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HDTV Listings for April 24, 2007
What we're watching: Dwyane Wade and Shaq try to even up their series with the Bulls before Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash go head to head tonight in NBA Playoffs action on TNT.Our traditional high-def listings continue below
HDTV Listings for April 21, 2007
What we're watching: It's a big Saturday night, with the start of the NBA Playoffs, a NASCAR Nextel Cup Race from Phoenix, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift on HBO and Thank You For Smoking on Cinemax, but we'll stick with a new Saturday Night Live featuring Scarlett Johansson.Our traditional high-def listings continue below.
HDTV Listings for April 20, 2007
What we're watching: You can be my wingman anytime. Tonight, we're skipping Yankees vs. Red Sox on ESPN-HD for Top Gun on HDNet Movies.Our traditional high-def listings continue below.
2D sprites get massive for the HD generation
While the arrival of HDTV has generally been a boon to the game industry, it's definitely caused headaches for at least one shrinking but still important sector of the industry -- 2D sprite artists. As the above illustration of the Ryu sprite for the upcoming Street Fighter II HD Remix shows, drawing good-looking 2D characters in HD requires a lot more attention to detail than the old standard-resolution sprites.This problem is not exclusive to Capcom. Castlevania designer Koji Igarishi remarked at GDC on the labor involved in creating high resolution 2D art and SNK President Ben Herman lamented in an IGN interview that bringing the company's fighters to the 360 and PS3 would require artists to "re-draw every single older game."The extra work leads to extra benefits, though, as the sleek new Ryu above clearly demonstrates. Still, the proof will be seeing these beautiful high-def drawings come to life. All the graphical fidelity in the world doesn't matter if the animation is on par with Star Wars Adventures.
FCS2 page hints at pending QuickTime 7.1.6 update
Many of Apple's media apps rely on QuickTime in one way or another, so it probably comes as no surprise that a Final Cut Studio 2 announcement means we'll see at least a slight QT update to bring everything up to speed. Sure enough, eagle-eyed TUAW readers have caught QuickTime 7.1.6 listed on the System Requirements page for FCS2. Though a minor upgrade that is probably filled with compatibility updates, it is also likely to include that fancy new Apple ProRes 422 codec (who names this stuff?) which supposedly offers uncompressed HD quality footage with SD file sizes. That's a pretty tall claim to fill, but we'll have to wait for the reports to roll in on whether Apple delivers on the promise.Regardless, it's a pretty obvious bet that QuickTime 7.1.6 will soon be coming to a Software Update near you.Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
30-inch OLED TV from Toshiba in 2009
Toshiba has announced plans to ship an organic electroluminescence (EL) display in 2009. The target size will be 30 inches, which beats most manufacturers' prototypes currently under development, like Sony's 27-inch OLED plans. Toshiba had previously planned 2015 as the launch window for OEL (more commonly known as OLED) sets, a launch timeframe which put them in that magical future land along with SED and FED displays. While Toshiba doesn't expect to compete directly against the behemoth of LCD at first, they believe the technology's superiority -- which includes lower manufacturing costs, and better viewing angles and contrast -- will be recognized as volume goes up. Your electroluminescent game of fl0w may never look better.
Data shows Blu-ray leading high-def disc battle
Ever since two of the major console manufacturers picked sides in the high-definition movie disc war, gamers everywhere have taken an unnatural interest in the home video market. High-Def Digest has unearthed some new, detailed data on this battle from a recently leaked Sony report (PDF ZIP link). As of March 18, the cumulative sales numbers show Blu-ray (844,000 total units) holding a slight edge over HD-DVD (708,600 units) in the United States. These overall numbers are less interesting than the historical trend, though -- HD-DVD sales were strong through the end of 2006 but have fallen well below rising Blu-ray sales in 2007. Could the slow growth in PS3-equipped homes finally be having some effects on the movie market?Worldwide dominance for Sony's new format isn't settled yet, though. Next Gen reports that a growing number of independent studios in Europe have decided to back HD-DVD to the exclusion of Blu-Ray. So if you like European art house flicks, the choice is clear.Read - Sony Report Reveals First Look at Absolute Blu-ray and HD DVD Disc Sales FiguresRead - HD-DVD Winning the European Race
HDTV Listings for April 8, 2007
What we're watching: Two more new episodes of Planet Earth on Discovery, but we'll be stuck on HBO to see the return of The Sopranos and Entourage.Our traditional high-def listings continue below.
HDTV Listings for April 7, 2007
What we're watching: Tonight we've got boxing on Showtime, Adam Sandler in Click on Starz, but we'll check out Inside Man on Cinemax.Our traditional high-def listings continue below.
HDTV Listings for April 3, 2007
What we're watching: ESPN is rolling out its Full Circle coverage again for the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship between Rutgers and Tennessee.Our traditional high-def listings continue below.
HDTV Listings for March 30, 2007
What we're watching: Raines is turning out to be a surprisingly interesting new show on NBC, so we'll give that another look.Our traditional high definition listings continue below.
HDTV Listings for March 28, 2007
What we're watching: Lost? What Lost? We'll check out Friday Night Lights and Jericho tonight....and Lost.Our traditional high-def listings continue below.
