BUYING GUIDE: Basic Hi-Definition

In this Hi-Definition Buying Guide, you will learn:

• 3 basic things to base your decisions on • Which Hi-Def players rank the highest • 3 basic things to look for in a Hi-Def TV display • The Hi-Def audio options that ranked the highest • Surprising Hi-Def Choices: What mattered the most to Hi-Def buyers

E N J O Y H I - D E F I N I T I O N !

Enjoyment of Hi-Definition (or Hi-Def) Home Viewing over standard TV viewing is really about 3 things:

1. Improved image 2. Increased audio options 3. Ability to access Hi-Def Exclusive Features on HI-Def DVDs

IMPROVED IMAGE Basic Hi-Def TV displays can be categorized into:

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) DLP (Digital Light Processing) PLASMA PROJECTION* (*for non-entry level Hi-Definition, and not discussed in this article)

It’s been said that if you can afford it, buying a plasma HD TV display will get you the best possible image. This is not necessarily true. Below are five basic considerations when choosing a Hi-Def TV:

1. Select a TV display that is at least 32 inches in size. In many instances, the perceived superiority of a Plasma screen becomes visible only when the screen is larger than 50 inches. 2. Select a TV display that offers adequate off-angle viewing. You don’t want to image to fade slightly if seen from a peripheral angle.

© 2007 INTELLIKEY LABS: Hi-Def Buying Guide Page 1 3. Select a TV display that has minimal reflectivity (i.e., matte plastic or a glass screen with glare-reducing finish). 4. Select a TV display with superior black levels (the color black appears as a single color). 5. For screens larger than 50”, choose a resolution of 1080p over 780p/1080i for a clearer image.

WATCHING STANDARD DEFINITION DVDs ON YOUR HI-DEF TV Hi-Def will not make your standard definition DVD discs look better. Because Hi-Def screens are usually larger than those for standard definition viewing, the imperfections in the image appear larger, and often more noticeable. Your favorite standard def movies may suddenly appear “soft” or subtly “blurred” when shown on a much bigger screen. This is normal.

Some TV shows or movies, especially older ones, will not look better in high-definition (unless substantial image cleanup and/or restoration has been applied). Some high-definition movies and TV shows actually can end up looking WORSE in high-definition, because of “black-levels” or “black level performance” (the intensity of black as reproduced on the Hi- Def TV display). Black should appear as a single color, not as blocky and jagged images in various shades of black.

The movies/titles that best showcase the improved image quality of high- definition over regular DVD are often those that are:

1. Digitally shot in Hi-Def for Hi-Def 2. Have high compression/bit rates throughout the DVD 3. Have been created or restored to reproduce well in a high- definition viewing environment

Although it is not always obvious whether Hi-Def DVD titles will look better than standard definition titles, here are some clues:

1. Highly successful theatrical releases which are available on Hi- Def DVD 2. Theatrically-released animation titles which are available on Hi- Def DVD 3. Digitally restored legacy movies/titles which are available on Hi- Def DVD 4. Hi-Def releases that are advertised as: a. “Made for High-Definition” b. High-Definition restoration

“Just like Hi-Def” “Looks like high-definition”

BURN IN Burn-in is the still image that remains on-screen (slightly ghosted) after having been left onscreen for an extended period of time. Although this occurrence is not entirely a thing of the past, it is often more related to CRT (cathode ray tube TVs.) If burn-in does occur on an LCD or plasma or DLP screen, in general, moving images over time will erase it. It may take overly-bright settings over many hours to burn in an image, whereas on CRTs, an image could be burned-in over a relatively shorter time span, and with relatively lower brightness settings.

HI-DEF AUDIO QUALITY AND OPTIONS Hi-Def allows for many more audio formats or options than standard definition. Listed below are the most common audio formats ranked according to preference by Intellikey:

Audio Format % Who Preferred DTS True HD 29.87% DTS HD 25.11% DTS 18.61% Dolby Digital+ 18.18% Dolby Digital 8.23% 100.00%

You may also have heard about 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1. These are audio channels. It refers to the number of audio speakers and how discrete sounds are output to specific audio channels.

