No sooner has Toshiba released details of its affordable third generation range of HD-DVD players than the Blu-ray camp has spoken out that cheaper players will not help win the format war.

Pioneer’s Andy Parsons, spokesperson for the Blu-ray Disc Association, said, ““Without the content I just can’t see, no matter how inexpensive their players are, how they are going to build (HD DVD) into a mass market format. If you can’t watch Disney films or Spider-Man on your inexpensive Toshiba player, I can’t see how (price) is going to make much difference.”

Since Amazon let slip by displaying Toshiba’s third generation HD-DVD players on its product pages, the company has come out and confirmed its new range for the US market.

Toshiba is keeping ahead of the standalone player competition with the release of three new players – all costing less than $500.

"Because of the proven manufacturing efficiencies of the HD DVD format, Toshiba can bring this level of innovation in technology to a new generation of players with cutting-edge functionality at affordable prices,” said Jodi Sally, vice president of marketing, Toshiba.

Spartan battle epic, 300, has been confirmed as the fastest and highest selling high-definition DVD ever. The film , which is available on both Blu-ray and HD-DVD, has shifted more than 250,000 copies since its release late last month.

It’s another high-definition milestone for Warner Home Video, which was also the first studio to break the 100,000 mark with The Departed. Warner can now claim six of the top ten selling high-definition titles including Superman Returns, Batman Begins and Happy Feet.

Here’s the first image of Denon’s newly announced Blu-ray player – the first ever from the company. The DVD-3800BD is expected to arrive in Europe in November, although the PAL version will be styled in silver.

It will be the world’s first standalone player that’s fully compatible with BD-ROM PROFILE version 1.1, which is the Blu-ray ‘Final Standard Profile’ that becomes mandatory from November 1st.

Sony seems to have changed its stance over allowing pornography onto Blu-ray by supporting adult filmmakers in their pursuit of high-definition.

According to some reports, Sony has lent its technical support for Blu-ray in the Japanese porn industry, which is seen as an influential step in the HD format war.

Denon may have entered the high-definition market with the unveiling of its first ever Blu-ray player but the company is still sitting on the fence when it comes to the ongoing format war.

Denon’s Joe Stinziano has stated that the new DVD-3800BDCI player doesn’t signal any exclusive allegiance to Blu-ray, saying that the manufacturer’s “future plans do not preclude the the introduction of high-definition products in other formats.”

So far the DVD-3800BDCI is only scheduled for a US release in Autumn with an expected price of around £1000 but we’ll keep you updated.

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Walt Disney Studios has announced that it will release its first ever collection of Pixar short films exclusively on Blu-ray. The Pixar Short Films Collection will feature a single disc set with 13 of the animator’s short films including Oscar winning and Oscar nominated favourites such as Geri’s Game, For the Birds and One Man Band.

Although most of these shorts have appeared as trailers on Pixar’s full-length film releases, it’s the first time that they will be seen in high-definition. Its release has been timed to coincide with Pixar’s first feature to arrive on Blu-ray, Cars. Both titles will be released on November 6th.

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Tartan Video has announced the release of its first high-definition titles with three classic films using the Blu-ray format – but there are no plans to release any titles using the HD-DVD format.

In an unusual move, all new Blu-ray releases will be accompanied by the standard DVD version of the film – allowing customers who have yet to invest in a next-generation player to enjoy films on their existing players before upgrading to high-definition in the future.

It’s difficult to know who’s winning the format war, especially with both camps pushing out conflicting propaganda on an almost weekly basis. HD-DVD’s recent claims of superior hardware sales have conveniently left out next-gen games console sales so the latest report from research firm Parks Associates could be fairer.

The report, ‘Next Generation DVD players – Will History Repeat?’ claims that Blu-ray is winning the race when set top boxes and games consoles including the Blu-ray integrated PS3 are accounted for.

First Blockbuster Video and now US retailer, Target, has announced that it will be only stocking Blu-ray players in its stores.

Target, America’s second largest retailer, will be exclusively stocking Blu-ray players including Sony’s BDP-S300 and Blu-ray titles from three major studios in aisles at the end of its stores.

