Posted 06/23/09 at 04:53:15 PM by Andy Salisbury

According to a recent poll very few Americans are onboard with high definition media players, given that only 11 percent own an HD-DVD player, while 7 percent own a Blu-ray player.

While these numbers may not seem that high, they are up notably from 2008, where only 6 percent had HD-DVD players, and 4 percent had Blu-ray players. And, while there are a good amount of people with these players, many are still buying standard definition discs to watch on them, with only one high definition disc being bought per six standard definition discs.

Interesting results, especially given that Blu-ray was declared the winner of the format war sometime last year.

If you’d like to see the whole poll, be sure to check it out here (clicking the link will download a PDF).

Read More

Posted 03/16/09 at 05:21:55 PM by Andy Salisbury

While HD-DVD fell to Blu-ray years ago, it looks like Kinetic is still looking to push an HTPC that supports the format.

Though, that may be a bit unfair. The Kinetic HD:Hub has a drive in it that supports not only HD-DVD, but Blu-ray as well (keep in mind though, if you’re looking to pick up some leftover HD-DVD movies at liquidation prices, you’ll actually have the means to watch them!). And under the hood of this beast you’ll find an Intel Core i7 processor, up to four TV tuners, 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi, and a creative X-Fi Titanium sound card.

No word yet on pricing or availability.

Read More

Posted 07/02/08 at 11:04:32 AM by Paul Lilly

Now that Blu-ray rules the high definition roost, many are left wondering what Toshiba's next move be in the wake of HD-DVD's death, and a new logo has kicked speculation into high gear. The Toshiba-chaired DVD Forum recently approved the DVD Download/DL logo, a new spec likely to show up in Toshiba's next batch of super upscaling DVD players. But what exactly is this new feature? According to wireless consumer advocate Christopher Rice, DVD Download/DL equipped players will enable transmissions of HD-quality video from the web, so not only will your standard videos look better when upscaled, but you'll have the option to download the DVD in HD.

If true, one has to wonder why Toshiba would go down this road again and wage another war with Blu-ray, but is it really such a big gamble? Despite winning the high definition format war, Blu-ray sales have been a bust among consumers, and buyers are realizing that upscaled DVDs look pretty darn good on a HDTV. And because the new players won't introduce a new optical format, movie studios won't be able to render the player obsolete as easily as they did with HD-DVD. Sounds promising in theory, but let's see how it shakes out in practice.

Read More

Posted 01/11/08 at 07:20:12 PM by The Maximum PC Staff

CES is over, and what better way to celebrate then this, the big 50th edition of the Maximum PC Pocdast! This week, Dave, Will, Gordon, and Jeremy discuss all the awesome stuff they saw (or heard other saw) at the big trade show, Will's huge rig-building victory at CES, and what the heck happened during last week's podcast! We don't even answer any tech questions this week, it's that news-heavy of a show!

Subscribe: http://feeds.feedburner.com/maximumpc/1337

Read More

Posted 01/09/08 at 06:19:57 PM by Paul Lilly

Hackers attack BitTorrent site, XBox 360 mulling over Blu-ray, Skype joins forces with the Playstation Portable, and much more!

Read More

Posted 10/25/07 at 07:14:27 PM by Paul "One4yu2c" Lilly

Intel opens new plant for 45nm processors, Toshiba squelches HD-DVD rumor, Microsoft gets in your Face(book), find out who's getting sued this week, and much more!

Read More

Posted 10/03/07 at 08:49:49 PM by Paul "One4yu2c" Lilly

Verizon's Voyager vows to vanquish the iPhone, HD-DVD opens up online shopping, sneak peek of Photoshop Express, and how close and personal are you with your vacuum?

Read More

Posted 09/05/07 at 07:12:27 PM by Michael Brown

Got four HDMI video sources, but only one HDMI input on your TV? Here's a slick solution.

Read More