Items tagged with Blu-ray Player
Sony was always a huge backer of Blu-ray, right from the start. For some time, it was Toshiba (HD DVD) vs. Sony (Blu-ray), despite the fact that BD isn't actually Sony's format. But there's nothing wrong with picking a favorite and sticking with it. To start the year off, Sony has announce a new Blu-ray Disc line that's more connected than ever before. The new BDP-S780, BDP-S580, BDP-S480, and BDP-S380 players provide access to online entertainment, integrated Wi-Fi, and support for Blu-ray 3D. The company's also using this opportunity to announce three integrated home theater systems (BDV-E780W, BDV-E580, and BDV-E280), as well as a 5.1 channel home theater audio system (HT-SS380). Each of the...
Read more...
It's hard to say which company really sparked the 3D revolution, but it's safe to say that Sony will go down as one of the pioneers. They have been pushing the technology from the beginning, and they've been willing to spend serious bucks in order to make sure that 3D is available on their televisions, game consoles and even Blu-ray players. Today, the company is taking another step in proving their dominance in the sector with the introduction of new Elevated Standard (ES) AV receivers including the STR-DA5600ES, STRA-DA4600ES, and STR-DA 3600ES and a Blu-ray 3D player, the BDP-S1700ES. Sony's ES line has long since been heralded as being among the best out there, but with these, it'll be even...
Read more...
Samsung is bringing social networking and location based services to your TV and entertainment system with the addition of Facebook and Google Maps to Samsung Apps. Samsung Apps is an HDTV-based application store that provides users with downloadable apps for their 2010 Samsung Blu-ray Players, Blu-ray Home Theater systems, and some Samsung TVs. Announced earlier this year, the Samsung Apps platform also offers applications from more than 30 other partners including Blockbuster, Netflix, Pandora, Twitter, USA TODAY, and Vudu. Samsung Adds Social Features and Location Based Services to Samsung Apps with Availability of Facebook and Google Maps Applications New Applications Showcase Versatility...
Read more...
We already knew as much, but today Toshiba has made it extra official: it's joining the Blu-ray camp. For those unaware (yes, all six of you), Toshiba was far and away HD DVD's largest supporter during the format's boom years. After a long, hard-fought battle with Blu-ray that spanned nearly 24 months, HD DVD finally folded after too many studios devoted their attention (and future releases) to the Blu-ray Disc format. Many still wonder why HD DVD fell and Blu-ray won, and even today the Blu-ray adoption level is exceedingly low for a next-generation format. HD DVD was always the cheaper option, and while its disc held less information (30GB compared to Blu-ray Disc's 50GB), it was first with...
Read more...
While Blu-ray no longer has HD DVD to compete with, the format is still a long ways from being completely dominate. In fact, we'd argue that it's still battling with DVD and online downloads, and given the surge in popularity of the latter, we're not confident that BD will ever have the upper hand. That said, videophiles still know that there's currently nothing better than a 1080p Blu-ray Disc, and for those still looking for that perfect player, Pioneer has introduced a few more options. This week, the company announced that its BDP-120, BDP-320 and Elite BDP-23FD were all shipping here in the United States. All three models support 1080p video output, high resolution surround sound and above-average...
Read more...
The world hardly needs another Blu-ray player that only a few in a hundred can afford, but that's exactly what we're getting with Harman Kardon's latest. Granted, this one's aimed directly at the high-end market, so we'll certainly cut it some slack there. The BDP-10 is a Blu-ray / DVD player that can also play back multimedia via USB, and the built-in BD-Live feature ensures that users will be able to take advantage of the latest interactive features on films.As expected, the deck -- which is H/K's first Blu-ray unit -- boasts an HDMI output, support for LPCM/MP3/Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HA Master Audio audio formats, an Ethernet socket, IR-remote in/out jacks, a front-panel USB port, optical and coaxial...
Read more...
Despite the poor economy, one product did particularly well this holiday season: the Blu-ray Disc. Recent figures indicate a tripling of sales from the previous year. It’s been quite the year for Blu-ray. If you’ll recall, Warner Brothers withdrew its support for Blu-ray’s competitor, HD-DVD, just before CES last year. Just a few months after that, Toshiba (the creator of HD-DVD) threw in the towel and said it would stop making players for the discs. Given that Blu-ray is the winner of the high-definition disc race, consumers are beginning to jump onboard. In the fourth quarter of last year, consumers bought 28.6 million Blu-ray discs, up from 9.5 million in the previous year. The top seller...
