CEDIA 2007 - Day 1: Us vs. Monster Cable, Sony's New Projectors and Toshiba on HD-DVD
by Anand Lal Shimpi & Manveer Wasson on September 5, 2007 11:45 PM EST- Posted in
- Trade Shows
Sony on Blu-ray
Much like Toshiba touted the HD-DVD horn, Sony was out in full force promoting Blu-ray, even going as far as to say that the question was no longer if Blu-ray would win, but when. Sony does have a lot to be happy about as Blu-ray has been doing quite well, with virtually exclusive support from places like Blockbuster, BJ's and Target.
On the Sony front, it has shipped the 100,000th Blu-ray player and PS3 sales have exceeded 1.8M units in the US - a lot for a Blu-ray player, but not much for a next-gen console.
Sony introduced three new Blu-ray products, the BDP-S500, BDP-S2000ES and the HES-V1000.
The BDP-S500 is a stand alone Blu-ray player, supports both BD-R and BD-RE, upconverts to 1080p, supports x.v.Color, Dolby True HD/DTS-HD and will be available next month for $699 (yes, more expensive than a PS3).
The BDP-S2000ES adds a bunch of stuff to the chassis to help keep noise levels down (rigid beam chassis and drive bracket, Aluminum top panel, dual shielded isolated disc drive) as well as an "oxygen free power cable".
Sony also claims the BDP-S2000ES has separate audio and video boards, the presenter held up two separate PCBs; we're assuming one was for audio and one handled all the video signals to isolate them as best as possible. This player will retail for $1299 and begins shipping in November.
Finally, there's the HES-V1000: Sony's first home entertainment server. The HES-V1000 features a 200 disc BD/DVD/CD changer, full BD read/write support and a 500GB hard drive. There's a built in multicard reader for importing images and can distribute music wirelessly or via ethernet to up to "10 different rooms" although we're not sure how that limitation is enforced. The HES-V1000 is available now for $3499 and looks like a gigantic black tower.
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leexgx - Friday, September 7, 2007 - link
my higher end pcs i sell come fitted with conbo BD Reader and an dvd-Rw buner and an 24" Wide monitor to support that as well (1920x1200 screen/1080p/HDCP)combo BD Read/dvd-RW drives are £140 (not looked at hd-dvd prices) once thay get to better price i fit them as standered on my med range pcs
burner for BD or HD are like £300
considering the buner but depends on customer
leexgx - Friday, September 7, 2007 - link
online stores only seem to have BD/dvd combo and BD buners so hd-dvd cant realy be pushed yet on the PC side if there is lack of an drive (good for BD then)compareing them disk size HD-dvd 15gb/30gb and BD 25gb/50gb, i not buy an HD-dvd buner
Locutus465 - Thursday, September 6, 2007 - link
By focusing on laptops you have the advanatage that it becomes more likely users will look their laptop up to their TV... After being wowed by the quality of HD off their laptop, they might start considering also investing in a stand alone player so they can forgo the inconvinience of having to mess around with wires and cables all the time just to watch HD movie content.Owls - Thursday, September 6, 2007 - link
to use adult titles as a selling point.. I don't know if that's a joke or something sad.mcnabney - Thursday, September 6, 2007 - link
The argument is valid. The marketing of adult content (previously only available on film) for home viewing on the VHS standard is considered one of the contributors to the victory of VHS over Beta. Recording time length and cheaper players also had an impact.Locutus465 - Thursday, September 6, 2007 - link
Perhaps it's just me but I think the confidence sony is showing right now is the first step in their down fall... HD is still very much an up and coming market, just getting ready to make it down to regular consumers (i.e. to the point that single guys like me who aren't rich are finally getting HD-TVs, families are next). Here is where price/quality really matters, and that is where HD-DVD is delivering compared to blueray. Sony is completely off their rocker to think they've any where near won.AlexWade - Thursday, September 6, 2007 - link
HD DVD won CEDIA with the announcement that HD DVD will be pushed by Sunday Night Football. Monster is right about consumer ignorance (but wrong about their overpriced cables). Most consumers still have little clue about HD DVD and Blu-Ray. A lot of people watch football. And it comes at a time when a sub $200 HD DVD will be entering the market. Blu-Ray better counter, or else Blu-Ray will become What?-Ray.AlexWade - Thursday, September 6, 2007 - link
Oh, and one more thing. Neither side has won the MAJORITY of average consumers. Blu-Ray, according to Sony, has won the enthusiasts. But those are the vast vast minority. The winner of this format war is the one that gets the majority.Locutus465 - Thursday, September 6, 2007 - link
Blueray has won the segment of customers that think higher price tag some how means better HD quality from your DVD player... It won't take the average consumer long to figure out that HD-DVD gives you the same quality at a much lower price point...tuteja1986 - Thursday, September 6, 2007 - link
Well i bought a 360 external drive and removed it from its casing and installed it on pc via mini ATAPI to IDE cable ;)A cheap $150 HD-DVD drive that works great on my PC.