There is no question that Sony's Blu-ray high definition DVD won the format wars. But at the time when Toshiba decided to drop out of the fight and killed its HD DVD format, Blu-ray features were still in their infancy and did not add very much in the way of features beyond simple higher definition. The Blu-ray standard has evolved since then and both discs and players have … [Read more...]
3D Movie Technology for DVD and Blu-Ray
3D movies have recently seen a resurgence in the movie theater. Due to new 3D theater technologies, several 3D version of movies have hit the theaters and a few of those have made it to home theater formats in both standard DVD and Blu-ray. … [Read more...]
Blu-ray Movie Sales Are Not Taking Off Like a Rocket
After winning the war for the dominant high definition format against Toshiba's HD DVD format in February of 2008, many pundits expected Blu-ray players to take off like a rocket. After all, many had said that the main reasons for poor high definition player sales were uncertainty regarding which format, HD DVD or Blu-ray, would dominate in the long term. Also, high definition … [Read more...]
The Relationship Between HDTV Refresh Rate and Frame Rate
When selecting the right HDTV for your home theater, it is important to understand the relationship between film frame rates and screen refresh rates. There is an interaction between the two that plays an important role in the quality of the video displayed on your HDTV. … [Read more...]
Incompatible Disc Error with Sharp BD-HP20U Blu-ray Player
Blu-ray technology clearly won the battle for high definition DVD movie dominance. But Blu-ray technology continues to evolve, and as it does, new issues pop up. Once recent problem is the "incompatible disc" error that is becoming more common with the Sharp's very popular BD-HP20U Blu-ray player. … [Read more...]
New Upconverting Toshiba DVD Player - XD-E500
Even though Toshiba's HD-DVD format lost the competition in the high definition DVD wars, it is still in the game with the VD-E500 upconverting DVD player, which should ship to merchants before the end of August. … [Read more...]
How to Get a Great Deal on an HDTV
A few months ago I upgraded to a large screen high definition television. I did search the web for the best price, but was very hesitant to purchase something that would have to be shipped. I really wanted to deal with a local merchant so that I could easily return the product if it didn't meet my expectations. Although the prices for HDTVs have dropped pretty dramatically over … [Read more...]
Say Goodbye to HD DVD
It looks like Toshiba is about to wave the white flag in the DVD format war between Blu-ray and HD DVD. According to numerous media sources, the company is planning to drop the HD DVD format. … [Read more...]
Upconverting DVDs to Achieve High Definition
You really do not need to invest in expensive HD DVD or Blu-ray disks and players for your high definition television when upconverting DVD players (also called upscaling DVD players) are available at a fraction of the cost. You might be pleasantly surprised to find that the quality from the latest generation of upconverting/upscaling players is very close to that of high … [Read more...]
What is an HDMI Cable?
HDMI stands for High Definition Multimedia Interface. An HDMI cable is digital interface connector that transmits both video and audio signals. A single HDMI cable can be used to replace all of the cable connections between a high definition television and other high definition devices, such as a Blu-ray player. … [Read more...]