RSSHD DVD Studios to Join Microsoft, Toshiba in Promoting HDi
By Scott M. Fulton, III | Published October 4, 2007, 4:11 PM
Apparently as part of a separate effort from the HD DVD Promotional Group, Toshiba and Microsoft announced tomorrow morning Asia/Pacific time (this afternoon US time) they will form a new coalition dedicated to promoting the HDi interactive layer used in HD DVD.
The charter members of the Advanced Interactivity Consortium will consist of Paramount (along with its DreamWorks Animation unit), Warner Bros., and Universal Studios. These well-known studios have apparently made a commitment to release HD DVD titles in the near future -- a timeframe has not been publicly specified -- that will feature advanced overlaid menuing, bookmarking, Internet connectivity including download capability, and online shopping.
Missing from the list is Disney, which played a major role in the creation of what is now called HDi, but which today is firmly in the Blu-ray camp. Earlier, a Microsoft spokesperson told BetaNews that the company continues to acknowledge Disney's contribution to the HD DVD interactive layer, but that HDi should be interpreted as Microsoft's specific implementation of the standard - implying that other implementations could co-exist, even for other disc formats.
In a statement this afternoon, Microsoft entertainment and devices president Robbie Bach carried on that language: "We look forward to contributing to this effort with HDi, our implementation of HD DVD's interactive layer, and to collaborate with AIC members on how to extend interactive compatibilities to the consumer electronics market. The goal is to ensure a high-quality experience not only through optical discs but also through new digital download services."
New AIC member Universal announced its pending release yesterday of the first title that could qualify under the AIC specifications, and will probably bear the HDi logo as a result: the Steve Carell comedy Evan Almighty. For now, the plan is for the HDi logo to appear on discs that comply with Microsoft's standard, as well as on Toshiba-brand HD DVD consoles.
Perhaps not by coincidence, Universal Studios Home Entertainment President Craig Kornblau received star treatment from today's AIC charter announcement, as the sole representative of the studios to make a statement: "By following a standards-based approach, this collaboration will uniformly benefit consumers as well as the industry."
Looks like Microsoft are cooling on HD DVD..
http://www.avsforum.com/...showthread.php?t=918902
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|"Looks like Microsoft are cooling on HD DVD.."
- LMAO.
Only to a risible shill like yourself desperate to clutch at any straw.
Steve, Benjamin or whoever the f*ck you are today.
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|ok joey, or ben
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|Hey dumba**, who is this manufacturer? Some fly by night that uses the cheapest chips from a sweatshop in the gigantic armpit of southeast Asia? Give us a break with your "proofs".
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|uh oh....
isn't this the HD-DVD savior? the player that was supposed to be $199 and kill Blu-ray??....according to Target they didn't deliver...
http://www.target.com/gp...TF8&asin=B000W7O43U
and oh no...according to gizmodo.com it can't even output in 1080p....only 1080i....what a POS this thing is...AND it apparently doesn't qualify for the 5 free HD-DVD's with a purchase...
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|can you say 'Cheap' ?
want a high end quality product, you pay for it
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|"isn't this the HD-DVD savior?"
- Er no.
Sorry to burst your little day-dream.
Toshiba HD DVD players are selling as fast as they can make them, they are leading the Amazon tables (of all DVD players, not just high def) and have been for several months now.
"the player that was supposed to be $199 and kill Blu-ray??....according to Target they didn't deliver..."
- Er no again.
It's not yet available.
Target have chosen to sell it as pre-order on-line for a little premium right now, that's all.
Sorry to get you hopes dashed yet again but I have it on good authority that it will 'street' for $199 officially and be discounted in the holidays to $149.
It's also going to be bundled 'free' with some HD TVs.
It's just marketing.
1080i is almost entirely a marketing scam for idiots who don't understand the subject and spec sheet jockeys.
Those that do not have a 1920x1080 native resolution HD TV can't even make use of 1080p anyways......which is the overwhelming majority of HD TVs out there (and being sold).
720p/1080i TVs don't need anything else so why should they pay for it?
Ironically the 1080p TVs that obviously do have that native resolution can only show it progressively anyways and being the more expensive of the HD TVs are more likely to have the de-interlacing chipset to do away with any odd artifacts.
"and oh no...according to gizmodo.com it can't even output in 1080p....only 1080i....what a POS this thing is...AND it apparently doesn't qualify for the 5 free HD-DVD's with a purchase..."
- Before deciding you know the marketing strategy based on a swift glance at the Target web-page I'd advise you to stop guessing & wait a couple of weeks.
We'll soon see what is actually happening and what is and what is not on offer.
Cos you (like the rest of us) sure as hell know f*ck all squared about it right now.
Then you can return & try & gloat 'Mr Neutral' (LMAO, another one where that lasted well beyond a dozen posts, not).
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|Or in Sony's case you pay and then you pay some more...then just to "add quality" you pay some more.
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|Haha... Mr. Neutral.
Metfanant: "I never said Blu-ray was superior... they are of equal quality."
Whatever.
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|yup took about 5 minutes to debunk the "never said blu-ray was superior"
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|sony and microsoft are both after apples market share with the ipod and apple hasn't adopted either of the hd formats they offer. just a fun side thought after constantly hearing people complain on the apple forums that they need to add blueray drives to mac(book) pros for months on end. i dont see apple rushing to choose either side when it can drag its feet and feed neither.
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|"announced tomorrow morning"
I hope they pulled up in a DeLorean.
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|Asia/Pacific time.
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|I know, I know.
I still hope they turned up in a DeLorean, or at least had a servant called Passepartout.
/literary quips
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|hmm sounds like the sony boy's are going to be feeling a little blu today... again could care less but it's really amusing to see these fanboys hopes and dreams crushed slowly
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|Why? Because Microsoft and Toshiba (the 2 major backers of HD DVD), have joined togetehr to promore HDi?
Seems like non-news to me. Did anyone expect Toshiba and Microsoft NOT to promote HDi?
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|from how i read the headline:
HD DVD Studios to Join Microsoft, Toshiba
HD DVD Studios IS NOT Microsoft NOR Toshiba
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|was referring to the comment on the major studies making a commitment to hd.
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|"Toshiba and Microsoft announced tomorrow morning Asia/Pacific time (this afternoon US time) they will form a new coalition dedicated to promoting the HDi interactive layer used in HD DVD"
Well duh....
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|Ahh, if only you had read just a little further.
"The charter members ... will consist of Paramount (along with its DreamWorks Animation unit), Warner Bros., and Universal Studios."
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