Some of you may remember when we posted Sony being sued by a Granny a few months ago. Well, that dispute is now resolved. Professor Emeritus Gertrude Neumark Rothschild settled out of court for an undisclosed amount of money (of course!!). The Columbia University professor alleged a violation to one of her patents earlier this year in February.

Dr Rothschild conducted “ground-breaking” research in the 1980s and 1990s into the electrical and optical properties of wide band-gap semiconductors. The research was pivotal in the development of short-wavelength emitting (blue/violet) diodes used in consumer electronics including Blu-ray. Rothschild was issued a US patent in 1993 that covers a method of producing wide band-gap semiconductors for LEDs and LDs in the blue/ultraviolet end of the spectrum.

Rothschild’s representative, Albert Jacobs from of Dreier LLP Intellectual Property, said that “Professor Rothschild is very pleased that both Sony and Sanyo, and other major electronics makers have recognized her major scientific contributions to LED and LD technology. Professor Rothschild made a seminal breakthrough, in understanding the doping requirements necessary for the production of the blue, green, violet and ultraviolet LEDs and LDs on a commercial and efficient scale that are essential to today’s consumer electronics, and highly deserves this recognition for her work.”

This was not the first settlement the the 80-year-old Professor received. She has received money from Philips Lumileds in 2006 and from Gosei Co. Ltd. and Toyoda Gosei North America Corporation earlier this year on very similar cases.

That is one smart lady

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Popularity: 11% [?]

Game developers will soon be able to use DivX video encoding when making Playstation3 (PS3) games. DivX, Inc announced that the console will be the first to be able to use the encoding technology to compress lengthy video segments into small sizes while maintaining relatively high visual quality. The DivX codec uses lossy MPEG-4 Part 2 compression, also known as MPEG-4 ASP, where quality is balanced against file size for utility. In other words, PS3 will be able to have much bigger videos using the same amount of BD disc space.

“We are excited to work with Sony Computer Entertainment to offer DivX video encoding to PS3 game developers,” said Kevin Hell, CEO of DivX, Inc. “PS3 users can already use their PS3s to watch their own DivX videos, and now they’ll also be able to enjoy the quality of DivX in the games.”

Popularity: 8% [?]

Expected to be released later this summer, the new Multi-codec Video Encoder BAE-VX1000 is a professional solution designed to handle real-time encoding of MPEG-2 or H.264/AVC primary and secondary video streams suitable for the Blu-ray Disc (BD) format. This tool is making Blu-Ray duplication faster and easier. It will decrease the total encoding time by 30% over the current BAE-VA700 solution and all of us know that time is money. The improved speed is attributed to enhancements such as parallel capturing and pre-processing, the elimination of LDEC checking, and increased encoding algorithm efficiency.

“With Blu-ray technology now being recognized as the HD optical disc format for the consumer electronics industry, more studios are increasing production of BD titles,” said Chris Marchitelli, marketing manager in Sony Electronics’ content creation division. “This encoding solution provides a range of features to speed the BD-ROM workflow, offering high-quality and ease of operation for BD-ROM authoring professionals.” Marchitelli said. “Through distributed processing, it can control a large number of PCs for real-time performance, making it possible to build a scalable system and shorten your overall encoding time with no compromise in picture quality. It is designed to maintain a high picture quality BD workflow.”

A multi-codec design enables compatibility with most common Blu-ray authoring applications, such as Sony Creative Software’s Blu-Print and Sonic Solutions’ Scenarist. The option of using AVC or MPEG-2 technology gives production pros more flexibility. And MPEG-2 encoding for traditional DVD authoring is also available. The new BAE-VX1000 will support a simple single PC configuration that can accomplish AVC encoding in real-time. but also can be expanded to a networked distributed processing configuration, in order to achieve the higher performance required by some production facilities.

The BAE-VX1000 offers multiple settings. An “Express” mode supports AVC real-time encoding with one PC, when encoding speed is the top priority. When using additional networked processors, “Fast” and “Quality” modes are also available to meet higher performance and quality priorities. The BAE-VX1000 also offers a built in real-time AVC elementary stream decoder that improves the efficiency of quality checking procedures. New features also include: template parameters, batch processing, support for one PC standalone encoder and compatibility with Windows Server 2003, XP, and Vista (64-bit operating system required in each case).

Sony released very little information apart from the physical specifications (such as dimensions, weight, power consumption, etc.) available on its website. It is also unclear in what way this device interfaces with a PC, such as if it is a PCI card, PCI Express card, external device, etc. No pricing is available either…

Popularity: 23% [?]