Some people may not be able to detect the differences between the various Hi-Def audio options unless coached or unless a direct comparison is made. Other people say the improvements in Hi-Def audio are most noticeable in the ambient noise of a TV show or movie. However the majority of movies/titles make use of ambient noise only occasionally.

Although one audio format may be mathematically superior to another, it may not be everyone’s preferred audio choice. Other variables such as:

1. The movie in which the audio format is used 2. The level to which the high-definition movie title has taken advantage of the specific audio format 3. The environment that it is played in

…all play an important part.

From our own studies, we have found that although several audio formats are clearly preferred, the choice is really about whether what you hear is what you like.

THE HI-DEF DVD PLAYER In ten years of testing thousands of DVD players and titles, these are the things that are most often preferred in DVD players:

1. A clear image 2. A quick power-up/initialization and quick execution of the remote control commands 3. A remote that is comfortable and easy-to-use 4. A player with minimal stuttering, lock-ups or crashing during use

As of December 2007, approximately 10 different manufacturers are making about 30 different Hi-Def DVD players for the US. Contrast this with Standard Definition’s 100+ manufacturers and 3000+ DVD models.

Here is a list of the most frequently requested features on DVD players:

• Choose 1080i over 70p/1080p as it will have a better resolution and will produce a clearer image, especially on a larger Hi-Def TV display (i.e., 50” or larger.) • Auto-wide will detect whether the image requires a screen/formatting adjustment and make it for you automatically.

HI-DEF FIRMWARE UPDATES

Hi-Def DVD players are sometimes released with serious problems, or may be unable to accommodate the programming of a particular Hi-Def disc. With newer technologies, this is often the case. To correct these shortcomings, the DVD player manufacturer may release a Firmware update. Almost all Hi-Def player manufacturers have released an Hi-Def update at some point. In 2007 alone, there have been 25 updates for 30 Hi-Def DVD players. However, you may not know about a Firmware update unless you research this on your own. As of December 2007, only the Microsoft Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on will automatically check for updates when the Xbox is powered up and web-connected. This relieves you of the task of having to do this manually, a nice perk with the Xbox 360 HD add-on.

© 2007 INTELLIKEY LABS: Hi-Def Buying Guide Page 4 THE REMOTE CONTROL Depending upon the kind of viewer you are, during a 2-hour Hi-Def DVD movie, you may send as many as 40 commands for your remote control to execute. To access Bonus and Advanced features, the number of commands increases dramatically. A comfortable and practical remote can add to the enhancement of Hi-Def viewing, whereas one that is not ergonomically designed, or bulky, uncomfortable to use or impractically laid out can very quickly turn a movie into an annoying experience. Therefore, the Hi-Def remote should be strongly considered into the purchase of your first Hi-Def system.

A survey of technically astute Hi-Def DVD users yielded the following overall comments with regard to the remote controls:

A remote control should be:

1. Comfortable and easy to hold and maneuver in your own hand (should not be too big, too heavy or too small) 2. Buttons should be organized intuitively 3. Buttons should be legible and/or use textural placements so you can determine button location without having to look at the remote (avoids having to turn up the ambient lighting during movie viewing)

The two highest rated remote controls and the reasons most often cited for their high ratings are the following:

HIGHEST RATED REMOTE CONTROLS Remote for Toshiba HD-A30 Proper size, intuitive Remote for Samsung BD-P1000 Comfortable, intuitive

WHAT COMES WITH? Some Hi-Def players offer up to 9 free Hi-Def movies with their purchase. On average, this could be worth as much as $225 on Hi-Def movie purchases. A nice savings, especially if you were planning on purchasing those movies anyway.

The color, the style, the cost…those things are the most personal and relevant to what your budget can sustain.

As of December 2007, the table below lists the way in which the major movie studios align themselves with the two competing Hi-Def formats. Note that Warner Bros. and New Line remain as the only studios who continue to support both formats. Paramount/Dreamworks previously supported both however in August 2007, they announced exclusivity to HD DVD.

