When John Carmack speaks, the game industry listens. This guy is like the Yoda of first person shooters, game widsom great has he. John has made some very strong statements about developing for Xbox vs. PS3. I was very intrigued with what he had to say:

According to Carmack, Xbox 360 is “the best development environment” he’s seen for a console, telling the assembled Quake fans about the usefulness of the development tools and architecture of Microsoft’s next console. Conversely, he expressed doubts regarding the PS3’s hardware architecture, claiming that early work on games for the hardware “will initially be disappointing” and that it will take time for developers to fully get the most out of the machine’s parallel processing power.

Whoa, that’s pretty telling of which system will take off more quickly with new development. He did pull Sony back out from under the bus though, and dust them off a bit:

He wasn’t completely down on Sony, however, explaining where PlayStation 3 had a potential advantage over the Xbox 360: “The particularly interesting thing on the other side of the fence with Sony is that they are at least making noises about having it be an open platform. This has always been an issue I disliked about consoles. I don’t like closed development platforms and the fact you have to be a registered developer. I’ve always loathed that aspect. It’s why I’ve always preferred the PC market, so we can do whatever we feel like – we can release mission packs and patch things - all of this good stuff that you’re not allowed to do on consoles.” Although he admitted that it wasn’t clear how or if this openness would work, it was clearly something he would embrace if it existed: “If you had something like the Amiga used to be, which was a fixed format with a graphics focus, that would certainly be very interesting.” And this was clearly his perceived advantage for PS3, saying that “Microsoft are certainly going to have nothing to do with” such an open attitude.

Hmm, I see the balance of power swinging in Big Bill’s favor…

Article

Two new PureVision plasma televisions introduced today by Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc.

The new whiz-bang tech includes “newly designed Crystal Emissive Layer” and “Pioneer’s PureDrive II circuitry” with claimed result of the improved contrast ratios and black levels.

The Pioneer PDP-5060HD and PDP-4360HD should be available in September - estimated prices $6,000 and $4,500.

Bring on this Fall, Papa wants a new set of toys.

Press Release

[For this sytem] The SuperView 3000 video windowing display processor was chosen because it could display up to 12 video windows on the screen, and it could save window configurations as presets.

The SuperView processor is wired to receive nine HI-DEF satellite feeds which include local cable channels, a DVD player, and a computer. The combined signal is sent to an 6.75′ x 9′ screen fed by a JVC SX-21U projector . A Crestron control system makes it simple to operate.

The SuperView processor was the perfect solution to enable the family to watch multiple events simultaneously without having to change channels. The configuration presets make it easy to switch screen layouts when they want to view a different number of feeds, and to switch screen priorities when they want to assign a larger portion of the screen to a particular event. The Frieman family confirms that they are very happy with the system.

Happy with their system? You think? Man, to be a kid in the Frieman house! Where was this stuff when I was a kid? It sure smokes “kick the can.” Question is, where’s the xbox? Maybe little Johnny stays busy upstairs memorizing the encyclopedia.

This processor is over 12 grand. I wonder if I should start charging for all the NFL events at my house this season…

Multi-Image Display for Home Theater

Bummer news today as HD-DVD, once touted as the next new bling for your rig, is losing some of its much needed Christmas push.

Paramount Pictures was to release 20 titles, is now committed to none.
NBC Universal plans to release around a dozen, down from 16 releases promised.
Time Warner has no definite plans and wants the format war worked out. (yeah, don’t we all!)

Toshiba will likely have the only stand-alone hardware in retail channels for the holidays, at around a grand.

This may not mean much to Joe Htdudes in general, but this kind of slack in the push towards the next tech will hurt. Why? Because the bling-kings who buy on the bleeding edge, taking the hardest hit for Joe Consumer, won’t be snapping this stuff up at Christmas time if it ain’t on the shelf.

Maybe a format negotiation would be best for this industry. I’ll stick my screwdriver up for that.

