The Washington Post recently posted an article on its site called "Sizing Up Blu-ray and HD DVD" which some of you may be interested in. You can check it out by clicking on the read link below, though those of you closely monitoring the new format war will probably not find anything new there.

One interesting part of the article, though, was a quote from PC Magazine editor Lance Ulanoff. "My advice now: If you can hold out for a better-performing, lower-cost multiformat [HD DVD and Blu-ray] player, do so," he says.

There's been talk but little evidence that such a player is even in the works, but it's an interesting concept worth exploring. It will probably come a few years from now, but the question begging to be answered is "can we wait?"

Companies on both sides of the format border are doing everything to make everyone who's still using old-fangled DVD players to make a choice and join their cause. Sony, as everyone knows, has taken the bold step of equipping the PlayStation 3 with a Blu-ray drive. The gambit raised the price tag on the gaming console, but has resulted in an early lead for Blu-ray. The HD-DVD camp, on the other hand, will tell you that their format is the more preferred one judging by stand-alone player sales. It's a rivalry reminiscent of Betamax versus VHS and Netscape versus Internet Explorer.

At this point, it would be really tough to say which line of players will eventually own the market and which one will become novelty gadgets. How this cookie crumbles is ultimately your choice as gaming is seen as a major determining factor here. Have you made the choice, or are you still happy on the outside looking in?

The HD-DVD group has earlier announced positive signs coming from the European front of the high-definition format war where it says that its stand-alone HD-DVD players are outselling Sony's Blu-ray players on a three-to-one scale.

The data, the group says, comes from research firm GfK and covers countries Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland, and Germany. The numbers included all current HD-DVD players stacked up against players outside of the Sony PlayStation 3 console which is also capable of playing Blu-ray movies.

The group, however, made it clear that Blu-ray discs are still outselling HD-DVDs in the same region and declined to comment on whether or not the format is losing money in the United States and other markets around the world.

Comparisons have already been drawn between this format war and the rivalry between the Betamax and the VHS formats from about three decades ago. Others have likened it to Netscape versus the Internet Explorer from back in the mid-90's.

The HD-DVD format has been in Europe significantly longer than Blu-ray. Its technology was developed by Toshiba and is capable of storing more data than its predecessor, the DVD format. It can also play videos at a higher resolution and is touted to have better audio output than recent storage media.

The Blu-ray camp is led by Sony and is backed by other biggies such as Apple and Samsung. It also plays HD videos but can store information on a bigger level and is said to sport more features. The price point for Blu-ray, however, is steeper than that of its sole rival.

Everything fares well towards Sony when talking about high-def format wars. Most of us already know about Blockbuster's stance on selling Blu-rays exclusively, or Blu-ray outselling HD-DVD five to one. It's almost a perfect stage for Sony to dominate this generation like what VHS did to Betamax. European antitrust regulators, however, have their eyes on what could be happening behind the curtains.

Sony Pictures Entertainment, Walt Disney Co., Twentieth Century Fox, Lions Gate Entertainment, and MGM offer full exclusive support to Sony's format. Pretty much every major studio except Universal Pictures have their money on the leading horse. Universal Pictures gives love only to HD-DVD, while Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. aren't taking sides.

"The commission is investigating whether improper tactics were used to suppress competition and persuade the studios to back their format," reports the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Commission spokesman Jonathan Todd testified that they have been sending letters to Hollywood studios in an attempt to gather evidence.

According to WSJ, "The HD DVD camp has been lobbying the commission to draw attention to Blu-ray's tactics in the movie capital in a bid to force more studios to put their product on HD DVD, according to people familiar with the situation."

More on the investigation should come up as competition heats up, with holiday season coming and sales expected to skyrocket. We'll keep you posted on any new discoveries and revelations, so watch this space.

It seems that the always booming adult entertainment industry is slowly warming up to the Blu-Ray format. Well, some of you may not find this important but it should be remembered that many industry experts believe that during the format war between Betamax and VHS, the latter won because the skin flick business chose it over the former.

Anyway, adult industry big names held its annual conference back in January (that coincided with CES, if we may add), and it was noted that most film studios still prefer producing on HD-DVD format as well as on regular DVDs.

Despite that, a movie called "Debbie Does Dallas" was released on Blu-Ray back in March 28. This time, LFP Video Group announced its partnership with New Media Adult Entertainment and CDGirls.com to distribute "Jenna Haze Oil O*gy" in retail stores across the country.

If you really want to know, the movie features adult star Jenna Haze and used to be only available online and through catalog. LFP Video Group President Michael Klein noted,

LFP leads the way in adult entertainment and it is only fitting that we are the first to market with an adult film in this exciting new format. This release expands the Hustler tradition of breaking new ground with our video titles not only in content, but also by utilizing the latest technology available, so our customers can enjoy superior picture quality.

Lastly, it is also worth mentioning that the movie will also be available in other formats HD-DVD and DVD-WMV.

It is needless to say that the PlayStation Portable (PSP) is more than a video gaming device. In itself, and with the help of the homebrew scene, the handheld can easily be transformed into a total portable entertainment system.

