I had several HD trailer for you yesterday, but here are some more! First of all, there’s Miami Vice, a show that I never really got into.

Because one of the few things we like better than HDTV is explosions, pastel suits and Miami……in HD. I have no idea if this movie is going to be good or not but all you have to say is Crockett and Tubbs and I am there.

HD Beat - HD Trailer for Miami Vice

Then there’s “When a Stranger Calls”. Something about a phone. Interestingly, one of the other formats that you can download this trailer in is for the iPod. Hmmm. iPod? HD? iPod? HD? I know which I’d take.

Apple - When a Stranger Calls

Three middle-schoolers take on greedy land developers, corrupt politicians, and clueless cops in the mystery adventure HOOT based on Carl Hiaasen’s Newbery Honor-winning book.

Apple - Hoot

In a city ravaged by violent crime, the police department’s anti-gang task force uses any means at its disposal to get the bad guys off the streets, with cops often acting as judge, jury and executioner. Gang member-turned-cop Armando Sancho (Clifton Collins Jr.) begins to question the life he and his partner Salim Adel (Cuba Gooding Jr.) have chosen.

Apple - Dirty

Casey, a reader of mine, sent me this note last week and I forgot (sorry). But here it is:

Just thought I would pass along a little petition we just launced to get the Super Bowl in HD. Our local ABC affiliate and Comcast can’t reach an agreement so we started a petition to try to get them to give us the big game in HD. I would appreciate any support you could through this way. Thanks

So if you’re a Comcast cable subscriber who likes football, you might be interested in signing the petition.

Here’s the Petition

SED is a hot new technology coming down the pike from Toshiba and Canon. For more on SED, see my SED archives. Below is a link to a video of a SED display. Which, come to think of it, is pretty worthless. Because you’ll be viewing it on a CRT or LCD display, thus tossing out all the SEDness of the video. Hmmm….

But anyway.

SED is a promising new technology. Well, actually, it’s a mixture of old and new technologies. It uses a screen of phosphors like a CRT display. And like a CRT, particles are shot at the screen to make it glow. But unlike a CRT, which uses one gun for that purpose, a SED display uses thousands of tiny micro-emitters. Given all that, it means that a SED display will have all the advantages and disadvantages of a CRT display, except for size. A SED display can be much larger than a CRT, measured diagonally. And a SED display is much thinner than a CRT. Like a plasma or LCD display, SED displays will be very thin.

So what are the advantages of a CRT? Wonderful black levels, depth of image, colour, etc. What are the disadvantages? Brightness and burn-in, really. The brightness I can deal with - I don’t need my televisions to be torch bright anyway. The burn-in, on the other hand, is an issue. I currently have a CRT rear projection HDTV, and after less than a year of use for both 4:3 material (using gray bars) and widescreen HDTV and DVD viewing, I already had burn-in of those gray bars. So I had to switch to one of the set’s zoom modes to watch 4:3 material. Not the optimum solution. So I decided, for myself, that my next display technology would have to be immune to burn-in. And that would rule out SED.

Don’t weap for me. I’ll live.

Oooh! I almost forgot. Price. It’s almost an assured fact that SED panels will be more expensive than equivalent-sized plasma brethern. It’s a new technology and production costs will be high at first. These will be great displays, but you’ll have to pay dearly for them.

So personally, SED is not an option for me. At least until all television programming is widescreen. And who knows when that day will come.

HD Beat - SED TV demo in Flash

Here’s a trio of HD movie trailers for movies that I actually think I’ll enjoy. And look! A Harrison Ford movie that might actually be good! Haven’t had one of those in a while.

Ford stars as bank security expert Jack Stanfield, whose specialty is designing infallible theft-proof financial computer systems. But there’s a hidden vulnerability in the system he didn’t account for ñ himself. When a ruthless criminal mastermind kidnaps his family, Jack is forced to find a flaw in his system and steal $100 million.

Apple - Firewall

A family man whose busy career as an architect doesn’t leave much time for his wife Donna (Kate Beckinsale) and two kids. Unable to figure out which of his many remotes turns on the television, he goes shopping for a universal remote and finds the perfect device through Morty (Christopher Walken), who gives him a one-of-a-kind remote with magical powers.

Apple - Click

It’s hard enough being the nerdy new guy on campus without also being the new girl on campus, who has fallen for the coolest guy on campus, who is totally obsessed with the most beautiful girl on campus, who is “crushing” on the nerdy new guy on campus.

Apple - She’s the Man

IGN has a somewhat interesting interview with Jeff Cove of Panasonic. They mention, for example, that some Panasonic 1080p plasmas will probably be making their way to America soon. They hope to have a 1080p HDMI input (I assume Mr. Cove meant input, because he actually said output) on their TV by the end of the year. They also mention burn-in as a topic. Mr. Cove said that plasmas used to suffer more from burn-in than they do now with today’s technologies.

