Digital Trends

With the CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association) EXPO Show finished for another year, one can’t help but sit back and wonder what the event was all about. (Personally, I'm still wondering.) Unlike previous installments, many products were debuted prior to the show. And while there were certainly new products introduced this year, they were trotted out in much smaller numbers than in recent memory. 

 

It’s a surprise, frankly, given that CEDIA attendance seemed just as strong to passing observers as it did in 2006. Even more so, when one realizes the just-debuted official press release reveals that the gathering actually played host to an impressive 29,000 attendees, which is much higher than original guesstimates. What’s more, unlike CES, most CE executives from major companies are on the show floor, making it relatively easy to obtain product and technology information.

 

But hey… who are we to judge? We’re just trying to make sense of the highlights.

 

 

The first thing that comes to mind this year about CEDIA is the tug-of-war between the HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc camps. Essentially, there is give-and-take between both factions, with each claiming victory over the other. It all comes down to how one interprets NPD data – either based on the last nine weeks (BD) or cumulatively (HD DVD). This comedy of errors in a nutshell: One group claims one set of figures, then the other camp reverses the same numbers, ceding the remaining market share percentage points for dual-format players (LG). (Although, for those counting, in the grand scheme of things, next-generation optical discs only account for about 1-percent of all DVD sales… and according to the most recent CEA numbers, DVD sales are up 20.4-percent to 11.8 million players over last year.) According to reports coming out of IBC (International Broadcasters Conference) in Amsterdam and Europe last week, video-disk industry insiders in Europe shared a litany of complaints based on the HD DVD/Blu-ray Disc formatwar, and basically summed it up in one word: confusion.

 

In Denver, at C.E.D.I.A., each camp came armed with its own NPD figures… and, of course, carefully-tailored conclusions. For example: The HD DVDPromotions Group who, in a press release dated Sept. 6, stated that Toshibahad a 55% market share year-to-date in high-definition standalone player sales followed by all Blu-ray companies at a combined 42%, claiming that the remaining 3% of the market is held by dual-format players. While the competition [Blu-ray] may claim that it actually holds frontrunner status based on the last nine weeks of NPD data, Toshiba argues that it has had continued sales leadership in every month since the original HD DVD players launched 17 months backs. Mind you, on the other hand, if you went to the Sonybooth at CEDIA, you’d have been privy to a contradictory flow chart, showing the progress of next-generation video player sales in a completely different light, with Blu-ray having a 55% market share and HD DVD having a 42% share, followed by dual-format players at 2%. In other words, Sony claims that Blu-ray beats HD DVD by 12%. Who is right? I say ask NPD – just be careful how you phrase the question.

The HD DVD Promotion Group that there are now more than 300 titles available on HD DVD, with more on the way for the volatile 4th quarter. They claim that there will be 1000 titles by year's end. According the HD DVD Group, Warner Home Video's300 has sold more than 100,000 copies in the HD DVD format. (If that's true, it's an impressive number…) But, by the same token, Blu-ray titles are reportedly currently outselling HD DVD by 2-to-1, which would mean that WHV sold 200,000 copies of the movie 300 on this competing format. Either way, it's an impressive feat, if hard to interpret what such milestones mean for the overall format war as a whole.  also announced

 

 

 

 

Toshiba's theme this year was appropriately space age. Star Trek: The Original Series, a title it’s really chosen to get behind, will be released on HD DVD in November. In fact, the 10-disc set will offer HD DVD Combo discs with HD DVD on one side and DVD on the other. With a fan base of 9.0 million+ viewers, it’s hoped that the collector’s package will boost HD DVD player sales, as has the recently-released Heroes (on HD DVD only). Toshiba also announced three new HD DVD players with the entry-level 1080p model (HD-A30) @ $399. (According to Toshiba, the best selling CE product on Amazon.com was the HD-A2 HD DVD player.) A company called Venturer will also be offering an inexpensive HD DVD player in the 4th quarter for a reported $199. Guess we’ll wait and see how everything pants out…

 

Toshiba HD-A30

 

Otherwise, Pioneer's new BDP-95FD Blu-ray player, which ships in October, reportedly includes a new version of the HDMI 1.3a chipset that will actually pass next-generation audio codecs. According to Pioneer, it will be the first BD player on the market that will actually pass those signals. Supposedly, up to now, players that include HDMI 1.3a can't really pass Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD Master Audio. Who knows, but I can say that I do have a couple of Blu-ray players from Samsung and Sony with HDMI 1.3a, and neither will pass those audio codecs via HDMI (and all components are version 1.3a). 

 

 

Moving right along, there were also new Blu-ray players introduced from Sony (see: the BDP-S500), and their first ES model (BDP-S2000ES). While Sharp officially announced its BD-HP20 Blu-ray player for the U.S. market, which will be priced at $549.95, the company also discussed its new D64 Series of LCD HDTVs. There were also erroneous reports of player introductions including a BD model from Harman Kardon. Further companies like JVC and others additionally showed prototype BD players under glass. In general though, the majority of audio manufacturers are still sitting on the fence, possibly hoping for a lower-cost dual-format player. Denon also showed its first BD player as did Daewoo (DBP-1000). Both Samsung (BD-UP5000)and LG (BH200) announced new fully-featured dual-format players at $999 each that will be available next month, and prices could drop to $799 by the Holidays. In other words, they’re won’t be a shortage of hardware options if you’re interested.

 

There's also a third HD format – HD VMD – in the wings from a company called NME I met with Dr. Eugene Levich, who created the format, and his staff, who hopes to bring this inexpensive high-definition optical disc player to market sometime in the 4th quarter of this year. According to Dr. Levich, this is the first optical disc format to be designed and created in the U.S. However, it will be manufactured in China. HD-VMD is a red laser format that is essentially an outgrowth of Microsoft's WM9 that was available a few years ago. At the time, you could only playback WM9 movie titles on a Windows Media Center PC with a lot of RAMspeed, and only a handful of titles were produced, including the undefeatable Terminator 2.   and a fast clock .

 

According to NME, which stands for New Media Enterprises, the basis of the HD VMD system is the use of multilayer disc technology, and the red laser. Currently, the HD VMD discs include 6 layers of 5GB each for a total storageoduce titles in the HD VMD format. capacity of 30GB, which the company believes will hold a 3-1/2-hour HD movie perfectly with extras. Reportedly, at launch, there will be 3,000 titles globally, although, it should be noted that the majority of these titles will be from European, Indian (Bollywood) and Asian home video companies. Reportedly, NME is close to announcing a deal with a U.S. home video company, who will pr

 

At HD VMD launch, there will be two players: One at $169, and one a step-up at $189. The more expensive model will include a USB, with units expected to be sold at Radio Shack and Costco as well. While this is an interesting proposition, I can't really see how it can fly being up against major CE brands and heavyweight movie studios. If anything, HD VMD can only cause more confusion on the part of the consumer. And, it there's enough confusion, the consumer will simply stick with a good quality upconverting DVD player from companies like Oppo Digital. On the other hand, the HD VMD format and associated systems could do well in the European, Indian, and Asian markets.  drive and a media card reader. A robust copy protection scheme will be employed from OptiKey. Initially, the HD VMD players will be available at amazon.com, and pcrush.com