When we first caught wind of HDI's "world's first laser-based 3D HDTV," we were cautiously hopeful that it'd be ready to go (at least as a prototype) at CES 2010. Looks like we may actually get our wish, as the company has today announced that its magical set has reached the manufacturing stage. What's it all mean? It means that the set is being fast-tracked for release in 2010, meaning that you're just months away from having stereoscopic 1,920 x 1,080 content in your living room... provided there's actually any programming to view, that is. Of course, it'll handle the 2D stuff too, and the twin RGP LCoS micro-display imagers in there ought to provide plenty of crisp imagery regardless of the source. We're still not sure if the Woz-approved 100-inch version that's being shown to curious onlookers is the size that'll be pumped out to the mainstream, but we're hoping for at least a few smaller siblings for those of us with last names other than Kennedy, Gates, Buffet and Ellison.

Look, we've seen an awful lot of HDTVs in our day -- one lap around the average CEDIA show floor makes your local Best Buy look awfully small -- and to this day we've yet to put our peepers on a more stunning set than Mitsubishi's LaserVue HDTV. Sure, it's fat, ugly and expensive, but the image is otherworldly. Before Mitsu can even take the logical next step, a California startup has arisen to introduce what it calls the world's first laser-based 3D HDTV. We're talking 1080p 3D like you've never seen before, with CTO Edmund Sandberg noting that this production is smoother than RealD, Dolby, film and pretty much every other 3D solution. The secret here is in the speed; this set is so fast that the image "no longer needs to flash from one eye to the other," and no flashing should equate to no headaches. Too bad there's no planned release date, but we're still cautiously optimistic for a sneak peek (in addition to the video past the break) at CES 2010.

[Via OLED-Display]

Unbeknownst to many (us included), HDI's Dune BD Prime has been making the rounds for a little while now. The deck, which is primarily marketed and sold outside of North America, claims to be the first bona fide multimedia player that's also a Blu-ray deck. The unit is available in four variations: the vanilla package, one with 802.11n WiFi, one that adds Ethernet and another that packs twin eSATA ports. The unit essentially plays dual roles by sucking down HD content from network-accessible drives / PCs while spinning up the latest Blu-ray Disc in its spare time. File format support doesn't look to be an issue, though a critical review over at MPCClub definitely found a few faults. Those with Euros to burn can find the player for around €449 ($638), though we don't get the feeling this is heading stateside anytime soon.

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FilmOn.com may not have the name recognition in America as does YouTube and Hulu, but its creator could be making a name for himself with the online video portal's underlying technology. Alki David founded FilmOn some three years back, and has since developed an advanced streaming protocol dubbed HDi (no, not that HDi). The technology could eventually be used to deliver high-definition cable TV programming and other video-on-demand options around the globe without any lag or stutter; we're even told that Britons could catch the local news in Iowa if the ideal scenario comes to fruition. So far, David has inked deals with a number of content providers, though only Turner Network Television was specifically named. FilmOn is expected to showcase its "virtual cable television" tech to BT next month, which could certainly accelerate the expansion of HDTV by enabling it to flow over existing internet delivery pipes. Consider our interest markedly piqued, especially for HD-deprived souls overseas.

It's a pretty big day for Testronic Labs, as this day marks the tenth year that it has been testing optical media quality and bucking The Man and his brother (dubbed The Economy) to stay afloat. More important than that (to us, anyway) is this little tidbit: today also saw the 1,000th Blu-ray Disc tested for quality assurance in its facilities. For those unaware, this outfit works with movie studios to ensure the interactive content you receive is as bug free as humanly possible, and we'll admit, we've heard a lot less crying from Blu-ray Disc buyers of late compared to early on. Kudos, Testronic Labs -- we'll raise our glasses to a thousand more.

One time Xbox 360 HD DVD player pack-in King Kong is finally making its Blu-ray debut, complete with U-Control interactive features and some additional bits we'd missed the first go round. Apparently Universal has seen fit to replace the previous edition's Dolby Digital+ 5.1 soundtrack with a 5.1 DTS-HD MA version, as well as the Extended Edition footage (on an already 3 hour+ movie?) that was missing from the HD DVD. Making the jump from HDi to BD-Live is online My Scenes sharing, just in case you still needed a reason to pay the $29.98 MSRP for this disc January 20.

The day Michael Bay and fans of Blu-ray and big robots have all been waiting for is September 2, according to advanced, inside information obtained by TVShowsonDVD.com. Last year's HD DVD blockbuster Transformers is finally coming to Blu-ray after last fall's exclusivity agreement fell by the wayside, in a 2-disc release described as "similar" to the previous version. Hopefully that means all HDi and internet connectivity features intact, with new bits added courtesy of 50GBs of storage space and BD-Live. We expect there should be, and with a majority of Blu-ray owners using PlayStation 3s, they may even surpass the HD DVD edition's 30% internet-connected rate.

