that, he purchased Newsweek and helped to bring it back into relevance if not yet into financial success. Harman has announced that they'll be celebrating the man with a limited-edition commemorative product line. They'll also be presenting scholarships. No specific details have yet been announced for either. Source: TWICEPosted Mon May 2, 2011 at 11:00 AM PDT by: -
Panasonic Will Lay Off 17,000 and Cut Costs on Panels[teaser]The company is doing a bit of restructuring in order to keep profits high. [/teaser] Panasonic may have made a tidy profit of 74 billion yen this year, but considering their loss of 103.5 billion last year, they're not taking any chances. The company is restructuring and cutting costs across the board. Unfortunately, some of those cuts are coming in the form of layoffs. The company will scale back from 366,937 employees to 350,000 by this time in 2013. Panasonic will be purchasing more LCD panels from other manufacturers and move one of its Japan based production lines to China to save on costs. Panasonic says that the biggest sales decrease was in mobile phones and digital cameras, with Blu-ray recorders doing favorably. Panasonic also commented on the disaster in Japan, stating "Panasonic continues to extend a helping hand to the people in the affected region, and at the same time, it is accelerating its efforts to restore its operations to normal state and prepare itself for future disaster risks." Source: TWICEPosted Mon May 2, 2011 at 10:00 AM PDT by: -
Redbox Kiosks Start Renting Games in June[teaser]On June 17th, gamers will be able to pick up titles at kiosks for $2 a night. [/teaser] This might not come as a surprise, but Redbox is doing well. The DVD rental kiosks have expanded to Blu-ray and are now expanding even further - to videogames. Redbox says that over 21,000 locations will offer videogames at a price of $2 a night. This is after a successful test that began in late 2009 and will add to the $1 DVDs and $1.50 Blu-rays currently offered at Redbox Kiosks. "With more than 21,000 redbox locations slated to feature video game rentals alongside movies this June," says company president Mitch Lowe, "redbox will be the one-stop shop for entertainment." Source: JoystiqPosted Mon May 2, 2011 at 09:00 AM PDT by: -
'B.B. King Live' Dated and Detailed for Blu-ray[teaser]The undisputed King of the Blues returns to Blu-ray this July. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Image Entertainment has lined up 'B.B. King Live' for Blu-ray on July 12. The man needs no introduction. Truly the reigning king of blues, over the last 60 years B.B. King has developed one of the world's most identifiable guitar styles and has influenced thousands of musicians. Known for integrating precise and complex string bends with left hand vibrato, King has a uniquely regal and velvety tone making every note count. With trademark Gibson “Lucille” settled on his lap, B.B. King presents a concert filled with staggering guitar jams on hits like “The Thrill Is Gone” and “Downhearted.” In between songs, King’s characteristic affable persona shines through as he introduces the band he’s always toured with and shares stories from his life. Throughout the show special guests Terrence Howard, Solange, and guitarist Richie Sambora stop by to jam and pay tribute to this renowned blues master. Don’t miss legend B.B. King performing in his element in this amazing concert! Song List: Everyday I Have the Blues, See That My Grave Is Kept Clean , How Many More Years, Downhearted, I Need You So, I Got Some Help I Don’t Need, Thrill is Gone, Nobody Loves Me But My Mother, Let the Good Times Roll, Thrill is Gone, When The Saints Go Marching In, Key to the Highway. The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and there doesn't appear to be any supplements. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray will be $17.97. You can find the latest specs for 'B.B. King Live' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it is indexed under July 12.Posted Mon May 2, 2011 at 08:00 AM PDT by: -
Logitech's Fourth Quarter Results Disappoint - Revue Price Drop Coming[teaser]Logitech didn't do great this year, and poor sales of the Revue didn't help. [/teaser] Things haven't been going well for Logitech. Despite creating their own Google TV device - a move that seemed like a surefire win - the company was unable to capitalize. The Revue brought in just $5 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. That's down significantly from the $22 million in sales in the third quarter and nowhere near the $18 million that Logitech expected. That doesn't mean they're backing away. If the Google TV platform is able to be revamped into a more attractive prospect for consumers, the Revue is still a solid device. They are dropping the price though, from $299 to $249. Source: EngadgetPosted Mon May 2, 2011 at 07:30 AM PDT by: -
Sony Addresses Outage - Services Will Return When Secure[teaser]Sony says it could be as soon as a week from now, but stresses that security is the main concern. [/teaser] The folks at Sony have a disaster on their hands. Their network has been down for over a week, and user information of every single PlayStation Network user has been compromised. It's about as bad as things can get and Sony is doing what they can to handle it. They released more information today to update people as to what's been going on. They stress that they're working with law enforcement to find those responsible. They've also stressed that they're going to be working with outside security groups to better protect their system in the future. In terms of the service coming back up, Sony says that they expect to have at least some things back up and running next week. They're not giving a specific date though, since security is the number one priority. "We want to be very clear," says Sony's official blog, "that we will only restore operations when we are confident that the network is secure." Source: Official PlayStation BlogPosted Mon May 2, 2011 at 07:00 AM PDT by: -
