MPEG-2
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The HD DVD and Blu-ray release of Lake House suffers on both format
The Lake House was just hit the streets on Tuesday of this week but High-Def Digest already has the skinny on both releases. Thankfully, both of these titles utilize VC-1 encoding so the picture quality should be top notch but there are issues with both discs and because the releases came from the same master, both discs have the same problem. They are reporting that while the discs don't look bad, they also don't look great ether. Both the HD DVD and Blu-ray releases appear a bit soft and while there isn't any noise or defects, it just doesn't 'wow' you. So apparently, MPEG-2 had a lot to do with the original HD DVD/Blu-ray title bout that declared HD DVD the winner in terms of picture quality. Now that some Blu-ray release are opting for VC-1, the picture quality should be up to snuff.Read: Blu-ray reviewRead: HD DVD review
ATI launches TV Wonder 650 OTA HDTV tuner
ATI is trying to make catching OTA HDTV broadcasts on your PC a bit more mainstream with the TV Wonder 650. This add-in card not only picks up high definition broadcasts, but includes Avivo technology for image enhancement on analog broadcasts, motion-adaptive 3D comb filter, noise-reduction and hardware-assisted MPEG-2 encoding. The included high-def PVR software will record content in DivX, H.264, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and WMV9 formats. This card seems Vista-ready, as they also mention combining it with ATI videocards to enable 3D menus, in addition to the MulTView picture-in-picture technology (requires two tuner cards) and the ability to have a translucent video window over other applications. While it isn't the OCUR CableCard device you may be waiting for, if broadcast HDTV is all you need this could be a great pickup for $129, shipping today.
TV calibration expert Joe Kane's take on high-def video formats
Joe Kane is one of the world's foremost expert on TV calibration (Think Digital Video Essentials) and was recently interviewed about calibration and the high-def format war. The first half of the the video interview is all about calibration and if you can sit through the somewhat European content, (and bad camera zooms) it does become worth your while. He is stating that Blu-ray is all about greed. Why? Because they are using MPEG-2. He is basing this opinion on personal experiences of demoing VC-1 and MPEG-2 where not a single person failed to see the differences. We don't know if Joe is making any money on HD DVD or VC-1 (like Major Nelson) but it doesn't seem likely. This is just a man that is expressing his personal experiences on the subject.Check it out.
Pre-release Blu-ray impressions roundup
We don't have a Samsung BD-P1000 yet, so we're busy reading the opinions posted by people who do. Apparently our local retailer has a policy about selling things "on or after their release date", whatever that means. Nevertheless, some have managed to get their hands on a Blu-ray player and movies already, despite the fact the movies don't officially release until tomorrow, and Samsung's baby isn't due until next week. If you're waiting anxiously to find out whether you should spend the $999 burning a hole in your pocket, you may want to take a look at these reviews.How are they? Decidedly mixed.
Miglia's TVMax external tuner for the Mac mini
Peripherals manufacturer Miglia has just announced a new external analog TV tuner for the Mac mini, but because they'd already used the name TVMini on another line of products, they decided to confuse us and call this mini-shaped tuner the TVMax. Naming schemes aside, this model -- which adopts the same form factor as several mini hubs that we've seen -- seems to offer everything a TV junkie could want in a external tuner, including MPEG-2/4 and DivX hardware compression, PVR capabilities via the bundled EyeTV 2 software, direct iPod or PSP export, and of course, the obligatory electronic program guide, which in this case is the excellent TitanTV. You also get the standard set of A/V inputs for recording from camcorders or VCRs, as well as a wireless remote to free you from clicking around to change channels, all for $250 and available immediately.[Via Mac Observer]
TViX M-3100U HDD recorder with HD out
We've become accustomed to seeing some good looking hard-drive video units from Korea's TViX, and the company's latest, the M-3100U, appears to be no exception. Besides having a sleek, HTPC-style case, the M-3100U can record video content from a TV, PC or just about any analog source, and can save it in MPEG 1 or MPEG 2 formats. The box is also apparently capable of HD output at resolutions up to 1080i, though we assume that's analog HD, given that this thing doesn't have HDMI or DVI, but does have component outs. We somehow suspect that, if you want a similar box with real digital HD, you're probably better off seeing what you can get from your cable company or waiting for a TiVo Series 3 box -- though neither of those may be quite as pretty as this one.
