From: http://furiousfanboys.com/
Still reeling with nerd rage over George Lucas adding “NO” to Vader’s murder of Palpatine? Well new footage from the Blu-Ray has leaked out that reveals the real dialog that has been dubbed over the scene, and it’s possibly one of the funniest Star Wars things you’ll see all week.
By Lucas Mearian
From: Computerworld
Start-up Millenniata and Hitachi-LG Data Storage plan to soon release a new optical disc and read/write player that will store movies, photos or any other data forever. The data can be accessed using any current DVD or Blu-ray player.
Millenniata calls the product the M-Disc, and the company claims you can dip it in liquid nitrogen and then boiling water without harming it. It also has a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) study backing up the resiliency of its product compared to other leading optical disc competitors.
Millenniata CEO Scott Shumway would not disclose what material is used to produce the optical discs, referring to it only as a "natural" substance that is "stone-like."
Like DVDs and Blu-ray discs, the M-Disc platters are made up of multiple layers of material. But unlike the former, there is no reflective or die layer. Instead, during the recording process a laser "etches" pits onto the substrate material.
"Once the mark is made, it's permanent," Shumway said. "It can be read on any machine that can read a DVD. And it's backward compatible, so it doesn't require a special machine to read it - just a special machine to write it."
While Millenniata has partnered with Hitachi-LG Data Storage for the initial launch of an M-Disc read-write player in early October, Shumway said any DVD player maker will be able to produce M-Disc machines by simply upgrading their product's firmware.
Millenniata said it has also proven it can produce Blu-ray format discs with its technology - a product it plans to release in future iterations. For now, the platters store the same amount of data as a DVD: 4.7GB. However, the discs write at only 4x or 5.28MB/sec, half the speed of today's DVD players.
"We feel if we can move to the 8X, that'd be great, but we can live with the four for now," Shumway said, adding that his engineers are working on upping the speed of recording.
Millenniata is also targeting the long-term data archive market, saying archivists will no longer have to worry about controlling the temperature or humidity of a storage room. "Data rot happens with any type of disc you have. Right now, the most permanent technology out there for storing information is a paper and pencil -- until now," Shumway said.
In 2009, the Defense Department's Naval Air Warfare Weapon's Division facility at China Lake, Calif. was interested in digitizing and permanently storing information. So it tested Millenniata's M-Disc against five other optical disc vendors: Delkin Devices, Mitsubishi, JVC, Verbatim and MAM-A.
"None of the Millenniata media suffered any data degradation at all. Every other brand tested showed large increases in data errors after the stress period. Many of the discs were so damaged that they could not be recognized as DVDs by the disc analyzer," the department's report states.
Recordable optical media such as CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs are made of layers of polycarbonate glued together. One layer of the disk contains a reflective material and a layer just above it incorporates an organic transparent dye. During recording, a laser hits the die layer and burns it, changing the dye from transparent to opaque creating bits of data. A low power laser then can read those bits by either passing through the transparent dye layer to the reflective layer or being absorbed by the pits.
Over long periods of time, DVDs are subject to de-lamination problems where the layers of polycarbonate separate, leading to oxidation and read problems. The dye layer, because its organic, can also break down over time, a process hastened by high temperatures and humidity.
While the DVD industry claims DVDs should last from 50 to 100 years, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), DVDs can break down in "several years" in normal environments. Additionally, NIST suggests DVDs should be stored in spaces where relative humidity is between 20% and 50%, and where temperatures do not drop below 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
Gene Ruth, a research director at Gartner, said generally he's not heard of a problem with DVD longevity. And, while he admits that a DVD on a car dashboard could be in trouble, the medium has generally had a good track record.
But Ruth said he can see a market in long-term archiving for a product such as the M-Disc because some industries, such as aircraft engineering, healthcare and financial services, store data for a lifetime and beyond.
Millenniata partnered with Hitachi-LG Data Storage to provide M-Ready technology in most of its DVD and Blu-ray drives. Shumway said the products will begin shipping next month and should be in stores in the beginning of October.
"We felt it was important that we first produce this with a major drive manufacturer, someone that already had models and firmware out there," Shumway said.
Unlike DVDs, which come in 10-, 25-, 50- or 100-disc packs, M-Discs will be available one at a time, or in groups of two or three for just under $3 per disc. Millenniata is also courting system manufacturers in the corporate archive world.
"We're working with some very large channels as we train their distribution networks to launch this," he said. "At the same time, we're launching this at Fry's [Electronics] so consumers can see it and be introduced to this technology."
