Καλώς ήρθατε στο greek Doom9.org - Την απόλυτη πηγή για αναπαραγωγή DVDs

•Ιανουάριος • Φλεβάριος • Μάρτης • Απρίλης • Μάης • Ιούνιος • Ιούλιος • Αύγουστος • Σεπτέμβριος • Οκτώβριος •Νοέμβριος•Δεκέμβριος

DVDFab Decrypter 3.1.0.5 supports ProtectDVD disc corruption, contains a new DVD parser which is filesystem independent, and contains updated language files as well as some bugfixes.

The latest Haali Media splitter supports DTS in transport streams, adds improved LPCM support for program streams, contains workarounds for broken transport streams, supports BT.709 color conversion and full luma range and there are various bugfixes as well.

With the legal machine finally in motion, the AACS' latest target are sites that have a copy of the AACS processing key found back in February and that link to certain posts in my forum. The interesting thing is that they're going after Google as well - and while smaller blogs did what the AACS LA asked, Google still turns up a long list of alleged offenders.

In an update on the Wal-Mart HD DVD story, both companies involved have denied that any deal has been struck - but the Chinese manufacturer had indeed been asked for a quote and delivery schedule.

iTunes might soon be joined by other majors in offering DRM free music: rumor has it that Amazon is set to launch an online music store in May and offer DRM free content.

The MPAA on the other hand remains convinced DRM is a good thing - if only it were interoperable. The head of the MPAA also comes out in favor of managed copy - just one of the more user friendly features Blu-ray hasn't made mandatory (somebody tell Sony, Fox and Disney..).

And speaking of Blu-ray, the inevitable conclusion of selling more discs in March is that Blu-ray sold more discs than HD DVD in 2007 overall. Meanwhile the HD DVD camp points out that they, too, have sold 1 million disc since the format's inception - and former HD DVD exclusive Warner points out something that some other studios seem to ignore: if you only support one format, you're cutting off a significant revenue portion for your HD releases.

Amongst the DRM news comes the Economist's article on DRM - titled 'Criminalising the consumer' - Where digital rights went wrong.

In the past decade, copyright law has been extended all over the world - and always to the detriment of the consumer. The author of the UKs government report on copyright - which amongst other things suggested that UK laws be amended to include fair use - now argues that in his studies, he found enough evidence to make the case to reduce the extend of copyright protection and that his report only suggested the status quo be kept for political reasons. I'd expect the industry's smear campaign to start any day now.

In yet another example on how copyright law is hampering development of innovative technology, meet Samsung's high definition plasma screen which can be fed with high def video over a standard high speed WLAN link. One of the reasons why it takes longer to get the product to market is, guess what, Hollywood's concern over copy protection.

Here's one for my readers in Austria: your government is preparing the implementation of the EU snooping directive - you have until May 21st to send in comments so I suggest you take the chance to tell them if you're not a fan of government sponsored snooping.

Where does the royalty money go that Sound Exchange collects, and which is likely to break the back of many smaller only radio stations once the new rates go into effect? It turns out that the RIAA created Sound Exchange collects royalties for every piece of music - but only pays copyright holders that are member of Sound Exchange (the majors are, most independent labels aren't).

Now here's something funny: the DVD CCA has lost a case against a company that makes a DVD jukebox which copies DVDs to its internal harddisk, and plays the movies from there without needing the physical disc to be present at the time of playback.

While warm spring weather usually gets your hormones pumping, it apparently also gets the industry's lawyers on the prowl: after shutting down development of RipIt4Me and the disappearance of the PSL2 plugin for PgcEdit, VideoHelp reports that development of FixVTS and MenuShrink has also been stopped. Unfortunately, RipIt4Me wasn't open source which puts a major roadblock on any future development, but since the PSL2 plugin is just a TCL script, I hope alternative download sources will soon show up. As far as FixVTS and MenuShrink are concerned, its source has been published so hopefully somebody can pick up where jeanl left off.
The simultaneous disappearance of RipIt4Me, the PSL2 plugin (although Digital Digest still has an older version of the plugin for download.. wanna take bets how soon it'll disappear after I upload these words?), begs the question who the perpetrator is - unfortunately there's no information available on that topic at this point. Seeing that Australia based Digital-Digest also removed a lot of information and that Australia has its own DMCA since January 2007, it could be either a DMCA or your traditional copyright/patent attack we've previously seen happening with DVD Decrypter. So I'd take a long hard look at Macrovision, Sony and other makers of DVD corruption technology.

