It did not take long for the next format war to start, only months after the much hyped Sony Blu-Ray vs HD DVD war ended a new format fight has been spotted looming in the distance.  While this is still some way off as of yet there are several possible contenders so let me introduce you to the upcoming fighters in each corner.

3D TV – Coming in two forms, though one is more likely to take off, from Germany we have a technology that requires clear, less dorky, glasses to see a clearer, crisper 3D image.  The true front runner of the 3G TV genre however does seem to be a glasses free 3D TV which has an interesting method which I will go into later.

The big title defender in this fight is 2D TV, if you are looking for cheap ths will be key, with prices constantly dropping for larger and larger screens, all crystal clear.  These guys are going to be boosted by the fact that 3G hologram TV is more or less a gimmic, unless of course you want to see all the angles of some particularly raunchy part of a film.

Currently the glasses free 3G technology is expensive, time consuming and 4 inches cubed.  Doesn’t sound too good yet, but they have promised us a much greater size display once  they have ironed out the, ahem, bugs.

The makers of 3D TV have also been fighting off the skeptics and persistant hecklers, for instance those saying normal tv is 3D (Height, Width, Time) Where as the new technology, having depth is infact 4D.  These, have been dismissed however as pedantic.

all in all I look forward to 3D TV being cheap and large, but with that being a long time in the future I guess it will have to wait for a few years, I do however look forward to seeing who comes out on top of teh next big Format War!

This could be yet another nail in the coffin for current blu-ray technology which has found itself failing to compete with DVD’s and Internet based media. But maybe with the advent of HD (High Density) DVD its a little early to be thinking about HHD (Higher High Density) DVD

In the meantime I think im going to plod along with DVDs, the quality is still pretty good an I can pick them up for about $5!

Sony have announced today that they will be releasing a new hardware upgrade v2.40 for the Playstation 3 to keep up with this, pretty good, idea.  Patch 2.4 is primarily allowing access to a PlayStation 3 online database of player information, friends lists custom game settings and game rankings.  The full list of released upgrades is as follows,

• Friend category
• View, send, receive messages via your Playstation 3
• Manage downloads
• Set the vibration feature of the PS3 controller
• Sign in to PlayStation Network
• Register friends
• Manage Bluetooth devices
• Terminate the game
• Music category
• Use the system BGM
• Work the system BGM operation panel
• Settings category
• Assign PS3 controllers
• View profiles
• Game category
• Set audio devices
• Use the voice changer

While these may not seem like massive changes it is pretty good news for all the PS3 gamers out there who have been dieing to prove their skills ona  league table against other PS3 players!

Bluray itself is stunning, images are crisp and sharp, having seen last nights football game on a HD TV I can vouch for the fact that every single blade fo grass is visible, it is like you were standing there. The difference between DVD and Bluray is as noticeable as that of DVD and VCR.

But is it enough to sway the markets?

Yes, Blueray is better, but it is more expensive and with more and more people looking towards downlaodable media maybe, just maybe Bluray has been beating to the profit margin by high speed broadband access.

DVDs are cheap, still pretty good quality, allow the same extra options and features as Blu-ray and more recently allow you to record TV.

Bluray on the other hand is restrictive, with a huge array of anti piracy features causing problems for manufacturers and users alike.

So will Blu-pray replace DVD?

Probably, but not for a fair few years yet. Its benefits simply do not outweigh the cost and problems, DVDs are now on 3 for £10 ($20) as mass production has driven down cost, DVD players and DVD/Hard Drive recrorders are dropping in price, allowing convenient one stop viewing for your TV shows.

And most importantly items such as Sky+ are allowing on demand TV Viewing, giving you shows over the airwaves, instantly cheaply and effectively. When this is released on all Channels for HD TV, can be recorded on your Hard Drive Recorder and watched whenever you want via sky plus who is going to spend $500 ona Bluray player and $45 for a Bluray film?

The life sized 3D image was projected onto the stage where CEO Hugh Bradlow interacted with the audience (who he could see via webcam feeds)

This has been one of the few real examples of hologram technology put into use for communcations, although it is still too expensive for any real business or personal use.

The hologram technology is a fantastic step forward, and proof that it can be done with todays tehnology. It seems that the star trek future is not quite as far away as previously expected.

The holographic future is something that has always seemed a far and distant future, idolised in sci fi series and films the likes of Minority Report. The ability to place a complete image of someone infront of an audience is an immense achievement, demonstrating the possibilities of the future, something only hampered by its current incompatability with mass production and the price hike that goes with that.

Either way it leaves the possibility that Hologram techinology, home videos and phones could see the light of day within my lifetime!

In an increasing trend from Sony this device has become available in Europe before the states, done in principal to avoid the cheap export of these Items to other countries.

Personally I quite like the Sony Bravia DAV-F200, it looks fantastic, avoids the clutter of surround sound speakers and according to the write-ups performs exceptionally well.  It plays HDMI video quality DVDs, a kind of semi-HD DVD quality that is fairly commonplace now.

The great thing about this Sony Bravia DAV-F200 is that is packs so much punch ionto such a little space, these units are tiny, and yet with positioning can beat nearly any other home theatre system out there.  The downside, like most SOny products is a quite hefty price tag.