Tag Archives: DVD

The 4K Video Codec War: What You Need To Know

We’re all familiar with format wars — VHS v. Beta, Blu-ray v. HD-DVD, even the 19th century’s AC v. DC war of the currents. What you may not be familiar with is the current 4K video compression format war between … Continue reading

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What Will Be The Legacy of Legacy Formats?

Recent reports of the demise of the compact disc feature elegies tinged with funereal nostalgia for what was once a bold, new and literally shiny technology.  Those might as well have been elegies for all physical media including the CD’s … Continue reading

Posted in Digital Tech Consulting, music players/speakers, TV/4K/UHD/8K | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The History of DVD

Back in 2007, just as Blu-ray was being introduced, I authored a history of DVD for the now-defunct magazine DVD Etc. Since the magazine is gone, I thought I’d rescue this history from publishing obscurity. So here is the story … Continue reading

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Do You Believe in Miracles? The History of HDTV

We are currently going through a second next-gen TV (r)evolution, from HDTV (2K) to UHD (4K) – and maybe even 8K. Much about this softer transition reminds me of the messy transition to HDTV back in the mid-1990s. In 2003, … Continue reading

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There’s a New Platform/Content Paradigm in Town

Every technology platform from the first one – Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press in the 15th century – has been fed by content. But this dominant platform-sustenance content food chain is beginning to mutate. I explore this evolution in the hardware/content co-dependency paradigm … Continue reading

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Europe Ditches Disc Distribution: What Happens to 4K Blu-ray?

UHD Blu-ray (aka 4K Blu-ray) decks will go on sale later this year, mostly next year. But in Europe, it’s hard to find retailers that sell physical media anymore. Could this lack of European distribution spell doom for the new … Continue reading

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The History of DVD (Part 1)

[Note: This story was written in 2007 and contains contemporary information and speculation that may no longer be accurate.] Panasonic, Philips, and Pioneer are marketing the bejesus out of their respective recordable DVD decks. There are likely ads for one, … Continue reading

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The History of DVD (Part 2)

[Note: This story was written in 2007 and contains contemporary information and speculation that may no longer be accurate.] In Part 1 of this History of DVD, we recounted the behind-the-scenes efforts of Philips and Toshiba to develop a next-generation … Continue reading

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CNET Portable DVD Player Reviews

Before you could stream or view downloaded movies on your tablet or smartphone, you needed a portable DVD player to watch video on the go. Here are some DVD player reviews and articles I wrote for CNET in 2004-2005. Initial … Continue reading

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