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Netgear Unveils a Pair of HD Digital Media Players[teaser]Both handle digital media, but only the Neo TV 550 works with external Blu-ray drives. [/teaser] Digital media players, streamers, netboxes – whatever you call them they're here in a big way. The latest from Netgear are starting to blur the line between netbox and Blu-ray player by adding support for external drives. Both the Neo TV 350 and Neo TV 550 are capable of playing just about every file you can throw at them, whether it's coming from a USB storage device, SD card or from your network. They'll play back files in 1080p and with 7.1 channel surround. The Neo TV 550 takes things a step further by adding support for eSATA connectivity – allowing for the attachment of external Blu-ray drives. Unexpectedly, the Neo TV 550 not only supports playback of Blu-ray discs through external drives, but offers BD Live functionality to boot. Netgear's Neo TV 550 has an MSRP of $219, while the 350 hasn't been priced yet. Slash GearPosted Mon Aug 30, 2010 at 09:00 AM PDT by: -
'Sherlock: Season One' Announced for Blu-ray[teaser]The first season of the BBC mystery series is headed for Blu-ray this November. [/teaser] Warner Brothers/BBC has just announced 'Sherlock: Season One' for a Blu-ray release on November 9. The TV series is a modern take on the classic Arthur Conan Doyle stories and stars BAFTA-nominee Benedict Cumberbatch ('Hawking, 'Amazing Race') as the title hero and Martin Freeman ('The Office,' 'Love Actually') as Dr. John Watson. The release will be presented in 1080p, with a Dolby Digital Stereo soundtrack, and supplements include: Audio commentaries, making-of featurette, and Pilot episode. Suggested list price for the 2-disc Blu-ray set is $39.99. You can find the latest specs for 'Sherlock: Season One' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under November 9.Posted Mon Aug 30, 2010 at 08:00 AM PDT by: -
Polk Intros the LSiM Flagship Speaker Line[teaser]There's a total of six new models, including floorstanding, center channel, bookshelf, and surround. [/teaser] Polk is one of those companies that does sound really well while keeping costs from getting to the point of ridiculousness. The new flagship LSiM line is a great example of that. It's high-end, but it's still pretty affordable. The big boys of the LSiM line are the $1,999 707 and the $1,499 705 floorstanding speakers. They're 4-way tower models that incorporate transducers packing Polk's Dynamic Balance design technology. Both feature 3.25 inch drivers and one inch tweeters, but the 707 adds a 6.5 inch mid-woofer driver to the mix. Polk's new center channels offer some of the same tech as the floorstanding speakers. The LSiM 706c, which comes in at $1,099, uses the same AIR ring tweeter, and same 3.5 inch driver. It also packs a pair of 6.5 inch mid-bass drivers, unlike the LSiM 704c which only packs 5.25 inches. You'll have a bit of a wait if you want to pick up Polk's new speakers though, as they won't be available until the beginning of 2011. Source: eCousticsPosted Mon Aug 30, 2010 at 07:00 AM PDT by: -
'Score: Uncut & Uncensored' Announced for Blu-ray[teaser]An uncensored version of the adult comedy is coming to high-definition this October. [/teaser] As previously reported, independent company Cult Epics has announced their first Blu-ray release will be Radley Metzger's 'Score' starring Claire Wilbur, Calvin Culver, Lynn Lowry, and Gerald Grant on October 26. But on October 12, it seems 'Score: Uncut & Uncensored' will also be available with what appears to be five additional minutes of footage. The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and supplements will include: Audio commentary with Michael Bowen and Radley Metzger; On the set of The Score – A 25 minute featurette with Claire Wilbur, Lynn Lowry, Cal Culver and Radley Metzger; Keeping Score with Lynn Lowry – A 20 minute new interview; and Trailers. Suggested list price for each Blu-ray is $34.95. You can find the latest specs for both versions of 'Score' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where they're indexed under October 12 and 26.Posted Mon Aug 30, 2010 at 06:00 AM PDT by: -
