First case of HD movie piracy reported

We knew all along that it was just a matter of time, and now the Chinese have finally taken the first step in pirating HD movies! The "honor" goes to Michael Bay's Transformers in HD-DVD format, complete with Mandarin dubbing and subtitles for mainland Chinese consumption. The original images of the work-in-process disc were taken from www.mov8.com, posted by a member going via the moniker HD-001. This person also added that the pirated movie was cut on three HD-DVD9 format media in pristine 1080p visuals and HDi interactive features.

Hats off to these mainlanders who also made a brief mention that Blu-ray piracy was in the pipeline, while making a resounding "HD-DVD is the best choice for China" claim. As hilarious as the claim sounds, we at CNET Asia were debating the repercussions. Our handheld reviewer John Chan prophesized on HD-DVD push courtesy of the Chinese, while yours truly took the stand that this was "too little, too late". Nonetheless, we did reach a common consensus that Tosh*** is probably smiling away right now, though the studios will be crying out loud for intervention!

Via AVS forum | Photo credit: www.mov8.com/HD-001

PS3 to shed its fat ole persona?

Gadget magazine T3 had released the above image of a rumored streamlined PlayStation 3 said to be in the pipeline from Sony. While we seriously doubt its regional Hong Kong office will share more insights on this sweet sexy thing, this may well be more than a simple Photoshop job judging from the company's track record. Among its gaming devices on a forced dietary regime are the PlayStation 2 slim and PlayStation Portable lite.

We just hope Sony is not taking the easy route again by a la Xbox 360-style with an external power brick. It is also going to be a hassle if the USB ports are banished from the front. Likewise for the inbuilt multislot card reader which is clearly missing from the image. And according to T3, this model will probably ship with a 160GB hard drive. But wait, who cares about the capacity when you can upsized the storage by following our simple DIY guide here?

Via T3 | Photo credit: T3

CNY comes early with Sony's PlayStation promos

First, we saw Microsoft cashing in on the Lunar New Year festivities. Now, Sony is striking back with not one, but two independent promotions. Making a timely debut is a limited-edition PlayStation 2 (available from Feb 5 at S$249 (US$166.63)) in "cinnabar red". Putting aside the fancy but confusing description, the new hue is a close match of the red shades featured in Chinese cheongsams--classy tight-fitting traditional dresses donned by oriental ladies during formal occasions.

For purchase of the PlayStation 3 and PSP products, you will also be entitled to a red packet giveaway. The set comprises 12 PlayStation red packets, a Panda Saru-themed equivalent and a pouch that doubles as a PSP holder. These exclude other premiums such as an umbrella (for PS3) and a carrying case (for PSP). All the above-mentioned freebies are valid for Singapore and Hong Kong during the promotional period from February 1 to 29 only.

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