Source

Pros:

• Excellent customer service
• Magnificent construction, fit and finish
• Elegant design
• High screen performance for all types of projectors
• Huge bang for the buck

Cons

• None

This reviewer really liked this screen, it looks like a great value for the quality, and it was wife-unit approved! Carada is definitely on the htdude approved screen list.

Carada Projector Screen Review

Looking for a rear projection unit, and budget is not a restriction? (man I love it when money is no object!)
The Sony Qualia 006 is the answer.

At 70″ diagonal with a resolution of 1920×1080, and weighing in at 463 lbs with stand, this widescreen is one big, bad mamma-jamma. Nothing says bling like a big honking permanent screen! And at this size and weight, let’s see some dopehead try to carry it off.

SXRD stands for Silicon Xtal (crystal) Reflective Display. [This technology] does not use backlighting, which means the pixels can be placed closer together (there’s no need for the addressing circuitry to run between the pixels), eliminating the “screen-door” effect that is so common on LCD sets.

So with this tech, Sony has eliminated the #1 problem with LCD - SDE (screen door effect.) It’s not every day a corporate behemoth makes such strides in technical excellence.

Bottom Line
This television offers high-definition images as precise and pleasing as I have ever seen. That is the crowning achievement of the Qualia 006. Its portrayal of DVDs was not perfect but generally superb. It could not portray conventional NTSC TV in a manner I found pleasing to watch. But all in all, this may be the best rear-projection television out there.

‘Nuff said.

Full Review

RayL Jr., special member (no, not short-bus-to-school special) of AVS forum has started an awesome list of great apps for home theater computers. It has been maintained and updated to include just about anything you might need for working on and using your home theater PC.

I think everything is covered, from general utilities and even bargain shopping for media, to specific software for HTPCs and audio/video.

Thanks, Ray! You’re special to me too. I don’t know about the “member” part though…

Free killer apps List

Samsung’s new 5-disc HTiB systems all incorporate an integrated DVD Player/Receiver, a full set of high-quality surround sound speakers and a superb sub-woofer to transform any living room into a fully- functional digital entertainment center. Audiophiles will appreciate the wide center channel speaker that enhances dialogue prominence during movies so words do not interfere against background sound effects and music.

Ummm, I think audiophiles already appreciate what a center channel has to offer, and I doubt these packages would please a true audiophile’s ear. They do offer an easy way for beginners to get into home theater, and have some home theater PC functions without the hassle of a full-fledged HTPC.

The five-disc progressive-scan DVD players support multimedia files including DivX and MP3, as well as DVD Audio, WMA-Disc, CD-R/RW and DVD -R/RW. They also display JPEG images so viewers can watch picture slide shows burned to CD from digital cameras in the comfort of their living rooms instead of huddling around a small computer monitor.

We definitely want to grow this sport as much as possible, so I name this entry-level home theater in a box experience as worthy of the game.

Press Release

Fox Networks is planning to launch two High-Definition TV channels next year: a high-def version of the National Geographic Channel and “Fox HD,” which will feature programming from several Fox channels, including the network and the FX channel… HD National Geographic Channel will launch in January. No launch date was given for Fox HD.

Yeah, baby! Can I get an “Amen!” from my Home Theater lovin’ brethren out there! Foxy baby, bring it on! This is great news, HD TV continues to grow steadily.

Source

I found this decent write-up about the current state of affairs with the next level of DVD format, the new betamax war!

Behind the Blue-Ray front lines
Mfgs: Hitachi, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, Samsung, Sharp, Sony and Zenith
Studios: 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Co. and Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures, Electronic Arts and Vivendi

In the HD DVD Camp
Mfgs: Toshiba, NEC and Sanyo
Studios: Paramount pictures, Universal Pictures, New Line Cinema, HBO and Warner Bros.

Blu-ray will be out in 2006. HD DVD has said they will be out in (the fourth quarter of) 2005, but we question that and think it will not be feasible. We think they wont be out until next year.

Nothing earth-shattering here, but a good synopsis.

High-definition DVD technology promises sharper home theater

Interesting comments at the end of the article about VOD and downloading movies. The quality sucks right now, definitely nowhere near getting your HT groove on there.