HD Advisor A.D. 1972Editor's Note: Each Friday, High-Def Digest's own HD Advisor will answer a new round of questions from our readers. If you have home theater questions you need answered, send an email to [email protected]. If you've already sent a question and don't see it answered yet, please be patient as we work our way through them. To browse through previously answered questions, visit the main HD Advisor page. Answers by Joshua Zyber Is 1080i on Blu-ray Really Inferior to 1080p? Q: Since an interlaced signal is automatically turned to progressive when it reaches your LCD/Plasma, why is it frowned upon when a Blu-ray is released in 1080i? Won't the outcome be the same? If I remember correctly, 'Terminator 3' was recalled and re-issued in 1080p after an initial 1080i release. A: You are correct that any signal you feed into a 1080p HDTV will be deinterlaced and/or scaled to match the TV's native 1080p resolution. Also, many Blu-ray players can do this processing at that stage if desired. However, there are a couple of big advantages to having a movie authored as native 1080p on a disc rather than as 1080i. First off, when a 1080i signal is deinterlaced to 1080p, you have to rely on the deinterlacing hardware in either the Blu-ray player or the TV (whichever you choose) to correctly re-assemble the original film frames. Some processing chips are better at this than others. If performed correctly, the result should be seamless to your eye. If performed incorrectly, this can lead to jaggies in the picture and a loss of detail. This seems like a needless chance to take when the Blu-ray format is perfectly capable of transmitting the original 1080p frames without interlacing or deinterlacing. The least processing generally results in the purest signal. In addition to this, discs authored at 1080p resolution are also (by requirement of the Blu-ray spec) stored on the disc at the original photographic capture rate of 24 frames per second. Assuming that your Blu-ray player and HDTV are compatible with 24 fps transmission and display, you'll be able to watch the movie at that rate without the judder artifacts associated with 3:2 Pulldown. On the other hand, discs authored as 1080i must be stored at 60 Hz, and have 3:2 Pulldown forcibly applied. For more information on this, see my earlier What's the Big Deal About 1080p24? article. While it's possible to remove 3:2 Pulldown after-the-fact, this usually requires an expensive external video processor. Many modern TVs can display a 24 fps signal at that rate (or an even multiple) if fed one, but few will convert 60 Hz to 24 fps. In my experience, conversion from 60 Hz to 24 fps is very easy to trip up if there are any bad edit points in the video, and that can cause tremendously distracting tearing artifacts on screen that can only be corrected by pausing the movie momentarily and restarting. Who wants to deal with that? Bass Management Q: Like a lot of people, I've set-up my system with low frequency signals from my main speakers redirected to the LFE channel. Mine is crossed over at 80 Hz. That is great and certainly sounds good with less stress on the main speakers. However, I was wondering what happens if, for example, there is a 40 Hz signal coming from the main speaker channels and a 20 Hz signal from the LFE channel at the same time? What is produced by the subwoofer? Is it somewhere in the middle, say 30 Hz? Or can the sub produce both frequencies at the same time? You can imagine it would get tricky if there is below 80 Hz info being produced from all channels? What gets re-produced? Is it better to put a Sub on each channel through speaker wiring and then leave the LFE channel untouched? A: When you use bass management to redirect low frequency audio to your subwoofer, all frequencies below the cutoff you've selected will be combined together with any signal encoded in the LFE channel and sent to the sub together. The subwoofer does not average out these values. It will reproduce as much of the range as it can, depending on its size and capabilities. (Small subwoofers just can't hit the lowest of low notes. You need a large vibrating speaker surface for that.) As for whether it's better to send everything to one subwoofer or to wire separate subs out from each main speaker channel, in most cases you're more likely to achieve better results with just one subwoofer. Because bass in non-directional, you should not lose any of the effect of the bass by having it all come from one point in your room. If you set up multiple subs all around you, you wouldn't be able to tell where the bass was coming from anyway. Even more importantly, producing low frequency bass from multiple directions can very easily have the negative side effect of causing the bass signals to cancel each other out, which will leave you with a very muddy low-end in the soundstage. This is exactly the opposite of what you want. It's possible to set up multiple subwoofers correctly without having this problem, but it's very difficult and not usually worth the effort in most home theaters. A single, high-quality subwoofer should produce cleaner, crisper, more defined low frequency audio. For example, suppose you're listening to classical music or a movie with an orchestral score. Ideally, you should be able to hear each and every