A big Happy Birthday to HD Library and Forum!
It was about a year ago that HD Library was born, May 1st 2004. Much has happened over the course of the year, some good and some bad. The good is that HD content continues to build as more stations and cable companies come on line. DirecTV will soon be offering your HD locals via satellite. Here in Atlanta Comcast is the HDTV cable system leader with nearly all locals and numerous HD premium channels plus DVRs. Prices continue to drop on new product and the mass market has fallen in love with big pictures in skinny cabinets removing one of the major hurdles for purchasing one. Internal scalers have improved enough when watching SD content that the mass market is no longer returning them in droves. DVI and HDMI is now common on most displays and if you have been looking for DVD at HD scan rates all the majors have finally released a DVI/HDMI enabled player in the $150-300 price range. WMVHD is already here with a number of movie titles in Europe. HD DVD is on the horizon. Sony figured out a way to get 1080I out of their Play Station 2 consoles plus the new generation X-Box console will be unveiled later this month and HD gaming is what it is all about.
So with all that good news what is so bad? While HDTV displays continue to sell like hot cakes only a small percentage of owners go through the trouble of getting an HD feed to it or connecting other sources correctly for the best image which brings us to the saddest event of HD Libraries fiscal year. The loss of VOOM and HDTV Magazine. Both focused on the quality aspects of HDTV yet there were not enough followers to maintain either service. While VOOM needed subscribers in the hundreds of thousands HDTV Magazine needed only 5,000 at $35 a year to keep it going yet for both it seemed like an insurmountable gazillion subscribers to try and get involved in a market where HDTV owners seemed perfectly satisfied with SD on their HD screens. While VOOM finally bit the dust HDTV Magazine restructured returning in a new form. Dale Cripps continues with his comments on the industry via his new Web Blog. The new site offers an HDTV news service edited by Dale and the HDTV Grid Guide developed by Shane Sturgeon.
http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/index.php
HDTV has grown from bouncing baby to nearly graduating young adult. The question to our members this month is will the mass market show up for HDTV upon graduation or just continue watching the SD version of HDTV programming as they have been? Is it the old television broadcast model that is the problem? Considering how many people say they bought an HDTV display for DVD movies will it be HD DVD that saves the HD day and if that is true what does this mean for broadcasters? Will they continue to lose market share to the internet and video games? Will they eventually take the H out of HDTV and transmit 480P SDTV plus multicasting in it’s place? What about all the premium HD channels and their future?
Please post your comments here:
http://www.hdlibrary.com/viewtopic.php?p=6234
Announcements
Member HiDeffJeff becomes our newest Major Contributor!
“Shucks...Twert nuthin...........I'm happy to be a part of this forum! I have learned a lot, and hopefully I can be of some assistance to future posters.”
Thanks Jeff for your support of HD Library and Forum.
By request we have a new service for our members who want to share information about their systems or themselves.
http://www.hdlibrary.com/viewtopic.php?p=6227
In September of 2004 Richard Fisher began a column for HDTV Magazine called Waveform available to subscribers only. This featured column covered the video aspects of Home Theater and also product reviews with each issue archived at HD Library. HD Library is pleased to announce the public release of Waveform to our members and the internet! Video Waveform will be released as a weekly plus Waveform Review of a DVD player and new display today. In the future there will be an Audio Waveform as well.
HD Library is proud to be the official Customer Service Center for High Definition Rentals. Now you can rent D-Theater, WMV-HD and Superbit DVD movie titles plus HD games for X-Box and Sony Play Station.
http://www.highdefinitionrentals.com/
HD in the News
With all the concerns over HDTV viability the roll out continues in Mexico...
http://www.hdlibrary.com/viewtopic.php?t=1955
Comcast adds TNT to HD channel lineup...
http://www.hdlibrary.com/viewtopic.php?t=1958
and Marriot hotels go HD!
http://www.hdlibrary.com/viewtopic.php?t=2024
VOOMers get pulled in both directions for their dollars
http://www.hdlibrary.com/viewtopic.php?t=1987
http://www.hdlibrary.com/viewtopic.php?t=1988
Our courts overturned the broadcast flag as they should have and Mark Cuban provides his pragmatic response to concerns of the HD content plug being pulled!
http://www.hdlibrary.com/viewtopic.php?t=2004
Sony and Toshiba appear to be working out HD-DVD...
http://www.hdlibrary.com/viewtopic.php?t=2023
yet Sony continues with Blu-ray plus SACD in their PC products!
http://www.hdlibrary.com/viewtopic.php?t=1990
HD gaming is the focal point for both Sony and Microsoft...
http://www.hdlibrary.com/viewtopic.php?t=1966
http://www.hdlibrary.com/viewtopic.php?t=2027
and Samsung joins Microsoft for HD gaming displays nationally!
http://www.hdlibrary.com/viewtopic.php?t=2026
SACD presses album #3000...
http://www.hdlibrary.com/viewtopic.php?t=2028
Telarc announces 3 new titles...
http://www.hdlibrary.com/viewtopic.php?t=2030
and if you have the $$ Linn has your HD audio player!
http://www.hdlibrary.com/viewtopic.php?t=1994
Member Alan Brown makes the local news!
http://www.hdlibrary.com/viewtopic.php?t=2022
Threads of Interest
The HDTV Magazine TIPS list and AVS Forum discuss the new Sony 1080P display
http://www.hdlibrary.com/viewtopic.php?t=1914
HD Library Waveform Reviews 2 products
http://www.hdlibrary.com/viewtopic.php?t=2042
http://www.hdlibrary.com/viewtopic.php?t=2041
That is it for May and may the HD Gods be with you!