ProgDVB 5.08 supports Anysee products, includes updated DVBWorld and BDA modules and is now available in Russian.

PgcEdit 0.81 can import and export menu buttons and the BOV configuration of a DVD, checks for new versions automatically (if so desired), can delete uncalled titles, has a new editor to edit chapters of "not one sequential" titles and functionality to find all jumps to all VTS'es and jumps to void PGCs, as well as a title check upon loading a DVD. In addition, there are various enhancements and bugfixes.

This story is still a bit confusing, but by the looks of it, Wal Mart is planning a $299 HD DVD player. I hope a good translation of the Chinese article will soon show up on my Chinese mirror :)

Until now, if you wanted to add Blu-ray to your PC, you had no choice but to buy a full blown Blu-ray burner - and those aren't exactly cheap. Now Pioneer has set out to lower the barrier and announced the BDC-S02 for $299, a combined CD/DVD recorder and Blu-ray reader. Considering HD DVD's entry price of $199 (Xbox 360 add-on) and the fact that it's only a player and gets kinda noisy with the fan, it's not a bad way to get into the Blu-ray game. The downside, as usual with the first of a kind device, is that you won't get the full extent of today's CD/DVD reading/burning capabilities - 12x marks the upper end in single layer DVD reading and burning, and dual layer is limited to 8x (reading) and 4x (burning).

How does Apple's $0.99 per song model compete with free P2P download? Here's a Harvard Business School professor's take on the subject.

And if you listen to online radio and live in the US, you might want to head over to the SaveNetRadio site and sign their petition for a reevaluation of royalties for online broadcasters, or you'll soon only hear static from your favorite station. By the way, the supposedly independent organization that came up with the royalty rates is in fact RIAA controlled - so it's no wonder they want more money and squash resources that are less likely to peddle the mainstream stuff the RIAA's members mass-produce.

Daemon Tools 4.091 fixes problems loading daemon.dll in some third party add-ons, fixes problems with .isz images and contains a few new language strings.

HD DVD had its first birthday two days ago - and at the same day the HD DVD camp reported that they had sold 100'000 dedicated HD DVD units (standalone players, not including any PCs with HD DVD drives or Xbox 360 add-ons - the latter sold 92'000 times during the holiday season alone). That places them ahead of the Blu-ray camp in terms of standalone players. And yet, if we look at how DVD did in its first year, we have more than 300'000 standalone players sold in the first year. Care to venture what would've happened if there was just one format and we didn't have the ICT/HDCP mess that restricts playback even for those that have perfectly HD capable equipment?

In the latest example of a patent system that has gone way beyond reason, a well known patent troll claims a patent on hyperlinks on compact discs. Umm.. couldn't you store html documents on a CD ever since the inception of DVD-ROMs?

And in what could turn out to be another RIM incident where the company being sued doesn't have time to squash all the patents it's being charged with violating, Verizon's attempt to kill of US based VoIP telephony provider Vonage could well succeed despite prior art for the patents Verizon alleges are being violated. And those who work in a similar field might wonder how patent 6,359,880 is any different from roaming mechanisms present in second generation cell based networks - and those were around before Verizon first filed that patent.

I expect another wave of P2P lawsuits from the RIAA to make up for falling CD sales in 2006. However, the slum in units shipped has turned around two years ago - the RIAA is selling more units than ever before, but thanks to the per song approach at online music stores, they still make less money than they used to (and that despite getting a significantly higher return per song as they get when distributing music the traditional way).

Define irony: Sony has just come up with another way to corrupt DVDs (they call it copy protection) that makes discs not work on their own players anymore. Well done Sony :)

Expect the IFPI screaming communism or pirates anytime soon: Norway's liberal party wants to reform Norway's copyright law to ban DRM and legalize filesharing as long as no money changes hands. And while they might not get that kind of legislation, at least they'll get a nice DVB-T network: unlike most other countries, Norway's DVB-T transmissions will be MPEG-4 AVC based, which permits higher quality and more channels than the traditionally used MPEG-2.

Here's one American university that has made it to one of the top spots on the RIAA's most hated list: At North Carolina State, student legal services help students fight P2P lawsuits.

