Mitsubishi just launched two new Blu-ray recorders set for Japan with the DVR-BZ200 and the DVR-BZ100. The two recorders each house an internal HDD with 500GB and 250GB capacities, respectively.

The part that really makes these Blu-ray records most notable is that they can record HD content onto a regular DVD disc with Blu-ray’s AVCREC specs. You can fit around a couple of hours of Full HD MPEG video onto a standard 4.7GB DVD, and set it to record using the super-cool, included touch screen remote control.

Shortly after the fall of the HD DVD format Microsoft officially announced that they were ending production of the HD DVD player for the Xbox 360 and we, along with a number of others, figured they would be jumping on board with Blu-ray in short order.

According to Microsoft exec Aaron Greenberg, group product manager for the Xbox 360, the company appears to have no plans to move in the direction of a Blu-ray player, or any high-def player for that matter, for their game console. “Xbox is not currently in talks with Sony or the Blu-ray Association to integrate Blu-ray into the Xbox experience,” Greenberg said. He followed up that comment with “We’re the only console offering digital distribution of entertainment content,” which leads us to believe that Microsoft may have taken this opportunity to rid the console of physical disc media all together.

Lionsgate said today it is working with Apple to make use of the latter’s Digital Copy for iTunes so select DVDs will also be available for digital viewing. The first Lionsgate film to get the iTunes treatment will be Rambo on May 27th.

Lionsgate said that by using Digital Copy for iTunes, those who purchase select DVDs or Blu-ray Discs will be able to insert the disc into a computer. The customer then enters a unique code into iTunes, and the movie is automatically copied to their iTunes library.

You no longer have to skulk in dark corners and whisper the secret password in order to trade in your HD-DVD for Blu-Ray. According to the AP, the electronics retailer is officially launching the promotion. Circuit City will be accepting returns of HD DVD players within 90 days of purchase, with a proof of purchase receipt.

Customers can receive store credit or use it toward the price of a Blu-Ray player. Circuit City will definitely be scoring some customer goodwill points with this promotion. Great move. Now, all you HD-DVD buyers have to do is find someone to buy your movies.

According to electronichouse, Circuit City has a secret they’re trying to keep on the down low. It’s a trade-in program where you can trade your HD-DVD player for a Blu-Ray player.

Apparently, Circuity City is not promoting it publicly, but if you ask, they will apply the refund toward a new Blu-ray player, but your original HD-DVD purchase has to be within 3 months. Yes, it’s only the hardware. You’re stuck with the movies. Maybe service really is state of the art. You better get to your local CC before they change their minds.

You can’t have a good format war without some fallout. With the fall of HD-DVD, the question has been raised regarding Netflix’s ability to sustain its subscribers and demands for the Blu-Ray Format. Netflix said today that its subscriber count will be 3% higher than forecast because of price increases from Blockbuster and cheaper online advertising rates. Of course, the raise in price led to a loss of thousands of subscribers for Blockbuster, many of them switching or even returning to Netflix.

Now that the high-def format war has come to an end Sony is rolling out a couple of new Blu-ray players equipped with the latest and greatest features. The BDP-S550 and BDP-S350 look virtually identical but differ only in some of the internal extras.

Both players come with picture-in-picture which Sony is calling “BonusView”, and have BD-Live through an Ethernet port allowing the players to get firmware updates and interactive content through the intertubes. The BDP-S350 is BD-Live “ready” while the BDP-S550 ships with the feature already capable. One of the other few differences between the two is that the BDP-S550 comes with 1GB of internal storage while the other doesn’t, but both have a USB connection for additional external storage.

Paramount was the last of the big Hollywood studios to officially make the move to Blu-ray, announcing on Wednesday that they are pleased with the industry finally picking a single format with the consumer in mind. Paramount did not elaborate much on the announcement but by doing so removed all doubt that HD DVD has met its demise.

The announcement came a day after Toshiba’s Tuesday announcement of the end of HD DVD and the end of manufacturing by the end of March. All six studios working with a single format reduces consumer confusion and will likely bring more sales of media and players than retailers would see by trying to push two different formats.