'Sands of the Kalahari' Announced for Blu-ray[teaser]The 1965 adventure will crash onto Blu-ray this August. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Olive Films has revealed 'Sands of the Kalahari' will be available on Blu-ray on August 2. Directed and co-written by Cy Endfield, the movie’s cast includes Stuart Whitman ('The Longest Day') as a businessman and big-game hunter, Stanley Baker ('The Guns of Navarone') as a chain-smoking and alcoholic mining engineer, Susannah York ('Superman') as a beautiful young divorcee, Nigel Davenport ('Zulu Dawn') as the plane’s captain and Theodore Bikel ('The African Queen') as a doctor. Specs and supplements have yet to be revealed, but suggested list price for the Blu-ray will be $29.95. You can find the latest specs for 'Sands of the Kalahari' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under August 2.Posted Mon May 2, 2011 at 06:00 AM PDT by: -
'Hall Pass' Blu-ray Announced and Detailed[teaser]The latest R-rated comedy from the Farrelly Brothers will pass onto Blu-ray this June. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Warner Brothers has revealed 'Hall Pass' will hit Blu-ray on June 14. The film raked in nearly $45 million in the U.S. and stars Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, and Christina Applegate. The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and supplements include deleted scenes and a Blu-ray exclusive gag reel. The release will also be available in an Enlarged Edition which will add a DVD and digital copy. Suggested list price for the Blu-rays is $29.98 and $35.99. You can find the latest specs for 'Hall Pass' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it is indexed under June 14.Posted Mon May 2, 2011 at 05:30 AM PDT by: -
HDD Deal of the Week: 'Gone with the Wind: 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition' Blu-ray $27.99 at Amazon[teaser]Victor Fleming's timeless classic on Blu-ray is the featured bargain this week at Amazon! [/teaser] Amazon is selling 'Gone with the Wind: 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition' starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh for $27.99 (57% off suggested list price). This lavish 4-disc individually numbered (limited to 150,000) box set comes with a commemorative hardcover book, reproduced archival correspondence, a reproduction of the movie's original 1939 program, and more all housed inside a fancy velvet gift box for the ultimate collector. Click here to order one of the greatest films of all time in this must-own Blu-ray collection!Posted Sun May 1, 2011 at 02:10 PM PDT by: -
The Bonus View Digest - April 29, 2011[teaser]Now that it's been over a year since High-Def Digest started its own blog, The Bonus View, we thought it a good idea to keep people up to date about everything going on there. Each week we post a High-Def Digest-Digest so you can have an easily navigated way of accessing all the cool stuff we've been up to at HDD for the past week. Here on The Bonus View Digest we'll be highlighting some of the fantastic posts of the last week so you can see what you're missing out on if you're not checking out The Bonus View on a daily basis.[/teaser] Since March we've been having a movie character tournament, where we started out with 64 famous movie characters. It's a tournament style format with characters going head-to-head in battles to the death. Readers decide through voting who they want to continue on and who they want to leave lying there bleeding and broken. We've almost finished up with the second round, so here's some of the match-ups you may have missed. Batman vs. The Joker – Dutch vs. Inigo Montoya John McClane vs. Col. Hans Landa – Paul Kersey vs. Hannibal Lecter Judge Doom vs. Maximus – Harry Callahan vs. The Terminator The Bonus View is also a perfect place to get all the information you'll need about theatrical releases. Yes, we even cover what's happening in the cinemas. Today's movies are tomorrow's Blu-rays! New writer Luke Hickman asks "Since When Are Movies Known for Their FX Teams?" Giving us the insider information on why the new movie 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' is touting WETA Digital during their trailer. In a couple other Hollywood news stories Luke tells us the new 'Bourne' movie won't star Jason Bourne, and what we can expect from the sequel to 'Piranha 3D' That's not all we cover at The Bonus View, though. We've even got weekly recaps of your favorite TV shows. Shows like 'Game of Thrones', 'Modern Family', 'Fringe', 'Chuck', 'Justified', 'The Killing', and NBC's Thursday night lineup are all covered in great detail every week giving you a place to voice your opinions about each and every, episode. Finally we have pithy editorials that cover every aspect of the HD universe. From video games to the latest HD equipment, The Bonus View has you covered. We heard from Dick Ward when he lamented video games being unfairly blamed for violence in our society. We learned about the Playstation Network being hacked and brought down without any explanation of how long the downtime will last. I didn't even cover the fun that we have with our Mid-week Polls on all sorts of HD topics, our Weekend Roundtables where The Bonus View writers sit around discussing different movie-related topics, and that we have a Weekend Movies recap so you know what's happening with your favorite movies in the theaters. So, please join us over on The Bonus View, you won't be disappointed.Posted Fri Apr 29, 2011 at 03:00 PM PDT by:
