After Sony and six major cable MSOs recently came to an agreement on tru2way, other consumer electronics companies were invited to sign the same agreement. And now it seems others have, the signatories now include ADB, Digeo, Intel, Panasonic, Samsung, and Sony. As more vendors sign on to the agreement we’ll start seeing more options in two-way cable devices.
Their press release:
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Wal*Mart has decided to push high-definition systems in general, and Blu-ray in particular, in their stores. They’ve revamped their consumer electronics departments nationwide, and have added a “high-def Blu-ray experience area” in 1,200 stores. They’ve increased their selection of full HD (1080p) HDTVs by over 58%, and they’ve increased their selection of Blu-ray players by adding players from Magnavox, Samsung, and Panasonic to their existing Sony player offerings. Along with the additional players they’ve also expanded their selection of Blu-ray movies.
As a promotion, between June 8 and June 14, they’re offering a $100 Wal*Mart gift card with the purchase of any Blu-ray player. And, also beginning June 8th, they’ll be pricing selecting Blu-ray movies at only $15, including 3:10 to Yuma, WAR, Shooter, 300, and The Fifth Element.
Their press release announcing the changes:
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Well, this could be the end of the push for DCR+. Sony had been the big name still pushing for DCR+, as opposed to OCAP/tru2way. Well, it seems that’s no longer the case. Sony has come to an agreement with the six largest cable MSOs in the US, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox, Charter, Cablevision and Bright House Networks, which collectively server 82% of US cable subscribers, over 105 million US homes. The national two-way cable agreement will see Sony supporting tru2way under streamlined licensing agreements. Other consumer electronics companies have been invited to join the agreement as well.
So it looks like OCAP/tru2way will end up the industry standard, and the DCR+ push is likely to fade away now. The full terms of the Memorandum of Understanding that covers the agreement have not yet been released, giving other potential signatories time to review it. I’ll keep an eye out for those terms once they’ve been released.
I’m just glad to see an apparent end to the stalemate. If the CE industry in general embraces tru2way then it opens the floodgates for more advanced cable products for consumers, which is a good thing.
The press release announcing the agreement is below.
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The previously discussed Sony PS3 DVR add-on, the PlayTV, finally has a European release schedule and pricing.
The PlayTV will be available in Europe in September for €100, or approximately £80/$160. As previously reported, the PlayTV will have dual DVB-T tuners to enable DVR functionality on the PS3, and content can be place-shifted for remote viewing on the Sony PSP. Australia is expected to receive the PlayTV roughly a month after the European release.
Who knows if well ever see something like this in the US. Unlike most of the rest of the world, terrestrial broadcast isn’t very popular in the US. So while an ATSC version of the PlayTV would certainly be possible, I don’t think it would sell well. Sony would really need a CableCARD-enabled tuner as most of the US market uses cable, and/or a partnership with DirecTV or Dish Network. Though the PS3 is certainly capable of handling OCAP/tru2way, and the BD-J standard for Blu-ray is actually part of the same familiar as OCAP (both are based on GEM/MHP), so perhaps some work could be reused.
From Register Hardware.
I post a lot about TiVo in Australia, but they’re not the only game in, or coming to, town. CNET Australia reports that Australia EPG provider IceTV plans to add a feature called ‘IceTV Recommendations’, which is similar to TiVo Suggestions. Since IceTV is just a guide and not a full DVR package, it does not auto-record the programs, but rather presents them as suggestions to the user to decide on. (You can do the same on TiVo by disabling Suggestion auto-recording and then manually checking them in the menus. TiVo+8 is the shortcut.) The feature is currently compatible with Windows Media Center and Mac/EyeTV, but compatibility with additional DVRs which use the IceTV guide will be announced in the coming weeks.
And the previously discussed Sony PlayTV DVR add-on for the PlayStation3 looks to be hitting Australia in 4Q2008, according to Gizmodo Australia who attended a Sony briefing. Australia is getting it roughly a month after the European market, so they have something to look forward to as well. Giz also got more details from the briefing:
Other interesting tidbits include that there’s only an input for your aerial, no output, which means you won’t be able to connect your antenna to your TV through the PlayTV. And while you can only record TV programs to the PS3’s internal hard drive, you can backup the contents to an external drive. It isn’t finalised, but it looks like the EPG will be supplied by the rumoured FreeView collection of free-to-air networks as well
So it looks like the DVR choices for Australians will be expanding soon with TiVo, PlayTV, and possibly a Freeview DVR.
Amazon appears to be running a couple of Blu-ray sales - one on horror titles (plus one odd man out) from Starz, and another on music titles from Sony. With discounts of up to 60%, there are some good deals here.
Starz:
Dawn of the Dead (1979)
Day of the Dead (1985)
Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)
Halloween (1978)
Masters of Horror: Season 1, Vol. 1 (2005)
Masters of Horror: Season 1, Vol. 2 (2005)
Masters of Horror: Season 1, Vol. 3 (2005)
Masters of Horror - Season 1, Vol. 4 (2005)
To Kill A King (2003)
Sony:
AC/DC: Live At Donington (1992)
Bruce Springsteen with the Sessions Band: Live in Dublin (2007)
Celine Dion: Live in Las Vegas - A New Day (2008)
Chris Botti: Live (With Orchestra and Special Guests) (2006)
Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds: Live at Radio City Music Hall (2007)
David Gilmour: Remember That Night - Live At The Royal Albert Hall (2007)
Destiny’s Child: Live in Atlanta (2006)
Futuresex / Loveshow - Live from Madison Square Garden (Justin Timberlake) (2007)
John Legend - Live at the House of Blues (2005)
Shakira: Oral Fixation Tour (2006)
Tony Bennett - An American Classic (2006)
I am very amused that the Amazon product code for the Celine Dion BD is ‘B000YEUUCK’. I really have to wonder if that’s random, or if someone in the bowels of Amazon is letting us know what they think of Celine Dion.
Picked up from Blu-ray Stats.
In a post to PlayStation.Blog, Peter Dille, Senior Vice President, Marketing & PLAYSTATION Network, lists a number of updates, games, and features coming to the PlayStation3 in 2008. The one I’m most interested in is the long-awaited downloadable content. Sony has been talking about providing real, full-length entertainment video downloads (not just trailers and such) for a while now, and it sounds like it is finally getting close:
Many of you have been hearing rumblings about a video service that will allow you to download full-length TV shows and movies via PLAYSTATION Network for North America. While I don’t have any new announcements here for the PlayStation Nation, it’s already been confirmed that we’ll be offering a video service for PS3 in a way that separates the service from others you’ve seen or used. Ultimately the goal of the PLAYSTATION Network service will be to break through the overwhelming clutter of digital media to give you the TV, movies and gaming content you want. More on this very soon …
I’m very curious as to what Sony will offer, especially if they offer HD downloads with better quality than what the others are offering today.
Just last night (or this morning) I posted about word that DTS-HD MA (and the lesser DTS-HD HR) support would be coming to the PlayStation3 in a future release. Well, now comes word that that ‘future release’ will be the next release, 2.30. DTS themselves has confirmed the inclusion of DTS-HD MA in the next PS3 firmware update, to be available April 15, 2008. Again, it is almost certainly going to be internally decoded and output as PCM - no bitstreaming.
The 2.30 update will also include a major overhaul to the PlayStation Store, and it looks a lot better. Joystiq has images of the new store, and PlayStation.Blog has a walk-through video and also confirms the inclusion of DTS-HD MA and DTS-HD HR. Hey, Ben Drawbaugh, would you recommend the PS3 for Blu-ray now? 
Picked up from EngadgetHD.
