High Definition DVD – The Format War’s Second Act

High Definition DVD – The Format War’s Second Act

Once again, there is a technology format war looming on the horizon. Many people don’t remember the VHS – Betamax battle that broke out when video players were first introduced, making it possible for people to watch movies at home. This was a case of two non-compatible technologies, each of which was a format for taping full length feature films. Ultimately VHS won out, and the movie companies put out their products in that format – thus dooming Betamax and the product manufacturers that had adopted their technology, not to mention the thousands of consumers that had invested in Betamax players. We now find ourselves on the verge of creating a new set of sore losers.

Skirmishes over LCD versus plasma screen HD TV technology are ongoing, but that type of technology contest isn’t as acute because you can watch TV or a movie on either type of screen. Currently, you can also play every DVD available on any DVD player that is in production and on the market. The next generation of DVD players, however, is coming over the horizon in the form of two distinct and incompatible technologies.

Toshiba versus Sony

Toshiba has developed a proprietary technology dubbed high definition DVD (HDDVD) and to support their format has developed alliances with Microsoft and Universal Films, among others. The HDDVD disks will be available in 15GB and two sided, 30GB versions.

By way of comparison, the current DVDs have enough storage for two hours of standard definition (SD) images, while the one-sided 15 gigabyte HDDVD disk can store up to eight hours of high definition (HD) images. The difference between SD and HD is simply twice the number of pixel lines displayed on the screen in the HD format, thus providing a crisper picture. The increased capacity of these disks will also allow for interactive features such as screen-in-screen director’s discussion of movie scenes playing behind him that today’s standard DVDs cannot support.

In the other corner is the Blu-Ray technology developed by Sony, who has lined up support from Apple, Disney and 20th Century Fox. Both formats use blue laser technology, which has a shorter wavelength than red, allowing it to read the smaller digital data “spots” packed a lot more densely onto a standard-size disc. Blu-Ray disks are designed to carry up to 50GB of digital material, which may mean that Sony wins the compression competition.

The Early Rounds

Sony Pictures released the first six films on Blu-Ray disks in June of this year, and have released a few more since. Samsung has a Blu-Ray DVD player in the stores, while Sony’s hardware division has released a Blu-Ray compatible PC. Toshiba has its initial HDDVD player on the market and there are a limited number of titles available in the format, mostly re-releases of previous first-run features.

Sony clearly jumped out to an early lead, with support from Dell, HP, Mitsubishi and a number of other hardware manufacturers. In addition, Sony Pictures also owns Columbia and MGM, giving them an enormous library to work with. Sony will also fold its technology into the PlayStation 3 gaming machine, their proprietary product whose 2nd version rules the roost in the videogame market.

On the Toshiba side of the battlefield, proponents argue that the HDDVD disks will be cheaper to produce and that it will be comparatively easy for disk replicators to retrofit their equipment for production purposes. The HDDVD format also makes production of recordable DVDs much simpler than with the Blu-Ray design.

Further, an alliance with Microsoft will be a formidable edge in this battle, should it turn into a protracted conflict. Microsoft’s operating systems are going to be important cogs in the development of future home viewing systems, as the technology moves closer to merging the functions of computers and televisions. If movie downloads become a commercial success, PC compatibility will be critical for these disks.

The Consumer Issues

One of the reasons that Microsoft aligned with Toshiba’s technology is that HDDVD provides for “mandatory managed copy.” What that means is that unlike with today’s conventional DVDs, managed copy allows consumers to make legitimate copies of their HD movies and enjoy this content around the home or across their personal networks. Making this feature mandatory will ensure a consistent consumer experience across all next-generation DVD content.

Then there is the element of iHD, which is the concept of maximizing high definition video for transport across the internet. This is a specific set of video specs which the iHD.org, a group of tech and media companies, is pushing as a cross-platform standard.

The theory is that next-generation HD movies will provide a level of interactive experience well beyond that of today’s conventional DVDs. iHD technology is meant to provide a broad foundation to enable new interactivity with standards-based development tools and technologies.

