HD Feed Streams

Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, HBO Video, New Line Entertainment and Warner Home Video stood up with Toshiba at the Computer Electronics Show here and pledged that movies such as “Million Dollar Baby,” “Harry Potter 4: The Goblet of Fire,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Full Metal Jacket” and “Jarhead” (not to mention box office clunkers like “Sahara” and “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”) would come out this year on HD DVD discs. In all, these five studios represent more than half of the movies ever made, said Nancy O’Dell, host of Access Hollywood and ersatz syndication TV celebrity who served as the emcee for the event at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Europe’s Studio Canal and the Weinstein Co., responsible for hits such as “Shakespeare in Love,” also will come out with movies in the HD DVD format, according to the HD DVD Promotion Group. Toshiba, the prime backer of the format, unfurled two HD DVD players–a $499 model and a deluxe $799 model–that will hit shelves in March. Toshiba also showed off a prototype Qosmio notebook with a built-in HD DVD drive. Pricing, availability and specs on the notebook will come out later this quarter. “HD DVD is now playing,” said Yoshiihide Fujii, CEO of the Digital Media Network Co. of Toshiba. “HD DVD delivers a quantum leap in how consumers view video.” By May, nearly 50 titles will already be out, Fujii said. One of the chief advantages of the format, as compared with the Blu-ray format supported by Sony and others, is that it is compatible with existing DVDs, executives said. Thus, consumers can buy a HD DVD player and use it to play existing DVDs. Some companies will produce dual-sided discs that will contain an ordinary DVD movie and an HD DVD version. “Many consumers have made a significant investment in DVD libraries,” said Greg Hart, Amazon.com director of North American music, DVD, computer and video games, and software. Amazon began to take pre-orders for Toshiba’s units Wednesday. Customflix.com, a company Amazon acquired that burns DVDs for independent and small filmmakers, will give independents a potential opportunity to sell HD versions of their movies to the public. Microsoft and Intel back the format. “We have to make sure that content is easier to buy rather than to pirate,” said Don MacDonald, vice president in Intel’s Digital Home Group. Many companies, though, will support both. Hewlett-Packard, the largest PC maker behind HD DVD, will also support Blu-ray. Studios will also issue movies under both formats. “It’s too early too tell” which will win, Matt Lasorsa, executive vice president of marketing at New Line Home Video, said in a brief conversation after the presentation. “The ideal solution would be a universal player.” The audience got a chuckle out of the suggestion that all of the kinks in home networking aren’t ironed out yet. Kevin Collins, a senior program manager at Microsoft, told the audience of about 200 reporters that he was going to show them how phenomenal HD DVD viewing was. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get the movie on Toshiba’s HD DVD player to play after several attempts. Collins, however, did manage to get movies running on Toshiba’s Qosmio notebook.

