Filed under: HDTV

After just a few delays (cough, cough) it appears that Sony’s first Blu-ray player — the BDP-S1 — has finally landed, and a few days early to boot. At last word the player was expected on or about Dec 4th 2006, but a few lucky Blu-ray fans picked one up from Best Buy today; no word on pre-orders from the Sony Style store as of yet. The early results are good and some have already started to enjoying that 1080@24P that we have all been waiting for. Sure 3:2 pulldown works great, but there is nothing like a native frame rate to bring out the best in film. Early indications seem to point to a lack of Dolby TrueHD or DTS HD decoding, but you can still enjoy uncompressed audio tracks via discrete analog cables or HDMI. As cool looking as this player is, a PS3 at Ebay prices may still be a better deal than a stand alone Blu-ray player.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Displays, Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Been eyeballing those sweet new high definition projectors? So have we. We’re not going to feel guilty for it either, we know what we like. But if your wallet is a little light from your last Engadget inspired shopping session you might dig our how-to latest project. In Today’s how-to, we’ll start taking a look at building your own HD projector… from an LCD Monitor. This isn’t one to be missed.

Building your own projector isn’t a new idea. Disassemble a desktop LCD display, put a really, really bright light behind it and add some optics and voila! you’ve got a projector. The real question: is it worth it? Since you might be a little leery of dropping several hundred dollars on parts and gutting a nice display because people you don’t know on an online forum said so, we’re going to do it for you.

If you’re hell-bent on doing all the research yourself, there are couple of places to check out. Lumenlab recently made access to their forums free. Alternatively, The DIYaudio forum users have some interesting ideas.

Lumenlab has put together a nice document describing the details. We’ll give you our short version here. The design is really quite simple. The light source is reflected towards the LCD. A Fresnel lens behind the LCD straightens the light so the maximum amount will pass through the polarized LCD. Another Fresnel focuses the light towards the projection lens.

The LCD is key to the project. The latest crop of LCDs is cheaper and better than ever. Notably, the contrast ratio has been increasing. It’s important to choose a display that can be disassembled easily and won’t have any inconvenient electronics in the way. Size does matter. LCD size will affect the lenses required and obviously the size of the completed enclosure. For our build, we chose the Samsung 940MW-SV Silver 19-inch 8ms Wide-screen LCD Monitor with built in TV Tuner. This beauty has a contrast ratio of 700:1 and a .294mm pixel pitch. The 16:10 screen has a 1440×900 native resolution, so it will display 720p natively. The built in scaler supports 1080 input as well.

We have to give props to the guys that are using the WXGA screen that’s usually only found in laptops to achieve native 1080 resolution. There was enough interest for these that they actually had a custom controller built to support it.

More importantly, our LCD accepts almost any input. It sports DVI (With HDCP support), VGA, Component, S-Video input and even coax for the built-in TV tuner. We should be able to hook up just about any HD gear we want to this display. We run standard definition video through our video scaler, but there’s just not a good way to push a HD signal into the PC from an external tuner like our HD Tivo.

To maximize the light aimed at the screen, we’ll add a reflector just behind the bulb. Some use Ikea napkin holders, but we opted for this reflector from Lumenlab. It’s coated with a dichroic material that reflects visible light, but allows infrared heat to pass through.

The light source is a 400 Watt Metal Halide bulb. You can score these at the hardware store, but for the best color we want one that puts out light that’s a similar to daylight as possible. That means a bulb with a color temperature of 6500 Kelvin (and hopefully an even spectral output).

The Mogul base of our MH bulb is quite a bit bigger than the average light bulb.

To ignite a Metal Halide bulb, some interesting voltages are needed. To produce them we’ll need a ballast. These things come in a few flavors. The coil type are cheap, but produce a humming noise that might interfere with your viewing pleasure. Electronic ballasts are preferred because they’ll protect the bulb better and don’t produce annoying noise. Our 400 Watt MH electronic ballast cost $100+shipping from HID hut. (They shipped it five minutes after we ordered!) We didn’t expect it, but our ballast came with a ceramic Mogul base.