HDTV has barely started in good old Europe when the next generation format is already knocking at the doors in Japan: Super Hi-Vision has a resolution of 7680x4320, supports 24 audio channels and the first tests will air in 2015.

BD+ is coming. I guess Fox was serious about adding another DRM layer to make sure people can't exercise fair use and is busy preparing the first discs. When the first discs will be available is anybody's guess as the licensing hasn't been hashed out yet (recall how long it took for AACS licensing to be done - it was AACS that significantly delayed the introduction of the HD formats, especially HD DVD), but we already know that BD+ will increase production time and cost significantly (we're talking 1 - 4 weeks extra time, and BD is already harder to produce than HD DVD). Meanwhile, we should see AACS player revocation in action for the first time starting next week, when the first discs with a non empty revocation list should be released.

And while we're at the subject of HD discs, you might recall that owners of the Dell 30" screen are getting screwed over by Hollywood - even if you have a HDCP capable GFX card you won't get to see any picture unless you get rid of AACS. The new generation of NVIDIA GFX cards announced today features HDCP over a dual link DVI link - so if you upgraded to a new GFX card for HD DVD or Blu-ray, it takes just another upgrade to be "Hollywood compliant".

Will I soon have to go back to traditional FM radio (which offers no useful station in my region.. radar warnings are nice when you're on the road but quite frankly the music sucks)? The situation looks more and more grim for online radio stations, as their petition to reexamine the royalties they have to pay has been thrown out.

And they keep on trying: expect the next attempt to bring the DMCA up north to Canada before summer.

Daemon Tools 4.09 supports StarForce 4.70, compressed and encrypted .mds and .isz images, can check for updates automatically, contains some improvements in the virtual drive and fixes installation problems on certain Dell machines.

Question to Sony: If Blu-ray has won the format war, why is Samsung the second Blu-ray shop to release a dual format player?

Here we go again: music labels, unhappy as ever about Apple's flat fee pricing, are trying to get Apple to accommodate a new business model based on subscriptions. Tucked away in the article we'll find what it is really about: a monthly revenue stream, and a small licensing fee each time a song is played. Can you say "holy grail"? This is what the entire copyright industry's plan for the future are ultimately about: make us pay each time we listen to music / watch a movie / use a software. DRM and laws that forbid you to use content on non industry sanctioned devices are just stepping stones towards a pay per use future. And as an added bonus, they get detailed usage statistics so their marketing can better flood you with targeted ads.

TorrentFreak has some details on how the industry finds targets for their P2P lawsuits. Note that the part where the downloaded content is manually checked to see if it actually contains copyrighted content seems to be sorely missing.

Apparently unconvinced by the positive reception of EMI's DRM free music offering via iTunes, Warner Music isn't about to go down the same route. When online retailer added unprotected MP3 downloads as an alternative to physical CDs, Warner immediately demanded that its albums be removed from sale.

Down under, the music industry has come up with an "innovative" way to handle unauthorized music downloading: they want ISPs to simply terminate subscriber accounts upon the third unauthorized download. Something in me suspects that ISPs might not come out in favor of potentially cutting off a significant portion of their subscribers and thus revenue stream. The industry didn't give any details as to how the three strikes policy would work (e.g. when do you get a strike) but I guess due process would be too much to ask for..

EVOdemux 0.262 exports chapters, shows the first PTS delay in milliseconds and has an about window.

ImgBurn 2.3.2.0 fixes a bug that could lead to bad burns in 2.3.1.0, supports the auto change book type feature on Lite-On drives, no longer requires a path when loading an IBB via commandline, there's a new commandline argument /OUTPUT and there are some additional bugfixes.

So where's that mysterious WinDVD upgrade that the AACS LA is boasting about? The lack of "I can't find the key for this HD DVD title" is also kinda worrisome ;)

Need another example on how the RIAA is biting the hand that feeds them? Steve Job's DRM odyssey is certainly most self serving, but if RIAA execs start slinging mud at the Apple CEO, and considering Apple is THE one company that actually makes the RIAA members a sizable chunk of money via iTunes, it falls right into line with the RIAA's attacks on their smaller consumers..