By Electronista Staff
From http://www.electronista.com/
Darth Vader announced the release of the Star Wars Saga on Blu-ray. This announcement was a lavish event held at the Panasonic Booth at CES. Not only did Darth Vader show up with his “friends,” but major representatives from 20th Century Fox and Amazon.com were on hand. Check out the press release below:
LAS VEGAS (Jan. 6, 2011) – The most anticipated Blu-ray release ever – the Star Wars Saga – emerges from light speed this September 2011. For the first time, all six of George Lucas’ epic films (Episodes I-VI) are united in one complete set. Fans worldwide are able to pre-order now with online retailers.
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release Star Wars in three distinct sets to meet the needs of every Star Wars fan:
Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray (9-disc Set includes all six films)
Star Wars: Prequel Blu-ray Trilogy (3-disc set includes Episodes I-III)
Star Wars: Original Blu-ray Trilogy (3-disc set includes Episodes IV-VI)
STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA ON BLU-RAY will feature all six live-action Star Wars feature films utilizing the highest possible picture and audio presentation, along with three additional discs and more than 30 hours of extensive special features including never-before-seen deleted and alternate scenes, an exploration of the exclusive Star Wars archives, and much more.
Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray will be available for $139.99 US/$179.99 CAN and the Star Wars: Trilogy Sets for $69.99 US/89.99 CAN. Pricing for each set will vary by international territory.
Flanked by a legion of his finest Imperial Stormtroopers, Darth Vader himself joined Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment President Mike Dunn at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to announce the release, vowing “The forces of the Empire will be at your disposal to assure the success of this endeavor.”
“The Star Wars Saga is the most anticipated Blu-ray collection since the launch of the high-def format,” Dunn said. “The epic franchise pioneered sound and visual presentation in theaters and is perfectly suited to do it again in the home, with a viewing experience only possible with Blu-ray.”
“With all six episodes available for the first time in one collection, this is a great way for families and home audiences to experience the complete Saga from start to finish,” said Doug Yates, Vice President of Marketing, Online, Distribution, Lucasfilm Ltd. “And with the quality of high-definition, Blu-ray provides the most immersive home experience possible.”
“The Star Wars franchise has been one of the most anticipated Blu-ray releases by Amazon’s customers,” said Bill Carr, Vice President of Music and Video at Amazon. “We think that Star Wars will be incredibly popular with our customers, and we expect pre-orders to be very strong.”
Pre-order Star Wars on Blu-ray now!
‘Star Wars’ Is Coming To Blu-ray!
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Earlier today at Star Wars Celebration V, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox announced something fanboys have been wanting to hear for what feels like a millennium: the beloved Star Wars saga will be finally coming to the realms of high definition Blu-ray.
A bit of a wait is still in your future as the set isn’t marked for release until the fall of 2011, but the wait sounds like it will be worth it. The Blu-enhanced Star Wars box set will consist of all six films, bathed in the highest possible visual and audio formats. Also included will be a wealth of special features including documentaries, unseen footage from the Lucasfilm archives, retrospectives, interviews, and rare behind-the-scenes moments.
While speaking about the exciting announcement, the creator himself George Lucas said “Blu-ray is the absolute best way to experience Star Wars at home – in pristine high definition. The films have never looked or sounded better.”
It’s unclear at the moment if the only available set being released next fall will be the above-mentioned six-film package, or if all movies will be offered individually as well. It’s obvious that the individual films and separate trilogies will likely get a Blu-ray release at some point, but a little more waiting may be involved there.
[Source: Lucasfilm]
thisoneisonus.org — In January 2009, Trent Reznor "leaked" 405Gb of HD footage of Nine Inch Nails' Lights in The Sky tour footage to fans. Jump forward 18 months and TODAY, after many audio and DVD releases, the thisoneisonus group is proud to announce the release of our final project from this footage - a professionally mastered, color-corrected and authored Blu-Ray.
click here for the torrent: http://thisoneisonus.org/node/62
With the right software, hardware, and understanding of the issues, you can free video from a movie disc to be used any way you choose.
read more | digg story
Today, with the floor open, is the first real day of CES. By now we've seen a good deal of gear from the big companies, and here's the best so far.
Palm Pre : Number one with a bullet. If we told you three months ago that Palm would own CES, would you have believed us? But this phone is for real, and from the looks of it right now, it very well could be the morale lift Palm so badly needed.
And the rest, in no particular order:
Samsung BD-4600 Blu-ray Player: Wall-mountable, networked, 1.5-inches thick, and really, really nice looking.