cello note crisply and distinctly. What you don't want is a muddy block of low-end boom, which is all-too-common when using multiple subwoofers that are set up incorrectly. Update: The Advisor is willing to acknowledge that he's not all-knowing or infallible. Some of the recommendations in this column are open to debate or disagreement. After this article went live, reader Chase – a professional acoustic and home theater contractor – wrote in with the following: Chase: While every room and scenario are different, it is generally accepted among acousticians these days that multiple subwoofers are better than a single subwoofer for bass-managed systems. While it is true that you can configure multiple subwoofers in advanced systems with variable level and delay for each unit (requires advanced test gear to calibrate), it is also beneficial to set up simple, multi-subwoofer systems with all units receiving exactly the same signal. In fact, this sort of arrangement is sometimes the optimal solution for a room and can be easier to implement than a single subwoofer. This is especially true if you are trying to achieve smooth bass response for more than one seat. Single subwoofers are notoriously difficult to place for smooth response because they drive bass resonances asymmetrically, resulting in efficient pressurization of the resonances (a bad thing) unless the subwoofer is carefully placed in a node. Multi-subwoofer systems drive resonances symmetrically, canceling them out and restoring smooth bass with proper timing. If the low-pass filter portion of the crossover is set according to industry standards (typically 80 Hz with a 24dB/octave slope), localization of a single subwoofer or multi-subwoofer system should be at a minimum. I personally prefer to run the low-pass for LFE at 120 Hz, which results in much greater limitations on subwoofer placement (must be relatively near the screen). Fortunately, I have no aesthetic restrictions on my systems, so subwoofers can occupy the best possible acoustic locations at the front of the room. My recommendation for most people is still to stay with the 80 Hz/24dB/octave filter for everything. Like many things, multi-subwoofer setups can really be as simple or as complicated as you make them. For example, a straightforward four subwoofer layout for rectangular rooms might have one unit at the mid-point of each wall. You set all their volume controls to the same level and split the AVC/R's subwoofer output four ways. A similar but smaller configuration using only two subwoofers is almost as effective. These are only marginally more complicated to set up than a single subwoofer, yet vastly outperform it. On the other end of the spectrum, professional contractors can do custom acoustic modeling to predict optimal subwoofer locations and then employ sophisticated analyzers to tweak the level and delay/phase of each unit to achieve the smoothest frequency and time response possible. I personally recommend that everyone who cares about good sound try to implement a multi-subwoofer system, regardless of how simple or complex it may be. In my experience, the biggest obstacles that people face are expense and aesthetics. Four subwoofers is four times as expensive as one, and most people won't tolerate that many boxes out in the room. Still, multi-subwoofer setups remain one of the most effective ways to combat bass resonances, which overshadow all other bass problems in small rooms. When you consider that other solutions include bass absorption (rife with snake oil), flexible wall/floor/ceiling construction (expensive!), and electronic equalization (only marginally effective), multi-subwoofer systems don't look so bad! JZ: This is all very good and useful information. I'm still not 100% convinced that I would recommend this for the average home theater, though. I just think that this is very complicated, and there's quite a bit of risk that an inexperienced user is likely to get something wrong, which will result in a muddy soundstage and an overall worse audio experience. Those more knowledgeable and experienced in audio matters, or those who seek professional guidance, may find benefits in a multi-subwoofer arrangement as Chase describes, however. Homework Assignment: You Be the Advisor The HD Advisor knows many things, but he doesn't know everything. Some questions are best answered with a consensus of opinions from our readers. If you can help to answer the following question, please post your response in our forum thread linked at the end of this article. Your advice and opinions matter too! Dark Blue Stripe on Screen Q: I have a fat PS3 hooked up to an Onkyo TX-SR708 receiver via an HDMI 1.4 cable. The receiver is connected to a JVC 47" LCD TV via another HDMI 1.4 