Sony Pictures announced a July full of bloody horror releases. The company will bring some red to the Blu on July 22nd… Let’s hope that all that blood will look good in HD. You should expect:

‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose‘ will come on 2.35:1 1080p with 5.1 lossless English soundtrack

‘Urban Legend‘ will come 2.40:1 1080p AVC with 5.1 TrueHD soundtrack

‘I Know What You Did Last Summer‘ and ‘I Still Know What You Did Last Summer‘ will come 2.40:1 1080p AVC video with 5.1 Dolby TrueHD soundtrack

Sony’s suggested price on the movies is around $28.95 but Amazon has them on pre-order for $19.95

As soon as more details become available we will update this post.

Popularity: 19% [?]

Even without many profile 2.0 Blu-ray players currently on the market Sonic Solutions and Sony are looking into the future and working on enhancing the BD-Live creation capabilities. It is clear that internet connectivity and entertainment are the way to go, so to be better prepared Sonic is developing a more efficient way to build interactivity on Blu-rays. This capability will enhance Sonic’s Scenarist® BD authoring platform making it easier for developers to create Blu-ray discs with BD-Live content.

“The BD-Live feature set is an exciting new capability for BD that combines the best of on-disc and online content to provide consumers with a dynamic and always-current entertainment experience,” said Rolf Hartley, senior vice president and general manager of Sonic’s Professional Products Group. “Sony’s extensive knowledge of the BD specification combined with Sonic’s experience in providing solutions for online interactive content via its InterActual® products will help significantly boost BD-Live title production.”

These streamlined capabilities will ultimately impact YOU! How? Both companies believe that by making BD-Live content easier to create, costs will be reduced and make BD-Live more available. Once costs drop, more and more studios will want to include web-connected content in their movies. Then, next thing we will see is BD-Live on every future release! The consequence of all this? It will speed up consumer adoption of next-generation titles and players! That will be just great!

Popularity: 19% [?]

Men in Black is finally coming to blu-ray! Sony has announced it will come out on June 17^th. The disc will be profile 2.0 compatible and will have an exclusive interactive game (Intergalactic Pursuit) via BD-Live. NOTE: Only profile 2.0 compatible players will be able to enjoy this feature! But if you don’t have one, don’t worry, there are many other features for you to play and enjoy!

The picture to the left is from an ad that will come out on ‘Home Media Magazine’ next week. It is great how they used the neat tagline “Blu is the new Black!”. Sony has a suggested retail price of $28.95 for the Blu-ray-YEAH YEAH we know…it is not cheap! Stop complaining! New technology is never cheap.

The disc will come with all the extras from the 2001 standard DVD release including “Telestrator Commentary” (with director Barry Sonnenfeld and Tommy Lee Jones), second “Technical Commentary” (with Sonnenfeld, effects artist Rick Baker, and the Industrial Light & Magic Team), deleted and alternate scenes, the “Metamorphosis of Men in Black ” vignette, visual effects scene deconstructions with optional technical commentary, character animation studies, storyboards, two still galleries (with concept art and production photos), a “Scene Editing Workshop,” the “Men in Black ” music video with Will Smith and Mikey, and theatrical trailer.

This was a huge blockbuster and I am sure most people know the movie but for those who have been space traveling or in deep coma for the last 10 years, we have a small synopsis:

In present-day America, Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) is a member of an organization that has been keeping track of extra-terrestrial aliens on Earth for over 40 years. When K finds himself in need of a new partner, a brash NYPD detective, James Edwards (Will Smith) fills the position, becoming Agent J. Armed with space-age technology (which J barely understands) and their razor-sharp wits, J and K investigate a newcomer who is bad news for Earth. He is searching for a super energy source called “The Galaxy”. Now, Agents J and K must stop the bug before it can escape with the “Galaxy”.

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Technical Specs

• Blu-ray
• BD-Live Enabled
• Region A

Video Resolution/Codec

• 1080p/AVC MPEG-4

Aspect Ratio(s)

• 1.85:1

Audio Formats

• English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround
• Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles/Captions

English SDH, subtitle options including French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Thai.

Disc Features

• Telestrator Commentary with Director Barry Sonnenfeld and Tommy Lee Jones
• Technical Commentary with Barry Sonnenfeld, Rick Baker, and Industrial Light & Magic Team
• Vignette: “Metamorphosis of Men-in-Black“
• Extended and Alternate Scenes
• Visual Effects Scene Deconstructions (w/Technical Commentary)
• Character Animation Studies
• Storyboard Comparisons
• Conceptual Art Gallery
• Still Gallery: “Production Photos”
• Scene Editing Workshop
• Music Video:”Men-in-Black” by Will Smith and Mikey
• Theatrical Trailers
• Easter Egg: “Frank the Pug”

HD Exclusive Content:

• Interactive Game: “Intergalatic Pursuit: The Men-in-Black Multi-Player Trivia Game” (BD-Live)

Popularity: 12% [?]