The pitch for this standard is that it will provide consumers with enhanced content, navigation and functionality for HD films. The business reality is that Microsoft plans to implement iHD support in its Windows Vista operating system, which will not only be a significant step towards integrated video and computer systems but will make help drive adoption of the new Microsoft platform.

Duel to the Death Unlikely

There is some indication that all of these conflicting issues may ultimately force a compromise – some sort of merger or unification of the two technologies. Hardware manufacturers are hedging their bets, with the latest wrinkle being that Blu-Ray-aligned Hewlett Packard has requested that mandatory managed copy and the iHD standard be included in Blu-Ray’s feature set. Sony has agreed to include the managed copy feature, but said no to iHD.

The Betamax – VHS battle was a tussle over hardware with the movie companies playing a predominant role, one Sony lost. This time around, there is much more uncertainty about how the next generation of home video will roll out. How will the Web and the PC fit in? Will the movies be delivered via disk or via download? How will the film industry protect its content rights and how can the hardware companies maximize their role?

PCs have become a commodity. If a scenario arises where every household needs a new computer to match up with new video technology, the Dells and HPs of this world stand to win big. If competing technology keeps people from investing in either, every involved business will suffer. If the film and DVD houses have to produce two sets of content and two disks for every film, their margins will grow considerably thinner as well. The tech bloggers seem to be increasingly inclined to believe that unification of some sort is inevitable. The corporations with the most to lose are too smart not to insist on it.

Mobile Blogging Made Easy

Mobile Blogging Made Easy

Cellular phones are exclusively for voice call functions before. It is used in places where there are no available telephone services. But with the advancement of communication technology, several innovations on the analog cellular phones were made. If before it is only used for calling purposes, now you can used it to sent text messages through its short messaging services (SMS).

After the introduction of SMS, multimedia messaging follows, where you can incorporate images, audio contents, and animations in your text messages. Mobile e-mail services innovates the traditional PC e-mail services, interactive gaming, capturing images using embedded camera, and other services are also taking place in the cell phone industry—thanks to the different communication specialist and experts.

The latest addition for new models of cell phones is the mobile blogging where you can now update your web blog even without logging in your personal computer. All the things you can do on Internet blogging—adding a photo from your cell phone or posting your thoughts or experiences on a new neighborhood, movie, concert, game console, or coffee shop—are done through your phone.

Barak Berkowitz, the chairman and CEO of Six Apart, a California-based company that is also pioneering in cell phone blogging, commented that this new feature will surely be a click especially phone manufacturers have already introduced the wireless Internet (WAP) and camera-equipped phones. He agrees that with WAP, people will be able to post or update their blog. At the same time, they can post pictures at the spot using their camera phone.

For those individuals who are still unfamiliar with blogging, it is a home page on the Internet that takes a form of a personal journal. All the entries in the blog are compiled chronologically which contains comments and thoughts on everything; in other words, your point of view about different topic.

Traditionally, you need to create your blog from your personal computer and post it on your own website or on a blogging community. But with the introduction of cell phone blogging, you can now use the service of your mobile network to transfer blogs to the web server. In other words, you can now post your blogs even when you are in your car or you are on a remote location.

Because of this development, computer specialists prompt to develop different software suited for such purpose. A certain software is developed to let you send images and text from your cell phone directly to a website. Another one combines cell phone blogging with location-based services. In other words, you will be able to use your phone not only to locate for areas of interest on a particular place; you will also be viewing comments that other people have left on their blogs regarding such areas of interest.

Currently, different mobile networks and other small start-up pioneer in mobile blogging are hitching the net. But Internet giants such as Yahoo and Google are now planning to enter the mobile blogging arena. Yahoo is now starting to test its cell phone blogging services and will be commercially releasing it in coming months. It just only shows that cellular phone blogging is becoming popular to mobile phone users.

There you go the newest innovation for your mobile phone. It is just a manifestation that your phone is not just for calling or texting functions; it can now be used for your blogging activities.