Read more...
It use to be that the big buzz word going around the industry was convergence. In the multimedia living room of tomorrow, a melding of the capabilities of various entertainment center components, along with the computer functionalities, is the end goal that will culminate into a more intelligent, connected entertainment center. Or at least it seems to be. Granted, the HTPC (Home Theater PC) has come a long way at making that goal a reality but you'd have to agree we're not there quite yet. Interestingly, in a reverse merger sort of fashion, Boulder CO company Silicon Mountain (mountain of silicon perhaps?) steps out today with the first fully integrated HDTV PC product. ...
Read more...
Now that Blu-ray has won the format wars, many are wondering when the prices are going to start dropping, maybe even coming into line with HD DVD player prices. Don't hold your breath:The $200-player Blu-ray cavalry is at least a year away, according to Sony Electronics CEO Stan Glasgow, who we talked to today in New York. "I don't think $200 is going to happen this year. Next year $200 could happen. We'll be at a $300 rate this year. $299 will happen this year."We're still keen on the PS3 as a Blu-ray player. Sure it's a little more expensive than a simple player but you get Blu-ray, the ability to play the latest games, and it can even help cure diseases with folding@home....
Read more...
Sony has lowered the price of their Playstation gaming console by $100. Or they'll sell you a new model with an improved 80 GB drive at the old $ 599 price point. While Microsoft is busy going through the couch cushions looking for a billion dollars to fix all the Xbox 360s with the "Red Ring Of Death," this move will probably jumpstart lagging sales of the Sony unit. If nothing else, it's an inexpensive Blu-ray player that plays games. At US$499, the PS3 is once again the equal [of the] cheapest Blu-ray player on the market. The Blu-ray factor has definitely helped PS3 sales in Australia where HD flat panel TV sales are ramping up in a big way. Staff at two of the biggest Australian...
Read more...
Sony's taking a beating with their latest generation console, the PS3. In an effort to save money, the european version won't have a PS2 chip in it to make it backwards compatible for existing games and will rely on software to achieve the same result. "The method used for playing PS2 games is going to be different," he said. "We also want to concentrate on developing PS3 games." It's still undecided whether PS3 machines for Japan, U.S. and elsewhere will also be sold without the PS2 chip, but the option is being considered, Nakata said. The U.S. and Japanese version PS3 machines had also failed to deliver full compatibility with PS2 games. There are almost no titles for the new...
Read more...
Sony announced recently that it will be offering stand-alone Blu-Ray players for as cheap as $599 with the coming release of the Sony BDP-S300 Blu-Ray player. Sony's first stand-alone Blu-Ray players debuted at prices just under $1000, so the price cut of $400 is definitely a major plus for those looking to add a Blu-Ray unit to their home theatre. Sony has announced its plans to slash the price of high definition, according the Associated Press. At a New York press conference, Sony talked up its forthcoming BDP-S300 Blu-ray player. The big selling point? Its $599 price. The move is clearly a reaction to the lower cost of HD DVD players,...
Read more...
Recently scheduled to appear this August, Sony's first Blu-Ray player has received another delay, this time slipping until October. This puts the player's release date close to Sony's projected Playstation 3 release date, and a bit further away from Samsung's June 25th release. "It had been assumed that Sony and its partners would want to launch Blu-Ray players and content into the market well ahead of the arrival of PS3, in order to ensure that the standard was understood by consumers by the time the expensive next-gen console appeared." With the products being released so close together, it's going to be interesting to see if consumers will choose the $1,000 Blu-Ray player,...
Read more...
The Register is claiming that Panasonic is preparing to launch one of the industry's first Blu-Ray players in June. The strange aspect of this launch however, is the fact that the player will not be able to play Blu-Ray movies out of the box as there is no bundled software to support this functionality. So essentially, everyone purchasing this player is really buying a very expensive Blu-Ray player that doesn't play movies. Apparently, those wanting to see Blu-Ray movies will have to wait to get their hands on a Playstation 3 to do so. Panasonic certainly isn't bundling any such code, curiously, even though it plans to include PowerDVD...
Read more...