So here's what we can expect from the AMD - ATI merger: more DRM and less control over your own hardware. Should I start taking bets when we'll need to ask the RIAA/MPAA/BSA for permission to turn on our computers? If I hold the sarcasm for a minute - the PC is this one piece of hardware where the user is in control - it's excessively hard to access the inner workings of your CE equipment in the living room, and even computerized equipment like portable media players, consoles and the likes is more or less locked down, leaving just the PC as the device where you can do pretty much what you want. And thus, the PC is the enemy for content owners - especially if they have business models based on selling you the same thing over and over again. What I find particularly concerning is that the computer industry isn't putting up a real fight - are we not vocal enough about our dislikes of any type of DRM? And by the way, I've already mentioned the BSA and you should take them just as seriously as our favorite media cartels: just look at a lawsuit surrounding Blizzards World of Warcraft game: according to Blizzard's lawyer, any access to the game while it's running should be illegal. What happened to "my home is my castle"?

Are we soon throwing ISP and community video sharing site CEOs into jail in Europe? Some fear that this is exactly what will happen if the latest bit of (copyright industry sponsored?) copyright legislation makes it through the European Parliament. The new set of laws would criminalize commercial copyright violations, as well as "aiding and abetting" copyright violations - which is where ISPs and video sharing sites come into play.

ImgBurn 2.3.1.0 has an option to reset all settings, can read DVD-RAM discs formatted with FAT16/32, contains optimized file system parsing code, defines a default path for IBG and LOG files, and there are some bugfixes as well.

The latest Xbox 360 software update adds MPEG-4 playback functionality to the console - but following console tradition, does so in a limited way: no multichannel audio, no AVI support, and as far as the "traditional" MPEG-4 video is concerned, only supports the MPEG-4 simple profile, not the advanced simple profile that DivX and XviD support.

Did Apple use their own encoder for AppleTV content? A review of the content available for the unit finds it severely lacking. Considering the extremely poor results of QuickTime's MPEG-4 encoding capabilities, perhaps Apple shouldn't just pump up the bitrate but go for a proper AVC encoder.

Fair Use 2.6 can now be run under Vista using the standard user account, has a new cell commands interpreter for enhanced playback flow handling, contains updated XviD and x264 codecs and fixes a few bugs.

Zambelli's updated WMCmd script (a commandline front-end for windows media encoding), now contains a few pre-made quality presets, checks registry keys for profile compliance, checks if the encoder is properly initialized before starting an encoding session, no longer offers the complex profile (it's advanced profile now) and contains some minor changes and fixes.

RipIt4Me appears to be the latest software to fall victim to the entertainment industry's crackdown on our rights - the site went down an April 1st, and statements by the admin of Digital Digest seem to confirm that RipIt4Me is no more. So here's my plea to those who write software: even if you don't want to release your source code, please make sure that in case something happens there's a way that development can continue. I'll gladly offer to hold sources for safe keeping so that in case something happens the software can continue to live as open source.

Microsoft didn't have as much success when they set their sights on FairUse4WM: Unable to track down the author, they have dismissed their lawsuit against viodentia.

Is Microsoft's Zune store the next online music retailer to offer DRM free music? Microsoft now states that they've been in talks with labels for a while and would offer unprotected songs as soon as "our label partners are comfortable with it". Strange words coming from a company that redesigned a whole OS for better DRM, don't you think?

With all that is being done in terms of IT security, social engineering remains the most dangerous attack angle on any IT system as it's much easier to chat up somebody and make them believe you're somebody else who ought to have access. A law currently under consideration in California would make social engineering to get access to your private records (e.g. data from your bank, insurance, phone provider, ISP, etc.) a criminal offense - and now the RIAA wants an exemption to pursue copyright infringement.

Last but not least, I've kept reiterating that both HD formats are still in their very early stages, and now we have some hard numbers to back this up: Thanks to PR spinmaster Sony we actually have some hard numbers, not just ratios. And if you look at the grand total in discs sold, or at individual titles, you'll see that HD discs make up for an incredibly small percentage of the prerecorded disk market. Titles like "The Departed" or "Happy Feet" sell in millions of units, whereas the same titles barely manage a low 5 digit number.

Το ProgDVB 5.07 περιέχει έναν νέο editor και μια ξεχωριστή μέθοδο για την παραγωγή γραφικών παραστάσεων που επιτρέπει την επιλογή codec χωρίς να στηρίζεται στα αρχεία .xgr .