This is why Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey is wondering why Sony didn't take advantage of this. According to the analyst, Apple's iTunes has been enjoying the huge market for mobile video content for some time now and Sony has still to take a slice of it. McQuivey expressed his regret,

The thing is Sony could have been all this. The Sony PSP is one of the best portable entertainment media devices that anyone has come up with in years. It has a relatively big screen, plays video beautifully, has good storage and audio. It could have been the first big mobile carrier for TV shows and movies.

McQuivey explained as well that this problem is not focused on the PSP alone and is in fact the problem of Sony since the time of the Betamax. Quite boldly, the analyst added that Sony will never win a format war ever because it refuses to open its channels and listen to what the consumer wants. He then adds that,

You got a company here that's pushing its own approach on every level, and as a result nobody is using its memory stick or video format, so you don't have the same robust market that you could have had if you said 'We're going to open this up. You can put your Windows Media files on here. You can put your QuickTime files on here

The PSP, as you all know, uses format Universal Media Discs (UMD). Quite ironically, these UMDs can only be played and viewed on the handheld unit.

 

TeamXbox reports that two weeks after it was announced at CES, LG has shipped to retailers its BH100 high-def hybrid Blu-ray/HD-DVD player.

If you took the time to observe the image above you're probably wondering why the device doesn't have the HD-DVD logo. The reason behind that is because it lacks one of the technologies, the interactive High Definition (iHD), that are part of the HD-DVD standard. Regardless, it can output 1080p resolution from HD-DVD, Blu-ray, and standard definition DVDs.

The device costs US$ 1,199.99, which is a bit more than the price of a standalone HD DVD player and a PS3 combined.

Despite the hefty price, this is still the first universal HD player. Disappointing though, that it looks like a polished Betamax player. You can check out the Best Buy listing.

And people were saying this just couldn't be done.

Well, despite efforts to reconcile the two opposing formats, it looks like a winner may be declared after all - by the adult movie industry nonetheless.

In any case, the adult entertainment industry holds an annual get-together of its own which coincides with the CES. Now, if one is to recall the old war between Betamax and VHS, it has to be noted that the VHS won because the adult industry preferred it over its competitor.

When asked why they preferred the HD DVD better than the Blu-Ray, companies such as Pink Visual and Bangbros have pointed out that Blu-Ray is just too expensive. According to the spokesperson of Bangbros,

Blu-ray has superior quality, yes, but HD DVD is easier to produce, cheaper to produce and there are more HD DVD players in homes than there are Blu-ray players, for example in the Xbox 360.

Meanwhile, Pink Visual's complaint was that "Blu-ray discs cannot be replicated", and other companies also agreed that the sheer cost of producing their movies on Blu-Ray does not make it a good candidate as a possible HD solution for their line of work.

Tag this as off-topic. This is not news. This is however, something that may be a bit entertaining if you're a Tekken fan. Consider this the byproduct of beer, too much Tekken: Dark Resurrection for the PSP, and a VHS/betamax marathon with buddies.

In this post, this blogger will point out a few observations regarding some Tekken fighters. Particularly, with which real-life celebrity they might've been based on.

Let's start with the obvious ones.

Yeah, most Tekken characters are inspired by pop-culture martial arts heroes and anime cliches. With characters like Law and Lei, the reference is pretty obvious, but with some other characters it isn't quite that immediate. For example, anyone remember Cynthia Rothrock?

More on Cynthia, Arnie, B-Movie villains, and Connan O'Brien after the Jump!

Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. They're at the core of the console feud between the Xbox 360 and the PS3, and while we're usually arguing from the standpoint of a gamer, we'll take a very brief look at the picture quality each delivers for movie fans - shots taken from "The Last Samurai". People might remember a similar incident in the Betamax/VHS conflict from way back.

And from the looks of the comparison above (Blu-Ray left, HD-DVD right), trained eyes might be looking to the left as the slightly superior winner. And while the HD-DVD did seem to be pricey as a separate upgrade, the color contrasts and clarity, as subtle as they are, will stand out for the serious movie buffs wondering which format to bank on. And if you're wondering what setup was used for the viewing, here's Tek Jansen's hardware list:

• Sharp Aquos 1080i capable display
• Sony PS3 Blu Ray player outputting over HDMI
• Microsoft Xbox 360 with add-on HD DVD drive outputting over component
• Samsung Upconversion DVD player outputting over HDMI

Given that it's only been more than a month since the PS3's launch, we'll just have to sit back and see how this develops. Let's just hope Sony learned from their Betamax blunder. For the full details on the video comparison, click on the read link.

Now that the PS3 has officially launched in Japan and the U.S., you'd think that all the criticism and bad publicity will die down. After all, the said console sold out in both places during its launch, and fans are all too eager to bite the eBay bait even if the PS3's being sold twice, even thrice its actual price.

But I guess you can't please everybody. "The Independent" (a British newspaper) writer Tim Webb wonders whether the PS3 will have the same fate as the Betamax, which was introduced by Sony in 1975. Undoubtedly, it was technologically superior to its competitor, but unfortunately, it was toppled by the VHS in the end.

The PS3, is undoubtedly more technologically superior to its next-gen counterparts, with the Cell processor, Blu-Ray, and all.

Hands down, it's truly built for the future. However, our source points out that snazzy as its features may seem, we are still living in the present, and the present may not have sufficient tools for a machine built way ahead of its time. I don't know about you, but I sure am keeping my fingers crossed that the PS3 will take a far better turn than its video recording predecessor.