Back to our diagram we see that the LCD is sandwiched between a pair of Fresnel lenses. The lenses need to be at least the size of the LCD, if not bigger. The only source we could find with big enough Fresnel lenses is Lumenlab. The Projection lens needs to be matched to the Fresnel lens on the same side of the LCD.

Since we required their large lenses anyway, we ordered a set of matched Pro lenses. The ‘Pro’ lens kit includes both Fresnel lenses and the projection lens.

Now that you’ve got the general idea of what we’re doing, it’s a good time to start crunching numbers to get a rough idea of what we’re looking at. Lumenlab has a couple of calculators built just for figuring things out. Focalcalc runs under windows. Remember that if you’re entering the width of the LCD diagonally, then the screen width is a diagonal as well. If you prefer other OSs, there’s a php version that runs under most web browsers.

Lumenlab took about a week to ship out their backorder, once they did, our stuff got here in record time. The star of the order was this ‘pro’ lens. It costs about four times as much as its little brother, but it’s the way to go if you’re using a large LCD like we are.

We compared the picture quality from the HDMI and component outputs from our HR10-250. There was simply no question that the digital signal produced a much cleaner picture. Unsurprisingly, 720p output from the TiVo produced the most pleasing results.

We picked up a pair of new cables to get our video signals to the new photon gun. A 25 foot HDMI to DVI-D cable for our TiVo and a new 25 foot SVGA cable for the HTPC. No, the HDMI-DVI cable wasn’t that expensive.

Before we add up all our parts, keep in mind that this is an Engadget build. There are plenty of ways to save money on this project, but we’re feeling sassy. (And we’re hoping to build something worthy of replacing a venerable Sony VPH-1272Q CRT projector.)

Let’s recap all the parts we bought so far:

• Samsung 940MW-SV $330 from NewEgg (We spotted them at Sam’s Club too)
• Pro Lens Kit (2x Fresnels and projection lens) $199 from Lumenlab
• Pro Reflector $15 from Lumenlab
• Ceramic Mogul Base $10 from Lumenlab (We scored an extra with our ballast)
• 400Watt 6500K Metal Halide bulb – $50 from Lumenlab
• 400Watt MH Electronic Ballast $99 from HID Hut
• 25 foot HDMI to DVI cable $37 from Monoprice [For our HR10-250 HD Tivo]
• 25 foot VGA cable $8 from Monoprice [For our HTPC]

Total parts cost far: $748 (This thing better work…)
Left to buy: Enclosure, cooling fan and a few finishing touches.

Given the cost, why build your own? Replacement lamps for commercial projectors cost around $300 each and only last a few thousand hours at most. The lamp in our projector should last about 10,000 hours and costs $50 to replace. You can build your own projector for far less than we’re spending. LCDs with bad backlights are cheap, and the lenses needed for the smaller LCDs are only $60 for a matched set. You can scrounge them up from surplus shops, but you’ll spend some time hunting them down and getting things right.

We’ve geeked out, ordered a load of parts and scared our editors with the hardware tab. Next time we’ll gut our sweet new LCD and give you all the details on doing it yourself. Then we’ll move on to designing, testing and building our enclosure. When it’s all done, we’ll give it a thorough review.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Filed under: Digital Cameras, HDTV

The in-laws have been pestering you to do a little video chatting so they can see their grandkids a bit more, right? But we’re sure the thought of digging out the ‘ol webcam from 2001 brings up repressed memories of jerky, tiny video chatting. Well Sony may have the solution — albeit an uber-pricey one — but still, it’s a high-def solution in the form of its new IPELA package. The large pictured box (PCS-HG90) converts the captured HD video stream to H.264 (1,280 x 720 at 60fps) and shoots off the data to the receiving box via the Internet — sending the video of your child’s smiling face to his/her grandparents’ HDTV. Plus, there isn’t a cheap webcam in the system: Sony has bundled a 1.12 megapixel, 3CCD camera to get the best picture quality possible. While this system could theoretically work for remote family reunions, its $42,000 pricetag (you need two of each component, after all) would indicate that these units are aimed more towards the corporate market. Then again, you simply cannot put a price on your parents seeing every last feeding, diaper change, or spit up, now can you?

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Displays, HDTV

You’d think they’d have enough of these HD LCDs of theirs to be getting on with by now, but JVC Victor just can’t seem to resist another size/res combo if afforded to them, and we can’t really complain when they’re dropping 1,920 x 1,080 displays like this. Their new 42-inch LT-42LH800 and 37-inch LT-37LH800 HDTVs have plenty to love under the hood, including 500 nits of brightness, 14-bit “GENESSA” processing and that lovable “MaxxBass” spec that JVC is so fond of. Plugs are aplenty as well, with dual HDMI, a single D4 plug, component, i.LINK, Ethernet and optical audio out. The prices aren’t quite so fun, but 450,000 Yen ($3,815 US) and 350,000 Yen ($2,967 US) aren’t terrible pricetags for some 42-inch and 37-inch displays with this kind of spec love. Both displays should be out in early November.

[Via Impress]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Digital Cameras

We hesitate to say JVC is showing off their latest Everio at IFA, as apparently only select parties may may be an audience to their latest creation, but we are definitely pleased to report that this recorder records in 1080 high definition. Whether it’s 1080p or i we don’t yet know (sounds like 1080i, the translation we have states 50-60 frames per second), nor have we any idea how much it’ll cost and when it’ll land, but apparently they’re shooting for release in the first half of 2007. More details as we get ‘em!

[Via I4U]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Runco, obviously, is already in the game. So are Sony, Sharp, Marantz, JVC, and even a little outfit called projectiondesign. But when it comes to 1,080p front projectors, we’ve been wanting to call up Mitsubishi on our Boost Mobile phone and ask them “Where you at?” Well the venerable rear-projection TV manufacturer has apparently been biding its time in order to release its first full HD unit, but the pricetag on this 3LCD model may convince you that it was worth the wait, as the LVP-HC5000 will cost “just” 450,000 yen (about $3,890) when it hits Japanese shores on October 12th. Even at this bargain basement price, you’re still getting a very respectable set of specs, most notably a dynamic contrast ratio of 10,000:1 (though static is a mere 2,000:1), 1,000 nits of blinding brightness, as well as a full complement of inputs including HDMI, DVI-I, component, composite, S-Video, and even D-sub. Yeah, this all sounds like a pretty good deal; now we’re just hoping that they’ll ship this puppy overseas and help us finally purge that embarrassing 27-inch CRT from our otherwise kick-ass home theater setup.

[Via HDBeat]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: HDTV, Peripherals, Portable Video

Filed under: Digital Cameras

It sure took them long enough (four years, in fact) but Canon has finally released some successors to their famed GL2 cam: the XH G1 and XH A1. The two cameras offer a slew of new options to the prosumer, not least of which is the HD resolution offered by the HDV format. Both cams feature the same 16:9, 1/3-inch CCDs of Canon’s XL H1, along with 1080i recording at 60 and 24fps and Canon’s 24p-like 24f option. The XH cams nicely fill the GL2 gap, trading the XL’s interchangeable lenses for size and cost savings. Both models feature 2.8-inch LCDs, 20X zoom lenses and even XLR inputs, but the XH G1 has an extra “jack pack” and a $3000 premium. What’ll that three grand get you? Pro ports like HD/SD-SDI, Genlock and TC in/out that allow a serious shooter to output uncompressed HD footage for recording to another format with less compression than the consumer-ish HDV tapes. Smooth move on Canon’s part, and we’re sure more than a few pro video types will gladly fork over the extra cash for the privilege. The vanilla XH A1 version goes for $4000, and should be available in October, while the XH G1 will follow in November for $7000.

[Via Camcorderinfo, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Matt Burns over at HDBeat tells us how it is, and how it’s gonna be, when it comes to the two high line-count HD formats:

How can you tell the difference between 1080i and 1080p? You probably can’t.

He goes on to explain that most flat TVs today will deinterlace a signal anyhow. Matt’s reasoning is solid, if you’re into logic and stuff.
Matt, you may be right, but you’re seriously underestimating how much we gadget geeks like to flex our specs.– Brian Lam

How Can I Tell the Difference Between 1080i and 1080p [ Via HDbeat ]

Filed under: Digital Cameras, HDTV

AVCHD, the new recording format from Sony and Panasonic for saving HD video to 8-centimeter mini DVDs, is making its first appearance in Sony’s new HDR-UX1 upper-class consumer cam. For the most part the camera mirrors its SD siblings, with a side mounted disc drive, sizable 3.5-inch fold-out LCD, 4 megapixel stills and 2.3 megapixel shots while recording video. The snazz here is that the new AVCHD cam uses dual-layer mini DVD-R discs, making room for a full hour of 1080i video. The HDR-SR1 mirrors the functions of its UX1 brother, but replaces the DVD drive for a 30GB HDD. Both cameras have a mic inputs and manual focus rings, making them more appealing to the discerning prosumer than most Sony cams of late. Of course, all this new format action and prosumer appeal comes at a price: the HDR-UX1 should drop in September for around $1,400, while the HDR-SR1 should appear in October for $1,500.

[Via Camcorder Info]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Peripherals

While the iSight built into your new Macbook (or any laptop-integrated webcam for that matter) might meet your day-to-day needs, Logitech is hoping that their new QuickCam Ultra Vision can significantly raise the production value on your next YouTube masterpiece. For $129, you get a mostly glass lens — there are still a few plastic elements in there, just less than usual — that’ll open all the way up to f/1.6, making acceptable results possible even in darkness that would turn normal cams into digital noise-filled nightmares. The press release also boasts “high definition” capability from its wide format, interpolation-free 1.3-megapixel sensor, but skimps on the hard resolution numbers, with the product page only making mention of its capability to do “live video up to 640 x 480″ at 30fps. (That doesn’t sound very HD to us.) Other amenities include a 4-megapixel (there’s the interpolation) still camera, USB 2.0 connectivity, RightSound microphone, a heap of cheesy effects and the RightLight 2 metering system, which promises “twice the image clarity of conventional webcams.” If you still feel your cinematic needs aren’t being met, you can check out the rest of the updated QuickCam line, including the Orbit MP, Fusion, Pro 5000 and the Communicate STX, all which received minor spec bumps. These all should be available by the end of August, so you still have a little time to clean your room before exposing it to the world — or at least your Skype contacts.

[Via Tech Digest]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

We’ve been waiting on this one for a good long while, but we’re pleased to say that if your chosen flavor of TV happens to be a 1080p, LED-based DLP set with 56-inches of screen real estate and a hard to remember model number, Samsung has just the display for you. Their HL-S5679W packs in a 4000:1 contrast ratio, HDMI input, analog/digital tuner, and of course that 20,000 hour lifespan, speedy startup and heat and energy savings provided by the LED backlit pixels. It’s shipping now with a MSRP of $4,199, but the word is you can nab one for around $4,000 on a certain proverbial street.

[Via HD Beat]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

We don’t mind checking out a business-oriented projector once in a while, but we’d much rather spend our time with high-end HD models like the three Sim2 has announced at this year’s UK CEDIA expo. The D35 Domino sports a 1280 x 720 resolution and a 3200:1 contrast ratio for £2999 ($5248), while the mid-range Grand Cinema HT305E, which adds increased light output and a shiny “gun-metal body, runs £4,999 ($8748). Both come equipped with HDMI inputs and Sim2′s Alpha Path light engine, but the star of the group is the 1080p HT3000. With a 1920 x 1200 resolution, a 7-segment color wheel and a pair of HDMI inputs, this long-throw hotness will set you back £11,999 ($20998), which is about the same price as 2100 trips to the multiplex. We know it sounds like a lot, but just think of how good it’ll look with your new NXT speaker-screen.

[Via Shiny Shiny]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Here ya go TeeVee fans, 5ish new models straight out of Japan. We know it hurts to see all this not-for-the-US tech coming through but just hang with us on these, ’cause from the looks of it, they’ll be available on these golden shores under the EyeFi branding soon enough. The five HDMI-equipped sets break down into 37, 32, and 27-inchers capable of 1920×1080, 1366×768, and 1280×720 pixels respectively. Each model features an ISDB-T Hi-Vision (high definition) digital tuner for Japan (with ATSC and DVB-T tuners on the way for the US and beyond). The big, bad, 37-inch LF-3701DFK (pictured) brings a 1,000:1 contrast ratio, 8-millisecond response, and 176-degree visibility along with the usual in and outs consisting of S-Video, 2 x composite, Japanese D4, and RGB. And fortunately, that speaker sprouting below the panel can be chucked for a cleaner look when attached to your home audio system. The two 32-inch models — LW-3202DFK and LW-3201DFK — are the same panels only with fixed speakers mounted either below, or along sides of the LCD. Same story on those 27-inchers — the LW-2702DFK and LW-2701DFK — with the former also offering that 1366×768 pixel resolution seen by the 32-inch models. Prices are set to range from ¥99,800 to ¥199,800 (or about $863 to $1,729) when these panels hit the streets of Japan starting today — righteous pricing by the time these panels hit the US.

[Via Impress]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Those good sports over at PC World subjected themselves to the tough job of spending time with that 58-inch DLP HDTV from HP we first heard about at CES, and the verdict is overwhelmingly positive. The 118-pound wobulator takes up its fair share of living room space, but with a wide array of features, like built-in 2.1 sound, 1080p resolution, a menu system that’s “just about perfect,” and an extensive array of picture tweaking options, the trade-off is easily justified. The inputs, which are conveniently located in the front of the TV, include two HDMIs, two component-videos, a VGA, CableCard and two RF inputs, as well as a USB port for firmware upgrades. At $3,500, it’s a lot cheaper than most other, flatter alternatives, so you might even have enough money left over to keep your PS3 fund alive.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

In what may turn out to be a small, final boost for the HD DVD camp prior to the impending arrival of Samsung’s BD-P1000 Blu-ray player that’s definitely NOT been delayed, Universal Studios Home Entertainment has announced that it will eventually knock five bucks off of each HD DVD disc that it sells. That’s right, if you were holding out on buying that Toshiba HD-A1 until movies dropped below $30, now may be your time to strike, as titles that were formerly $34.95 will soon retail for $29.95 (though you’ll probably be able to find them cheaper), with hybrid HD DVDs from the studio going for $35. Unfortunately (for HD DVD proponents, at least), the price drops won’t go into effect until August 8th, at which point this format war will have already spilled over into the marketplace.

[Via Digital Media Thoughts]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

In what may turn out to be yet another crushing blow to HD-hungry consumers, it looks like Samsung could be joining Sony, Pioneer, and, um, itself, in playing the Vista-like Blu-ray delay game that continues to amuse and frustrate us. As of right now, the facts are these: UK tech site Pocket-Lint sent an email to Bite Communications, Samsung’s British PR firm, in order to confirm what we all thought was the BD-P1000‘s June 25th release date; instead of a confirmation, however, Pocket-Lint received a surprising reply stating that “unfortunately, the release of the Blu-ray has been delayed until September.” Before you start freaking out, though, keep in mind that at this point details are still very thin — we can’t even be certain if this supposed delay applies to the US launch, or only affects our friends over in Great Britain. As you’d expect, we have our crack team of low-paid interns furiously dialing every Samsung representative we can find a number for, and you’ll be the first to know when we can finally pin someone down on a solid release date, so stay tuned.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

ViewSonic, a name already well known on our computer desk, is now making a play for our living room with a set of LCD TVs that promise to delight us now, and keep us “future-proofed” into the, um, future. Both new models — the 32-inch N3251W (pictured) and 27-inch N2751W — feature 1,366 x 768 widescreen displays, 1000:1 contrast ratios, and zippy 8ms response times, along with HDCP-compatible HDMI inputs, S/PDIF digital audio outputs, and as a bonus, integrated digital ATSC tuners. Even better, the prices for these displays — available now, at your favorite ViewSonic distributor — aren’t stratospheric, with the 27-incher going for $800 and the 32-inch model setting you back a grand or less.

