Getting movies from the library can be a great option to trim your entertainment budget, and so a possible cost-saving alternative to paying video-rental services like those we recently rated (Ratings available to subscribers). That’s in spite of libraries’...

If you've been considering a high-definition Blu-ray DVD player, this holiday season is shaping up as a good time to buy. More Blu-ray players are steadily arriving, with models from Denon, Insignia, LG Electronics, Panasonic, Pioneer, Samsung, and Sony...

Despite earlier statements that it had developed a standard-def DVD technology that would render Blu-ray high-def players obsolete, Toshiba instead last week launched an upconverting DVD player--the XD-E500--that the company claims will surpass the performance of other upconverting standard-def...

With prices for entry-level Blu-ray players still hovering near the $350 mark, we've been anticipating the arrival of the first Blu-ray players from second-tier brands, presumably at lower prices than the major brands. Based on first models slated to...

Marketing ploy, or last-ditch effort to stem the tide toward Blu-ray? Toshiba has cut prices on its three HD DVD players to $150 for its entry-level model to $300 for the top-of-the-line unit. The company says it reduced everyday prices...

Just as the DVD format war seems to be ending, with Blu-ray claiming victory over HD DVD, here comes a new format using red lasers—the technology in audio CD players—instead of the blue lasers used by the other high-def...

Though it's a challenge to identify significant trends in the hardware at this year's CES, there's one that has been creeping up on us for a few years and could break through as the "next big thing"—if the industry gets...

In a move many industry watchers view as the beginning of the end of the high-def DVD format war, Warner Bros.—until now the Switzerland of the battle, backing both formats—has decided that going forward, it will only issue Blu-ray...

Though we're still a few weeks shy of the official Black Friday shopping period, things are already getting brutal—at least in terms of pricing for Toshiba's entry-level HD DVD player. As we reported yesterday, Wal-Mart has special pricing today on...

While other retailers are gearing up for the three-day shopping extravaganza affectionately known as Black Friday, tomorrow (Friday) Wal-Mart kicks off its own holiday shopping season three weeks early with special deals on what it says are five of the...

It appears that the battle between the two high-definition DVD formats, Blu-ray and HD DVD, is no closer to resolution than it was last year, judging by events at the CEDIA trade show yesterday. The good news is that...

Based on early announcements from this week’s CEDIA consumer electronics trade show, there’s good news for anyone who’s been considering stepping up to a high-def front-projection video system: the entry-level price for a “Full HD” 1080p projector is now...

Sony will be emphasizing picture quality improvements, stylish design, and expanded capabilities as it rolls out nine new Bravia LCD TVs and five Bravia SXRD rear-projection sets this summer. All 14 sets have 1080p resolution, along with features intended...

Less than two years after the debacle -- and FTC settlement -- that resulted from Sony BMG’s ill-advised use of a controversial malware “rootkit” copy-protection scheme on some of its CD titles, Sony is once again under fire for...

Samsung Electronics, which last year broached the idea of introducing a high-def DVD player that could play both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs, is now readying such a model for introduction later this year. Unlike LG Electronics’ BH-100 hybrid...