Time Warner Cable is using tru2way across most of their system.

Yes, it's 24/192. See http://news.cnet.com/8301-13953_3-9937142-80.html for a video of him presenting the project last year.

The author needs to read the original article again - the Billboard article says "the latest word from Reprise is that "Archives" will be Blu-ray only." That's Blu-ray only, not DVD only. Sheesh.

Squiggleslash, the BDA statement isn't referring exclusively to Dish, but also to recent upconverting DVD players claiming the same (hello, Toshiba). They are not suggesting that Dish is upconverting. The point is, however, that Dish's claims are absolutely misleading. Putting aside whether they are capable of delivering a maximum bitrate to provide equivalent visual fidelity, they absolutely cannot deliver equivalent audio fidelity, as none of their supported receivers are enabled for lossless audio. "Blu-ray quality" isn't just about the picture, but also the audio, and there's no way that DD 5.1 at a few hundred Kb/sec compares with lossless PCM, Dolby TrueHD, or DTS-HD MA at 6Mbits/sec or more, let alone offer 7.1 sound.

In addition, the first 1080p selection on Dish, "I Am Legend", was broadcast at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, while the Blu-ray release was at the theatrical aspect ratio of 2.40:1. Enthusiasts certainly won't appreciate having the outer regions of the picture snipped off.

You're also incorrect regarding maximum bitrate exceeding 30Mb/sec - there are many titles encoded in AVC which have maximum bitrates in the 40Mb/sec range. You can start by looking at many of Disney's titles, including Pirates of the Caribbean (all of them) or Ratatouille.

You can configure the icons on the main screen (somewhere deep in Personalization as I recall).
I've never seen "memory full". The loudspeaker is loud and clear. The browser does support flash.

UnnDunn, you're already forced to use the application suite provided by the cable operator, it's just that today you're forced to do it on their box as well. With tru2way you can choose the device, and in addition to whatever application suite the cable operator provides, you'll potentially be able to use whatever application suite the CE vendor provides, or even third-party suites (if so enabled by the CE vendor or the cable operator).

Put another way, today the cable operator has 100% control of the hardware and software. Tru2way eliminates the hardware lock-in and creates a competitive environment which may well eliminate the software lock-in as well.

I see Toshiba finally managed to get rewritable HD DVD support out. Or at least announced. Of course, you still can't even buy an HD DVD-R burner unless it comes packaged in a laptop, so don't hold your breath waiting for external HD DVD-RW burners. Meanwhile there are at least half a dozen companies selling unique Blu-ray burners (with both writable and rewritable support - imagine that!). Oh, and where's that 51GB HD DVD burner? Oh, right, that format has only been approved for ROM.

It's really not that commplicated. The next version of WinDVD has passed the 1.1 tests. It'll be made available to consumers as an update in early 2008. What's so difficult to understand?

Sorry, Symbyant, every Blu-ray player has BD-J support. The only significant things lacking in many current players (PS3 probably excepted) is secondary video support (one way of achieving picture-in-picture) and network support. There is far less difference in the cost of manufacturing the players than current prices suggest. Toshiba's primary weapon is price in the face of overwhelmingly inferior vendor and studio support. Losing a few $100 per player times a few 100K players is still cheaper than losing the war, at least if you actually think this strategy can eventually result in a viable format. I'd call it "throwing good money after bad".

Paul, there's no evidence that Microsoft can't produce enough HD DVD add-ons. They barely sold 100K; many WalMarts have discontinued them due to low sales (they were clearance priced at $130). They can't sell that many because it's a poor product - no HDMI support, glitchy audio with no lossless support, and loud device.