Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Say hello to the successors of the short-lived Panasonic DMP-BD50, the new DMP-BD35 (above) and DMP-BD55 (after the break) check off every feature we can think of for a new Blu-ray player, complete with a slim profile (49mm high on the BD35) and hopefully low, low price thanks to a 45nm 3rd-generation UniPhier processor. Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD MA audio support, with internal decoding or bitstreamed output in full 7.1 (plus 7.1 analog audio outs on the DMP-BD55) on top of fully BD-Live / Profile 2.0 compatible hardware finally promise no-compromise hardware for Blu-ray buyers. Release dates and pricing information? Your guess is as good as ours, for now.

Continue reading Panasonic DMP-BD35 & DMP-BD55 Blu-ray players officially official, still unpriced

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Filed under: Home Entertainment

Pioneer’s last batch of Blu-ray players wasn’t exactly earth-shattering, but if you’re in the market for the highest of the high-end, it sounds like the upcoming Elite BDP-09FD might be worth waiting for. The first Pioneer unit to support Profile 2.0 and BD-Live, you’ll also be getting 4GB of internal storage, eight independent D/A converters for each 7.1 channel (which means there are tons of receiver-caliber adjustments possible from the player), and 16-bit color output over two HDMI jacks. Should be out soon, for a whopping $2200.

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

We’ve heard for some time that Samsung planned to have two Blu-ray players in its lineup, but it’s been well over a year since there’s even been a peep about the BD-P2400, now out of nowhere the BD-P2550 shows up at Best Buy stores all over the country for the premium price of $499. According to Best Buy’s website, the new model has many of the missing features from Sammy’s latest BD-P1500, like 7.1 analog outputs and the sought after Silicon Optix HQV video processing. What does appear to be missing though, is the elusive BD-Live, but with the included network connection and USB port, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to imagine that either Best Buy failed to mention it, or it’s coming in a firmware update. Although $500 Blu-ray players aren’t for everyone, it’s good to see Blu-ray manufacturers offering multiple models for those in need of premium features.

[Via Format War Central]

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Portable Video

We’ve been following the rumor since January, today it’s official: LG’s BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player will begin streaming Netflix movies in the US this September. The player will cost “well under $500″ and allow Netflix members to stream more than 12,000 standard definition TV and films through the device at no additional price to their monthly subscriptions. Members will use the Netflix website to add movies or TV to their individual instant queues. Movies will begin playing in as little as 30 seconds when selected from the TV where users can browse, make selections, read synopses, rate movies, and fast-forward / rewind video streams using the BD300’s remote control. While specs on the player itself are scarce, we do know that it supports BD Live and LG’s SimpLink technology to integrate easily with LG TVs and AV products.

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

We can’t really see the logic in releasing a Blu-ray player without BD-Live in 2008 — and neither can Samsung, which just announced its fourth generation BD-P1500 will be BD-Live Ready. The bad news is the May release date announced earlier has slipped to June, and the formerly comfortable $399 MSRP is now a less promising TBA. We’re not sure if that “ready” tag means it will be BD-Live enabled out of the gate, however DTS-HD “High resolution” is confirmed on the way in a future firmware update. A slight delay for a significant upgrade in features? We’ll allow it.

Update: Samsung let us know the press release was in error, the MSRP will remain at $399.

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Filed under: HDTV

Now that the 2.20 update for the PS3 is out, our well-heeled brethren at Engadget HD had a chance to take BD-Live for a spin. As significant as this initial salvo into the Blu-ray 2.0 spec is, we’ll have to wait just a few more weeks for the first BD-Live releases before the impact of this update is known. Till then, head on over to Engadget HD for their first look.

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Filed under: Gaming, HDTV

Nothing beats that straight-from-the-oven firmware smell, and Sony just hit the internet with its PS3 2.20 firmware update goodness. The big win here is BD-Live interactive Blu-ray compatibility (Blu-ray 2.0), but there are some other minor tweaks as well, mostly multimedia and web browsing related. Unfortunately, portable copy didn’t make the cut, but there’s always 2.30, right?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: Gaming, HDTV, Portable Video

If PCWorld is correct, then it looks like Sony’s pending, PS3 2.20 firmware will have at least one little surprise for movie buffs. As if the inclusion of Blu-ray’s BD-Live interactivity and the removal of the 2GB DivX and WMV file-size cap wasn’t enough, PCWorld says that can also expect the introduction of portable copy. With it, users will be able to copy a PSP formatted (and DRM’d) version of the film directly to their PSP — no UMD required. Right, just like we saw demonstrated live back at CES in January.

[Via QJ.net]

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Filed under: CES, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Looks like Panny is finally bringing some proper HDi to its newest Blu-ray player, the DMP-BD50. Dubbed BD-Live, the feature enables web-based interactive content that the unit’s predecessor, the DMP-BD30, still lacked. Beyond all the dreamy 1080p goodness, audiophiles will rejoice at the integrated decoders for the lossless Dolby True HD and DTS-HD Master Audio formats. Like the DMP-BD30, its big brother supports Viera Link (Blu-ray’s version of HDMI CEC) and sports an SD slot for 1080p playback of AVCHD video and images from SD cards.

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