What this means is that for Warner Bros. and New Line movies, no matter which Hi-Def DVD player you choose, generally the movie will be available on the Hi-Def DVD player format you have. The remaining movie studios have aligned themselves with a particular format:

Major Movie studios that support both Hi-Def formats: BLU-RAY HD DVD New Line New Line Warner Bros. Warner Bros.

Major Movie studios that currently support only one Hi-Def format: BLU-RAY HD DVD Disney NBC/Universal FOX Paramount/DreamWorks* Lions Gate Weinstein Company Sony *exclusive to HD DVD announced August 2007

WHICH MOVIES--WHICH FORMAT?

Looking at the successful box-office theatrical releases (some old/some new) and on which formats those movies are or will be released, following is a partial list. We believe it is nearly impossible to make a long-term choice based solely on the movies which will be available to the format-- there are simply too many good movies on both:

WHICH FORMAT ARE MOVIES AVAILABLE? MOVIE TITLE STUDIO FORMAT AVAILABILITY American Gangster Universal HD-DVD TBA Batman Warner Both TBA HD Available/BD Batman Begins Warner Both TBA Batman Forever Warner Both TBA Batman Returns Warner Both TBA

MOVIE TITLE STUDIO FORMAT AVAILABILITY Batman & Robin Warner Both TBA Bourne Identity Universal HD-DVD Available Bourne Supremacy Universal HD-DVD Available Bourne Ultimatum Universal HD-DVD 2007 Bruce Almighty Universal HD-DVD Available Cars Disney BD Available Chronicles of Narnia Disney BD 2008 Close Encounters of the Third Kind Sony BD Available Complete Matrix Trilogy Warner Both HD Available/BD TBA Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas Universal HD-DVD Available E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial Universal HD-DVD TBA Evan Almighty Universal HD-DVD Available Finding Nemo Disney BD 2008 Forrest Gump Paramount HD-DVD TBA Hairspray New Line BOTH BD Available/HD TBA Harry Potter/Chamber of Secrets Warner Both 2007 Harry Potter/Goblet of Fire Warner Both 2007 Harry Potter/Order of the Phoenix Warner Both 2007 Harry Potter/Prisoner of Azkaban Warner Both 2007 Harry Potter/Sorcerer's Stone Warner Both 2007 Home Alone FOX BD TBA Incredibles, The Disney BD TBA Independence Day FOX BD 2007 Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade Paramount HD-DVD TBA Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom Paramount HD-DVD TBA I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry Universal HD-DVD Available Jaws Universal HD-DVD TBA Jurassic Park Universal HD-DVD TBA Kingdom, The Universal HD-DVD 2007 Knocked Up Universal HD-DVD Available Lion King Disney BD TBA Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring New Line Both TBA Lord of the Rings: Return of the King New Line Both TBA Lord of the Rings: Two Towers New Line Both TBA Meet the Fockers Universal HD-DVD Available Men in Black Sony BD TBA Monsters, Inc. Disney BD TBA Night at the Museum FOX BD Available Pan’s Labyrinth New Line Both 2007 Passion of the Christ FOX BD TBA Pirates: At World's End Disney BD 2007 Pirates: Dead Man's Chest Disney BD Available Pirates: The Curse of the Black Pearl Disney BD Available Raiders of the Lost Ark Paramount HD-DVD TBA Shrek Paramount HD-DVD TBA

MOVIE TITLE STUDIO FORMAT AVAILABILITY Shrek 2 Paramount HD-DVD TBA Shrek the Third Paramount HD-DVD Available Sixth Sense Disney BD TBA Spider-Man Sony BD TBA Spider-Man 2 Sony BD TBA Spider-Man 3 Sony BD Available Spider-Man: The High-Def Trilogy Sony BD Available Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace FOX BD TBA Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones FOX BD TBA Star Wars: Episode III - The Revenge of the Sith FOX BD TBA Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope FOX BD TBA Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back FOX BD TBA Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi FOX BD TBA Superman: The Movie Warner Both Available Available *The Richard Donner Superman II Warner Both Cut Superman III Warner Both TBA Superman IV: The Quest For Peace Warner Both TBA Superman Returns Warner Both Available Titanic Paramount HD-DVD TBA Toy Story Disney BD TBA Toy Story 2 Disney BD TBA Transformers Paramount HD-DVD Available Twister Warner Both 2008 Ultimate Matrix Collection Warner Both HD Available/BD TBA

* As of December 2007, according to the information available

BLU-RAY OR HD-DVD? Intellikey performed a series of controlled tests** on more than 90% of the Hi-Definition DVD players available in the US, using technically astute DVD users. These DVD users have more than 70,000 hours of DVD player usage and an extensive knowledge base. When asked to rank the players according to preference, their answers surprised us.

