AFI BLOG: Media and Technology

FastCompany.com
Blu-ray may have defeated HD-DVD, but now it stands a chance of becoming too overpriced for an overburdened economy to adopt. Exactly how did Blu-Ray get to this position, and what’s happened since the format’s victory that could keep it from taking full advantage?
By early January, everyone knew that the end was near for HD-DVD. [...]

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First, I’m a huge Neil Young fan, so this is fascinating. But also the Java/Blu-ray connection and what can be done beyond offering next-gen movies and bonus materials.
Mashable
During the opening keynote at the JavaOne conference this morning, Neil Young made an appearance to demo his new project: an archive of the legendary rock star’s work [...]

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Best Buy Stands Behind Customers By Awarding More Than $10 Million in Gift Cards to HD-DVD Purchasers - Press Release
Leading Consumer Electronics Retailer will Send $50 Gift Cards to Customers Who Purchased an HD-DVD Player from Best Buy in the U.S.
With Blu-ray declaring victory over HD-DVD in the high definition movie format war, Best Buy, [...]

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Blu-ray Blues: With the HD War Over, Why Aren’t We Seeing Blu-ray Drives in Apple Computers? - I, Cringely
Now that HD DVD is dead and Sony’s Blu-ray has apparently won the HD media war, why aren’t we seeing Blu-ray drives available as a factory option, at least, for Macintosh computers? I think Steve Jobs [...]

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Toshiba drops out of HD DVD war - BBC News
Toshiba has said it will stop making its high definition DVDs, ending a battle with rival format Blu-ray over which would be the industry standard.
Following a review of its business, Toshiba said it would stop production of HD DVD players and recorders.
The HD DVD format has [...]

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Investors React to DVD War’s Near End - Red Herring
An impending end to a format war over next-generation DVDs boosted shares in both victorious Sony, in the Blu-ray corner, and Toshiba, in the losing HD DVD camp, on Monday as consumers cheered an end to confusion over which discs will carry high-definition movies.
Shares in Toshiba, [...]

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Best Buy, Netflix Back Blu-ray In High-Definition Format War - The Wall Street Journal
In another move that appears to cement Blu-ray’s position as the winning next-generation format for DVDs, Netflix and Best Buy Co. are throwing their support behind Blu-ray discs.
The votes of support for Blu-ray, developed by Sony Corp., from Best Buy and Netflix [...]

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Wall Street Journal
In a move that could tip the balance of power in the format war over the next generation of DVDs, Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros. Entertainment said it plans to release high-definition movies exclusively in the Blu-ray format, dealing a major blow to rival HD DVD.
The arrangement means the HD DVD format, which [...]

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3-D filmmaking set for expansion - Variety

Next year promises to be the year when 3-D pics go through the roof, the format battle between HD DVD and Blu-ray will be decided and Sony’s PlayStation 3 will hit back against the successful Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox 360, according to a report by U.K.-based media research [...]

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Studios seeing the dollars and sense in preservation - Hollywood Reporter
Many indie films still gathering dust
Much is made of the need to preserve old films for art’s sake. Funds are raised, grants given out to ensure that even cinematic historical footnotes like the 1945 Fox melodrama “Leave Her to Heaven” are given as much care [...]

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