Some old news on a slow news weekend. Philips has released a new, slimmed down universal remote in their Pronto product line.

The Pronto TSU9400 has a 240x320 resolution 16 bit color lcd, a 266MHz Freescale Risc cpu, 64 megabytes of ram and 64 megabytes of flash memory. The 9400 has onboard WiFi functionality for syncing with your pc, where the interface can be custom designed with the included ProntoEdit Professional software. The TSU9400 operates IR and RF devices, and comes with a charging cradle as well. Suggested retail is $900.

Tomorrow marks the 25th anniversary of the day the first consumer compact disc was produced.

On August 17, 1982 production began on compact discs intended for delivery to consumers. The first cd produced? ABBA's The Visitors. The compact disc replaced vinyl records (some would argue that point) and cassette tapes. Initially derided as a "rich man's 8 track" (credit Steve Albini for that moniker), compact discs had become the dominant storage medium for audio content by the end of the eighties. Mp3 failed to replace the compact disc. SACD and DVD-Audio failed to gain a significant foothold in the marketplace, even though they offered superior sound. New audio storage mediums loom on the horizon, but it will take a while to convince people they need anything more than what the compact disc offers.

Here's to ten more years of the compact disc.

Danish loudspeaker maker Dynaudio is celebrating their 30th anniversary with a special edition loudspeaker, the Dynaudio Sapphire.

The Sapphire was unveiled this weekend at the 2007 Hong Kong High End Audio Visual Show. What we do know at this time is that it's a floorstanding, 3 way design that will sell in the $16,000.00 ballpark, and that it will be a limited release and not a new addition to the Dynaudio home range of products. The Sapphire will be available sometime this Fall.

Further details on the Sapphire are to be revealed September 1, according to Dynaudio.

Both sides in the Blu Ray-HD DVD format war are passionate and vocal about their format being better. Here are 5 reasons why HD DVD is the superior format:

1. HD DVD software was ready from the launch of the format. Blu Ray, on the other hand, is still waiting for it's encryption scheme to start being utilized. Also, at launch and for several months after, Sony was incapable of making a dual layer disc. Early Blu Ray discs have less storage capacity than HD DVD.

2. Interactive extra features. HD DVD has alternate audio tracks, like DVD, but on HD DVD they have picture in picture of the commentator overlaid on the screen. Another implementation is picture in picture windows that pop up in certain scenes that contain relevant making of clips. The interactive features of Blu Ray are still missing in action, so this is a big plus for HD DVD.

Long anticipated, the HD DVD release of the first season of the Sci Fi TV series Battlestar Galactica has finally been set for December 4.

The six disc set will list at $99.98, and will include the original pilot mini series, as well as the entire first season. The set will include a lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track, in addition to the standard Dolby Digital + track. Exclusive to the HD DVD set will be picture in picture commentary by series creator Ronald D. Moore. In addition, the HD DVD receives an exclusive extra, Encyclopedia Galactica, which promises an interactive experience involving ships and locations from the series.