Y2K9?! All your 30GB Zune's Are Belong to Skynet

 

image In case anyone needed further evidence that software giant Microsoft should be permanently banned from making any future hardware products (see RRoD fiasco, et al), the latest news on the "interwebs" surely will turn any iPod-hater into a Steve Jobs disciple in no time.  Apparently, ALL 30GB Microsoft Ziune's effectively bricked themselves at precisely 12:00 midnight PST last night.  Not a couple, not several hundred... ALL of them.  Just in time for your New Year's Eve party this evening, Microsoft offers you no music.  Welcome to the social!

Though Microsoft still has not released an official statement diagnosing the problem or offering a solution, apparently, any 30GB Zune that was turned on at 12 midnight PST last night spontaneously rebooted and subsequently locked up during the boot process.  Any Zune not on at that time will suffer the same fate once turned on.  Once locked up, the device cannot be turned off, restarted, or recognized by a PC.  Basically, it's on till the battery dies.  Worse, some users report hearing the hard drive spinning and the unit heating up to uncomfortable levels as they watch... unable to do anything to correct the issue.

Although several light-hearted names for the sudden death of Zunes have appeared online (Y2K9, Z2K bug, Zunepocalypse, Zuneicide, etc) the problem may be far more serious than initially expected.  As the devices, once "bricked," can't be recognized by a PC, creating a software solution to fix effected units may not be possible, unless a backdoor "DFU"-style mode exists that Microsoft hasn't previously acknowledged.  Microsoft may have another Red Ring of Death mess on its hands, and might have to recall every 30GB Zune out there.  On the other hand, as the problem appears to be tied to the date, the units may suddenly start working again at 12 mid PST tonight.  Not much use to anyone planning on using a Zune to provide music for their New Years' party tonight, but certainly better than the alternative.

In the meantime, users who choose to take matters into their own hands can "fix" the problem by cracking open the case of their Zune and disconnecting both the hard drive and battery.  After waiting a minute to clear the stored date, and then reconnecting, the Zune should be functional again, so long as you don't sync the device with a computer (which will update its clock and lock the unit up again).  Of course, you may break the case trying to crack it open, and Microsoft's fix (whatever that may be) may not be available to users who voided their warranty by breaking into the device.

And, in other news: In what is either a huge coincidence, or the greatest marketing ploy in history, Amazon currently has all iPods on sale  (and with free shipping), for those upset enough to leave Microsoft's camp completely.

UPDATE: According to a press release put out by Microsoft, they have reportedly tracked down the issue, and expect that the issue, a programming error brought on by the leap year, will “correct itself” tomorrow when the internal component misreporting the date correctly resyncs with the other clocks.  At any rate, nothing is certain yet, but the advice is to allow the battery to FULLY run down tonight and then wait until tomorrow to connect the Zune to your computer, and HOPE that it resyncs correctly.

CBHD Format Dead on Arrival?

 

cbhd In a Christmas gift to Blu-ray fans, and a final nail in the defunct HD DVD format’s coffin, Digitimes is now reporting that the yet-to-be-released CBHD (China Blue High-definition Disc) format, based heavily on Toshiba’s failed HD DVD format, isn’t being supported by Taiwanese optical disc manufacturers.

The format, seen by some as the last great hope for an “HD DVD comeback,” has been struggling to reach the market since the parent format HD DVD was officially pronounced dead earlier this year.

China has attempted to develop their own formats in the past, such as EVD (Enhanced Versatile Disc), which attempted to compete against the worldwide DVD standard.  Given the failure of such previous formats, along with the fact that no Taiwanese manufacturers participated in the development or promotion of the CBHD format, and its not too surprising that none of the Taiwanese manufacturers see potential in the CBHD format.

In case that wasn’t bad enough for the format, none of the major Hollywood studios are supporting it and, while Blu-ray disc players have fallen to under $200 for major brands in the United States, the CBHD players are expected to sell for the equivalent of around $438 upon their release.  Hmm… a China-exclusive format that costs over twice what the worldwide standard does, and has NO support from major studios.  Good luck with that.

Blu-ray vs. DVD Sales for Week Ending 12/14/08

 

It’s beginning to look a lot like… well, a Dark Knight onslaught.  The biggest title of the year (or… ever) was recently released on both Blu-ray and DVD, and the Blu-ray numbers for last week are staggering.

Methodology: Due to the disparity between the number of DVDs available vs. Blu-ray Discs available, Nielson VideoScan has chosen to compare only the Top 20 selling DVDs to the Top 20 Blu-ray Discs to track Blu-ray vs. DVD sales.  While this method results in interesting results for comparing the top selling discs on both formats, it is inherently biased towards Blu-ray as it is comparing an equal number of titles on both formats.  Whilst Blu-ray has over 700 titles released in the U.S., DVD has tens of thousands of released titles.

Picture 1

Source: Nielson VideoScan via www.homemediamagazine.com

Wow!  14% is the new record for Blu-ray going up against DVD.  The Dark Knight has very rapidly proven that it is to Blu-ray what The Matrix was to DVD… the movie that launched the emerging format into the mainstream.

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Electronic House Presents “Blu-ray 2008: A Year in Review”

 

image In case you’ve been living under a rock all year (or just recently became interested in the Blu-ray format), Electronic House has put up a Blu-ray Year-in-Review featuring their top Blu-ray moments from the past year.  Some are obvious… some are questionable… but, hey, its that time of year and you’ve got to admit it’s been quite the year.  Follow the link above to see their slideshow; below are their bullet points with my comments added.