cable. The TV is three years-old and is 60 Hz. The problem is that sometimes I see a dark vertical stripe down the center of the picture. It appears most frequently when dark blue is the dominant color on the screen. For example, on the Blu-ray version of 'John Adams,' there is a scene where he's riding his horse near dusk or dawn in the snow. The screen is mostly dark blue. That's when I first noticed the vertical stripe. Playing 'Batman: Arkham Asylum' in "Detective Mode" has revealed another dark stripe. This one is horizontal along the top of the screen, about an inch from the top. Both stripes show up in this situation. I didn't see these stripes before I got the receiver and the HDMI 1.4 cables. How can I fix this? Is the TV's 60 Hz rate to blame? JZ: My first thought was that this could be a simple electrical ground loop problem. However, those usually manifest as horizontal bands that scroll from top to bottom through your picture. I've never heard of a ground loop causing a vertical stripe. And I don't know why the stripe would be blue. Just to be sure, disconnect any cable TV in your system and see if the issue goes away. If so, you just need a small doodad called a Ground Loop Breaker that shouldn't cost more than a couple dollars. Failing that (and there's a strong possibility I'm wrong here), I'll have to ask if any of our other readers have experienced anything like this. Check back soon for another round of answers. Keep those questions coming. Joshua Zyber's opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of this site, its owners or employees.Posted Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 11:15 AM PDT by: -
The Biggest Blu-ray Blunders, and Why They Have to Stop!Straight Talk with Nate Boss [teaser]Blu-ray has been on the market for over four years now, and the usual growing pains have mostly come and gone. Yet some studios are still making mistakes that simply should not happen, mistakes that are easy to correct, or avoid altogether. [/teaser] Here is a list of flat out blunders that studios commit, to show that no company has the perfect business model quite yet. Please note that player issues are not touched upon here, unless it is a problem caused by a spec on a disc itself. Player compatibility and playback issues are a whole other beast. Television support - Are you a fan of 'Burn Notice' 'Prison Break,' or 'How I Met Your Mother?' What about 'Rescue Me,' 'Nip/Tuck,' or 'Damages?' Surely, if you are, you picked up the releases of these shows when they hit Blu-ray, but then something happened. The next season appeared, and it was DVD only. Suddenly your collection is DVD, DVD, Blu-ray, DVD. That's pretty freaking hideous. That's the boat you're stuck in, and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. Poor sales have caused studios to axe certain television releases from the Blu-ray schedule, leaving single seasons of a show available, with none of their companion pieces. This doesn't exactly make consumers happy, studios. If you commit to putting a show on Blu-ray, you need to follow through. Who knows, maybe your MSRP was too high and you doomed your own release. Maybe you created a hideously ugly release ('Burn Notice: The Complete Second Season,' I'm lookin' at you!), or simply overestimated your target audience's interest in the show. Just remember one thing, studios: you released previous seasons on DVD, and now you're putting out a show, but not starting from the beginning. Consumers may be more interested in a purchase if you release the whole show up to that point (if possible). Has this problem been fixed? No. Fox and Sony have made some serious blunders in this regard by not even making announcements, leaving fans totally hanging. It seems only Universal is on the ball when it comes to television shows, bringing us each successive release, regardless of sales. I can't imagine the second, third, and fourth seasons of 'Heroes' sold all that well (especially considering ratings and word of mouth), but Universal still did fans a solid. Now they just have to go back and give us all of the previous seasons of 'The Office!' Early Fox/MGM catalog pricing - Lately, MGM and Fox have been one of the best studios in terms of pricing their catalog titles, with many topping out at 19.99, including DVD copies of the film. This may be an attempt to make good for the way early titles like 'Hoosiers' or 'Behind Enemy Lines' debuted with an MSRP of $39.99 (!), the standard price point for new releases from many studios, for years. This helped propagate the theory that upgrading to Blu-ray would be too damn expensive, and surely scared off some consumers in the format war years. Has this problem been fixed? Yes, amazingly so. Paramount says sayonara to Blu-ray - With every major studio releasing titles on Blu-ray these days, it's funny to look back and see those that held out for the longest time, with Universal single-handedly keeping a competitor format alive for a few years, and the Criterion Collection sitting out the format war altogether. Paramount struck possibly the only major blow to Blu-ray during these formative years, going from releasing on both formats to HD DVD only...until HD DVD folded. Released titles went out of print (with a few reaching insane price points...imagine spending $80 on 'Shooter,' or 'We Were Soldiers' nowadays), and even with Paramount back in the fold for some time now, they still haven't 100% caught up on titles they released on “the other format” (though they are damn, damn close). Has this problem been fixed? Almost. Missing Supplement packages - Film collectors often buy and re-buy titles, sometimes solely to get new, extensive extras. Some are amazingly deep, while others obviously are thrown together by a blind editor working in part with a publicist. DVD editions of films are often two or three discs, so that they can get the entire package of goodies to the customer, yet with Blu-ray, many times this extra content disappears, often so the studio can use a smaller (less expensive) disc. 'The Thing' and 'Man on Fire' are just two examples of when the studios decided to go it on the cheap, and MGM/Fox's recent wave of DVD/Blu-ray combo packs don't fix this issue. To listen to a commentary, one shouldn't have to put in the DVD. This is just getting rid of old stock, allowing them to skimp out on the Blu-ray editions, and sets a dangerous precedent moving forward. Imagine two generations from now, the same damn 1997 DVD being put in releases so we can see a damn theatrical trailer. One could also single out the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy in this issue, as they recycled old as hell DVDs for the second discs for each film, but since those discs are 100% extras, this isn't as major an issue. Has this issue been fixed? No, in fact, this is one matter that has gone from a minor nuisance to a major pain within the last year. Packing a DVD in a release for bonus value/portability is great, but it is not a way to not have to put extras on the Blu-ray. It's just tacky. A bonus DVD should be exactly that, not a portion of the release to be relied on to get the full experience. Early upconverts - Full disclosure is a great thing, particularly when throwing down the money for a complete series on Blu-ray, yet early FUNimation anime titles did not clearly indicate on the packaging if they were truly HD, or merely HD upconverts. Additionally, many of the early anime series releases were quite poor in video quality (and featured large discrepancies between audio quality between the native track and the dub mixes). Has this problem been fixed? Yes. FUNimation now labels their releases “Native HD” or “Upconvert” in the technical specs section of the packaging, and includes lossless mixes on both the English and Japanese mixes. Additionally, the upconverts seem to be improving dramatically in quality. BD-Live - Remember when DVD-rom compatibility was touted as such a great feature on DVD releases? The way BD-Live is going, it's already on the same path to obsolescence. There was a big to-do concerning player profiles, and compatibility by not having a finalized spec, but those who bought players that could “do it all” ended up getting a massive headache. Pre-menu load screens have doubled in many cases (with Universal releases sometimes having three load screens before a menu, which is utterly ridiculous), and the attempts to download trailers pre-menu have created massive issues with users not being able to play the movie they just bought/rented. Has this problem been fixed? A resounding no. In fact, this issue is only getting worse. It seems less than 5% of all releases with BD-Live have any film exclusive content (sharing bookmarks does not count, folks. No one gives a rat's ass about that), while “enhanced” tracks through BD-Live, like Sony's MovieIQ, are a real pain, and are nowhere near as entertaining as traditional trivia tracks. Every week consumers are having problems with their new releases, and more and more have to disconnect their player from the internet to even get to menus. Pre-menu trailers and menu issues - Don't you hate buying a release, then having to sit through, or manually skip, up to six trailers before you hit the menu? Isn't it great when they don't allow you to just skip them all with the touch of the top menu button? Fox gave way to James Cameron, and didn't put any trailers before 'Avatar,' but lately more and more garbage precedes the content we pay for. Additionally, Warner Brothers