After a pair of stories about Mini-DVD already (one in
November and one in
January), we figured it was time to update you about what's going on in the world of TV-on-Mini-DVD. Cyberhome's CH-MDP2500 has been around for a few months, to varying levels of success, we've heard. Now Warner is planning to add lots more 3" releases to their available selection (more on that in a moment) in late April, and Samsung is getting ready to bring their first mini-player to market (and it looks cool!).
First, the software! Warner has announced a slew of new Mini-DVD software to release in the second wave, including animated films like
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, direct-to-video offerings like
Looney Tunes: Reality Check, and mega-movies like all three
Harry Potter offerings starring Daniel Radcliffe. On the TV-on-DVD side, though, we have this list for you, all hitting on
April 26th at various prices (Mini-DVDs tend to have a $5-$20 range for their street prices):
- Cartoon Network Collection Vol. 1
- Cartoon Network Collection Vol. 2
- Cartoon Network Collection Vol. 3
- Codename: Kids Next Door - Vol. 1
- Gilmore Girls - Pilot
- The O.C. - Pilot
- One Tree Hill - Pilot
- Scooby-Doo's Creepiest Capers
- Scooby-Doo's Greatest Mysteries
- Smallville - Pilot
- X-Men: Evolution - Enemies Unveiled
What's cool software, though, without cool hardware to play it with? Starting later this month, if Samsung ships them according to plans made earlier this year, you can be stylin' with the L25 "DVD Jr." player pictured below. List pricing for $149.99, this sports a 2.5" TFT screen and runs for 2.5 hours on its rechargable NiMH batteries. Like Cyberhome's model, it will come with a free disc and allow you to send off for 2 others (titles not available at press time).
Note that we've also seen pictures of the same model with the joystick and the speaker in the reverse positions. The side of the unit has an on/off switch, volume control, power adaptor jack, and headphone jack on one side, and the other side has control buttons such as "Play," "Menu," etc. The faceplate flips up from the bottom to insert or remove the Mini-Discs. The unit plays Mini-DVDs of course, but also supports 3" camcorder DVDs, 3" recorded DVDs, playback of MP3 music files, and digital photo viewing of JPEG images. It's designed to be light, small, and easily carried in a teen's pocket. Sounds great, and the filmed demos I've seen look even better. I want one!
