It's hard to focus on HD news seven days a week, 365 days a year, as when you come back to the real world everything looks a little bit rubbish.
Luckily this weekly dose of 1080p goodness is enough to brighten up anyone's day; adding some Full HD sparkle to an otherwise dreary February afternoon. But that's enough of the perfunctory introduction, here's the news.
First Freesat Blu-ray recorders
Panasonic has announced the arrival of two new Blu-ray recorders, with Freesat capabilities. This is just another example of Freesat thinking ahead of the curve. Sky's HD machines are starting to look positively Stone Age in comparison.
Blu-ray sales to top 100 million
Things are looking up for Blu-ray. The format that has more naysayers than Leo Sayer is looking to top 100 million sales by next year. By all accounts that's a lot of discs. Whether the credit crunch will scupper Blu-ray's plans for world domination is unknown, but if prices keep dropping then people will keep buying.
Flatscreen TV sales down
Flatscreen sales are starting to bottom out, according to people with very big calculators (also called number crunchers and analysts). Does this spell the end of HDTVs as we know it? Of course not, it just means that less people are buying sets because they already have purchased one. Duh!
Viera Cast launched
Web on your TV. You know you want it – think of all those sites you could watch on a big screen, instead of on a piddly monitor. No, not those ones you filthy animal! Viera Cast is one of the first to announce UK launches of a web service, and will feature the likes of YouTube and Bloomberg News.
21:9 gets price and street date
Philips' amazing new 21:9 TV is going to officially cost the Earth. Well, £3,500 which is a lot for those who think all the TV does is get rid of unsightly black bars. You have to remember that it also adds unsightly black bars too – especially if you are watching The Simpsons or other non-widescreen shows.
Warner reveals all about hi-def classics
Warner is readying it's classic film collection for release on Blu-ray and has announced that it has cost a fortune to get Gone With The Wind up to 1080p standard. Frankly, we don't give a damn – as long as it looks good, it'll be worth every penny.
Beware! The following is not news, just interesting stuff we found on our hi-def travels
Weirdest HD product of the week: High-definition paint
"I can't believe the beautiful paintings I can produce after only a few hours of practice." So says Lisa Curtsinger about FolkArt HD paint. Yes, it's yet another product that has taken the HD moniker in vain just because it's the in-thing to do. But wait, HD Paint is like no other:
"HD acrylic paints combine high pigmentation and a thick paint formula that is highly visual, light reflecting and dries with high definition," so says the maker's website. "The result is a beautiful work of art with the look of fine oil painting."
Van Gogh is currently turning in his grave.
5 ways to advertise HD to non-HD people (according to a major TV provider)
Take a cool bit of action
Slow things down
Slower still
Make things even slower
Then add a bit more slowness
And that, my non-HD friends, is high definition
4 places still selling nearly-full price HD DVDs £17.95 for that?
More bad blu-ray movies
Five more flicks for the Blu-ray bad movie club...
Bangkok Dangerous
Terrible picture, terrible sound, terrible film. No one needs to see Nicolas Cage's hair in HD. Ever.
Chain Reaction
Dull actioner starring Keanu Reeves and the usually dependable Morgan Freeman. We'd rather listen to Reeves' band Dogstar than watch this rubbish again. And there's no sign of Diana Ross – despite the title's claims.
National Security
The biggest threat to national security is not terrorism, economic collapse or Simon Cowell, it's this film starring Martin Lawrence. Avoid at all costs. Rumour has it the movie was found when they were clearing out the Guantanamo Bay detention camp
Meet the Spartans
One joke movie that fails to notify you when it tells you it's one joke. Amazingly it stars one-time EastEnder Sean Maguire. My how the mighty have fallen.
Employee of the month
Jessica Simpson never really cracked the whole singing thing when she was a singer. Now that she is an actress, she hasn't really cracked the whole acting thing either.
Definitely one to watch if you want to see a car crash of epic proportions in HD.
HD for little people
Forget your big screen TVs, the most exciting technology is the smallest technology.
Smallest HDTV
Smallest HD camcorder
Smallest HD PC
Tell us what you think
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