has received all kinds of hell for having their films play without prompting a menu, often defaulting to a lossy mix if both lossy and lossless were available (a problem that Alliance also perpetuates to this day). Now, they've gone in the exact opposite direction: tons of pre-menu trailers, but no auto-play (thankfully), and a lossless default. Instead of giving consumers what they want, one set of problems was traded for another. Has this problem been fixed? No. It's only getting worse. A single pre-menu trailer with no “top menu” skipping isn't a big deal, but lately Lionsgate has been more than aggressive when it comes to this practice, and Sony isn't backing down, either. All these trailers are found in the menu, anyways, so it should be our choice whether we want to watch them, not mandated. We don't pay to get advertisements shoved down our throats, studios! Disc cramming - The audio and video qualities of a disc are directly linked to how much other content is on said disc. A BD25 may be enough for a film with a lossless track to still shine, but throw in four commentaries and three hours of extra features, even in standard def, and chances are the quality of the release will suffer. Yes, this new format can hold more per disc, but that doesn't mean that the quality won't suffer when content is force fed onto the release. Has this problem been fixed? No. Many studios have listened to consumers and reviewers, and give films ample space to breathe on a disc. However, some discs still get put out that could have been so much better. I have no doubt in my mind that the egregious banding in 'Batman: Under the Red Hood' wouldn't have been an issue at all if the film were on a BD50 disc, and while titles from Troma, or the Roger Corman classics line from Shout! Factory may not have the visual and audio potential mainstream films do, they have way too much content on a BD25 to not affect quality. Proper Region Code marking - Wouldn't it be nice if all it took was a glance at the back of a package to see whether you could play a disc? Importing would be so much easier, wouldn't it? That isn't the case. Companies like Paramount don't even use the symbols, others (mostly small distributors that don't know any better, or Alliance out of Canada) use the old DVD coding, which is ass backwards, and some mess up even more than that. Fox has a habit of putting the Region A (no B or C) insignia on their domestic releases, even if they're Region A/B/C, even if the Fox releases of these titles from other countries (like 'Kalifornia' in Germany, or 'Elektra' in Hong Kong) are marked properly. Has this problem been fixed? Somewhat. FUNimation, Disney, and Sony are always on the money with their code marking, but the ones making the mistakes aren't fixing it. In fact, there have been over fifty Alliance releases now, that are exclusive to them, and they still put the Region 1 marking on packaging. Proper aspect ratio - Speaking of Alliance...there are few things worse than a film being released in its improper aspect ratio. 'Se7en' is meant to be a 2.35:1 film, not a 1.78:1, made from a movie-channel transfer altered to fit modern big screen televisions. 'Gulliver's Travels' was made in 1.33:1, and by no means should the top and bottom of the image be chopped off so that it fits a newer television screen better. Has this problem been fixed? It isn't a big enough issue that “a fix” is all that possible. In the old days of DVD (man, how time flies), releases would come on a flipper, for widescreen and (improper) fullscreen editions, or even get two editions, so consumers would have to keep an eye out (some not marked properly on the front cover, creating a massive mess). Now, less and less DVDs come out in the wrong ratio. People are learning, but some studios never will. Some are limited to what they get, but if it isn't right, don't release it at all. Doing so only does the format, and the consumer, a disservice. Language issues - This issue is a two-parter. Disney made a terrible mistake with their 'Ultimate Force of Four' titles, by giving each film a lossless dub mix, while giving the authentic language mixes lossy only. In the case of 'The Legend of Drunken Master,' there is no sign of the Cantonese track anywhere. Additionally, Canada is a wonderful place. When importing titles from up north, there are these small differences that cannot be missed. For example, the way most packages have bi-lingual writing on them, both French and English, due to the country being dual-languaged. That's fine and dandy, but when a country is bi-lingual, so, too, should be the releases. Some titles (such as 'Killshot' or 'The Tournament') don't have a French dub, or subtitles, or even French writing on the packaging, while others (most particularly 'Amelie' and the 'Millenium' films (you know, 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,' 'The Girl Who Played with Fire,' and 'The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest'), have no English options, dub or sub, due to rights issues being split in the country. The thought that a dual-language country needs to split distribution rights based off language compatibility is a joke, if anything, especially when the second releases of these titles, you guessed it, often still have their French options, as well as English. Has this problem been fixed? Kind of. 