December 28

* HD DVD reportedly cracked, but difficult to verify (http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061228-8510.html)

* '06 had Sony singing the blues (http://www.eetimes.com/news/semi/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=196701694)

* Toshiba's Next High-End HD DVD Player Set to Hit Shelves (http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Hardware/Toshiba/Toshibas_Next_High-End_HD_DVD_Player_Set_to_Hit_Shelves/406)


December 27

* NEC Electronics announced new "EMMA3" SoC for HD DVD player/recorder (http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20061227/necel.htm)

* DTS Licenses DTS-HD Master Audio Technology to World-Leading IC Companies (http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/061227/20061227005006.html?.v=1)

* Report predicts disc downturn in '07 (http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6402797.html)
The analysts don’t believe sales of high-definition discs will be substantial enough to improve studio revenue next year. They also warn that the downturn could continue into 2008 unless high-def discs or digital downloads take off.


December 26

* 'Superman Returns' Tops Amazon's 2006 High-Def Best Sellers Lists (http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Amazon/High-Def_Disc_Sales/Superman_Returns_Tops_Amazons_2006_High-Def_Best_Sellers_Lists/402)


December 25

* CES - Toshiba plans aggressive HD DVD push at CES (http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/122506-ces-toshiba-plans-aggressive-hd.html)


December 24

* Ultimate AV: PlayStation3 Blu-ray Disc Player review (http://www.guidetohometheater.com/hddiscplayers/1206ps3blu/)


December 22

* Cyberlink launches PowerDVD Ultra for Playback of HD DVDs and Blu-Ray Discs (http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/061222/20061222005321.html?.v=1)

* Blu-ray, HD DVD fight for high-definition market (http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?storyid=55071)


December 21

* PS3 Blu-Ray Remotes In The Wild (http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/sony/ps3-bluray-remotes-in-the-wild-223430.php)

* cdrinfo: LITE-ON BD B LH-2B1S Blu-Ray Drive review (http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Specific.aspx?ArticleId=19332&PageId=0)

* DVD spells digital video decline (http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=14818)

Analyst says: "We suspect the risk to expectations is increasingly to the downside, with downside risk growing into 2008 unless there is a notable acceleration in next-gen DVD sales and/or a more attractive business model emerges for digital movie distribution."

* European DVD sales dip 5% (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117956125.html?categoryid=13&cs=1)
Rental market expected to fall by 7%
It is forecasted that Blu-ray and HD DVD will begin to take hold after video-on-demand has.
High-def video formats are expected to increase average prices and boost the market.

December 20

* Paramount: 'Mission Impossible III' Top Selling Hi-Def DVD (http://www.homemediaretailing.com/news/html/breaking_article.cfm?article_id=10072)

* NCH Releases ExpressBurn with Blu-Ray and HD-DVD Support (http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20061220/bs_prweb/prweb492954_1)

* Ken Kutaragi sez: I "promise" an AV-centric PS3 (http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/20/ken-kutaragi-sez-i-promise-an-av-centric-ps3/)


December 19

* Buena Vista Quietly Goes VC-1 With 'Flightplan' Blu-ray (http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Disc_Announcements/BD-50/Buena_Vista/Buena_Vista_Quietly_Goes_VC-1_With_Flightplan_Blu-ray/398)

* Sony BWU-100A Blu-ray drive gets playback upgrade (http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.aspx?NewsId=19322)

* Germany: Toshiba delivery problems (http://www.digitalfernsehen.de/news/news_123428.html)
About 1,200 HD-E1s (flown in from China) will reach retail by Christmas. There are nearly 10,000 preorders.

* Wicked Pictures, Dimension DVD Produce First Adult HD-DVD (www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9212761&&#post9212761)


December 18

* Toshiba launches HD-E1 HD DVD player in the UK (http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/news.phtml/5913/6937/toshiba-launches-hd-e1-player.phtml)


* areadvd: Toshiba HD-E1 review (http://www.areadvd.de/hardware/2006/Toshiba_HD-E1_01.shtml)

December 17

* Memory-Tech to roll out Chinese HD DVD discs (www.dvd-intelligence.com/main_sections/news_archive/2003_free/1212_memory-tech.htm)

* cdrlabs: Sony BWU-100A Blu-ray Disc writer review (http://www.cdrlabs.com/reviews/index.php?reviewid=295)


December 15

* anandtech: HD-DVD Playback - On the Xbox 360 & on NVIDIA GPUs (http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2890)

* Xbox Live Marketplace vs HD DVD comparison (http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/12/15/xbox-live-marketplace-vs-hd-dvd-comparison/)

* Impress Watch: Interview with Amir Majidimehr on HD DVD (http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.watch.impress.co.jp%2Fav%2Fdocs %2F20061214%2Frt022.htm&langpair=ja%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools)

* Dr. Schenk supplies leading European HD DVD replicator (http://oto-online.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=142&Itemid=44)