History of Last Dream XI

History of Last Dream XI

The Final Dream series is an exceptional set of video games that have ended up being a vital part of video game history. Last Dream XI is a specifically strong title. It is a great modern-day upgrade on the series, advancing it and also taking it right into interesting new region.

Final Dream XI is an impressive entrance in a series that is virtually twenty years old. The Last Dream collection was created by the Japanese company Square Co. in 1987. At the time Square remained in a tough position, as they had actually focused on making ready the Nintendo Famicom Disk System as well as this style had actually become out of favor. The firm were anxious for success as well as saw terrific possible in the role-playing category. Last Dream was their attempt to make a brand-new kind of role-playing title.

Last Fantasy appeared in Japan at the end of 1987. It was outstanding, using a fresh and also initial role-playing experience. Final Dream’s toughness was that it had a strong story that ran throughout the game. This made it really compelling and also assisted it to catch individuals’s interest. It was a huge success and also introduced what would certainly come to be a hugely prominent franchise business. It would result in Last Fantasy XI as well as past.

When Square made Last Fantasy, they took a look at the role-playing genre as well as discovered the opportunities of what it can do. Final Fantasy was ingenious, and also this feeling of invention would come to be a major component of the collection, proceeding completely via to Final Dream XI. The first follow up, Last Fantasy II, was equally creative, shocking people by generating an entirely brand-new story and also characters.

The Final Dream series flourished and also a number of stunning video games followed. Last Fantasy IV was a gripping, great video game and also came to be the 2nd title in the collection to be released in North America. Final Fantasy VI had an enthralling tale that gave it severe emotion and depth. Last Dream X made use of voice acting and lovely three-dimensional visuals to develop its own video game globe. These were all strong titles and laid the way wonderfully for Last Fantasy XI.

Last Fantasy XI has proceeded the feeling of innovation that is anticipated of this series. An extremely ambitious video game, it saw the franchise business move into the globe of on the internet gaming. Last Fantasy XI is a massively multi-player online role-playing game. It is also one-of-a-kind as it is playable on both consoles and PCs, every one of which attach to the exact same video game web servers. This has actually made it the first cross-platform title of its kind.

There was wonderful inquisitiveness about Final Fantasy XI prior to its launch in 2002. Photos as well as sneak peeks of the video game recorded individuals’s attention. A special incentive disk was consisted of with the launch of Final Dream X, containing a trailer for the game. Its maker Square Enix likewise held beta tests for the video game to gather gamers’ comments as well as improve it. This allowed them to deal with any issues that individuals had and also fine-tune it.

Last Fantasy XI was launched in Japan on May 16 2002 for the Sony PlayStation 2. The PC release began November 5th. It had its COMPUTER launch in The United States and Canada on October 28 2003, with the European release complying with in September 2004. The first Japanese launch was a challenging event, as the game needed a hard disk drive for the PlayStation 2 console and also stocks of these were limited in the beginning. Square Enix responded well to any kind of issues that created, and additionally released a game patch to boost it.

Square Enix adopted an intriguing approach to the game, developing it and also reworking it even after it had been released. The company has actually modified it considering that its launch and also made it also much better, adding in brand-new locations as well as brand-new content. This has improved the Last Dream XI experience. There have actually been two growths, Rise of the Zilart and Chains of Promathia, to match the game. A third growth, Treasures of Aht Urhgan, is prepared for spring 2006.

Last Dream XI has actually developed itself as a significant visibility in online pc gaming. It marketed well, accumulating greater than 500,000 clients by January 7 2004. There were nearly a million video game personalities active within this time around period. It was well obtained, taking pleasure in many positive testimonials from the video game press. It was crucial in developing Square Enix’s PlayOnline solution and also greater than satisfied their wish for the title.

Final Fantasy XI is an absolutely great video game. It has actually incorporated the imagination and also advancement that is the hallmark of Final Fantasy with a cutting-edge online pc gaming style. It is an incredible experience as well as has actually taken the collection in a brand-new direction. It will certainly proceed amusing individuals for a long period of time to come.