'Amelie' is getting another release (yep, folks, a double-dip) that is supposed to correct the language barrier issues, and even include supplements. That said, the 'Millennium Trilogy' films are new releases, so that just goes to show how little effort is being put out by a certain company. As for the 'Ultimate Force of Four' films, and other titles that give priority to dubs, there is no fix in sight. Forced double-dips - Re-releasing a film after it has been on the market for years, with an upgraded transfer, better audio, or a metric ton of new extras is fine and dandy. What isn't acceptable, though, is releasing films exclusively in box sets, coupled with titles that have already been released. The big stinker here? Sony. There's no way in hell a fan of 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' didn't pick up 'House of Flying Daggers' and 'Curse of the Golden Flower' when they were released, but Sony decided that in the USA, 'Tiger' should only be available in a box set with the two other films. Other countries got the release by its lonesome (including a Steelbook in the UK), and only very recently did 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' get a standalone release. Has this problem been fixed? In the case of 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,' yes. However, this has happened before, and will happen again. Where in the world is 007 - Bond, James Bond has found his way on Blu-ray, somewhat, with the two newer features, as well as about half of the catalog. The titles have been put in three packs, ten packs, and an eleven pack, and individually have been priced to move. That's great, and all, but what about 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service,' or 'Goldeneye?' Why are we getting double dips on the 'Rocky' films, or niche horror titles and obscurities, instead of helping fans complete their collections? Has this problem been fixed? No, and it may never be. However, when/if it finally does find some closure, look forward to the forced double-dip issue, having to buy all the films in one box set, as MGM tries to shovel its way out of the sinkhole they created for themselves financially. Paramount recalls - What better way to instill consumer confidence than to make them send back every disc they ever purchase? That may be Paramount's new strategy. Hey, they're creating jobs by having to man the phone desks for calls fielding return issues, in this tough economy! 'Iron Man' got a recall, and it didn't affect its street date, but both 'Gladiator' and 'Saving Private Ryan' have had mass recalls after street date. Does “Sapphire Series” mean “you'll get a better disc in a year” series? What about all the consumers who aren't aware of these recalls? Congrats, you just got boned. Has this problem been fixed? No. Sure, Warner had a similar issue on 'Matrix: Revolutions,' and Disney fixed some framing issues with 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl,' but they aren't constant repeat offenders. Paramount must have laid off their entire quality-control branch. 3D bundle exclusives - Did you plop down nearly three thousand on a fancy new 3D set up for your home? If so, do you like the few family films so much that you watch them over, and over, and over, and over? If the studios and manufacturers get their way, you will end up watching 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs' or 'Monster House' thirty-nine times, while you wait for the 'Shrek' films, 'Monsters vs Aliens,' or 'How to Train Your Dragon' to be available to purchase in stores without buying a television or $350 starter set. This new sub-format is being crippled from the start, by forcing consumers to pick or choose their setup based on what movie they like more rather than what player, driving the second hand market for titles (on Ebay, for example) to sky high rates, a poacher's dream, just for a handful of payola. This is one of 3D Blu-ray's biggest hurdle right now. Has this problem been fixed? A resounding no, and it's only getting worse. At least with store exclusives, consumers could help out their fellow high-def viewer. Here, everyone loses. We have the upcoming 'A Christmas Carol' to look forward to...in November. 