Intel and Microsoft are combining their industry power in an attempt to make the HD DVD format the victor in a battle over a standard to succeed DVD. Typical DVDs today can hold 4.7GB of information, but two dueling camps are trying to establish a larger-capacity format that will allow for the recording of high-definition television and the backing up of more data. HD DVD, supported by a Toshiba-led consortium, is up against Blu-ray Disc, which is backed by Sony and others, including the two biggest personal-computer manufacturers, Dell and Hewlett-Packard. Intel and Microsoft believe weighing in on the HD DVD side will be enough to tip the balance. “We have a high expectation of having a single format, and that format is HD DVD,” said Intel spokesman Bill Kircos. There are several reasons the two companies went with HD DVD, said Richard Doherty, Microsoft’s program manager for media entertainment convergence. Among them: HD DVD requires that movies may be copied to a consumer’s hard drive, making it easier for people to send movies around home networks; the format supports regular DVD recordings on the flip side of the disc, letting people sell hybrid discs to consumers who have DVD players today but fear their discs will be obsolete; and the format offers more capacity. The Blu-ray allies disagree about the capacity claim and other issues. “This announcement does little to shift the momentum that’s been building for Blu-ray Disc,” said Marty Gordon, vice president of Blu-ray backer Philips Electrics. “It has dramatically more support from the consumer electronics industry, the PC manufacturers and the games hardware manufacturing side, as well as strong support from movie studios, music companies and game software developers.” Blu-ray allies expect to launch their products in the spring, Gordon said, including support for both 25GB and dual-layer 50GB. HD DVD starts at 15GB, but Toshiba last week announced a 30GB dual-layer disc. Toshiba plans to launch the first HD DVD drives in Japan this year and worldwide in the first quarter of 2006, Doherty said. Come together, right now? The two camps have held talks to unify their formats, but so far to no avail, and time is running short, with products from both camps scheduled to ship in the next few months. If the sides don’t come together, a host of problems ensue: Consumers will have to make sure a rented movie or purchased video game is compatible with their drives and players; movie studios, video game manufacturers and video rental stores will have to stock multiple versions of movies; dual-format drives that bridge the format gap will cost more; and neither standard is likely to catch on as fast as if the industry had coalesced. It’s similar to the classic war over videotape formats, VHS vs. Beta, and a smaller skirmish that broke out more recently for rewritable DVDs: DVD-RW versus DVD+RW. Even at this late stage, it’s possible there could be a resolution. “We’re very hopeful you could see a unified standard,” Gordon said. “It has to be a format that offers the best of both worlds,” though, and the Blu-ray camp isn’t willing to yield on the capacity issue. Microsoft also hoped for a resolution, but didn’t see one as likely. “We’re of the opinion that a unified format would be far preferable. But what was keeping us from the game was our hope for a long time for that to occur,” Doherty said. Gordon said that several of the advantages Microsoft and Intel cite for HD DVD aren’t valid. In particular, he said, 50GB Blu-ray drives are scheduled to ship this spring, with much more capacity than HD DVD’s 30GB. And the managed copy feature that permits movies to be transferred to hard drives isn’t “a key differentiating feature” of HD DVD because Blu-ray employs the same Advanced Access Content System (AACS) content control technology, he said. Both sides have support from major computing, consumer electronics and entertainment companies. Besides Sony, Dell and HP, Blu-ray allies include Apple Computer, Electronic Arts, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sun Microsystems, Twentieth Century Fox, Vivendi Universal and Walt Disney. HD DVD backers include HBO, NEC, New Line Cinema Paramount Home Entertainment, Sanyo, Toshiba, Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video. The divide splits Intel and Microsoft from some of their biggest customers, though. Dell couldn’t be reached for comment immediately, but HP isn’t changing course. “HP remains committed to the Blu-ray Disc format because of larger storage capacity, broad industry support and the inherent compatibility that the recording format provides to our customers,” the company said in a statement. “HP believes that this announcement from Microsoft and Intel is inconsequential for consumers because they do not deliver products into the marketplace (with a few minor exceptions).” Blu-Ray has had problems delivering on its promises, though, Doherty said. “The 50GB Blu-ray disc is nowhere in sight. For now, HD DVD is the capacity leader. And with the hybrid disc, again Blu-ray had a specification, but no actual implementation anywhere in sight.” That issue could cause PC makers to change their minds. “A year and a half ago, they had a really good situation,” Doherty said. “Now the playing field has changed.”

Warner Home Video (WHV) has announced the release of the first title in the HD DVD and DVD Combo Format (HD DVD on one side and Standard Definition DVD on the other): “Rumor Has It,” which will debut May 9, day-and-date with its Standard Definition version. In addition, WHV will release three new HD DVD titles: “GoodFellas” and “Swordfish” on May 2 and “Training Day” on May 9. “We are pleased to be continuing our rollout of new HD DVD titles,” said Stephen Nickerson, Senior Vice President, Market Management. “But what is really exciting is the release of the first title, `Rumor Has It,’ in the HD DVD and DVD Combo format. Purchasing a disc now in this format is the ideal choice that gives consumers the greatest flexibility in viewing options: If they own an HD DVD player, of course, they’ll get all the benefits of HD DVD and be able to play the disc in existing DVD players. If they’re considering a future purchase of an HD DVD player, they can still enjoy the movie until they upgrade.” “GoodFellas,” “Swordfish” and “Training Day” will sell for $28.99 SRP; “Rumor Has It” will be available at $39.99 SRP. “Rumor Has It” is director Rob Reiner’s clever romantic comedy starring Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Costner, Shirley MacLaine and Mark Ruffalo; “GoodFellas” is Martin Scorsese’s powerful film exploration of mob life starring Robert DeNiro, Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci; “Swordfish” is the cyber-adventure from “Matrix” producer Joel Silver starring John Travolta, Halle Berry and Hugh Jackman; and “Training Day” is the gripping, action hit starring Denzel Washington in his Oscar(R)-winning performance and Ethan Hawke. All bonus materials on the Standard Definition versions of each of the four titles will be included on the HD DVD versions. WHV began its rollout of HD DVD titles on April 18 with “The Last Samurai,” “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Million Dollar Baby.” WHV expects to announce shortly additional titles to be released in May. Warner Home Video HD DVDs offer resolution six times higher than standard definition DVDs, extraordinarily vibrant contrast and color in addition to beautifully crisp sound. HD DVD also provides a new level of interactivity, giving instant access to extra features with the debut of a seamless menu bar that allows viewers to enjoy features and settings without leaving or interrupting the film.

