Questar Goes Blu-ray Exclusive
Posted July 24, 2007 by Josh

Questar, Inc. has announced that they will be supporting Blu-ray exclusively, beginning with their first high definition releases scheduled to debut this fall. The titles include 'Rudy Maxa's Europe to the Max', 'The Enchanted Pacific to the Max' and a yet to be announced PBS nature series title. No specs have been given at this time.

In a recent press update Optimum Home Entertainment have confirmed to us they plan to release Wolf Creek, Pan’s Labyrinth and The Host on both HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc on 12th November 2007.

Yes, you read that right, Optimum (previously HD DVD only) will begin releasing on both HD formats later this year.

Right now that’s all we know, but we expect to learn more details next month.

Today just seems to be the day for camcorder announcements, and Hitachi has joined the club by officially unveiling the world’s first Blu-Ray camcorders. The Hitachi DZ-BD70 will record to mini Blu-Ray disks and the Hitachi DZ-BD7H will record to both hard drive and Blu-Ray disk, which is what I would call the ultimate hybrid camcorder.

Both the Hitachi DZ-BD70 and DZ-BD7H are capable of recording one hour of Full HD (1920×1080) footage to Blu-Ray Disc (BD). BDs have 5 times the capacity of regular 8cm MiniDVDs and can be played in any compatible Blu-Ray player.

Both camcorders also feature a 1/2.8″, 5.3 megapixel CMOS sensor with an effective 2.07 megapixels for video and 4.32 megapixels for stills. You will also get a 10x optical zoom (electronically stabilized) and 2.7″ widescreen LCD on the Hitachi DZ-BD70 and DZ-BD7H.

Video on the Hitachi DZ-BD70 and DZ-BD7H can be output via HDMI, S-video or USB 2.0. Thankfully, Hitachi has also included a microphone jack on both camcorders.

The hybrid Hitachi DZ-BD7H also includes a dubbing capability, which allows you to transfer your video from the 30GB hard drive to Blu-Ray disc at 2x speed. This lets you do some basic in-camcorder editing without the need for a computer. You can even downconvert to standard definition and dub to regular DVD-R or DVD-RW media for playback in that “old” DVD player.

If you are using the HDD or a BD-RE disc (re-writable version of a BD disc), Hitachi says you can do basic editing functions such as split, delete and connect right inside the camcorder, no PC required. You can also create and rearrange playlists of your clips.

The Hitachi DZ-BD70 and DZ-BD7H will begin selling in Japan later this month, and will be available in overseas markets starting in October. Right now, no price point has been announced.

Mini Blu-Ray Disc Media coming from Verbatim

Verbatim Corporation and its parent company, Mitsubishi Kagaku Media (MKM), have announced the world’s first Mini Blu-ray Recordable/Rewriteable (BD-R/RE) media. Measuring three inches (8cm) in diameter, the new 7.5GB discs provide approximately one hour of continuous video capture time on a single side when high definition (1920×1080i) is used, and approximately two hours of video capture time with images recorded at 1440×1080i.

MKM Mini BD media will be available in August in Japan, where the new Hitachi BD-compatible camcorder will be launched. Verbatim will begin shipments to other parts of the world, including North America, when the new BD-compatible camcorders become available in the region.

Verbatim says that the new Mini BD discs will share similar performance characteristics of its standard (12 cm) BD media, including technologies developed by MKM to guard against deterioration. The proprietary hard-coat finish on Verbatim BD media features anti-static and anti-scratch properties for added protection against scratches, fingerprints and dust particles that can occur during normal camcorder and home use.

Verbatim’s new Mini BD media now in production at MKM’s blue laser optical disc manufacturing facility in Mizushima, Japan.