Νέο EVOdemux 0.625 που υποστηρίζει τον μέγιστο αριθμό υποτίτλων (32) και διορθώνει ένα πρόβλημα στην αρίθμιση των stream όταν το πρόγραμμα δουλεύσει σε rebuild mode.

Η VideoBusiness φαίνεται ότι έχει απάντηση στο έρωτημα γιατί οι high def τίτλοι εμφανίζονται συνήθως αργότερα απο τους αντίστοιχους DVD τίτλους , ακόμα και αν η ημερομηνία έναρξης πωλήσεων είναι η ίδια: η ικάνοτητα αντιγραφής του περιεχομένου απο τα στούντιο δημιουργίας , μαζί με τα χαμηλά έσοδα που έχουν και καθώς ότι πρέπει να ελενχονται συνέχεια τα νέα δισκάκια κάνουν την απελεύθερωση HD περιεχομένου πολύ δυσκολότερη σε σχέση με τα παραδοσιακά DVD όπου η διαδικάσια είναι δοκιμασμένη εδώ και πολλά χρόνια.

Το WinDVD είναι το πρώτο λογισμικό αναπαραγωγής high definition όπου σας επιτρέπει να πάρετε νέα AACS keys. Σε ένα δελτίο τύπου, η μητρική εταιρία της Intervideo's ονομάτι Corel αναφέρει ότι χωρίς εφαρμογή της αναπροσαρμογής που έγινε, η αναπαραγωγή HD DVD και BD θα είχε καταργηθεί. Δεν είμαι σίγουρος αλλά νομίζω οτι είναι εσφαλμένη αυτή η δήλωση αφου οι παλιοί δίσκοι βασίζονται στα νέα keys και θα ήταν άχρηστοι απο το αυθεντικό WinDVD, αλλά καλύτερα να περιμένουμε. Επίσης ακόμα δεν έχω βρεί να κατεβάσω το update επειδή ίσως παραδίδεται με την autoupdate λειτουργεία του WinDVD.

Είμαι σίγουρος ότι έχετε βαρεθεί να ακούτε την RIAA να μιλάει για τις υποτιθέμενες ογκώδεις απώλειές της και τους λόγους που βρίσκουν για να ποινικοποιήσουν τα εκατομμύρια των ανθρώπων σε όλο τον κόσμο. Βασικά, δεν ειναι μόνο ο αριθμός των καταναλωτών που δεν θέλουν να πέσουν στην προπαγάνδα της RIAA και βλέπουνε τα πράγματα λίγο διαφορετικά αλλά ο καθένας μας μπορεί να το διαπιστώσει: ψάξτε και βρείτε τους τους λιανοπωλητές μουσικής που είναι εκτός επιχείρησης και δείτε πως βλέπουν την στρατιγική της RIAA's ως σημαντικό λόγο για τον οποίο τα παραδοσιακά καταστήματα μουσικής κλείνουν το ένα μετα το άλλο .

Τα τραγούδια χωρίς DRM που προσφέρει η iTunes δεν καταφέρνουν να μειώσουν τα προβλήματα που προωθεί η εταιρία στην αγορά όπου τα καταναλωτικά δικαιώματα ακόμα εξαπατούνται: η ΕΕ προώθησε έναν αντιτράστ έλεγχο στην πρακτική των iTune's που αφορά στην διαφορετική τιμολόγηση σε όλα τα κράτη μέλη της ΕΕ και του περιορισμού των πελατών να αγοράζουν μόνο από τα κατάστηματα στη χώρα κατοικίας τους.

Ακόμα κι αν οι διαπραγματεύσεις μεταξύ της EMI και των μεγάλων online λιανοπωλητών σχετικά με το θέμα της αφαίρεσης DRM έχουν αποτύχει στο παρελθόν, η σημαντική αλλάγη στάσης των iTunes μπορεί να προετοιμάσει το έδαφος για παρόμοιες συμφωνίες με άλλα καταστήματα: Το Musicload της Γερμανίας φαίνεται να είναι το πρώτο στην σειρά για επαναδιαπραγματεύσεις.

Με τους δίσκους ήδη να έχουν αναγγελθεί, οι μελέτες για δίσκους 16x DVD+R DL έχουν τελειώσει, οι οποίες περιλαμβάνουν και την εγγραφή σε ταχύτητα 12x DVD+R DL , εξισορροπώντας κατά συνέπεια τους δίσκους διπλου στρώματος σχεδόν με τα αντίστοιχα ενιαίου στρώματος.

