blu-ray

Tokyo trains get Star Wars lightsaber handrails

The Force is now strong with train commuters in Tokyo. Lucky subway travelers are able to wrap fingers around handrails that have been transformed into life-size lightsabers.

According to Japan Trends, the lightsaber handrails are part of a promotion by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Japan for the release of the complete "Star Wars" saga in a Blu-ray boxset.

These are not just lifeless wrap-arounds. The lightsabers have built-in LEDs. Squeeze a button and it lights up. You'll have to provide your own sound effects, but I know you've been working on those ever since you saw the first movie.

Unfortunately, the handrail lightsabers are fixed in place, which makes it difficult to carry out epic battles in the train aisles. Perhaps you could sneak a Spyder III Pro Arctic laser or JediBot onto the train with you and re-create your favorite scenes from "The Return of the Jedi."… Read more

'Star Wars' breaks Blu-ray sales records

After just a week on store shelves, "Star Wars: The Complete Saga" on Blu-ray has already set global sales records.

Lucasfilm and Twentieth Century Fox have so far sold one million units of the Blu-ray box set, which launched on September 16, including 515,000 units in North America alone. With that many unit sales, according to the film studios, "Star Wars" is now the "bestselling catalog Blu-ray Disc of all time."

In addition, the "Star Wars" Blu-ray set generated $84 million in worldwide revenue in the past week, including $38 million … Read more

LG BD690 review: Blu-ray player meets CD-ripper

If you haven't ripped your CD collection yet, you either have a runaway case of procrastination or you're just not that into technology. That's what makes LG's CD-ripping Blu-ray player, the BD690, a bit of a strange hybrid. The type of tech-oriented people who will appreciate the BD690's solid Blu-ray playback and excellent suite of streaming-media services probably ripped their CD collections years ago and are in no rush to revisit that tedious process. They're also better off going with the similarly priced Sony PlayStation 3 Slim ($250), which gets you HD gaming, streaming video, Blu-ray playback, and CD ripping.… Read more

Unboxing 'Star Wars: The Complete Saga' on Blu-ray

At last, the very long-awaited "Star Wars" Blu-ray box set has arrived in stores. Its arrival hasn't come without gripes: the newly remastered films feature even more controversial sound edits and visual tweaks, further distancing the classic Episodes IV-VI from their original '70s and '80s counterparts.

Since the box set doesn't include versions of the untouched original theatrical releases, if you want to enjoy any of the "Star Wars" movies in full HD, this is the set you'll turn to. It'll be a reference set for many, and undoubtedly a must-have Blu-ray. So, what sort of packaging comes with such high aspirations? … Read more

Digital City 141: Glasses-free 3D laptops, NFL streaming on PS3

This week, we offer a hands-on demo of the new glasses-free 3D laptop from Toshiba; figure out why NFL streaming on the PS3 doesn't work; and take a poll of who is buying the new Star Wars Blu-ray box set.

Bonus: Download the show's jaunty theme song as a free MP3 here.

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Buzz Out Loud 1550: Are you Hot or Bot? (Podcast)

Amazon wants to be the Netflix of books, and we can't wait. The 9/11 Memorial uses tech to honor the victims memory. If you just use Twitter to lurk, you're not a bot, we're paging Dr. Watson and we want your Android OS name ideas!

Subscribe:  iTunes (MP3)iTunes (320x180)iTunes (640x360)RSS (MP3)RSS (320x180)RSS (640x360)Read more

Toshiba Qosmio F755 review: Can glasses-free 3D work on a laptop?

Many of the unique demo units and prototypes seen at the annual CES show don't make it onto store shelves in the near term, if at all. Then there's the Toshiba Qosmio F755, which we saw as a 15-inch glasses-free 3D prototype at CES in January, and which is now officially for sale in a single fixed-configuration model. Like the CES prototype, the final version of the $1,699 Qosmio F755 has a 15.6-inch display that uses special eye-tracking software to track the viewer's head movements via the built-in Webcam and adjusts the stereoscopic image accordingly.

The Toshiba Qosmio F755 is a bit of a one-trick pony, but when it works right, it's a pretty good trick. The 3D display doesn't work for video games or streaming-video content yet, only 3D Blu-ray and 3D video files you're able to download and play in Toshiba's custom media player application, which is a shame, as 3D gaming would be a killer app. … Read more

Reserve Redbox movies from your phone

The Redbox app lets you easily find and reserve Redbox movies right from your mobile device. Just boot it up and scroll through the newest releases or perform a simple search. If you like, you can filter by genre or search only for Blu-ray discs. Tap on a title, then hit Find This Movie to pull up all of the Redbox machines in proximity. From there, you can reserve the movie if you have a Redbox account. If you don't, it's easy enough to register for one.

The Redbox app is easy to use, and perfectly reliable. Our … Read more

Get Digiarty WinX Blu-ray Decrypter for free

Just a quick reminder that I'm posting less than usual this week. (Sorry to newsletter subscribers who were confused by yesterday's duplicate mailing. My bad.) And Monday's Labor Day, so I'll see you back here on Tuesday! Have a safe and enjoyable holiday.

Free DVD rippers are pretty easy to come by these days (I seem to see a new giveaway or promotion once every month or two), but free Blu-ray rippers? Those are still fairly rare.

From now until Sept. 15, you can download Digiarty WinX Blu-ray Decrypter free of charge. It's not quite … Read more

Lucasfilm changes original Star Wars trilogy again

Obi-Wan Kenobi may have been jolted out of his bed this morning by the millions of voices complaining about rumored changes to the original trilogy in the Star Wars Blu-ray collection, which will be available on September 16.

Entertainment blogger Devin Faraci was first to confirm with several sources that there will be several adjustments to the classic sci-fi movies: one for the original "Star Wars" (Episode IV), and two in "Return of the Jedi" (Episode VI). The New York Times has confirmed with Lucasfilm that changes are happening. To add even more fuel to the fire, there is video. … Read more