Great news today if you are one of the many that use Tivo.  Tivo will start to sell digital video recorders with dual tuners that allow users to record two television programs simultaneously.

The new feature can help TiVo boxes compete against generic recorders provided by cable and satellite television operators, which are often distributed for free with a cable TV subscription and have dual tuners.

I hope it will not cost too much and will come out soon.  Let me know if you happen to be one of the lucky ones that get to try this early.

Apple’s iTunes U program enables colleges and universities to post audio and video educational content online. While some universities restrict access to posted content specifically to their students and faculty, the University of California, Berkeley has done one better — it’s announced that Berkeley on iTunes U is available to the public, as well as all UC Berkeley students. “As a public university, UC Berkeley has a tradition of openness,” said Obadiah Greenberg, product manager for webcast.berkeley in a recent statement. “It really speaks to our motto - ‘Fiat Lux,’ Let there be light.” Webcast.berkeley is the university’s local Web site that delivers course and event content as podcasts and streaming video. This semester, webcast.berkeley has offered 30 courses as podcasts. You can listen to individual lectures or subscribe to courses. Also available for download are symposiums and presentations on a wide range of topics in the arts, journalism, politics and other subjects. Visitors can also get a taste of U.C. Berkeley campus life by taking an audio tour of the university and listening to highlights of the football season.

• ESPN, which prides itself on bringing TV viewers as close to sports action as they can get without a field pass, is pumping up the visuals at its ESPN Zone restaurants by converting screens to HDTVs.
• A multimillion-dollar project with Philips Consumer Products will see the rollout of as many as 80 HDTVs per location nationwide by year’s end, with New York, Las Vegas, Baltimore and Washington converted to HD in time for Super Bowl XL on Feb. 5 (on Disney-owned sister company ABC).
• The remaining ESPN Zone locations in Chicago, Anaheim, Atlanta and Denver will roll out thereafter (a ninth location is being planned for Los Angeles in 2009).

A&E Network announced Monday that it plans to launch a high-definition simulcast on Labor Day Weekend.

The network will preview the new hi-def service in June, but won’t introduce A&E HD as a 24/7 network until September, when it kicks things off with a CSI: Miami marathon.

“The summer preview of A&E HD will give our affiliates a taste of their favorite high-quality A&E entertainment in the sharp, high-resolution detail of HDTV,” said Abbe Raven, president and CEO, AETN. “We’re excited to bring our audience an unparalleled visual and sound adventure, and meet the demands of the rapidly growing HD demographic seeking a heightened television experience.”

No carriage has been negotiated for A&E HD, but the company said talks are ongoing with cable and satellite operators.

A&E sibling The History Channel will also be offered as an HD net sometime in 2007.

Los Angeles’ news car chases are going hi-definition. KABC-TV, ABC’s owned-and-operated TV station became the first station in Los Angeles to have a portion of its local newscast broadcast in high-definition by debuting Monday the market’s first high-def news helicopter from Helinet Aviation services.

While KABC’s copter is the first in Los Angeles, it’s the second hi-def copter in the nation. Helinet, the company that developed the specially-equipped copters, leased the nation’s first hi-def helicopter about a year ago to KUSA-TV, Gannett’s NBC affiliate in Denver.