The choices were not based on whether one format looks better than the other, or whether the audio sounds better on one than the other, or any of the reasons generally cited for consumers to move to Hi-Def. For them, their Hi-Def choices centered around three considerations:

1. The responsiveness of the Hi-Def DVD player (did it react quickly to the remote? did it power up and initialize discs within a reasonable amount of time?

© 2007 INTELLIKEY LABS: Hi-Def Buying Guide Page 8 2. Was it stable overall (limited player lockups or player crashes, tolerant of discs, etc.) 3. The convenience and practicality of the remote control (is comfortable to hold, are buttons easy to find in the dark, does it contain the necessary button commands, etc.)

***Tests were conducted in a controlled environment using Intellikey Signature Testing™ methodologies and protocols. The latest Hi-Def player Firmware upgrades available commercially as of December 2007 were applied.

Below is how their choices ranked:

Manufacturer Model Format Percentage Microsoft Xbox 360 HD HD-DVD 23.33% HD-DVD, LG BH100 BD 13.33% Sony PS3 BD 13.33% Sony BDP-S300 BD 13.33% HD-A30, HD- Toshiba A3, HD-D3, HD-A35 HD-DVD 10.00% Samsung BD-P1200 BD 6.67% Pioneer BDP-HD1 BD 6.67% HD-XA2, HD- Toshiba A20, HD-A2, HD-D2 HD-DVD 3.33% HD-XA1, HD- Toshiba A1, HD-D1 HD-DVD 3.33% RCA HDV5000 HD-DVD 3.33% Pioneer BDP-94HD BD 3.33% Acer Aspire 9800 HD-DVD Sony BDP-S1 BD 0.00% Sony BDP-S301 BD 0.00% BDP9000/37 Philips BDP9000/37E BDP9000/37B BD 0.00% Panasonic DMP-BD10 BD 0.00%

100.00%

© 2007 INTELLIKEY LABS: Hi-Def Buying Guide Page 9 ADVANCED AND EXCLUSIVE HI-DEF FEATURES Advanced, web-enabled features and technical goodies exclusive to Hi- Def DVD are a strong marketing strategy used to convince consumers to invest in Hi-Def. To date, relatively few Hi-Def DVD titles make use of these features. Even the relatively simple concept of Picture-In-Picture (or PIP) is only recently available on the Blu-ray format. Overall, the available Hi-Def Advanced content hardly rises to the hype of its marketing, for either format.

Of the 350+ Hi-Def titles to be available through the end of 2007, many will not include Advanced or web-enabled features. Below is a partial list of popular titles and what additional features, if any, are included. Clearly the Hi-Def content owners have yet to fulfill the hype of these features. Note too that the same movie may have different Advanced Features, depending on which format it is released.

POPULAR MOVIES WITH ADVANCED/EXCLUSIVE HI-DEF CONTENT****: MOVIE Format PIP Advanced Features PIP Commentary,Bluescreen PIP Version, 300 HD-DVD YES Interactive Game, Downloadable Content 300 Blu-ray NO None 28 Weeks Later Blu-ray NO None Aviator, The Both NO None Babel Both NO None Batman Begins Blu-ray TBA TBA Batman Begins HD-DVD YES In-Movie Experience PIP Commentary, The Treadstone Files, U- Bourne Identity HD-DVD YES Control The Bourne Mastermind, The Bourne Diagnosis, Presented by Toshiba: Bourne Bourne Supremacy HD-DVD YES Instant Access -- The Total Experience, PIP Commentary, The Treadstone Files, U- Bourne Ultimatum HD-DVD YES Control Break-Up, The HD-DVD YES U-Control: Making of, Production Photographs Brokeback Mountain HD-DVD NO None Picture-in-Picture Commentary, Audio Commentaries, Deleted Scenes, "Car Finder" Cars Blu-ray YES Interactive Game, Movie Showcase Casino Royale Blu-ray NO None Nothing Extra, but all bonus material is in High Click Blu-ray NO Definition Crash Blu-ray NO None DejaVu Blu-ray NO None Departed, The Both NO None Derailed HD-DVD NO None Devil Wears Prada,The Blu-ray NO Trivia Track: Subtitle Trivia Nothing Extra, but all bonus material is in High Dreamgirls HD-DVD NO Definition Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind HD-DVD NO None Failure to Launch Both NO None Fantastic Four Blu-ray NO None Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer Blu-ray NO Interactive Games

