The High Definition format war is almost over, but wait before buying
As you might have heard, there are currently two high-definition DVD formats that are trying to get control of the market: HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. Both offer high quality 1080p images that look magnificent on a HD Television set and have similar technical specs. However, what has fueled this fued for more than a year is that most of the big Hollywood studio have sided with one side or the other, which meant that buying only one type of player would keep you from being able to see some titled in HD.
It looks like this conflict is going to be coming to an end in the near future since the one studio that was still on the fence, Warner, has sided with the Blu-Ray camp.
Even with this announcement, and the quasi-certitude that Blu-Ray will now get the upper-hand, don’t rush out and buy a Blu-Ray player, especially not a stand-alone one. This is because the Blu-Ray standard is not completely defined at this time. A new revision of the standard is expected in the fall of 2008. People who have invested in first generation stand-alone players will then have to buy a new one to be able to see new discs coming out at the end of this year. If you are considering the PS3 as a Blu-Ray player, then you are pretty safe since they can easily do software updates to the video player part of the device.
I am personally waiting until the end of 2008 before investing in a high-definition player.
A new start for Star Trek: The Next Generation
I’ve been a fan of Star Trek on TV and on the big screen for years. However, the only Star Trek books that have been able to catch my attention are the Star Trek: New Frontier series. This series of more than a dozen books has fascinated me since they basically gave free reign to the author, Peter David, to create his own crew and ship to explore the galaxy.
This has recently changed when I picked up a couple of books based on Star Trek: The Next Generation, entitled Resistance and Before Dishonor.
This two-part series relaunches a franchise that was torn to pieces after the last movie, Star Trek: Nemesis. With Data dead, and Commander Riker and Counselor Troi off to a different ship, these books introduce a new set of supporting characters around familiar faces (Picard, Crushed, Worf and LaForge). We also go back to meeting one of the most intriguing ennemies in Star Trek lore: the Borg!
I actually started reading the second book by mistake, since it was written by Peter David, and am now going back through the first book. Both are captivating reads that I recommend if you have any interest in the Star Trek universe.
I'm a tech enthusiast working in the modeling and simulation software industry. I'm also married and the father of two very energetic little girls.