“You can almost read lips” from the copter’s hi-def feed, said J.T. Alpaugh, chief technology officer for Helinet.

KABC, the news leader in the market, sees the hi-def bird as a way to solidify its position in a geographically-dispersed market known for congested freeways and lots of car chases. “We are known for our breaking news and the helicopter is the single most important level of response for most stories. We expect it will help us do a better job of covering the news,” said Cheryl Fair, news director for KABC, which three years ago was the first station in the market to put in a doppler radar system for weather.

For KABC, the hi-def helicopter was the station’s first big step on its way to transition all its local newscasts to hi-def. “This is the first piece in a very big puzzle,” added Bill Burton, vp of programming, advertising and promotion for KABC. “It will be an ongoing transition.”

So far, only five TV stations broadcast local news in HDTV, including KUSA; KOMO-TV, Fisher Broadcasting’s ABC affiliate in Seattle; WJW-TV, Fox Television’s O&O station in Cleveland; WRAL-TV, Capitol Broadcasting’s CBS affiliate in Raleigh, N.C.; and just last week, WUSA-TV, Gannett’s CBS affiliate in Washington, D.C. made the transition.

High-Definition News Emerges Slowly By Michael Murrie, for Communicator, April 2001 High-definition television newscasts are slowly emerging, despite controversy about digital television standards and formats, slow digital television sales, limited programming, and reluctance among owners to make big initial investments. At least two television stations now have regular HD newscasts, and several others have experimented with HD news production. There’s even a molasses-paced rivalry evolving. In May 1999, KOMO-TV in Seattle started what it called the first local daily news in the world to broadcast in HDTV. A month later, rival KING-TV also started a high-definition newscast. KOMO recently began using full-motion HD news graphics, and KING is unveiling a new weather center that works with HD. Greg Thies, news operations manager at KING, says the framework of every such project must consider HD’s detailed resolution and wide aspect ratio. “It’s not a simple flip of the switch,” he says. This year, WRAL-TV in Raleigh, NC, the first station in the nation to broadcast HDTV, began a high-definition newscast on Super Bowl Sunday. WRAL says it’s the first television station in the nation to produce newscasts in high definition, including field newsgathering and editing. So what’s the difference between what WRAL just started and what KING and KOMO started almost two years ago? Not much. Most of KOMO’s and KING’s news video is shot in DTV wide screen in the field, while WRAL says its field video is all HD. “The HD video quality is stunning on an HD set,” says John Harris, director of special projects for WRAL-TV. “But we also see a very clear improvement in the down-converted analog video from our HD studio cameras and the new HD field cameras. This is most apparent when we go directly from locally shot sports video, for instance, to video we’ve taken in on a feed–the quality is so different it’s jarring. We’re now trying to improve the quality of all outside video because it looks terrible on the air next to our down-converted HD material.” At least as significant is another rivalry, the one between Sony and Panasonic. KOMO and KING use Sony Betacam SX camcorders to shoot wide-screen (16:9 aspect ratio DTV) news stories in the field and up-convert them for the HD broadcasts. KOMO also shoots some HD field video with Sony’s HDC-750 portable camera. As for Panasonic, it says WRAL’s accomplishment demonstrates that all-HD news can be implemented in mid-sized markets. WRAL purchased scores of pieces of Panasonic’s DVCPRO HD equipment, including 59 AJ-HD150 studio videotape recorders, 29 AJ-HDC20A 1080i camcorders, an HD switcher, and an AJ-HDR150 video server with multi-resolution recording and playback. The server plays mostly short, repetitive video elements such as bumpers. The list price for the camcorder is $60,000, and the video servers start at $80,000, but you can bet WRAL received deep discounts with these quantities, especially being the first to use them on a regular basis. Though it shoots in HD, WRAL continues to frame material for the standard 4:3 aspect ratio. The station’s satellite and microwave trucks are wide screen, but standard definition. WRAL previously used Panasonic DVCPRO50, (50 megabit per second compared with 100 for DVCPRO HD) for newsgathering. Panasonic says the DVCPRO HD is backwardly compatible with the earlier DVCPRO formats. “It’s a big investment,” says Harris, “but you can’t top the quality of the pictures.” –Michael Murrie is Communicator’s products writer.

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!