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| Greetings! |
It's finally over!
After several years & several millions of dollars Toshiba announced February 19th the official end of their HD DVD format terminating an unfortunate 'war' that has stalled the evolution of DVDs to true High Definition. Blu-ray DVDs offering a remarkable 1080 lines of resolution {currently 480 lines} will now be the one & only Hi Def DVD standard.
Samsung's Blu-ray DVD players {which we've displayed at Music from the beginning} are now an affordable $499 & will let you taste the tantalizing & stunning picture quality of new Blu-ray DVDs while still playing {& improving} all of your existing DVDs, your CDs, MP3 'burned' CDs. even those Jpeg photos of your kids & holidays.
Big Al at Video Plus Books in Stratford reports they have Blu-ray DVDs for sale & for rent {ask him to get you the boxed set of the BBC's Planet Earth in Blu-ray ~ it'll knock your socks off!}. More & more HD Blu-ray titles will start to pour in now that the studios formally aligned with the Toshiba camp have been contractually released.
And, on a more musical note, & as always in every edition of Music News, we offer you the lowdown on great new Canadian CDs that we think will bring you pleasure. Come on, let your hair down... spring's not that far away!
Cheers
Neil & Judy
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Blu-ray..What's the Big Deal?? |
 The simple answer is HDTV. If you've ever seen high-definition (HD) video on an HDTV, then you know just how incredibly sharp the picture is and how wonderful the colours are. In fact, HD offers five times the amount of detail compared to standard-definition (SD). The problem with today's DVDs is that they only support SD & don't look as good as HDTV.
And, that's where Blu-ray comes in. Blu-ray enables DVD playback of HD in all of the HD resolutions including the very highest: 1080p. {Current DVDs output 480 lines, Blu-ray 1080 lines}. Blu-ray also supports new high-definition audio formats and lossless audio. {didn't know it was missing did you??}
A Blu-ray Disc {BD} looks just like your current CD or DVD but it has five to six times the capacity of a DVD. These new discs are written & read with a blue-violet laser {hence the name} rather than the red laser used for regular DVDs & allow an unprecedented HD experience from DVDs. There's also plenty of room for additional content & special features.
Over 450 Blu-ray movies & concerts have been released to date {a mere trickle due to the now-resolved format 'war'} but this trickle will turn into as torrent as Hollywood loves the quality of picture & sound & major movie studios see it clearly as an eventual successor to today's DVD format. {Note: you must have a Blu-ray player to watch a Blu-ray movie}
So, now what? Should you panic & throw the baby out with the bath water? NO!! The two formats (Blu-ray and DVD) will co-exist for quite some time until HDTVs become more widespread in our living rooms. And, if you do decide that now is the time to jump in & get yourself a Blu-ray player you don't have to worry about your existing DVD collection becoming obsolete. Our Samsung players will handle them all & can even upscale your existing DVDs to higher resolutions up to 1080p/1080i making them look even better than before.
Summary: Blu-ray is the best Home Video source ever. The players have been out more than two years {our current model is generation 3} & over the next year or three we will see the steady adoption of Blu-ray as the next-generation entertainment format.
Best Home Video Source Ever
ˇ CDs early '80s = 650 MB of capacity
ˇ DVDs in the '90s = 4.7 GB capacity
ˇ Blu-ray = 25 to 50 GB capacity
Samsung BD-P1400 Blu-ray DVD Player ~ $499  |
| Missed Any Of Our Newsletters?? |
Click Below To See Them All!
Empty out your 'in-box' as from now on you can return to any or all of the issues of Music News with the click of your mouse. We've added this "Archive" feature so you can go back to check a CD review or refresh your memory on the details of some latest, greatest product. That's it: one simple click & up they pop!
See All Our Newsletters, Click here to go to Music's Archive |
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 ˇ k.d. lang ~ Watershed
Easily the best new CD this year, k.d. delights, tantalizes, reveals, and for the first time ever, produces this collection of newly written tunes. This is romantic music you need to savour for the end of winter.
$21.95
 ˇ Kevin Parent ~ Fearless Wolf Facing Winter
Who knew? Kevin is the second biggest selling Quebecois artist ever & if, like us, you've never heard his music now is the time. In English, his native tongue, & sounding eerily like an old favourite of ours, Wyckham Porteous {with a toss to Leonard Cohen}, this native of the Gaspé will wow you with songs of love and life. Stunningly recorded. $23.95
 ˇ Allison Lupton ~ Fly Like Swallows
Allison's new CD is a treat. From the eye catching cover art to the final note there's a welcome freshness here. Songs are traditional or new, arrangements are lively and fun. For a hit of spring see news of Allison's upcoming local gig below.
Listen To Allison
$19.95
 ˇ Tannis Slimmon ~ Lucky Blue
A true songstress, formerly one of The Bird Sisters, Guelph resident, gentle, graceful, gorgeous voice "....one of the most beautiful voices I have had the pleasure to listen to." David Francey. Lewis Melville's sensitive production shines. Learn more about Tannis
$19.95 |
What's Going On?
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Garnet Rogers: Saturday February 23, Stratford City Hall as part 3 of the 'Live At City Hall' Rotary series. Tickets available at Tango Café & Grill. Tango
Stratford Garden Festival: February 28 to Mar 2, Stratford Rotary Complex. A wonderfully popular 4 day hit of spring & summer while it's freezing or 'dreak' outside. Guest speakers, acres of displays & markets & so much inspiration it's hard not to go home & get digging in the dirt. Theme this year is 'Down To Earth' & I do believe Music will be showing some very cool outdoor speakers. The Festival supports The Lung Association. Stratford Garden Festival
Tannis Slimmon: Saturday March 29 @ 7:30 PM at a House Concert in New Hamburg. Customers Ann & Bill Mark, 230 Peel Street are taking the plunge & hosting their first living room soiree. Tickets $20, call Ann @ 519-662-4608 or email annmark@rogers.com. Bring your own drinks & enjoy a splendid evening of up-close live Canadian music.
Allison Lupton: Saturday April 5, 7:30 PM in concert at the Harrington Hall {out the Embro Road}. A hot 5-piece band including Ian Bell, all for $15 & in support of the Harrington Community Club. Tickets & directions: 519-475-4443 Allison Lupton
Michael Pickett & David Rotundo: Saturday April 12 at the Festival Inn, Stratford @ 9 PM. To commemorate the 25th anniversary of Lee Oskar Harmonicas, Lee Oskar will be touring and leading a band of national and international players in Ontario and Quebec. With touring artists Michael Pickett, David Rotundo {Maple Blues 'Harmonica Player Of The Year'} and European based guitarist Enrico Crivellaro.
k.d.lang: Tuesday May 27, London's Centennial Hall & Saturday, May 31 Massey Hall, Toronto. London tickets on sale Saturday, Feb. 23rd, 10:00 am, $70 Tickets: Centennial Hall
Treasa Lavasseur: Saturday July 19 in the Garden Shed at Greenbelt Farms. Treasa will be the Drummond family's headliner this summer. We'll have tickets at Music & suggest you mark this on your calendar now.
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| PayPal On Board |
Here's a new Music News feature that will let you order from Music while you are on-line. Click the 'Add To Cart' button found with each description & you will be taken to Music's secure PayPal site where an order form with all the details will pop up. Enter your address & card information, submit & within seconds you will receive an email confirmation of your transaction at the same time that we will receive your order. Judy will pop your CD in a padded Canada Post mailing envelope {the Post Office is right next door} or call UPS to send your new gear.Your new toy should arrive at your door overnight, your CDs & in something like 2 to 5 days.Simple, Slick & Secure. 
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