Ενώ η Viacom μηνύει το YouTube για την παραβίαση πνευματικών δικαιωμάτων, η Viacom δεν είναι καθόλου καλύτερη και κάτεχει το δικό της community όπου τα video ταχυδρομούνται χωρίς χωρίς τη συγκατάθεση των κατόχων τους.Τότε για ποια πνευματικά δικαιωμάτα μιλάνε;

Εδώ μπορείτε να βρείτε ανανεομένη την έκθεση για την CeBit με πρόσθετες πληροφορές για το AACS .

Τέλος: εάν θέλετε μια ψηφιακή σύνδεση μεταξύ της συσκευής αναπαραγωγής και της οθόνης σας, η βιομηχανία σας αναγκάζει να χρησιμοποιήσετε εξοπλισμό HDCP. Και απο την στιγμή που κανένας δεν σκέφτηκε για το dual link DVI, οι κάτοχοι dual link DVI την έχουν πατήσει - διοτι θα πρέπει να αγοράσουνε ένα μικρότερο ενιάιο καλώδιο DVI ικανό για HDCP η να βρουν λύσεις από μόνοι τους με τα εργαλεία αποκρυπτογράφησης AACS .

Το DumpHD 0.3 υποστηρίζει δίσκους Blu-ray καθώς και τα αυθεντικά volume keys για τους Blu-ray τίτλους (το BackupBluRay ποτε δεν ανανεώθηκε για να τα υποστηρίζει ) και τέλος έχει πια το δικό του GUI.

Σήμερα έχουμε 2 Απριλίου οπότε πρέπει να είναι αληθηνή αυτή η είδηση : η iTunes θα αρχίσει να πωλεί τίτλους EMI χωρίς DRM! Αυτό όμως δεν σημαίνει οτι θα επηρεαστούν οι τιμές, αφου στα 128kbit/s θα πωλούνται προς $.99, και στα 256kbit/s χωρίς προστασία DRM προς $1.29. Ολόκληρα τα albums θα πωλούνται και πάλι $9.99 αλλά τώρα θα μπορείτε να τα έχετε χωρίς DRM και σε καλύτερη ποιότητα - 256kbit/s - αντι των 128kbit/s. Καθώς με την διαφορά τιμής φαίνεται ξεκάθαρα οτι αξίζει να αγοράσετε μουσική χωρίς DRM , αυτό όμως δεν σημαίνει ότι όλα πάνε μια χαρα. $0.99 είναι ήδη υψηλή τιμή για ένα και μόνο τραγούδι χωρίς DRM.Τέλος με αυτή την κίνηση η Apple θα διασφαλίσει το πάνω χέρι στον άτυπο διαγωνισμό των iPod αφου πολλοί άλλοι players δεν μπορουν να χειριστούν τα AAC.

Νέο DVDFab HD Decrypter 3.0.9.6 που υποστηρίζει HD DVD και Blu-ray.

Νέο ProgDVB 5.06 που υποστηρίζει την μονάδα CI module με τον Twinhan BDA driver και μπορεί να αναλύσει τα PMTs καθώς αναπαράγει κάτι που επιτρέπει τις δυναμικές ανανεώσεις των λιστών ήχου και υπότιτλων και της αναλογίας video.

Δεν έχω βρει τον χρόνο (συν ότι δεν είμαι κάτοχος Blu-ray drive και δεν έχω την πολυτέλεια να πετάω τα χρήματα στις εταιρίες με τις μπαταρίες που εκρήγνονται και με τις πιο απαιτητικές DRM προστασίες) για να γράψω έναν οδηγό backup Blu-ray , αλλά υπάρχει ένας στο αγγλικό forum.