[Via Seibertron.com]

All those still hanging onto your obsolete vintage first generation HD DVD players have a reason to plug in the network cable and turn them on one more time, as Toshiba has issued a version 3.0 firmware update for the HD-A1, HD-XA1 and HD-D1. Similar to an earlier update for the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on, the patch tweaks network connectivity a bit as well as clearing up some HDMI handshaking issues. The update quietly came online April 26, and of course can be issued by burning it to a CD or calling Toshiba and requesting a disc by mail. So go ahead, pour a glass of wine, dim the lights and celebrate a little quality time with a two year-old box that still offers features some new players can't match.

[Via DVD Town]

Heroes fans can get their full HD fix August 26, when the DVD boxed set of season two is released on DVD, it'll also hit Blu-ray and bring along season one for the ride. No word on price or what extras are in store (or if 1080p will somehow make the whole twins subplot less meaningless, just a thought), although the S1 set on HD DVD last year included HDi internet connectivity, and we don't expect anything less from BD-Live. Universal is going day and date with its movies starting with Doomsday, while NBCU's first dual-format feature film should hit shelves ahead of the holidays.

The Blu-ray 2.0 spec (or BD Live) is just around the corner, and the "father of Java" thinks it won't disappoint. Sun Microsystems VP and fellow James Gosling calls it "mind-blowing" and we should see demonstrations of developers have achieved at the JavaOne conference in May. Top Tech News also quoted an analyst about the possibilities of the Blu 2.0 future, and what we could see this summer, from online chat with others watching the same movie, or the ability to offer downloads that re-edit a movie to block unwanted scenes. That all sounds nice, and we can't wait for the BD-J upgrades on our PS3's and new players from Panasonic and Sony, but we can't help wondering what it would have been like if someone launched online-capable HD players nearly two years ago. Yeah, that would've been sweet.

With HD DVD officially dead, there's not a lot of demand for Microsoft's $2,999 HD DVD emulator, but taking a shot at the Bee Movie interface that never was now costs the low, low price of $0. Microsoft's reasoning for continuing to release the emulator for free (and refunding those who had already purchased it) is to help those working on HD DVD projects finish them and represent its "commitment to interactivity". Curious about creating your own interactive discs with HDi? The easiest route is to grab a copy of NetBlender's DoStudio MX and download the emulator to an Xbox 360 via the marketplace, and imagine what might have been.

[Via Xboxic]

HD DVD fans have at least one more high profile release to look forward to, as German distributor Kinowelt is prepared to release Terminator 2: Ultimate HD-Edition (region free of course) March 20th. Produced by HDi (and Blu-ray) pioneers Imagion AG this release includes the directors cut of the film, with DTS-HD 7.1 audio and more than four hours of bonus material in a high quality SteelBook case. Expect this to be the triumphant example of HD DVD's advanced features and capabilities that American Gangster so sadly wasn't. Check out a list of features after the break or our hands-on from CES to learn more about the disc's interactive and online capabilities, and maybe a peek at the future of BD Live.

Oh sure, we've seen testing devices for both HD DVD and Blu-ray before, with the latter even boasting a dedicated quality assurance lab, but we've a feeling only half of Testronic Labs newest facility will actually see any real usage. The firm has constructed an interactive Blu-ray and HD DVD test bed in Burbank, California in an attempt to provide "third-party, quality-control of high definition software and integrated web capability." Unfortunately for it, we don't foresee too many more any new highly advanced HD DVDs in the pipeline, so it looks as if most of the scrutiny will surround HDMV, BD-J and BD-Live. Ah well, the joint probably needed space for a cafeteria, anyway.

[Thanks, Steve]

American Gangster had the misfortune of being released on HD DVD the same day the format war died, and will probably serve more of a reminder of why red lost, than an example why it deserved to go on. Coming on an HD DVD / DVD combo disc extends compatibility, but expands the price beyond that of the far more extensive 3 DVD special edition set. Also apparent casualties of the combo are the unrated directors cut of the film (found only on the DVD side), standard-def extra features,and any TrueHD audio track. The audio and PQ present aren't bad, but don't meet the "reference quality" standards a film like this aspires to. Even HD DVD's HDi interactivity can't save it, with a picture-in-picture track described as a "slim afterthought" by HighDefDigest, and online downloads that aren't specific to this movie, this might make a good souvenir for HD fans, but most will want to wait for the inevitable Blu-ray edition.

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If you didn't quite get your fill of Dirk the Daring with Dragon's Lair on HD DVD and Blu-ray, Digital Leisure has you covered. Slated to arrive on April 8th on both major formats, the completely restored Space Ace will allow fans of the series to check out a 1080p version of the game and treat their ears to a freshly created 5.1-channel audio mix. Additionally, the title was authored in both BD-Java for Blu-ray and HDi for HD DVD, ensuring that customers have access to the highly-anticipated interactive features regardless of what camp they're in. Also of note, each title will have slightly different extras (detailed in the read link below), so hardcore fans should be sure to pick up both for the full experience -- if you're cool with dropping $49.95 apiece, that is.