Recent decisions by the likes BlockBuster earlier last year, Warner Brothers last month and Netflix just this morning are only further cementing the future of the next single high definition video format. Widening the gap today is retail giant Best Buy which has announced that they too will be supporting Blu-ray over HD DVD as the preferred format for the future.

Best Buy says they will continue to carry HD DVD products in their store as well, but will be showcasing the Blu-ray products as the emerging single format for high-definition video going forward. This move could help many consumers who are undecided about the future of video formats to make a decision and possibly make purchases that they’ve been holding out on. We also imagine that this will make life a whole lot easier for Best Buy employees working on the floor answering customer questions about which format to choose.

Here’s another huge blow that the struggling HD-DVD format did not need. Netflix, the online and mail video rental giant will follow its rival Blockbuster’s footsteps and carry Blu-Ray exclusively. With endorsement to The future is Blu campaign, the company will now only buy Blu-Ray discs going forward and will phase out their stock of HD-DVD by the end of the year.

“We’re now at the point where the industry can pursue the migration to a single format, bring clarity to the consumer and accelerate the adoption of high-def.”, said a company spokesman. Netflix stated that they expect all studios to begin to publish movies on the Blu-ray format. With Netflix’s over seven million subscribers, I think it’s fair to say that this is a killing blow in the format war, whether the effects are immediate or forthcoming.

Just earlier this week Warner Bros. Entertainment, the studio with the industries largest selection of movies, changed the tide in the high definition format war in favor of Sony by announcing that they are going with Blu-ray discs exclusively. Warner’s intention was to end the battle and consumer confusion hopefully resulting in improved DVD sales in 2008. It appears their move just might be working as Variety states they have confirmed information that Universal, who previously has been HD DVD-exclusive, has ended their promise to continue with HD DVD only and could possibly be making a change to Blu-ray.

Paramount along with Universal are two of the big seven studios that have been hanging on with Toshiba and HD DVD, but they too have a clause to produce Blu-ray as well after Warner’s decision. Back in June of 2007 Blockbuster also made a move to Blu-ray over HD DVD which combined with recent news is making things look very grim for the HD DVD future.

We knew some upgrades were coming for both these devices and today both the PSP 3.80 firmware and the PS3 2.10 firmware upgrades are available for download.

We haven’t seen the PSP 3.80 version available online yet but it is available through the Network Upgrade menu option directly on the PSP bringing streaming internet radio directly to the handheld device. In fact, I’m listening to the ShoutCast player on my PSP while writing this. You’ll need an Wi-Fi internet connection of course, and after installing the update there is a new menu option in the network settings for Internet Radio. Selecting it brings you to an “About” page that shows two different but similar players available for download to your Memory Stick, one from ShoutCast and the other from IceCast, each having 50 genres to choose from once downloaded.

The mission for “Star Trek” has always been to boldly go where no one has gone before, to seek out new life and new civilizations but really, we all just wanted the cool gadget that Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock got to play with. We’ve turned our mobile phones into things that resemble those neat palm-sized communicators the Enterprise crew had and we’re working on the transporter next. For those fans that really want to own a piece of the Enterprise there are models, props and toys made to resemble Starfleet’s best including a toy model of “Star Trek”’s futuristic gun, a phaser. But why hasn’t some toy company made a phaser that actually emits a laser beam when you fire it? You think that with the low cost of today’s lasers that some toy manufacturer would have leapt on this idea. Leave it to one creative individual to make our geek dreams come true!

Today Sony announced they will be launching a 40GB PS3 in Japan on November 11th, a year to the day after the console was initially launched in Japan. The new 40GB PS3 will have a few changes changes from the units currently available including no memory card reader or backwards compatibility and will be short two of the four USB ports, which sounds just like the model recently announced for the UK.

Today Sony unveiled a new VAIO FZ series laptop which packs a Blu-Ray disc player along with a 15.4 inch widescreen display. This combination results in a lightweight multimedia notebook that can play movies in 1080 HD resolution as well as record and play back personal content on the Blu-Ray media.

Aside from the hi-def player, this new premium model of the VAIO FZ comes with a Centrino Duo processor, a built-in 802.11n wireless LAN and Windows Vista Home Premium. The laptop also has a built-in camera and microphone and support …