Remember that old laserdisc coin-op game back from 1983 called “Dragon’s Lair”? Created by former Disney animator Don Bluth “Dragon’s Lair” was like nothing else seen before in the arcades and it sparked a small wave of animated and later full-motion video titles that gobbled many quarters.

Digital Leisure released a version of the game on the Blu-ray format earlier in the year and is now prepping a HD-DVD version to come out August 15. After receiving a frame-by-frame restoration this new “Dragon’s Lair” was then digitally remastered in high definition and with 5.1 surround sound. In addition to the complete game there are also 1080p HD interviews with each of the game’s creators (Don Bluth, Gary Goldman and Rick Dyer) as well as a full-length visual commentary track running through the game.

Plunk down $49.95 so you can time travel back to this golden age …

The HD-DVD/Blu-ray war continues on with no signs of either side giving ground. The latest offensive assault comes from the HD side with an announcement from Toshiba proclaiming they are releasing a firmware update that will let its HD-DVD players access the Web to download exclusive content. All that Toshiba owners need do is connect their player to the internet via the device’s Ethernet ports and the unit will take care of it automatically.

Whether this will turn out to be a new leg up against the Blu-ray competition remains to be seen, but Toshiba is promising that its consumers will be able to take part in interactive content exclusive to their format of next gen DVD. Toshiba cites an example with Warner Bros. HD-DVD for “Blood Diamond” which lets the viewer participate in interactive polls and see …

In a major hit to HD DVD supporters, Blockbuster has decided to go with the rival Blu-ray high definition DVD format in 1,450 of its 1700 stores across the nation. This decision was made after a year of renting both the Blu-ray and HD DVD formats in their stores after which the video rental giant found that Blu-ray was preferred by its consumers over 70% of the time.

According to the announcement, the Blu-ray titles will still be offered for rent online but a vast majority of the physical stores will not be stocking them. Blockbuster found that it wasn’t the price that was driving the consumers decision as much as it was the content with big releases like Spiderman and Pirates of the Caribbean doing better than similar exclusive releases on HD DVD.

This decision by …

Digg This was the last post on the Digg Blog yesterday by founder Kevin Rose posting the one-key-to-rule-them-all encryption key that can be used to break the protection on secure HD DVD and Blu-Ray discs.

The issue of breaking the AACS encryption code of HD DVD’s came about very shortly after the DVD’s using the encryption was released – 8 days after it was released to be exact. An individual called Muslix64 posted information to compromise the HD DVD protection back in December, and the following month was able to use the same method to compromise the protection of Blu-Ray discs as well.

Since then another individual found that there was one “master” key that could be used to break the encryption of all the discs instead of having to find the individual key for …

With the recent brouhaha over which format the adult film industry plans to adopt, one question is overlooked: who wants to see their porn in high definition? With high definition comes a high dose of reality. Porn actors and actresses are real people and real people have wrinkles, blemishes and razor burn, not so sexy features that some are wondering if viewers will really want to see close up and crystal clear.

The New York Times recently picked up the subject and talked to producers and actors and actresses in the industry. According to Stormy Daniels, actress, writer and director, “The biggest problem is razor burn.” She’s also quoted as saying “I’m not 100 percent sure why anyone would want to see their porn in HD.”

With the new clarity of the …

SlipperyBrick originally brought you the story of the dual format DVD player that was the symbol of unity, happiness and sunny flower filled meadows in A/V land. Unfortunately, real life is not always so rosy.

It appears that the LB HB100 hybrid may be in trouble because it will not receive certification from the DVD Forum. That’s because the BH100 doesn’t really support HD DVD. Sure it will play the movie straight through if you put an HD DVD in the player, but you won’t be able to access the menu system.

The HD DVD menu system is called iHD. For those uber-geeks out there, iHD was developed by Microsoft and Toshiba for HD DVD. iHD is built on open standards like ECMAScript (JavaScript) and XML. …

In a repeat of the famous Betamax versus VHS, it appears that the adult film industry has chosen HD DVD over Blu-ray as their publishing medium of choice.

VHS eventually won over Betamax because the adult industry preferred it. In the late 70′s and early 80′s many video rental stores popped up around the country and they rented out mostly adult films in the VHS format. This sealed the fate of Betamax. It is thought that adult films is the main reason that the VCR gained ground in the first place.

Blu-ray was the adult industries preferred standard as of last year but recent trends have changed the minds of some studios. One factor is that there are many more HD DVD players in the form of Xbox 360′s already in …

Time Warner has announced plans to introduce a new DVD format that will encode content in both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray formats. The format will be called Total HD.

Many experts believe that the confusion over formats has slowed the adoption of high definition DVD formats. Time Warner’s olive branch is another peace initiative by tech companies and content companies to bridge the gap between the two formats.

SlipperyBrick recently reported on the new LG player that can play both HD-DVD and Blu-ray. This development is similar to what happened in writable DVD formats for the PC. There were originally two competing formats with DVD-RW and DVD+RW. Thought the formats still exist many DVD writers can handle either format and also CD reading and writing.

Total HD will turn the tables and make sure …

Today LG Electronics announced that it is going to provide the worlds first DVD player to support playing both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs. Details are going to be announced next week at the 2007 CES in Las Vegas.

This offering is a much anticipated solution for both producers of DVD’s as well as consumers, and hopefully will end the confusion and decisions necessary on which high definition format to produce and which type of player to buy.

The Blu-ray format created by Sony is supported by Samsung, Hitachi, and JVC, while the HD DVD format that was created by Toshiba is supported by Microsoft, Intel adn NEC. Both formats provide increased data storage on the same disc dimensions to allow higher definition multimedia. Both formats are promising, and consumers and producers were left with the decision of which format to …

Toshiba has announced the first HD DVD drive that can read and write HD DVD’s, regular DVD’s and CD’s and is a slim design to fit into a notebook computer.The SD-L902A is only 12.7 mm high so that it it fits into the slim space necessary for laptop computers and other devices that conform to the cramped space.

With the increasing demand for HD media and sales of high definition televisions and HD camcorders, the need for the ability to write and edit this type of HD media at home and with a more mobile PC such as a notebook is a natural progression. The new SD-L902A HD DVD drive is going to be demonstrated at the CEATEC conference in Japan the first week of October. If you happen to be there, they are at booth 1A09.

Some specs for the HD DVD …