Shuttle endeavour HD-DVD

Shuttle endeavour

HD-DVD, Toshibas attempt at setting the standard for next-generation, high-definition video discs, flopped and died way back in February. Its a Blu-ray world now, right? But Toshiba seems determined to pee in Sonys victory champagne. I was flipping through our Sports section this morning, and the back page has a full-page ad for Toshibas new upscaling DVD technology, dubbed XDE. As far as I can tell, Toshiba has not bothered to release a single Blu-ray player since HD-DVD was retired. Instead, the company is pouring its time and money into this goofball XDE format that is essentially an upscaling DVD player. The XDE player advertised is 99, which isnt much cheaper than some of the Blu-ray players youll be able to find this holiday season. And a 99 Blu-ray player is certainly coming next year. Toshiba clearly believed in the future of HD, or it wouldnt have spent billions propping up HD-DVD. So its hard to see this XDE push as anything but sour grapes. Now, Rockon and DaveBG, I want both of you to come out of your corners at the bell, and watch the headbutts and rabbit punches. No clinching. Annnnnnnnd FIGHT! Tightening up your tech budget doesnt have to mean going without your favorite gizmos and services. In todays dead-tree edition of the paper, I have a story looking at some of the simple ways you can pay less for all the tech stuff you want or are currently using. From ditching your landline phone the average household spends 480 a year on landline service and just using a cell phone, to buying low-cost cables on sites like or, as one reader wrote in to suggest, rather than in overpriced retail stores, we offer a variety of ways to feed your tech addiction while not draining your wallet. And we want your suggestions, too! If you have any innovative ways youre saving on technology stuff without just resorting to simple abstinence, let us know. Netflix said it expects about 500, 000 of its nearly 7 million subscribers to be Blu-ray Disc subscribers by the end of the year. The Los Gatos, Calif. – based online DVD rental pioneer would generate about 6 million annually from Blu-ray subs when factoring the recently announced 1 monthly surcharge to Blu-ray subscribers, which takes effect Nov. It will be interesting to see if those Blu-ray subscriber numbers jump, though, with Best Buy and other retailers racing to get BR players under 200 sooner than analysts had expected: Best Buy Co. is selling its proprietary Insignia brand Blu-ray Disc player for 199 after a 30 in-store discount more than 40% off the suggested retail price. Industry observers have long considered a sub-200 price point key to bridging the demarcation line separating early adopters from mainstream consumers. The Profile 1 NS-BRDVD player, which includes 100 in discount coupons on select Blu-ray movies, has been viewed as a conversation starter designed to spark consumer interest in high-definition packaged media, according to a spokesperson for Minneapolis-based Best Buy. In addition, the price drop, less than six weeks before Black Friday, when retailers traditionally slash prices on select consumer products heading into the holiday shopping season, follows a move by Target Corp. , which last week bowed an Olevia-brand Profile 1 player for James McQuivey, principal analyst with Forrester Research, said he is surprised by the price cut since Blu-ray manufacturers he spoke with in 2007 said it was not economically advantageous to go below 299, much less 2 The Samsung BD-P1500 is shuttle endeavour listed for between 200 and 300 on most sites, but Gizmodo received a tip that the unit should be available for 149 at Ultimate Electronics and likely other retailers for the unofficial kickoff of the Christmas shopping season. Home Media Magazine reports that Iron Man sold 2 million copies on DVD and more than 500, 000 copies on Blu-ray in the first week of availability. Those Blu-ray totals include 260, 000 day-one sales, a record for the platform. Iron Man is the now best-selling Blu-ray title of 2008, Home Media reports. Assuming The Dark Knights box office lead over Iron Man 526 million versus 318 million translates into an equivalent lead in Blu-Ray sales, then Dark Knight Blu-ray sales could top 800, 000 copies in the first week. Which just shows how far Blu-ray still has to go to catch up to DVD, since, as noted, Iron Man has already sold more than 7 million copies on that older format. Still, the relatively huge sales performance on Blu-ray for Iron Man and Dark Knight, presumably, should help win some converts to the technology. Of course, a 99 Blu-ray player would win a lot more converts, but that probably wont happen until next Christmas. Andrew D. SmithGuest shuttle endeavour Starting Nov. 5, customers who put Blu-ray discs in their Netflix queues will be billed an extra 1 a month. A letter sent to customers this morning explained the surcharge thus: As you may know, Blu-ray movies are more expensive than standard definition movies. As a result, were going to start charging 1 a month plus applicable taxes, in addition to your monthly membership charge, for monthly access to Blu-ray movies. In reality, however, this and all other pricing decisions are made for exactly the same reason: companies think theyll make more with whatever price they charge than with any other price. Andrew D. SmithGuest blogger Amazon, Circuit City and other online sites have cut the price of the Sony BDP-S300 below 200, shipping included. The machine gets a three-star rating from CNet, which praised its excellent picture shuttle endeavour but panned its slow load times. This is the first Blu-ray player Ive seen below the 200 mark, but it wont be the last. But Favreau sounds like hes passing on some bit of gossip that he got from his butler, who heard it from his florist, who overheard a cell phone conversation at the bus station.