Samsung Luxia LED TV Lineup: Samsung loosed a whole series of ultra-thin, LED-backlit, network-connected LCDs, winning the Battle of the TV Announcements hands down.
Vizio Connected HDTVs: These Vizios stream just about everything possible over wireless-N: Amazon, Blockbuster and Netflix VOD, Pandora, Flickr, Rhapsody, plus any other Yahoo web widget.
Sony Vaio P: Sony's Vaio P is something we haven't seen before: a 2.08:1 aspect ratio (1600x768) on a 1-inch thick portable. Something different in the very, very generic netbook field.
Casio 1,000fps Point and Shoot Cameras: Both the EX-FC100 and the EX-FS10 bring the EX-F1's slo-mo capture goodness to a point and shoot. Casio's still the only folks in the super slo-mo field, and they're continuing to kill.
LG's GD910 Watch Phone: It was a non-working, behind-the-glass prototype last year, but one of every gadget head's boyish dreams will come true later this year: A watch that's a phone.
Eee Keyboard: Asus took the crazy cake with their still-shadowy home theater keyboard. With an onboard processor (of some kind), a touchscreen and keyboard and wireless HDMI, it makes perfect sense as a unique home-theater machine.
Sony Cyber-shot G3: We're all about putting web browsers on as many things as possible, and Sony's found another way to get one into our pants: A super-slim wi-fi-equipped Cyber-shot G3 that's the world's first to surf the web.
Panasonic Portable Blu-ray Player: Panasonic's DMP-B15 is the world's first portable Blu-ray deck. Your laptop probably doesn't have a BD drive, but this will ensure you can watch hi-def 1080p on a tiny, tiny screen on your next flight.
And there you have it. Good stuff you may or may not be able to afford in '09? Disappointment of disappointments? Discuss. [CES 2009]
The new media has a total storage capacity of 33.5GB and is compatible with existing DVD and Blu-ray players. The biggest advantage of the new media is backward compatibility - you can play it on your DVD or Blu-ray player.
Based on JVC's 2004 Blu-ray/DVD combo disc technology, Infinity has layered one format on top of the other on the same side of the disc, making it possible for the lasers to penetrate to the desired depth and read the required information.
The Blu-ray makes up the top layer (25GB) with two more layers beneath that make up the DVD layers (8.5GB). Separated by a semi reflective film, the blue laser accesses the top layer and bounces off the DVD layers, while the red laser penetrate the various layers to get to the DVD information underneath.
The company claims that it has achieved compatibility with 99 percent of tests made on 64 Blu-ray and DVD players and conforms to the Blu-ray Disc specifications released by the Blu-ray Disc Association.
As we mentioned earlier, technically, this is not new. In 2004, JVC released a prototype [PDF], but ISM is the first company to take the disc to production, and hopefully to the masses. The only disadvantage? Currently it's only available in Japan, and no release date has been set for the United States.
via: CDRInf
For true fans of “The Dark Knight,” tomorrow has been the day we’ve all been waiting for — when, at long last, the film is released on DVD and Blu-ray, complete with TONS of special features, extras, and in some cases, limited edition statuettes and masks. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. have been giving the 11th hour push with getting the word out, offering up exclusive sneak-peeks at some of the special features contained on the disk to various websites — and now it’s our turn!
In our exclusive clip below, we check in with GCN’s resident news host, Mike Engel (Anthony Michael Hall) during an interview with Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) as a breaking news report comes in, but you’ll have to watch the clip to find out what’s going down on the mean streets of Gotham…
As mentioned, “The Dark Knight” hits stores tomorrow on DVD and Blu-ray, and for the hardcore Bat-fans out there, various stores will be offering limited edition collector sets of the movie complete with statuettes featuring Heath Ledger’s The Joker, Christian Bale’s Batman and masks of the Dark Knight as well as the ones the Joker’s gang wore during the bank robbery scene.
Are you gonna be picking up “The Dark Knight” on DVD or Blu-ray tomorrow, or are you hoping Santa will leave it under the tree? We wanna know in the comments.
By Jacqui Cheng
Forget boring old standard-def DVDs—movie pirates have moved on to selling high-definition discs in an effort to make money on the HD craze. The HD discs are not genuine Blu-ray discs and don't boast as high resolution as Blu-ray does, but they're apparently good enough to fool many consumers, and the movie industry is worried.
Law enforcement in Shenzhen, China, raided a warehouse last month that contained HD copies of a number of popular movies. There were over 800 discs (so, what is that, like eight spindles?) that were packaged in faux Blu-ray boxes, complete with holograms to make them appear legitimate. According to the Motion Picture Association International, this is the "first ever" seizure of these types of discs in China.