The interview is five pages long, in case you want to check it out:

IGN: Panasonic HDTV Interview

The HP MD588ON is most famous for being one of the few HDTV’s that can both display and accept a 1080p signal. Take note all future PS3 and Blu-ray owners. This is one of the few sets that can display everything (resolution-wise, at least) those formats have to offer. It does so with a 960 x 1080 DLP chip from TI that uses wobulation to get the full 1920 x 1080.

Ultimate AV has a crack at the set with a review by Thomas J. Norton.

The Good

I already mentioned that this is a 1080p DLP display that accepts 1080p signals (over HDMI). That a big feature right there. It also has a CableCARD slot and VGA input. Rainbows on the set were not as apparant as with previous DLP designs. The image is quite sharp. The black levels are good - the best Mr. Norton has seen in a rear-projection set. Hotspotting (a problem common to all rear-projection televisions) also wasn’t too bad.

The Bad

The set uses wobulation for 1080p, and hence is not an “honest” 1920 x 1080p set. (The review points out that other sets that use wobulation call it “SmoothPicture”.) But in the end, that might not matter. The set seems to perform pretty well. It also has some limitations with its zoom modes, as detailed in the review.

The Conclusion

… in the here and now I am immensely impressed with this model from HP. This is a great debut for a company previously known mainly for its computer products; HP hit the target from almost every direction. I could live happily with this set—if not ever after, at least until the next big jump in video display devices, whatever and whenever that may be.

Ultimate AV: HP md5880n 1080p HDTV

I’ve mentioned the iScan VP30 before. But now DVDO wants you to know that it’s shipping. If you don’t remember, the iScan VP30 is a scaler that takes input signals and scales them to a different resolution, up to 1080p.

ABT’s Precision Video Scaling II technology, which incorporates 10-bit scaling, enhanced sharpness controls and non-linear scaling, appears for the first time in the iScan VP30 according to DVDO. Analog transcoding and analog HD processing allow connections to be “anything in, anything out” thereby reducing the amount of cables needed to connect all video sources, current and legacy, to a High Definition display.

The iScan VP30 features 11 video inputs: four HDMI, two Component, two S-Video, two Composite, and an RGBHV input along with an optional SD-SDI input. Each input has separate picture controls allowing the user to set their own parameters for each input. Standard and custom aspect ratios can also be setup giving users many options for fitting an image on their display.

audio|video Revolution - DVDO Releases iScan VP30 Video Processor That Features HDMI Input/Output Up To 1080p

Consumers just can’t win.

AACS, a system to be used in both HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc (BD) players, will require that those players downconvert video over their analog outputs. But only if the studio decides to use this feature.

… the affected analog signal must be “down-converted” from the full 1920×1080 lines of resolution the players are capable of outputting to 960×540 lines—a resolution closer to standard DVDs than to high-def. Standard DVDs are typically encoded at 720 horizontal by 480 vertical lines of resolution.

The 960×540 standard stipulated in the AACS agreement represents 50% higher resolution than standard-def, but only one-quarter the resolution of full high-def. Whether a particular movie is down-converted will be up to the studio.

I have a feeling that every studio will end up using this “feature”. Though if this “feature” is used, it’ll be specified on the movie’s packaging, which is a good thing. It’s like a warning that you’re about to be smacked upside the head. At least you can brace yourself for it.

VB Online - HD ‘Down-Converting’ Forced

I have a Harman/Kardon receiver, so I have to say that I am biased. I like Harman/Kardon, and the AVR 740 looks to be quite a receiver. It includes HDMI switching and upconversion to 720p or 1080i for 480i or 480p sources. Harman/Kardon has always been known for their smooth sounds and for having the power to back it up without fudging the numbers to make them look impressive.

The AVR 740: The Ultimate Audio/Video Receiver

Harman Kardon once again redefines the state of the art in audio/video receiver design with the availability of its flagship 7.2-channel AVR 740 – incorporating a host of the industry’s most advanced features and technologies, including The Bridge-ready iPod connectivity, to set new standards in audio and video performance, multiroom flexibility and ease of use.

Winner of an Innovations 2006 Design and Engineering Award, the AVR 740 features HDMI 1.1 switching, and provides upconverted and enhanced high-definition 780p and 1080i video output from 480i and 480p video sources. Along with extraordinary video quality, the AVR 740 delivers remarkable sonic realism, thanks to Harman Kardon’s EzSet/EQ II feature set, which provides automated system calibration and full-range room equalization, including stereo subwoofer adjustment capability. The AVR 740 features a high-current, ultrawide-bandwidth, discrete-output amplifier section that delivers 7 x 85 watts of power output (into 8 ohms, 20Hz – 20kHz, <0.07% THD, all channels driven; 2 x 100 watts in stereo; and ±60 amps of high-current capability), along with 24-bit/192kHz audio D/A converters and a Texas Instruments™ TI™ DA610 32-bit, 250MHz DSP processor for unsurpassed surround sound performance. The receiver also includes full-process Logic 7 surround-enhancement technology to deliver heightened sonic realism.