December 14

* Variety: Blu-ray leads HD-DVD sales (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117955798.html?categoryid=1009&cs=1)

* Sony exec defends its manufacturing operations (http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=D3DSEHJLXLQFCQSNDLSCKHA?article ID=196604372)

* Toshiba opens HD DVD café in Tokyo (http://plusd.itmedia.co.jp/lifestyle/articles/0612/14/news081.html)

* Sonic Collaborates With Toshiba in Support of European HD DVD Launch ([URL=http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/061214/20061214005189.html?.v=1)
Sonic to Distribute Toshiba's HD DVD Emulators and Verifier Technology

* Taiwan makers: Blu-ray HD DVD stalemate may boost dual-format devices (http://www.digitimes.com/systems/a20061214PD201.html)

* Spain: Pirates of the Caribbean (Curse of the Black Pearl and Dead Man Chest) to launch in 2007 (http://www.zonadvd.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=7622)




December 13

* Game Industry Up 16% through November (http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=14737)
The PS3 has sold 197,000 through November.

* Sony Music BD replication at Shizuoka (http://arena.nikkeibp.co.jp/col/20061211/120131/)
Main points translation (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9164743&&#post9164743)

* Singulus Technologies AG:Suppler of HD DVD Machines since 2005 - HD DVD starts (http://www.financial.de/newsroom/news_d/88454.html)
Experts from Understanding & Solutions forecast a rise of the global DVD volumes from nearly 8 billion in 2006 to 8.5 billion in 2007 and even up to 9 billion by 2008. For Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD a rise is expected from 248 million discs in the next year to 623 million (2008) and 1.2 billion in 2009.


December 12

* XBox 360 Video Marketplace (http://console.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTIzNSwxLCxoY29uc29sZQ==)

* hometheaterblog: Toshiba's HD-A2: First Impressions (http://www.hometheaterblog.com/hometheater/2006/12/toshibas_hda2_f.html)

* Toshiba HD DVD European Consumer Website is up (www.highdefinitiondvd.eu)


December 11

* anandtech: HD Video Playback: H.264 Blu-ray on the PC (http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2886)

* Lite-On IT launches its first BD burner in Japan (http://www.digitimes.com/systems/a20061211PD202.html)
Lite-On IT recently launched its LH-2B1S serial ATA Blu-ray Disc (BD) Triple Writer, the company's first BD burner, in Japan at a retail price of 70,000 yen (US$600), with the price significantly lower than BD burners offered by other vendors, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

* Dell Moves Beyond High Definition with Blu-Ray Enabled Multimedia Notebook (http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/corp/pressoffice/en/2006/2006_12_11_rr_000?c=us&l=en&s=corp)
This holiday season, customers worldwide can purchase Dell XPS M1710 notebooks configured with Blu-ray technology. Pricing starts at approximately US$3,699.

* Sony Blu-ray Recorder Hit Shops in Japan (http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.aspx?NewsId=19239)

Sony's BDZ-V9 is equipped with a 500GB hard disk drive and supports recording of digital broadcastings to the HDD and single-layer BD-R/RE and of course, play-back of BD video. Price is about 300,000 yen ($2,600).

December 10

* Shootout: 3 Blu-ray Disc Players (http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/hd-dvd-bluray/1927/shootout-3-blu-ray-disc-players.html)


December 8

* Review: Sony BDP-S1 Blu-Ray Player (http://www.hdblog.net/2006/12/08/review-sony-bdp-s1-blu-ray-player/)

* Toshiba HD-A2 on store shelves now (http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/12/08/toshiba-hd-a2-on-store-shelves-now/)


December 7

* CD Freaks presents the LG GBW-H10N 4x Blu-ray drive review (http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/CD-Freaks-presents-the-LG-GBW-H10N-4x-Blu-ray-drive-review.html)

* Lite-On LH-2B1S Blu-Ray Disc Triple Writer Review (http://www.cdfreaks.com/reviews/Lite-On-LH-2B1S-Blu-Ray-Disc-Triple-Writer-Review/Introduction.html)

* Panasonic focuses on Blu-ray's bigger picture (http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6398266.html)


December 6

* First HD DVD ROM Drive Announced in Japan (http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.aspx?NewsId=19215)

* Rob Enderle: Optical HD Battle May Be Over: HD DVD Wins (http://news.digitaltrends.com/talkback158.html)


December 5

* [Dick] Parsons: DVD Format War 'Unfortunate' (http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=AP&Date=20061205&ID=6251270)

* Cymfony: A Blue Christmas for Blu-ray (http://www.cymfony.com/Blu-ray.pdf)

* eurogamer: Xbox 360 HD-DVD player Review (http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=70652)

* Playstation 3 not helping Blu-ray? (http://www.dvdtown.com/news/playstation3nothelpingbluray/4206)

November news are here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8828257).

Updated.

Updated.

Updated.

End-of-month update. :)