The pirates are apparently ripping high-def movies (cracking Blu-ray's AACS and BD+ encryption in the process) and re-encoding them using AVCHD, which offers a 720p picture. Because of the reduction in resolution, file sizes are smaller and can be burned to regular DVDs instead of the more costly Blu-ray discs, netting a tidy profit. Needless to say, the film industry isn't thrilled by the news. "We are concerned and are assigning priority to this issue," the MPA's Asia-Pacific managing director Mike Ellis told the Wall Street Journal.
Movie piracy in China is by no means a new trend, but the proliferation of Blu-ray fakes out of Asia is being viewed as a serious threat that could make its way to other countries quickly. Ellis pointed out that pirates in China can be very enterprising and have exported their wares all over the globe in the past, so there's nothing stopping them from doing so with this new format. "These syndicates are very quick to spot market opportunities," he said.
The news comes at a tough time for Blu-ray. The format's growth is stalling thanks to the high price of discs and players combined with the struggling economy, and in September, Blu-ray's market share actually fell in favor of the cheaper and ubiquitous standard-definition DVDs, as well as HD downloads. With the Chinese Blu-ray clones going for as little as $7 apiece (compared to the typical Blu-ray disc at $30+), it comes as no surprise that they're being viewed as a threat—especially if they're dressed up as Blu-ray discs and consumers aren't clear on what they're getting.
Will The Dark Knight be the start of something special for Blu-ray?
With DVD still dominating retailer's shelves, and digital downloads and upscaling players pinching some of the limelight, Blu-ray has had a pretty hard run of it of late. All is not lost for the format, however, it needs the right film release to get back on the straight and narrow.
With this in mind we've taken a look at upcoming releases and the films still to make it on to the format to compile TechRadar's list of movies that can, with a little luck, save Blu-ray from a fate worse than Laser Disc…
1. The Matrix
It was the film that gave the DVD format a much-needed shot in the arm when it was released back in '99 and Warner is hoping its forthcoming release will do the same with Blu-ray.
Picture-wise, the movie is 1080p, taken from a VC-1 codec and, thankfully, the whole trilogy is presented in its original 2.40:1 aspect ratio. Audio is Dolby TrueHD 5.1.
No matter what your quibbles are about the subsequent sequels, there's no getting around the fact that seeing bullet time in HD will be simply awesome. Couple this with the mountain of extras The Complete Matrix Trilogy has, including some HD-exclusive features, and this will be one unmissable Blu-ray release.
Release date: 24 November
2. The Godfather
The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration Collection has been out on Blu-ray for a while now, but its recent win at the High-Def Disc Awards, where it was given the prestigious title of 'Best Blu-ray of 2008' should hopefully make naysayers stand to attention.
The Godfather is not just an old re-release, either, the edition is the closest you will ever get to seeing the film as it looked in the cinema in 1972, in 1.78:1 aspect ratio with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 sound. If that isn't an offer you can't refuse, then we don't know what is.
Release date: out now
3. Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring
Peter Jackson is the king of the home entertainment format. He embraced Laser Disc, giving his comedy horror flick The Frighteners an extensive release, and his King Kong and Lord Of The Rings trilogy are still the best and most comprehensive discs on DVD.
Lord Of The Rings on Blu-ray will undoubtedly be something special. While it will be hard to top the original Extended Editions, just seeing The Shires in HD will be something special. And, who knows, he might slip his recent short film 'Crossing The Line' in as an extra. Shot with the brilliant 4k RED camera, it's one of the best things around in HD.
Release date: TBA
4. The Dark Knight
The best film of this year by a country mile, The Dark Knight has been mooted by many – and now TechRadar – as the film to save Blu-ray. Number crunching analysts are predicting the movie will hit the magical million mark when it is released in December.
The film will suit Blu-ray perfectly, with Nolan promising some hi-def exclusive extras, and you will be able to see the ground-breaking IMAX shots in 16:9.
There's no doubt that The Dark Knight will be huge, and with a release date just before Christmas, it could well be the movie to finally make average consumers take the hi-def plunge.
Release date: 8 December
5. Wall-E
While putting a near-silent movie onto Blu-ray may not sound like the greatest idea, the bleeps, whizzes and coo-ing of Wall-E (voiced by Ben Burtt), Pixar's latest and cutest creation, will sound superb in HD when it's released at the end of the month.