The AVR 740 offers an extremely comprehensive complement of additional video and audio connections and convenience features, including a USB port that allows users to listen to compatible streaming audio from their computers, and operate key music playback functions from the receiver’s remote control; multiroom/multisource audio and video operation; XM Satellite Radio-ready capability, and many additional refinements. The AVR 740 is supplied with Harman Kardon’s TC 30 activity-based remote control, an advanced yet easy to use remote that provides complete control of every component in a home entertainment system from a single device.

The Harman Kardon AVR 740 will be available in February 2006 at a suggested retail price of $3,499.

The AVR7400 seems to be replacing the AVR7300. And the new AVR640 is the successor to the AVR630.

eCoustics - HK Announces Shipping Date for its AVR 740 Receiver

Actually, this home theater PC PVR doesn’t just record 4 HDTV channels at once, it can record an additional 7 SD channels at the same time. So if you can find 11 shows on the television at the same time that you want to record (good luck!) then you can do it with the Godzilla PVR. This is all done with a home theater PC with tuner cards and Beyond TV 4.

With the broadcast flag being struck down this summer, consumers will continue to be able to capture HDTV content on their DVR PCs. Support for capturing HDTV shows broadcast on digital channels offers Beyond TV 4 users six times the picture quality of standard definition television, along with impressive Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. The combined sharper picture and sound now brings the highest quality picture to Beyond TV’s already intuitive and feature-rich DVR experience. Additionally, Beyond TV 4’s electronic program guide creates customized, integrated program lineups for United States users which allow them to scroll through digital and analog channels in one easy-to-use program guide.

Unfortunately, this is useless to me because I have to use my cable provider’s STB to decode their digital channels. Doh!

gizmag Article - Godzilla PVR records 4 high definition and 7 standard definition TV shows simultaneously

Bill Hunt has an excellent interview with Andy Parsons of Pioneer, from this year’s CES.

Briefly, Mr. Parsons says that two reasons Pioneer went with Blu-ray is the increased capabity (50GB vs 30GB for HD DVD) and higher throughput (54Mbps vs 36Mbps). The higher transfer rate will allow 40Mbps for the video alone. Maybe just a bit of overkill there, but it’s nice to have. It’ll give the most pristine looking HD images from any current technology.

Pioneer is targetting May for their new high end Blu-ray player, the Elite BDP-HD1. They’ll be charging a premium for it, trying to recoup some of their investment. Just like all new technologies.

Mr. Hunt had an interesting question about managed copy:

BH: Now I understand that Blu-ray Disc’s managed copy system will allow the content on select titles to be copied to a home media PC or to a portable device for viewing away from home?

AP: Well actually, the managed copy function is mandatory on software titles, but the hardware does not necessarily have to support it. The other thing about managed copy is that no one has really gotten down to the details yet on how it’s gonna work from a cost point of view. It’s probably not reasonable to expect that you’ll be able to make a copy of something and access it forever for free. Otherwise you could just go rent a movie and copy it to your harddrive - that’s not something that’s really fair or intended. So there’s a transactional side to it that has to be worked out. Our first player doesn’t support managed copy, simply because that whole structure’s not in place yet. That’ll take time.

Also interestingly, and contrary to other reports, Mr. Parsons says that the BD-J stuff is all done. There’s also mention of the PS3, with which I’ll close.

BH: What’s interesting is that the gamers out there… there weren’t many of them who were thinking about watching movies on their PS2s. But since the PS3 is going to be high-definition and Blu-ray capable right out of the box, it’s going to be a real wildcard for the growth of this format.

AP: You’re right. The PS3 is going to represent an almost overnight population explosion of Blu-ray capable players. That’s not something that’s really happened before. The PlayStation 2 helped, because that came well down the road after DVD launched, but it did help to get a lot of players out there. But this is something new. The PS3 is launching right at the forefront of Blu-ray Disc. If Sony ships the kind of numbers we expect them to this year, that will provide a very rapid growth of players out there hungry for titles. We’ve been hearing between 4 and 7 million units could ship. And if you look at PlayStation Portable, with UMD discs, everyone is shocked at how many titles have shipped for that platform. And they’re selling as well or better than the game software. So I think Sony has proven that they can drive a new video format like this with their gaming platforms.

Check out the full interview over at The Digital Bits.

Digital Bits - Pioneer’s Andy Parsons Talks Blu-ray Disc