 

1/4/08 - Warner Brothers Goes Blu

Tough to argue with that – definitely the moment that changed the consumer landscape forever and made the next few points inevitable.

 

1/7/08 – HD DVD Cancels CES Press Conference

Again, it was inevitable given Warner’s earth-shattering news on days before, but still… fun to watch the tearful announcement.  This may have been the first time in history that a significant number of the press attended a press conference to announce the cancellation of another press conference.

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Last Minute Holiday Blu-ray Deals

 

image If you still haven’t completed your Christmas shopping, you really need to stop surfing the net and get to the store. Here’s some deals, though, in case you’re needing some last minute savings on Blu-ray products for others… or, if you just managed to come in under budget and feel the need to get yourself a little gift.

Amazon.com

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Blu-ray/DVD Hybrid Disc set for Release

 

image Despite objections from those who suffered a myriad of issues with the now defunct HD DVD format’s “combo disc” concept, a Japanese optical disc manufacturer has announced a hybrid Blu-ray/DVD disc.

Infinity will be releasing the title “Code Blue” in Japan on Feb. 19, 2009 on 4 hybrid Blu-ray/DVD discs.  Unlike the combo (“flipper”) discs that were common on HD DVD, the new Blu-ray hybrid discs contain both Blu-ray and DVD data stored on the same side of the disc.  Though the initial title uses a single layer BD and double layer DVD setup, Infinity also has a dual layer BD version of their technology pending approval by the BDA.

Infinity claims their discs are compatible with all Blu-ray disc players, and virtually all DVD players.  In their testing of 64 players (across both platforms) they achieved 100% success in playing the discs.

Zogby Poll Indicates Blu-ray Players Among Most Wanted Gifts for HDTV Owners

 

image Zogby International, apparently bored with the election now over, has just conducted a survey of over 1,700 HDTV owners, asking them what they’d most like to receive as a gift this holiday season.

Respondents were given a number of choices, with a second HDTV taking the top prize for most exciting gift.  A Blu-ray player, however, came in a close second, accounting for over 30% of respondents.  An additional 18% of respondents chose a PS3 system as the most exciting gift they could receive this year.

Blu-ray players beat out other techno-gifts such as digital cameras, a GPS system, a Nintendo Wii, and an iPod/mp3 player. 

NPD Group Releases November, 2008 U.S. Console Sales Numbers

 

NPD has released their console sales numbers for the U.S., for August, 2008.  The next-gen console sales for the month were:

XBox 360: 1,260,000 

PS3: 797,000

Wii: 1,350,000

Sony’s decision not to drop the base price of the PS3 for this holiday season has definitely cost them many sales this year.  Given the current economic climate within the US, a $399 (base price) console is going to have serious issues selling against lower priced competitors.  Of course, given the value of the dollar against the yen, it would have cost them significantly to lower the price, but Sony has essentially decided to give up on their effort to outsell the Xbox 360 in the U.S. this year.

The recent price break has been beneficial to the XBox 360, allowing it to beat the PS3 in America for the first month since April.  Nintendo, of course, continues to prove that casual gamers (and even so-called “nongamers”) can actually be a far more profitable group than the “typical gamers” and hardcore gamers that Microsoft and Sony are fighting over.

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Onslaught of Blu-ray Heavy Hitters Due in December

 

Snowflake_300h Recession?  What recession?  For those still struggling to finish their Christmas or other holiday shopping for this year, the studios are proving more than happy to take your hard-earned dollars in exchange for some great Blu-ray disc titles hitting stores just in time for the holidays.  (And for those struggling to pay for that holiday shopping retailers are offering some of the best deals yet on new titles.)  Take a look at some of the biggest hits yet hitting stores now or over the next few weeks.

Leading off the month, on December 2, Universal released the hit film Wanted, while Fox put out both X-Files: I Want to Believe and 1998’s X-files: Fight the Future.  Disney, meanwhile, goes after the family market with The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, in both 2-disc and 3-disc versions.  Warner sticks to their catalog this week, but what terrific titles they have: Casablanca hits stores in an “Ultimate Collector’s Edition,” while Shawshank Redemption and the Austin Powers Collection hit in less ostentatious packaging.  For those in a holiday mood, Fox also brought out Home Alone and Jingle All the Way.

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The Dark Knight Set to Break Blu-ray Records

 

the_dark_knight06 In an announcement that should shock… well absolutely no one… it appears that Warner is set to ship over one million copies of the Blu-ray Disc of this summer’s Blockbuster hit The Dark Knight to U.S. retailers for this Tuesday’s release. 

While this fall’s release of Iron Man sold over 500,000 copies in its first week of release, The Dark Knight has the potential to double that astounding figure.  While Iron Man appears to be the first Blu-ray title to break the all-important million sold mark, The Dark Knight has the potential to do so in much less time.

These staggering numbers show just how quickly the Blu-ray market has expanded in the last two years.  In March, 2007, Sony’s release of the latest James Bond flick Casino Royale became the first Blu-ray Disc title to break the 100,000 copies sold mark.

The Blu-ray release of The Dark Knight will also mark a number of other firsts, being Warner’s first BD-Live-enabled title, as well as offering a major exclusive: while the DVD will be available in only fixed aspect ratio full screen and widescreen editions, the Blu-ray disc will feature a transfer that maintains the scope of the IMAX photography used in select scenes from the fill by utilizing an adjusting aspect ratio as was seen exclusively in IMAX theatres over the summer.  For anyone who doesn’t already have the title on order, you can pick it up for a great price over on Amazon.com.