Not that it’s likely to reach us here in the UK, but Microsoft has countered Sony’s recent PS3 price cuts in the US by announcing that the external HD-DVD player for the Xbox 360 will be reduced from $199 to $179.

It’s not the greatest discount in the world but the company is also throwing in five HD-DVD movies for anyone buying the add-on player between August 1st and September 30th 2007. We’re not sure if it’s incentive enough to overcome Blu-ray’s recent resurgence and we could see more cost cutting in the future – let’s just hope we get the same opportunities over here at some point.

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We hinted at the arrival of Samsung’s new dual format HD player earlier this month but it’s now official – the company announced that the BD-UP5000 will be released in the US later this year along with two new standalone Blu-ray players, the BD-P1400 and BD-P2400.

According to Reid Sullivan, vice president of Digital AV marketing at Samsung, "Samsung is excited to introduce a new line of high-definition players that will enrich the theater experience at home. In 2007, the market for stand-alone high def players will grow more than 6 times to over 850 thousand units. From the top-of-the-line BD-UP5000 to the entry BD-P1400 to the company's first home theater system with Blu-ray disc playback, Samsung offers a range of products at different price points to suit the growing consumer demand."

Although the company hasn’t confirmed it, rumours are that LG is preparing an internal optical drive that can read both Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs as well as Blu-ray writer capable of 6x burn speeds.

Consumers may still be confused over who's winning the high-definition format war but it seems some thieves from the US have already come to a conclusion.

A band of thieves apparently broke into a Seattle store and stole 200 Blu-ray discs worth around $7,000. They basically took the entire Blu-ray section but left all other items including HD-DVDs untouched. Another victory for Blu-ray?

According to a panel discussing ‘The Future of Retail and Home Entertainment’ at the recent Home Media Expo in Las Vegas, both Blu-ray and HD-DVD still have a place in future high-definition markets.

Adams Media Research has predicted that high-definition disc sales will surpass DVD sales by 2012 with an expected $10 billion in annual sales split equally between Blu-ray and HD-DVD.

In yet more blatant self-promotion, Sony is offering ‘revenue sharing’ deals for Blu-ray rentals, which it believes will allow retailers to stock Blu-ray discs earlier than they might otherwise.

From September, all of Sony’s new Blu-ray releases and select catalogue titles will be under the agreement through the Rentrak Coproration – although neither firm is willing to disclose details just yet.

According to the HD DVD Promotional Group, the format's latest interactive TV features have been designed to target the 'MySpace' generation.

In recent weeks, HD-DVD has announced that discs will offer several interactive features including downloading trailers, re-editing movies, participating in online polls and even ordering merchandise from the film. The interactive features will take advantage of the player's Internet connection - currently not an option with Blu-ray players.

New Line Cinema, the last major Hollywood studio to hold out in the high-definition format war has confirmed that it will release Hairspray as its first next generation release in Blu-ray and HD-DVD disc.

The news was leaked at the Home Media Expo in Las Vegas and it's now been confirmed that New Line's debut HD title will be released as the same time as the standard-definition version of Hairspray.

As the film is yet to make its cinematic debut, the disc releases are not expected to arrive until the end of the year and New Line will be making a formal announcement of its high-definition plans in the next few months.

The latest piece of spin to arrive from the States comes from the HD-DVD camp with more claims that its format is beating rival Blu-ray.

According to the North American HD-DVD Promotional Group, hardware sales have risen 37% in the first three months of the year while HD-DVD movie sales experienced a 20% 'increase in growth'. By contrast, Blu-ray hardware sales saw a 27% decline and software sales were down 5%. But, as usual, the facts seem slanted.

Last night's Entertainment Merchants Association's Home Entertainment Awards was the first time that high-definition formats have been honoured.

At the event, held at the Home Media Expo in Las Vegas, Martin Scorcesee's The Departed supported impressive sales figures of over 100,000 units with awards for HD-DVD Title of the Year and DVD Rental Title of the Year.

And, there was a British victory of sorts when the latest Bond flick, Casino Royale, picked up the Blu-ray Title of the Year. There was also a Hall of Fame award for Casablanca, which is available on HD-DVD and DVD.

Although, these were the only winners in the HD stakes, we expect to see more across other categories when the even returns next year.

Toy can view the full list of winners at Home Media Magazine.