Sony's So-net VOD HDTV box with FeliCa
Sony seems intent to prove you can -- and one day will -- buy just about everything with FeliCa, their contactless payment system we've been talking up for years now. Latest on the block is So-net distributed high definition video on demand service, which plays back MPEG-2, VC-1, and h.264 video on a Sentivision set top box with a 600MHz CPU and a 40GB internal drive; you pay for the privilege instantly with your FeliCa card, phone, implant, etc. We know, we know, it hurts; but one of these days when a large swath of this ginormous nation gets fiber to the home, we'll probably ourselves likely see similar VOD / IPTV systems.[Via Impress]
NVIDIA to bundle H.264 software with 7600 series?
No official word from the company that we can find, but NVIDIA is allegedly going to bundle H.264 decoding software with their GeForce 7600 series that surfaced last month. Currently, the cards support MPEG-2 decoding, but the decoding software isn't supplied with the card. Instead of shelling out an additional few bucks, if you can get H.264 or MPEG-4 Part 10 or AVC (did we hit 'em all?) decoding software for free, we're all for it. HDTV clearly isn't limited tothe television area, so it would be a wise move for NVIDIA, and ATI for that matter, to keep pushing the envelope for their GPUs and cards.
New DVR coming from Comcast and Panasonic
Your old Moto 6412 DVR from Comcast might soon be replaced with state of the art HD set-top boxes from Panasonic. The new cable boxes will encode in both MPEG-2 and H.264. It has USB 2.0 for connecting digital cameras and MP3 players. Best of all though, these boxes comply to the OpenCable Application Platform (OCAP). This is the most important feature, even more then the 250 GB hard drive, as it allows people to interact with their HDTVs a bit more then ever before including using a single remote for a Comcast box and Panasonic home theater equipment.Think of OCAP as an operating system that interacts between the devices on the cable network: video on demand and a variety of interactive services. This system has been in test markets (New York; Milwaukee and Green Bay, Wis.; Lincoln, Neb.; and Waco, Texas later this year) for some time now and it seems to be going well.Note to developers of OCAP: we would like RSS feeds on our widescreen TVs. This cannot be that hard to do. Eventually we would except to see teleconferencing like in the current season of 24; work on the RSS feeds first though.If you could add features or benefits to your cable system, what would they be?
Rumors of MPEG-2's death greatly exaggerated? Digigami does HD on a regular DVD
What's that funny taste in my mouth? Not very familiar at all, it's like chicken but not. Oh, it's crow, and Digigami says they're going to be bringing plenty more for every MPEG-2 doubter. Many people (including me) thought Sony was crazy for sticking to MPEG-2 for their Blu-ray offerings. I mean, why do it, even with their new Blu-ray discs, such an ancient codec is taking up valuable space that could be used for yet another director commentary. But thats not so, according to their press release today, they can encode a 720p file with an average bitrate of between 3-7 mbit/s, good for the same size as a regular DVD without any newfangled h.264 technology. Of course, we all know many people are squeezing the bitrate out of our HD already (cable, satellite providers) with varied results, so the real question is if your eyes can tell the difference. They have a few sample movies up on their site, so take a look.Reading the press release, their tone is downright cocky, with Digigami's CTO stating "It amuses us that our MPEG-1 VBR encoder can also match and outperform H.264 on many progressive encoding tasks at HD frame sizes. MPEG-1 is 6 years older than MPEG-2 and even more widely adopted, reliable, proven and trustworthy". They also have a blog, with the writer saying they will "take on all comers", I like this, time we got some personality into the fight.It will be interesting to see if their compression technology is utilized by Sony or others and how this will affect the HDTV arms race.
ATI's "Avivo" specification pulls PC's, HDTV's closer
ATI has already shown their flexibility by partnering with JVC to put their chips in TV's, are now spreading the benefits of that technology across their product line with their newly-announced "Avivo" technology. Simply put, Avivo is a set of image enhancement, display, and connection specifications that you'll be able to find in many of ATI's future products. MPEG-2, H.264, HDCP or otherwise, if it is high def and you want to play it or output it to a TV, you will be able to with full hardware support on Avivo compatible products. Video cards equipped with the technology will support progressive scan output and hardware-assisted video encoding so you can convert for other devices without wasting precious CPU cycles. I'm glad to see this, as my home PC currently has an ATI Radeon 9200SE that is great, however setting everything up to work properly and output to my monitor and/or TV when and how I want has been more difficult than necessary. Now that they are designing such connectivity in from the ground up, it will be good for everyone. Expect Avivo labeled products to be available in the next month or so.Will it do your laundry, dishes and homework? No, but it will let you play that high-definition movie you just downloaded on your big screen TV with no loss of quality and leave you with CPU power to work with at the same time.