'Resident Evil: Afterlife' won't be on home video for probably another half a year. 'Avatar?' Yeah, chances are some hardware manufacturer will get that as an exclusive. Congrats, you just spent three thousand bucks to watch children's films, and only a couple of them. Of course, there have been more blunders than these, though this list is just what bothers me. Stop button issues, lingering timelines that distract one from the film, and wasted technological investments (PocketBlu, seriously?) are all problems, and there are most certainly more issues than these. Do you feel there's an omission in this article, or something about Blu-ray discs that is bugging the hell out of you? Let us know in the forums!Posted Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 10:30 AM PDT by: -
Sony Announces a Trio of Edge-Lit 3D Bravias[teaser]The NX810 Series will be launching in sizes up to 60 inches this September. [/teaser] The latest group of televisions to come from Sony doesn't hold any big surprises. They're just nice TVs at pretty reasonable prices. The NX810 is LED edge-lit, and includes a sensor that allows the screen to automatically adjust itself based on the brightness of its environment. If you're in a bright room, it'll kick things up, and in darkness it will dull itself down. Sony's NX810 also includes built in WiFi and the ability to connect to Bravia Internet Video – giving you access to services like Amazon Video on Demand and Netflix. It's 3D though, that seems to be the main focus. "3D is driving the growth of the entertainment industry," says Sony VP Chris Fawcett, "and only Sony is involved in every stage of the platform." You'll be able to pick up the 46 inch version of the NX810 for $3,000, the 55 inch for $3,700 and the 60 inch for $4,700 when the series launches this September. Source: eCousticsPosted Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 10:00 AM PDT by: -
Netflix Finally Comes to the iPhone and iPod Touch[teaser]It's been in the works for a long time, but movie streaming from Netflix on Apple mobile devices is finally here. [/teaser] Apple fans, the time has finally come. The most popular phone in the US finally has access to the most popular streaming service in the US. Go ahead, enjoy the moment. There's not much in the way of surprises from the Netflix app. It's free to download, but streaming requires a subscription to the Netflix service. You can search for and watch movies and television shows and manage your queue directly from your portable device. Despite earlier rumors stating otherwise, you will be able to use Netflix anywhere – whether you're connected by WiFi or 3G. As long as you've got an iPhone or iPod touch running iOS 3.13 or later, you can jump onto the App Store and grab Netflix now. Source: PR NewswirePosted Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 09:00 AM PDT by: -
Lionsgate Releases Boatload of Blu-rays as Best Buy Exclusives[teaser]A whole slew of Lionsgate Blu-ray titles originally planned for high-definition release this October are hitting shelves early, exclusively at Best Buy. [/teaser] According to the retailer's latest flyer, it seems Best Buy will exclusively be selling eight Lionsgate Blu-rays originally slated for October on August 29, though some reports indicate they have already been spotted at a few retailers. The titles are '2001 Maniacs,' 'Bad Lieutenant,' 'The Blair Witch Project,' 'Hard Candy,' 'High Tension,' 'Open Water/Open Water 2: Adrift,' 'Secretary,' and 'Wonderland.' Special thanks to forum user Noah Schwartzer for the tip! You can find the latest specs for all of these releases on the back of the boxes at Best Buy, or linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where they're indexed under October 5.Posted Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 08:00 AM PDT by: -
Sony Enters the Netbox Game[teaser]The as yet unnamed set-top box from Sony streams from Netflix, plays back Divx files and more. [/teaser] Sony's been showing off some new goodies recently, but perhaps the most interesting is their new netbox. It's one of the first devices of this type we've seen from a major home theater manufacturer, though companies like Logitech and Roku have been selling them like crazy. The new netbox is slick, offering up to 1080p support and built in 802.11n WiFi capabilities. It's got a USB port for your stored media files and DLNA compatibility for your networked PCs and storage devices. It'll even play back Divx and, thankfully, MKV files. Sony's Netbox is expected to launch sometime next month at a price of just $130. Source: GizmodoPosted Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 07:00 AM PDT by:
