Half Price Matinee
149 - Blu-Ray & HD DVD Shortage 
Sony doesn’t have enough blue laser diodes, so it is suspending shipments in order to use the remaining stock in what is claimed to be 4 million PS3s. HD DVD, which uses the same blue laser diodes, isn’t faring any better. Don’t expect to see many players this holiday season, because the PS3 and Xbox 360 is getting first priority.
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148 - Vista Prices - LEAKED!!
The Canadian Microsoft retail pricing page had the various versions of Microsoft Vista listed along with their SKUs. It immediately got taken down, but not before they were recorded for the world to see. Here is the big ‘ole list. I busted out the abacus and converted all of the prices to USD. I’m such a nice guy.
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147 - Windows Vista 32-Bit CAN Play HD DVD, Blu-ray Movies
It turns out the 32-bit version of Windows Vista can play next-gen protected high definition content. Microsoft reps said Senior Program Manager Steve Riley was mistaken when he told a group of Australian developers that Vista couldn’t handle the high definition movies.
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Tomorrow’s Story? Vista Can’t play HD and Blu-ray. It’s like watching a tennis match…
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146 - Microsoft cuts full HD playback in 32bit Vista
Microsoft revealed today that no 32-bit versions of Vista will be able to play back next generation high definition protected content (studio-released BluRay and HD-DVD movies).
PC users will now have to choose between a PC that can play high definition content (64 bit) versus one that can potentially run older devices (32-bit)
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Yet another strike against Vista…
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145 - TiVo Coming To Cox
As with Comcast’s Motorola 6412 boxes, TiVo software will be a download option for select Cox DVRs when available in 2007. I assume the TiVo brand name, advertising features, and patent portfolio helped secure this deal.
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144 - Tivo Series 3 Information is Now on Tivo.com!!
Tivo.com now has a page with a signup for the mailing list to stay informed on the Series 3. They also have a FAQ on Cable Card. Hopefully this is an indication that this box will be coming in the next couple weeks!
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143 - Judge lets Blockbuster countersuit against Netflix go ahead
The companies are fighting over two Netflix patents that protect how subscribers create a list of movies they want to see. You can see my Netflix selections on the left.
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142 - iTheater portable video glasses
You want a big screen TV with surround sound, but there’s just no room. That’s no problem, get yourself a pair of iTheater video glasses. Yes, I said glasses and they only weigh 3 ounces.
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141 - New 1080p HDTVs Compared
“Here’s a look at three 2006 big-screen HDTVs that have the highest-available native resolution, known in the industry as 1080p. These sets have their work cut out for them competing against the 2005 models, despite all sharing the ability to accept 1080p sources.”
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140 - New Directv HD DVR finally released
The much talked about and much delayed successor to the (now) old TiVo HD DVR has finally been released (at least in LA) and the review seems very good. Check it out. (Thanks Earl!)
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