Και τώρα μερικά νέα απο το μέτωπο των high def format : Σε ένα επιχειρησιακό ταξίδι στο San Jose καταλήγουμε σε κάποια σοβαρά συμπεράσματα. Όλα κύλισαν μια χαρά, και τα δύο formats εμφανίστηκαν να είναι ίσα, αλλά με τους 4 Blu-ray players απο διαφορετικούς κατασκευαστές , ενάντια στον μοναδικό HD DVD player από την Toshiba, δίνει έναν σημαντικό προβάδισμα στο Blu-ray όσο αφορά στον τομέα αναπαραγωγής. Επίσης,μείναμε έκπληκτοι με τον τρόπο που προωθούν και τα δύο formats τις νέες κυκλοφορίες τους - υπερβολικές διαφημίσεις. Τέλος η Toshiba αυτές τις μέρες κάνει την δικιά της σημαντική εκστρατεία διαφήμησης στις ΗΠΑ. Γυρνώντας ,όμως , στην πραγματικότητα, ακριβώς μετα από μια εβδομάδα μετά την έναρξη πωλήσεων του PS3 , δεν έχουν παρατηρηθεί διαφορές στις πωλήσεις στους μεγαλύτερους λιανοπωλητές - κάτι που δείχνει οτι όσο και αν προσπαθεί η Sony να κερδίσει τις εντυπώσεις στον τομέα των δημοσίων σχέσεων και της ενημέρωσης(είχα ένα φυλλάδιο της Sony που προσπαθούσε να εξηγήσει ότι PS3 και Blu-ray είναι ο ιδανικός συνδιασμός απόλαυσης ηλεκτρονικών παιχνιδιών και προβολής ταινιών ενώ υπόσχεται πολλούς τίτλους που θα ακολουθήσουν στο μέλλον) δεν καταφέρνει να αλλάξει την κατάσταση, ενώ βλέπει μικρή κίνηση στην λιανική αγορά αν και υπάρχουν αρκετές κονσόλες PS3s στους καταναλωτές. Και για να μην το ξεχάσω, η τελευταία Bond ταινία σε HD κάνει πολύ καλές πωλήσεις μέχρι τώρα - και αφού είναι τίτλος της Sony σημαίνει ότι είναι σε Blu-ray.

Μια απο τις πιο αγαπημένες τριλογίες -το Matrix - πρόκειται να κυκλοφορήσει σε high def σύντομα. Συγκεκριμένα τον Μάη πρόκειται να κυκλοφορήσει σε HD DVD για αρχή, και αργότερα μέχρι το τέλος του χρόνου θα κυκλοφορήσει και σε Blu-ray . Καθώς η Warner υποστηρίζει και τα δύο σχήματα, βλέπουμε ότι εμφανίζονται αλληλεπιδράσεις, ή λόγω της έλλειψης ζήτησης του Blu-ray γενικότερα κρατά τους τίτλους απώλητους. Πάντως, εαν είχατε διαβάσει εδώ παλαιότερα, θα γνωρίζατε οτι ο μοναδικός φορέας Blu-ray που υποστηρίζει BD-J είναι το PS3, και η υποστήριξη BD-J θα ενσωματωθεί στους νέους players που θα κυκλοφορήσουν μετά της 31 Οκτώβρη . Επίσης η πλήρης υποστήριξη BD-J θα ενσωματώνει και την λειτουργεία picture in picture - ένα χαρακτηριστικό που ούτε και το PS3 δεν μπορεί να χειριστεί. Και υπάρχει περίπτωση να μπερδευτούν ακόμα περίσσοτερα τα πράγματα για την Sony : Φημολογείται οτι η Fox θα κρατήσει πίσω το πρόγραμμα BD για να το ξεκινήσει με BD+ , αν και το BD+ είναι ένα άλλο μη υποχρεωτικό και όμως μη δοκιμασμένο χαρακτηριστικό γνώρισμα. Και πρέπει να θυμόμαστε οτι μέχρι το BD+ να χρησιμοποιηθεί επίσημα, δεν θα πρέπει να αναφέρουμε το Blu-ray σαν ένα καθολικό σχήμα για backup. Εν τω μεταξύ, η Universal ποντάρει πολλά στα εκπληκτικά χαρακτηριστικά γνωρίσματα των HD DVD αυτή την περιόδο.

Γνωρίζετε πόσα χρήματα ξοδεύονται απο την βιομηχανία για τις προστασίες DRM; 1 δισεκατομμύριο $ μόνο για το 2007, και σύμφωνα με έρευνες θα φτάσουν τα 9 δισεκατομμύρια $ μέχρι το 2012. Δηλαδή τόσα χρήματα ξοδεύει η βιομηχανία για να μας απαγορεύσει με το τι θα κάνουμε με τα προιόντα που αγοράζουμε. Εξαιρετικά θα έλεγα....

Τα νέα του προηγούμενου μήνα μπορείτε να τα βρείτε εδώ.