Kaleidescape's booth was jammed packed with prospective buyers this year, evidently unaffected by a flagging economy and absurd prices flung from the mouths of on-hand representatives. All angst aside, we did stop by the outfit's CEDIA booth to see just what was crackin' and to snap a few photographs all the while. We'll admit, the 1080p Player / 1080p Mini Player are both beautiful pieces of equipment, and they certainly worked well when demonstrated. We'll refrain from commenting (again) on the value proposition here, but instead, we'll direct you to the gallery below with a forced grin.

Now here's a real head-scratcher -- imagine that instead of having Netflix ship you a new movie on disc every few days, you had some other company sending you a new hard drive once or twice a week. If we're understanding SIM2's latest news correctly, that's exactly what'll happen when signing up with Entertainment Experience, LLC. The Digital Entertainment Solution includes SIM2's ultra-pricey C3X 1080p projector, but that's not even the best part; purchasers will apparently also receive an undisclosed amount of additional hardware in the form of a "Digital Entertainment Center" that accepts HDDs with motion pictures stored in a reference-grade DCI format accepted by Hollywood. It even sounds like an AV signal processor comes bundled in to make even your current media components (Xbox 360, PS3, Blu-ray player, etc.) look better. Both firms have noted that content should be available "soon," and while we'll be doing our best to track down more information at CEDIA, feel free to read up on the cryptic release after the break for now.

A $1,500 SACD player? In 2008? Long after the never-very-popular format peaked? Thanks, Sony -- we can only imagine how lopsided the gallery visit-to-purchase ratio will be on this one.

Man, what a toll the loss of HD DVD has taken on Toshiba. Judging by the vast expanse of floor space at Tosh's booth not covered with people (seriously, look for anyone in the gallery below) and the inclusion of CES-announced DVD / VHS recorders (yes, really) as premiere products, we'd say the outfit is still hurting from the outcome of the format war. In all honesty, we felt kind of sad sashaying through its installation while reading slogans like "See everything in HD (even the non-HD stuff)." We even viewed the Super Resolution Technology demonstration with an open mind, and while there's certainly a mild difference with SRT, these sets hardly make SD signals into high-def. Grab a tissue and wander through the gallery below.

Four short months after going gold, Niveus' Movie Library has reached the monumental v1.5 platform. Okay, so maybe it's not that huge of a deal, but it's still notable for those out there with the coin to spend on a Niveus Media Center. The new version of the movie management application includes disc-in-drive support, a 10' interface for backing up movies to the Niveus Media Server and expanded metadata with high-resolution cover art (yes, including Blu-ray). Just to reiterate, the software supports "all possible movie formats" including DVDs, Blu-ray Disc, recorded TV movies, WMV, VideoGiants, Amazon Unbox, etc. Best of all, v1.5 is available to download right now in the Niveus Software Labs. Full press release is after the jump.

It's not clear what format or resolution it's going to be in, but Sony and PNY have just announced that they're teaming up to release one of the best movies ever, 1984's Ghostbusters, on a flash drive. That's the first full-length studio movie to go out this way, but knowing Sony, we're expecting a crazy proprietary format that only plays in a heavily DRM'd player. Even still, it's definitely a start -- and coupled with the plan to stream Hancock exclusively to Bravia Internet Link owners, it certainly seems like the company is warming up to alternative forms of distribution. Now if we could just get some DRM-free HD content in a standardized format, we'd be all set, no?

[Warning: PDF read link]

Dolby's homegrown volume controlling technology has wiggled into a few HDTVs here and there, but now the tech is finally maneuvering into devices that HT amateurs / professionals will end up seeing. At CEDIA, Dolby is announcing that it's Dolby Volume will be featured in the all new Harman Kardon AVR 7550HD and Arcam FMJ AVR600. For those that forgot, Dolby Volume is an approach to "delivering consistent volume levels across a wide variety of content, channel programming, or input sources," giving users fed up with those astonishingly loud MHD Palladia commercials a better, more lawful way to deal. Whole release is after the cut.