MOVIE Format PIP Advanced Features Finding Neverland Blu-ray NO None Firewall Both NO None Flags of Our Fathers HD-DVD NO None Flightplan Blu-ray NO Blu-Scape short Films Fugitive. The Both NO None Good Night and Good Luck Both NO None Good Shepherd,The HD-DVD YES U-Control: Commentaries, Interviews

Limited PIP for "Filmmaker Q&A" (only avail. on Guardian, The Blu-ray YES a Playstation 3 or Blu-ray equipped PC) Hills Have Eyes 2 Blu-ray NO None Hitch Blu-ray NO None Holiday, The Blu-ray NO None Hostel Blu-ray NO None Hostel Part II Blu-ray NO Behind the Scenes Footage Italian Job,The Both NO None Lake House, The Blue-Ray NO None Timeline, bookmarks, and Pan-and-Zoom Lake House, The HD-DVD NO interactive functions Last Samurai Both NO None Manchurian Candidate,The Both NO None March of the Penguins Blu-ray NO None Timeline, bookmarks, and Pan-and-Zoom March of the Penguins HD-DVD NO interactive functions Deleted Scenes, Bowler Hat Barrage Game, Meet the Robinsons Blue-Ray NO Movie Showcase Million Dollar Baby Both NO None Minority Report HD-DVD TBA TBA Mission: Impossible III Blu-ray NO None Mission: Impossible III HD-DVD YES PIP Commentary Music and Lyrics Both NO None Pirates: Black Pearl Blu-ray NO Scoundrels at Sea Pirates: Dead Man's Chest Blu-ray NO "Liar's Dice" game Pirates: At World's End Blu-ray NO TBA Planet Earth Both NO None Polar Express Both NO None Prestige,The Blu-ray NO Movie Showcase Pursuit of Happyness, The Blu-ray NO None Queen, The Blu-ray NO None Ratatouille Blu-ray NO Cine Explore, Gusteau’s Gourmet Game. Seven additional extended Musical Ray HD-DVD NO numbers,three additional featurettes Rumor Has It Both NO None Sahara HD-DVD NO None Timeline, custom bookmark and pan-and- Scooby-Doo The Movie Both NO zoom features. Shrek 1, 2, 3 Blu-ray NO None Spider-Man 3 Blu-ray NO None Stranger Than Fiction Blu-ray NO None Surf's Up Blu-ray NO None Syriana Both NO None Top Gun HD-DVD NO None Transformers Both NO None Downloadable web content, GPS Locator, Transformers Both YES Customizable Menus, Subtitle Fact track Unforgiven Both NO None

This guide, its content and all related testing was conducted independently of any product endorsements. The scope of readership is intended for U.S. although readers outside of this scope may find it helpful. Intellikey Labs takes no responsibility for the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of a reader’s own purchases in relation to the information presented here. Intellikey has endeavored to obtain and present information which it believes to be appropriate, informative, and accurate, but does not warrant in any manner the information contained herein. All rankings, recommendations, etc. are based on Intellikey Labs controlled tests using proprietary Intellikey Labs test protocol, methodologies and standards. By reading this article you agree to these terms. If you do not agree with any of these terms, do not rely on this information. No part of this document may be reproduced, reprinted, distributed or in any way reworked, as it is the property of Intellikey Labs, Inc. © 2007 Intellikey Labs, Inc.