Sony announced two new Blu-ray recorders (YES! RECORDERS!) for the Japanese market: the BDZ-A70 and the BDZ-T90. Unfortunately, there is no word if they will be released in the US yet. However, we have a feeling that they will as Sony’s intention to rapidly grow its Blu-ray global market share will not come to reality if they don’t put out as many BD products as possible. Both recorders are able to read and write both Blu-ray and DVD media, as well as read any CD media.

The new recorders have a large hard drive (BDZ-A70 of 320GB and the BDZ-T90 of 500GB) and allow recorded content to be easily transfered to other Sony devices such as: PSP and Walkman cell phones (i.e. NW-A820), just by pressing one button. Depending on the video quality you transfer (QVGA 768k or 384) you’ll need no more than 3 minutes to forward a 60 minute video into your PSP memory stick. They also feature 2 terrestrial digital tuner, 2 digital BS 110 tuner, an analog TV tuner to capture programs in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 format. That’s not all, the recorders can store content on BD-R/RE, and DVD±R/RW media as well.

The devices come with a HDMI output (24p output x.v.color, TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio) and an Ethernet connector as well as an i.LINK interface for easy connections with HDV/DV cameras.

In addition to all the features mentioned above included on both recorders, the BDZ-T90 can burn on Dual layer BD-R and RE discs, has 2 digital TV tuners and 2 analog ones, and an HDMI output 1080p/24.

Watch the demo video from Sony on the DBZ-A70 here! Sorry but since the release is for the Japanese market the video is not in English

via: www.akihabaranews.com

Popularity: 18% [?]

On April 3rd following a press conference in Tapei, SONY’s president and CEO Ryoji Chubachi stated their intention of dramatically increasing the global market share of its Blu-ray products from 20% to 50%-all of this by the end of 2008. This is indeed a very challenging task, considering that he did not mention details on how they will do it! I am not sure if he realizes that December 2008 is only 8 months away; so to pull it off, they would need something up their sleeve–well, they might very well have it…

So far, Sony has used the PlayStation 3 (PS3) as its main Blu-ray penetration weapon but it’s time to step it up a notch. The big Sony boss stated that they will produce more and more BD devices including a HD LCD TV with BD recording functionality. That’s sweet! Being able to record BD straight from your TV set? It reminds me of the VCR times…. We don’t know if any of this will materialize but never doubt electronics giants like Sony. To gain all that market share, Chubachi is also counting on more Blu-ray titles being released by Hollywood studios which will encourage their devices sales.

We will find out if Chubachi was successful in 8 months!!

Popularity: 6% [?]

The BDP-S550 was the first player announced after the end of the format war (back in February) but it is only scheduled to be released in the fall for about $500. This will be one of the few available players with profile 2.0 (Maybe until its release we will see more). I have to say that it looks very cool with its blue-ish color and not as chunky as others currently on the market. Hopefully Sony did a better job and this will be a better player, considering that the BDP-S300 was SSLLLOOOOOW. The BDP-S550 will be competing against the Panasonic DMP-BD50, which we posted on March 31st.

This model offers 7.1 channel Dolby® TrueHD and Dolby® Digital Plus decoding and bit-stream output, as well as dts-HD High Resolution Audio and dts-HD Master Audio decoding as well as 7.1 channel analog audio output. It supports AVCHD discs encoded with x.v.Color^TM (xvYCC) technology, an international standard for wide color space reproduction. The standard expands the current data range of video by about 1.8 times, allowing the players to output more natural and vivid colors similar to what the human eye can actually see. The player also features compatibility with an array of video formats, including BD-R/RE (BDMV and BDAV modes), DVD+R/+RW, DVD-R/-RW, CD, CD-R/RW (CD-DA format), and JPEG on DVD//CD recordable media.

Key features

• Supports BonusView, which means it is Profile 1.1 compliant and BD-Live Profile 2.0
• 1GB local storage
• Ethernet port for firmware upgrades
• Supports 1080p output at both 24 and 60 frames per second
• Onboard decoding for Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD High Resolution and DTS-HD Master Audio
• 7.1 analog outputs
• Bitstream output for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio

Popularity: 38% [?]