Pixar movies have the added advantage of being loved by children and adults alike, and with the rest of the animation company's creations already superbly transferred to Blu-ray, Wall-E should be the icing on a very lucrative cake. And considering the CGI animation is among the best seen, it won't be difficult for the last robot on Earth to shine on Blu-ray.
Release date: 24 November
6. Sleeping Beauty
This may seem like an odd entry, but Disney finally deciding to embrace Blu-ray with open arms is a fantastic boon to the format. Every time a classic Disney movie was released it was an event, as The Mouse House only allows them to be on the shelves for a limited time (in the UK that is) until the next classic release comes along. This added a limited edition factor that no collector could refuse.
But Disney is holding a different Ace this time around – Profile 2.0. The company is going straight for every parents' Achilles' heel – their kids. With downloadable content including ringtones and games, Sleeping Beauty could well be the disc to show off Blu-ray's interactive capabilities.
Release date: out now
7. Watchmen
Even though Watchmen hasn't even hit the cinema's yet, the movie should still be on everyone's must-have Blu-ray list.
Not only will Zach Snyder's movie be a visual feast – if the trailer and Alan Moore's peerless graphic novel is anything to go by – but the Blu-ray will open up the Watchmen world even more. Rumoured to contain a whole new mini movie, based on 'The Black Freighter', the comic within the comic, it looks as if Snyder will be putting out a Blu-ray disc so good that even Alan Moore might watch it.
Release date: TBA
8. Apocalypse Now
The multiple releases of Apocalypse Now on DVD made a mockery of the film. Light on features, the movie suffered as a result of distributors not seeing eye to eye, so fantastic extras like Hearts Of Darkness weren't released with the main film.
Release the film on Blu-ray in one package, complete with theatrical version, the redux version and uber-documentary Hearts Of Darkness and you will have such a complete set that fans will find it irresistible.
Oh, and if the film is fully remastered and comes with ear-bleeding audio, then that would be an added bonus. We can only but dream.
9. Star Wars
Yes, you bought the remastered DVD release. You probably coughed up for the original version of the trilogy in disc form. And you may even have paid out for Episodes I-III. But even in these credit-crunching times the idea of The Star Wars Trilogy on Blu-ray is an enticing one.
There's been no word about Lucas' plans for Blu-ray, but as the Clone Wars BD is soon to be released on the format, it's definitely more 'when', rather than 'if'.
If you want to hear what a John Williams THX score would sound like on Blu-ray, then the latest Indiana Jones Blu-ray release has been given the THX seal of approval.
Release date: TBA
10. Alien
Ridley Scott's horror monster movie brought unimaginable terror to space, and paved the way for countless imitators.
Its release on DVD as part of the Alien Quadrilogy remains one of the best things on the format. Packed to the rafters with Making Of content, commentaries and even a director's cut, the collection was so good, it even made you forget just how bad Alien: Resurrection was.
Seeing HR Giger's monstrous creation in HD would be a treat for horror fans, though seeing John Hurt's chest explode in 1080p may be too much for some to stomach.
Release date: TBA
By Jacqui Cheng |
There may be an ongoing lawsuit between the two companies, but that's not stopping Mac clone maker Psystar from moving forward with new product plans without Apple's approval. The company proudly announced today that it is now shipping "Mac OS X-compatible PCs" with Blu-ray drives as well as NVIDIA 9800GT graphics cards. Why does anyone care? Psystar makes a point to say that it is introducing both of these technologies into Mac-compatible computers long before Apple has done so in its own machines.
You may remember earlier this month, when Steve Jobs said on stage that Blu-ray was a "bag of hurt" thanks to millions of licensing hoops. Apple wasn't ready to burden its users with a technology that may or may not be sticking around. Psystar president Rudy Pedraza completely disagrees, however. "Blu-ray has already won the format war. Not only is there fully functional and mature support for Blu-ray in other operating systems but you can now rent Blu-ray discs from almost any rental chain," Pedraza said in a statement. "Blu-ray has become pervasive technology that is being widely adopted by consumers everywhere."
Psystar points out that Apple has "chosen to delay support for Blu-ray," but customers looking for an OS X system with Blu-ray compatibility can now buy Psystar machines. Technically speaking, though, there are a handful of third-party Blu-ray drives made for the Mac that users can install into their Mac Pros, so it's not like a Psystar PC is the only way to get Blu-ray on a "Mac." You can really only use Toast 9 to burn to Blu-ray under the Mac, but what else can you do? It's not like Psystar is going to introduce magical OS support for Blu-ray under Leopard. Therefore, we say "BFD" to this announcement.
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