X-bit labs

Saturday, January 7, 2006

Backers of Blu-Ray and HD DVD Reveal Movie Lists. Hundreds of Movies to Be Released for Next Gen DVDs

This week the most influential adopters of  Blu-ray and HD DVD formats revealed their plans in regards of movie releases for the new high definition disc formats. So far the HD DVD camp wins in terms of cost, but the Blu-ray has more studios on its side. Furthermore, it is unclear how many movies in HD will be available by the end of the year.

HD DVD Backers Prep 200 Movies – Report

Reports say that about 200 titles in HD DVD format will be available by late 2006.

Adopters of the HD DVD technology are Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, HBO Video, New Line Entertainment and Warner Home Video. According to reports, they would release about 200 HD DVD movies in 2006. The list of movies to be released includes “Million Dollar Baby”, “Harry Potter 4: The Goblet of Fire”, “Blazing Saddles”, “Full Metal Jacket”, “Jarhead” “Sahara” and “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”.

“It’s too early too tell which will win. The ideal solution would be a universal player,” Matt Lasorsa, executive vice president of marketing at New Line Home Video, said in a brief conversation after the presentation with CNET News.com.

Blu-Ray Adopters Also Promise Titles

Those who believe in the Blu-ray format have not unveiled the number of titles to be released, nevertheless, provided a list of movies to be available in the HD format.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 20^th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment and Lionsgate (formerly Lion’s Gate) will implement Blu-ray disc format, it is reported.

Sony’s initial offering is led by such high-profile theatrical films as “Hitch”, “The Fifth Element,” “Legends of the Fall”, “House of Flying Daggers”, “Bram Stoker’s,  Dracula”, “Desperado”, “For a Few Dollars More”, “The Guns of Navarone”, “A Knight’s Tale”, “Kung Fu Hustle”, “The Last Waltz”, “Resident Evil: Apocalypse”, “Robocop”, “Sense and Sensibility”, “Stealth”, “Species”, “SWAT” and “XXX”.

Sony said its initial slate will be released on single-layer, 25GB Blu-ray disc with the exception of “Black Hawk Down” and “The Bridge on the River Kwai”, both of which will be issued on 50GB dual-layer discs in the summer.

Fox’s first wave includes major releases “Fantastic Four”, “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”, “Behind Enemy Lines”, “Kiss of the Dragon” and “Ice Age”, among others.

Lionsgate’s lineup includes “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”, “Reservoir Dogs”, “Total Recall”, “Dune”, “Rambo: First Blood”, “Lord of War”, “The Punisher”, “The Devil’s Rejects” and “Saw”.

Paramount’s launch slate will have recent releases such as “Mission Impossible”, “Mission Impossible II”, “Mission Impossible III”, “Four Brothers”, “Sahara”, “Aeon Flux”, “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”, “The Italian Job”, “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider”, “U2: Rattle and Hum”, “Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow”, “We Were Soldiers” and “The Manchurian Candidate”.

• CNET News.com: HD DVD Backers Promise 200 Movies.
• Reuters: Four Studios Unveil Blu-Ray Hi-Def Lineups.

Panasonic Develops World’s Largest Plasma Screen. Panasonic Creates 103” Plasma Display Panel

Panasonic, a leading maker of consumer electronics, has announced it had developed a prototype of a 103” plasma display panel (PDP) with 1080p HDTV resolution and even showcased the product at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The prototype can deliver more than two million pixels of performance. 

The new display is capable of showing video in 1920x1080 progressive resolution with contrast of 3000:1. The panel incorporates Panasonic’s 1080p HD high-speed pixel drive.  The same high-speed pixel drive is used in the TH-65PX500 65” 1080p plasma TV, which has been well received in Japan since its introduction last November, and the 50”1080p plasma unveiled in October 2005. A drawback of the new PDP is relatively large pixel pitch: 1.182 square millimeters. Nevertheless, the new display is still the largest flat-panel display ever made.  

In flat panel displays, plasma has technical advantages over other technologies, including liquid crystal displays (LCD), when it comes to making larger size panels.  Nevertheless, there are numerous technical challenges in making plasma panels that are larger than 100” in diagonal while maintaining stable discharge and high picture quality across the entire surface of the panel. Panasonic has overcome these technical hurdles by developing a new rib (a “rib” divides each gas cell and prevents interference between adjacent cells to produce clear images) and phosphor for these super large panels. 

“Since Plasma is a self-illuminating device, it offers superior characteristics on several measures including dynamic contrast, true-to-life color reproduction, quick response time for sports and programs with fast-moving images and a wider viewing angle, an important factor for large screen display,” said Hiroyuki Nagano, director, PDP device business unit of Panasonic AVC Networks Company.

Panasonic said the 103”1080p plasma panel, equivalent to four 50” panels in size, features consistent and uniform discharge, delivering the same accurate images from the center to every corner of the screen and brightness as the current 50-inch HD model (TH-50PX500).

“Until now, the market for 100”+ screens was dominated by front projection TVs.  Panasonic now realizes another option in this sector. Our 103” 1080p PDP promises high quality images with high brightness, dynamic contrast, high resolution and excellent color reproduction that projection displays cannot match.  We believe it will create strong demand as a multipurpose display for business, educational and medical applications as well as home theater use,” said Mr. Nagano.

• Panasonic Press Release: Panasonic Develops the 103-inch 1080p Plasma Display Panel.