WirelessHD has finished its own content protection system, under the guise of Hollywood's big studios, Digital Transmission Content Protection (DTCP). The idea behind DTCP is establishing that content protected under another system -- like DVD's CSS or Blu-ray's AACS -- it will retain that same copy protection after it's transmitted, while still allowing streaming and copying from one device to another. Moving beyond simple wireless displays, this allows for easy wireless transmission of managed copies to DVRs, portable media players, etc. Ordinarily, we'd be rather averse to anything the MPAA has had a hand in, but we're cautiously optimistic if managed copy can actually become more than a theory. Punch the read link for a look at the specs and see if our trust has been misplaced. Of course, they also promised we'd be seeing hardware in 2008...we're running out of time while WHDI and UWB are calling.

We're not at all pleased by Epson's refusal to reveal the native resolution of its MovieMate 55, but judging by the $699 estimated street price, we'd bet it's no better than 1,024 x 768. At any rate, the 8.4-pound unit is designed more for sleepovers and summer camps than home cinema applications, as it boasts a built-in DVD player rather than a Blu-ray unit (and the resolution to match). You'll also find a pair of 8-watt speakers, 1,200 ANSI lumens, E-TORL lamp and a built-in handle for good measure. Snag one for the youngin' this October at resellers all across the land.

Coaxial cabling has long since been viewed as a premiere option for passing along high-def content within the home. After all, in most places it's already neatly installed within the walls. The High-Definition Audio-Video Network Alliance (HANA) has announced its intentions to release a HANA Entertainment Box reference design based on the new (UWB-based) 1394 Over Coax standard; products based on said design will enable consumers to "download HD content from any broadband connection or HD cable set-top-box and watch it in any room in their home with a coax jack and a remote control." HANA is hoping to have the reference design and initial prototypes out the door in Q4, though we wouldn't hold our breath.

No matter how you slice it, there will come a day when you'll be forced (or coaxed) into watching a Blu-ray flick with just two speakers or a set of cans. For those using ArcSoft's TotalMedia Theater, however, the audio playback should be pretty darn close to 5.1. Said Blu-ray playback application has just become the first in the software industry to grab DTS Surround Sensation certification, which promises to bring 5.1(ish) surround sound to listeners "using just two speakers or stereo headphones." A tad gimmicky, sure, but it's a feature we'd rather have at our disposal than not at all.

Realtek's found some additional horsepower for the next generation of DivX hardware, as its RTD1262/RTD1282 is the first to support 1080p DivX decoding as opposed from the 720p limitations on the previous solutions like the D-Link DSM-330. Designed for Networked Media Box and DVR STB applications, we're sure someone will find a box to wrap around this chip before long, although there's no word on exactly when it will be available to manufacturers. 1080p DivX DVR with support for streaming or local HDDs and USB devices? Yes, please.

It may be gettin' better, but it ain't getting any prettier. As the proper successor to Sony's DVDirect VRD-MC5, the all-black VRD-MC10 only looks marginally better than the original, but still has way too much 80s flair for our tastes. Sporting a 2.7-inch LCD, HDMI / component / composite outputs, a multicard reader, audio / video inputs, USB connectivity and support for just about every writable DVD still on the market, this unit was designed to burn your precious Handycam footage straight to DVD without any fuss (or formal editing procedures). Additionally, it could serve as your primary DVD player in a pinch, though the lack of BD functionality makes this a lot less attractive overall. We'll see if Sony keeps its "coming soon" promise; it's listed at a shockingly high ¥44,800 ($410).

[Via SonyInsider]

Update: Sony pinged us to say that this model will not be replacing the MC5, and it will only play back DVDs that it creates.

Now that Fuze has gone OEM, we should probably expect a lot of similar announcements from the firm. In a somewhat confusing twist, Fuze Media has just signed an OEM deal that will place its tightly integrated software into an HTPC built by Velocity Micro. If you'll recall, Velocity Micro was actually responsible for the original FuzeBox, though this one will start out "much cheaper" at $1,995. Presumably, the box will feature Fuze's FuzeOne platform, which will reportedly play nice with any machine out there (that's good, since it went OEM and all), utilize its own homegrown media player and simplify DVD ripping / library management. Hit the read link for a blowout of the new architecture and machine, and expect to see more when CEDIA cranks up in about two weeks.