Do you hear that? That's the sound of "Taps" being played for HDTV players and recorders. Toshiba has announced that, "it will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders." Yes, it's true. Just like Beta was phased out in favor of VHS, HDTV has lost in its head to head battle with Blu-ray. As of March 2008, the manufacture of the hardware will cease, and production of HD DVD disk drives for PCs and games as well. The only exception, said Atsutoshi Nishida, President and CEO of Toshiba Corporation are laptops. "[Toshiba] continues to assess the position of notebook PCs with integrated HD DVD drives."VHS-related stories
HD DVD is officially dead
Do you hear that? That's the sound of "Taps" being played for HDTV players and recorders. Toshiba has announced that, "it will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders." Yes, it's true. Just like Beta was phased out in favor of VHS, HDTV has lost in its head to head battle with Blu-ray. As of March 2008, the manufacture of the hardware will cease, and production of HD DVD disk drives for PCs and games as well. The only exception, said Atsutoshi Nishida, President and CEO of Toshiba Corporation are laptops. "[Toshiba] continues to assess the position of notebook PCs with integrated HD DVD drives."Continue reading HD DVD is officially dead
Plextor's updated analog to digital video converter
As I mentioned the other day, I'm in the process of converting my old VHS collection into digital video files for easy storage. Fortunately I have a PCI TV tuner card that serves double duty as an analog video capture card. But if you're not so lucky, you might want to take a look at Plextor's ConvertX PX-AV200U.Like earlier devices in the ConvertX line, the PX-AV200U lets you plug an analog video source like a camcorder or VCR into your computer and save your video as a digital file. But the PX-AV200U replaces the case that earlier converters came in with a tiny dongle form factor.
Continue reading Plextor's updated analog to digital video converter
Sharp releases PVR with DVD and VHS players
I'm getting ready to move, so I'm in the process of going through the house and purging things I don't need. What's at the top of the list? Two VCRs and a handful of old VHS tapes. I've been spending the weekend with a VCR plugged into the computer so I can capture the video from those old tapes and make them into digital movies that can move with us to the new apartment without taking up any space (other than hard drive space).
Continue reading Sharp releases PVR with DVD and VHS players
Panasonic announces new Japanese PVRs
They've all got DVD burners, and two models also include retro-style VHS recorders. Can you even still buy blank VHS tapes?
Each recorder has HDMI output, S-video and composite inputs, and some have ethernet jacks for downloading program data. The VHS models include one TV tuner each, while the non-VHS models have dual tuners. They're launching in Japan in the next two months for ¥80k to ¥200k ($669 to $1,688) and be available in the US sometime around the fifth of Neveruary.
How will porn affect your TV on DVD?
You may end up with that season five Lost set, the one where we finally find out what the big idea was, on HD-DVD because of what the adult industry is deciding today. Steve Safran has an interesting post up over at Lost Remote talking about how the porn industry may swing the format war between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. Steven Hirsch from Vivid Entertainment is quoted talking about the troubles they have had in trying to adopt Blu-Ray, saying "It was difficult, and (Sony) tried to block us." This is not unlike the VHS/Betamax battle where the adult industry's choice helped promote the adoption of the VHS technology. While it operates completely off the radar of many consumers, the adult industry has a lot of power where technology is concerned.
The TV Squad Podcast: Vik Sahay of Chuck, Oprah talk, brutal timeslots, and more!
TV Squad Ten: Top Ten ESPN shows from worst to first
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