[Via HDBeat]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Peripherals, Networking

Certainly not the the first solution for streaming HD programming around your house, a new product called the AircordAV promises to dumb down the whole process into what would appear to be a 5-minute-install, and supports that sweet 1,080p resolution to boot. Instead of asking your existing router to do all the hard work, AircordAV comes with a base unit that hooks up to any of your home theater gear using HDMI, DVI, component, S-video, composite, or SCART connections, and creates its own 802.11g network with up to eight clients feeding any or all of your video displays. Aircord claims the product is capable of lossless streaming, and uses a proprietary technology to encode and decode your video signals, although the company's lack of a website or actual product shots makes us a bit wary of the whole thing. We'll find out in December if this clever idea can be turned into a working device -- that's when the AircordAV will supposedly be released -- and if it can, expect to cough up at least $500 to start cutting those cords.

Filed under: Displays, HDTV

It's not quite as sexy as that 56-inch 3840 x 2160 LCD they were showing at CES this year, but Westinghouse's new LVM-47w1 47-inch 1080p LCD should make many a World Cup fan or budget home theater enthusiast very happy this summer. The display has a whole bunch of inputs: HDMI, two DVI w/HDCP, VGA and dual component, and features a 6.5ms refresh rate and 1200:1 contrast ration. Apparently the Westinghouse backlighting isn't stellar, so you might be sacrificing a bit of color, but you really can't beat the $3000 price tag. No word on when this will be dropping, but we sure wouldn't mind it before Friday's kickoff.

[Via HD Beat]

Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment

UK-based Evesham has released an HD-ready LCD TV at a budget price -- well, budget as far as LCD TVs go. The 20.1-inch V20KCDX-E03 LCD TV lists for £349.99 (about $650US) and features a 140 degree viewing angle, 300cd/m2 brightness, a contrast ratio of "up to" 600:1, and a respectable 8ms response time. Unfortunately, it's not the highest of high-defintion, with a resolution of 1680 x 1050, and it doesn't have HDMI, but it does have DVI, two SCART sockets, S-video, component, and composite video inputs. So if you were just thinking of using this as a monitor, it looks like you can save some money going for Dell's 2007WFP (or the older 2005FPW if you're scared of color banding issues).

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Laptops

We knew Acer was going to be one of the first vendors after Toshiba to roll out an HD DVD-equipped laptop, and now it looks like the company is ready to be one of the first out of the gate (after Sony, of course) with Blu-ray as well. Although Acer is refusing to comment, reports out of Taiwan are that the company will introduce both Blu-ray and HD DVD-equipped portables at the upcoming Computex 2006 trade show. We’re ready to see it happen — though what we really want is one box with both drives in it. Maybe they can follow up with that.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Gaming, HDTV, Home Entertainment

If you've been holding off on ordering (or pre-ordering) an HD DVD or Blu-ray player because you're worried about Hollywood studios potentially using the Image Constraint Token to downgrade video quality displayed via analog outputs, you can cross that concern off of your list -- at least for the next four years. Though there's no official word, the major studios have apparently cut a backroom deal to keep their HD discs ICT-free until at least 2010. The move would allow owners of analog HD sets -- not to mention gamers who pick up Microsoft's Xbox 360 HD DVD drive or Sony's non-HDMI junior Playstation 3 -- to watch their discs in full HD format, rather than being forced to endure downgrades to 540p. Of course, even if the unconfirmed agreement exists, after 2010 all bets are off. But, by then, you will presumably be ready to pick up a new HD set (or Xbox 720 or PS4). And, if we're lucky, the format war may be over by then as well, so you'll actually be able to buy an HD disc player that will be useful for more than a few months. (And, no, that screenshot isn't from the HD DVD version of "Blazing Saddles" -- though the fact that the movie is now out on HD DVD gives us at least one reason to consider picking up a player).

Read - HD Beat
Read - Ars Technica