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Via Boing Boing – the 50 Best Movie Robots Ever. #50 – Andrew Martin, the Bicentennial Man. #1 – Terminator Series 800/Model 101. Great list, each entry has a corresponding YouTube video. Beware – this is a workday afternoon killer.

Looks better that I imagined after “Apocalypse.”

Yeah. Of all the portents of HD DVD’s coming demise, this one – citing the Japanese porn industry’s technology decision – is the least savory, though SFW on PC World. Thanks for the creepy cover art, Crunchgear.

Sony Corp. has started offering more technical support to the adult film industry in Japan, movie makers said at the Adult Treasure Expo 2007 in Chiba, Japan, and the problem of finding companies to mass produce their movies appears to be over.

It’s an important step for Blu-ray Disc. HD DVD has already won over the U.S. adult film industry through its lower costs and ease-of-use. People in the industry say they’ve received plenty of help from backers of the format, including Microsoft Corp. and Toshiba Corp. [from PC World]

Hmmmm. Back in the VHS/Beta days, the porn industry was cited as a major turning point in that format battle. I wonder though, to what degree that is still a factor. Do porn aficionados really crave the “Look and Sound of Perfection?” Or does DVD provide all the detail required? Further, what portion of pornography is consumed on disc formats vs. internet downloads now?

Also, between VHS and DVD, there has been a huge shift in mainstream consumer purchasing patterns, with DVD collections driving disc sales in a way that VHS collections never did. IMHO, this change will weight the success factors of this format war in favour of the mainstream over the porn market.

I really have no idea about any of these questions, but I’m willing to hazard a guess that the harbingers of HD DVD’s doom are jumping the gun here and that porn will play a secondary role to mainstream consumption this time around.

Found via Boing Boing, the BBC reports:

Although most of them in the remote village of Tabaka in Kisii have never watched the animated TV show, Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie have changed their lives and the new film should see demand for their work soar they hope. [from the BBC]

Talk about strange marketing gimicks. Is it callous exploitation (third world people producing trinkets for our amusement and their survival?) or philanthropy (helping a community lift itself up with their traditional strengths)?

Via Techmeme this AM: Target to go Blu-ray only for players.

• BGR calls it a death blow to HD DVD, citing BlockBuster’s move, and $500 Sony Blu-ray players as contributing factors.
• Joystiq advises gamers to skip Microsoft’s crazy XBOX360 HD DVD player + 5 discs deal.
• DailyTech points out how bizarre and contradictory Target’s PR is on this – hello Target? Only selling players in one format is restricting choice no matter how you cut it.
• NewTeeVee rightly points out that the format war is stupid and no-one cares anyway.

My take? Upscaling DVD is carrying me until widely available broadband downloads make “formats” pointless. That being said, certainly HD DVD looks to be on the ropes, with “free disc” ploys being a sign of desperation, and Blu-ray actively locking down channel partners. I’m willing to bet that Blu-ray will take this battle and keep Sony solvent for a few more years.