While the big boys on both sides of the competitive aisle hassle over two pending, incompatible formats for giving consumers HD on DVD, a company called High Def Home Entertainment (HDHE) plans to release a variety of content-including feature films, concerts and music videos, extreme sports and documentaries, and some adult fare-on what it calls High Def DVD (not to be confused with HD DVD or Blu-ray).
The company announced at IBC in Amsterdam that most titles will contain both HD and NTSC versions, and will continue to function with today's standard DVD players. HDHE is working with I-O Data to also help bring its own DVD player-the AVeL Linkplayer-to the U.S. market immediately.
The players will allow for full HD resolution playback--assuming it's played on an HD monitor, of course--and along with its compatibility with standard DVDs, it can connect to a computer for playback of other files such as including video, photos and music, according to the company. HDHE also reports that its HD titles can be played in full resolution on computers with 2.4 GHz using Windows Media Player.
The High Def DVD "format" uses Microsoft Windows Media 9 technology and a single red-laser DVD-9. The DVDs reportedly will hold a single two-hour movie in HD. The MSRP for the AVeL Linkplayer is $249.
HDHE's first High Def DVDs will begin hitting some U.S. shelves this month, starting with adult titles. (The adult entertainment industry has played a far more significant role than is often acknowledged publicly, in the proliferation of new entertainment technology, including VHS, DVD and, of course, the Internet.) HDHE assured IBC attendees that mainstream titles will follow soon, with up to 100 titles planned for release within six months.