HD DVD fires back: HD-A20 in April for $499, 70 movies on the way
We've had to wait a while, but for those wondering where Universal's exclusive titles were in the upcoming HD DVD lineup, today's press release by the HD DVD Promotions Group may put your mind at ease. While it may still be looking up at Blu-ray in terms of install base and numbers shipped, HD DVD the group still touts the fact that it has a higher tie ratio than "other high definition formats". Also included is the news that the 1080p-capable HD-A20 will ship in April for $499 (down from $599), but the biggest news is the slate of more than 70 titles shipping in the next three months from six studios (Warner, Paramount, Universal, Genius & Eagle Rock). Exclusives like Shaun of the Dead and The Bourne Identity will be available in June among what looks to be a packed month of releases for the format. Curious in their absence are combo releases, with only four HD DVD/DVD (Good Shepherd, Smokin' Aces, The Hitcher & Alpha Dog) discs among the 70.
Sony's BDP-S1E: Improved Blu-ray player hits Europe this summer
Sony has finally officially announced its first standalone Blu-ray player for the European market. Just like the PlayStation 3, a several month delay on the hardware has resulted in a few hardware revisions, however instead of limited backwards compatibility, the new BDP-S1E adds HDMI 1.3 and x.v. Colour support -- for AVC-HD-encoded discs -- to the package. Along with 1080p/24 output from the earlier model, this should make it an excellent player for aficionados demanding that "film-like" experience when paired with any of the new BRAVIAs hitting the market soon. With the BDP-S1E due this summer, no word on a price, or if Europe will ever see the BDP-S300 that should be launching in the U.S. around that time, but since its not a continent of "cheap people", we're sure they'll be able to deal with it.[Via Crave]
Sony's new J5000, J3000 series BRAVIA's & matching stand unveiled for Japan
Sony's got its latest network-enabled LCDs lined up for release in Japan. These are similar to the V- and S- series BRAVIA's coming to the U.S. soon, with the J5000 series adding a 40-inch model to go along with the 32-inch LCD, both featuring 120Hz MotionFlow technology to reduce blurring, 24p input and 10-bit color. Of the lower-end J3000 series, only the 40-inch model has 10 bit color, with a 1,600:1 contrast ratio while the 32-, 26- and 20-inch versions still retain DLNA network support and XMB menus to go along with their 1366x768 screens. All include HDMI control technology, which pairs well with the just-announced RHT-G800 combination television stand/amplifier/5.1 channel speaker. It's a standard digital amplifier, compatible with Dolby Digital, DTS, PCM and other formats, through its two HDMI inputs, one HDMI out and included speakers. For 110,000 yen ($931 U.S.) it does more than just hold your TV and look pretty, the stand launches in Japan May 25th at the same time as the J5000 series HDTVs, while all of the J3000 screens should be available April 25th.Read - Sony J3000 & J5000 series release [Via AV Watch]Read - Sony RHT-G800 rack
Sony: Casino Royale first HD release over 100k shipped
Sony just announced that Casino Royale has become the first high definition release to ship over 100,000 units, with over 50% of those sold through to consumers. Apparently its success surprised even Sony, according to The Hollywood Reporter, it only shipped 50k initially, resulting in a complete sellout after only a few days. Following up on its quest to not only surpass rival HD DVD, but supplant the existing DVD format, Sony Pictures counts only 9 months since Blu-ray's launch to the first 100,000 unit shipped mark, compared to eleven months for the first DVD to hit that number (Air Force One). With a 700 percent increase in disc sales since the PlayStation 3 launched, and all of its just-announced upcoming releases on the once rare 50GB discs, Sony sees all this as a clear sign Blu-ray is pulling away in the format war, not only in the U.S. but worldwide, as the U.K. release of Royale sold 10,000 in the first week despite being the PS3 pack-in bonus. Blu-ray was a slow starter last year, and now with one big title under its belt, we'll see if the format war is as close to being over as the BDA keeps telling us it is. Read - SPHE press release Read - Hollywood Reporter
HDTV Listings for March 25, 2007
What we're watching: Discovery's much-anticipated Planet Earth series kicks off tonight, and features some of the best footage your HDTV is likely to see of hard to reach corners of the world. The L Word season finale is also tonight on Showtime.Our traditional high-def listings continue below.
NFL considering HD instant replay...again
We're still missing our Sunday dose of NFL action, but as the offseason continues the league is once again looking into using high definition footage for instant replay. League meetings start tomorrow, and one of the changes being considered by the rules committee is a proposal to make instant replay a permanent part of the game, as it is currently a temporary rule, due to expire in two years. The leagues owners will only consider switching the instant replay equipment to HDTV if they are sure its here to stay, otherwise the ref could be stuck with a poor 480i feed for at least another year. Last year, the league looked at how NASCAR handles its HD, and that sport even has high def in-car cameras now. That instant replay should feature the highest quality available goes without saying, now we're looking forward to HD helmet cams.
HDTV Listings for March 23, 2007
What we're watching: The NCAA Tournament marches on, but we're most interested to Six Degrees see back on ABC.Our traditional high definition listings continue below.
Today's best-looking mech video: Armored Core comparison
It's an old-fashioned PS3 versus 360 graphics showdown in today's video pick, with GameTrailers running a side-by-side comparison of Armored Core 4. Which version of this mech title looks best? Judge for yourself after the break, or visit the HD version -- it doesn't embed like the SD file -- on the GameTrailers site. Let the scrutiny begin!Image from CSG_Starfury's account of life-sized BattleMech project.
