Pioneer outsources its plasma production

Seems like Pioneer's tie-up with LCD rival Sharp is not the last controversial news from the staunch plasma advocate. In a recent report from Japanese newspaper Asahi, the company said it plans to shut down its Kagoshima plant and focus on manufacturing 50-inch and larger plasma panels. After the planned March 2009 closure, supplies for its 42-inch and smaller panels will instead come from competitors Matsushita Electric (read: Panasonic) and Hitachi.

We're still awaiting official word from its local Asia office on the implications which include directions for its plasma TVs, as well as competitiveness and performance issues for these premium panels. Stay tuned.

Via News.com | Photo credit: Pioneer

Swap your HD-DVD deck for a Blu-ray

Sounds too good to be true? Apparently, that's what an electronics retail chain in Japan has promised its customers who had earlier purchased HD-DVD players from its stores.

According to the report on DigitalWorldTokyo, electronics retailer Edion is offering its customers a chance to return their Toshiba HD-DVD players in exchange for new Blu-ray decks from Sony, Panasonic or Sharp. Understandably, the customer is required to pay the difference if the Blu-ray player is more expensive, though what's surprising is that the retailer has also promised to refund the difference if the Blu-ray player costs less.

Talk about customer satisfaction. Now if only other electronics stores would follow Edion's lead and offer similar exchange programs, HD-DVD owners will finally have something to cheer about. But this being the real world, that's seriously unlikely to happen.

Via DigitalWorldTokyo

Blu-ray is the new unified HD standard for Hollywood

The sweeping unification is fast and furious. Merely a day after the ill-fated HD-DVD press conference, Paramount and Universal Studios have separately signaled their new Blu-ray alliance. While the latter has been flamboyant with its new partnership, announced hours after Toshiba's own, Paramount has been definitely more subtle in contrast. This was formalized by an exclusive statement to Website The Hollywood Reporter.

With the above-mentioned heavyweights onboard, Blu-ray has now becomes the de facto platform for HD movie distribution, backed by all six major Hollywood studios. The remaining four which have already signed up are Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros. The latest development is a closure of a confusing format war and a new chapter in consumer home entertainment.

That said, the HD crusade is far from over. The studios and hardware vendors will still have to get their act right to promote mass adaptation. It's high time the Blu-ray format settles down with a finalized standard, while its relevant software goes large and affordable worldwide. What're the key considerations to get you onboard? Contribute your opinions via our Talkback function below.

Via Hollywood reporter

Wii Fit for US and UK announced

Wii gamers here in Asia will soon be able to get their hands on an English version of the Wii Fit when Nintendo launches the exercise accessory on May 19 in the US (and April 25 in the UK). So far, the parallel import models of the Wii Fit available in the market come from Japan, meaning compatibility (officially) only to the Japan Wii console and Japanese language software.

Sadly, the recent Nintendo announcement is for only the US and UK release dates, but does not mention when the Wii Fit will be officially launched in Asia (outside Japan). However, looking at past trends, it should be not too far off from the US/UK launch.

Wii Fit, which was first released on December 1, 2007, in Japan, is a Wii game title that's designed to work with a balancing platform peripheral called the Wii Balance Board to promote exercising. Activities such as yoga, pushups, ski jumping and other exercises are included in the game.

Panasonic preps for Beijing Olympics with three HD recorders

While digital video recorders are regular entries from Panasonic's extensive home consumer lineup, its DMR-XW320 and XW120 are the company's latest DVD offerings with HD recording capability. Using the latest MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 data compression technology, these sleek 244mm-deep recorders are capable of recording up to 3 hours of 1,920 x 1,080-pixel video footage on dual-layer (DL) DVDs. Simultaneous digital broadcast recording is also adequately covered, thanks to inbuilt dual multiformat TV tuners.

For those who prefer Blu-ray compatibility, its 250GB DMR-BR500 supports just about every disc format available on shelves (minus the defunct HD-DVD). These range from Blu-ray to DVD and CD recordables and rewriteables. On 50GB Blu-ray DL, the recording time can be extended up to 18 hours, though that can be further stretched to a whopping 94 hours 30 minutes on hard drive. However, there're two teeny-weeny problems. All three recorders output only 1080i via HDMI and are strictly meant for the Japanese market. Duh!

Via Akihabara news | Photo credit: Panasonic

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