Today's High-Def Headlines

Toshiba Takes HD DVD On Offensive - TWICE
Rather than reeling from the body blow dealt to its HD DVD format by Warner Bros., Toshiba came back from International CES on the attack by stepping up its marketing campaign in the light of what it called “record-breaking unit sales in the fourth quarter of 2007.” Toshiba said Monday it is running major initiatives, including joint advertising campaigns with studios and extended pricing strategies set to begin in mid-January.

Blu-ray Could Win High-Def Battle - TWICE
The two remaining studios backing HD DVD could switch sides soon, ending the high-def format war instantly. Daily Variety has confirmed that Universal's commitment to backing HD DVD exclusively has ended. And Paramount has an escape clause in its HD DVD contract allowing it to release pics on Blu-ray after Warner Bros.' decision to back that format exclusively.

Startup Conjures Up Channel-Boosting Gear - MCN
Startup Imagine Communications this week is set to take the wraps off its first product: a system it claims will let operators stuff 50% more HD or standard-definition channels into the same amount of bandwidth, without hurting the quality of the video. The ICE Broadcast System optimizes MPEG-2 video streams, using Imagine’s proprietary processing algorithms to reencode the video at a lower bit rate while supposedly preserving image quality. The system then statistically multiplexes the streams to allow up to three HD or 15 SD channels to fit into a 6-Megahertz quadrature amplitude modulation carrier.

Gameplay HD Tackles ‘Madden Challenge’ - MCN
Gameplay HD is in the game with “EA Sports 2007 Madden Challenge.” Voom’s high-definition channel devoted to the world of video gaming has created a new TV series capturing the action from competitive tournaments built around Electronic Arts’ popular Madden NFL Football game. Gameplay HD will kick off a seven-part series at 1 p.m. on Feb. 2, the day before Super Bowl XLII.

WWE Pins Down HD Capabilities - MCN
World Wrestling Entertainment will finally showcase all of its elbow smashes, body slams and pins in high definition beginning with the Jan. 21 episode of USA Network’s Monday Night Raw series. Along with its original cable and broadcast series – USA’s Monday Night Raw and A.M. Raw; Sci Fi Channel’s ECW: Extreme Championship Wrestling and The CW’s Friday Night SmackDown – the WWE will also deliver in HD all of its pay-per-view shows beginning with the Jan. 27 Royal Rumble event.