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Blu-Ray
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dealzmodo
Dealzmodo: Wal-Mart Spotted Offering Funai NB500 Blu-Ray Players For $298
Personally, I think that a "budget" Blu-ray player priced at $300 is not a true bargain, but given the prices of most of the majors out there it definitely falls into that category. The untested BD Profile 1.1 Magnavox (Funai) NB500 has been spotted on Wal-Mart shelves sporting 1080p/24 and 1080p/60 video output resolutions, bitstream HD audio output, DVD upconversion to 720p, 1080i, 1080p and HDMI 1.3 for $298. Low price or not, keep in mind that the PS3 is still your best value. [Blu-ray Forum via Engadget HD via Electronic House]
discs
When it comes to the fine art of presenting movies on discs, Criterion's treatment of films, in quality and extras, finds itself unparalleled. And that's why it is amazingly good news that they're finally going Blu-ray.
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Criterion Collection Going Blu-Ray!
When it comes to the fine art of presenting movies on discs, Criterion's treatment of films, in quality and extras, finds itself unparalleled. And that's why it is amazingly good news that they're finally going Blu-ray.
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blu-ray
Pioneer Confirms BDP-51FD and Elite BDP-05FD Profile 1.1 Blu-ray Players; "Super-Duper" BD-Live Player Coming This Fall
When the other Blu-ray heavies Sony, Panasonic and Samsung are in various stages of introducing Ethernet-equipped BD-Live players (aka BD Profile 2.0), Pioneer comes out with two players, the $600 BDP-51FD and the $800 Elite BDP-05FD, that meet just the 1.1 spec, for picture-in-picture BonusView content. We heard about it via a reliable leak, but now we've got models, pricing and another interesting confirmation: Pioneer's Blu-ray marketing manager Chris Walker tells us that the company will launch a BD-Live player, in fact, a "super-duper flagship-status piece," this fall. More »
home entertainment
First Listen: Panasonic SC-BT100 Blu-ray Home Theater in a Box Is Boomy, Not Hissy
Panasonic's SC-BT100 Blu-ray home-theater in a box made a sly appearance back at CES, but today we got up all in its face. The Blu-ray soul is basically Panny's BD-30 player (with the added mojo of the BD-50's Chroma processor). Rear speakers are wireless and produce virtual 7.1 sound, though you can add on two more for true 7.1. Supposedly the subwoofer is magically designed to reduce hissing with quiet rumblings—we certainly didn't notice any in the demo, but we heard smooth, cheesy jazz and the 18-wheeler/F-18 scene from Justin Long's fake Die Hard movie, so it was hard to gauge its effectiveness on the front. The sound certainly wasn't bad though—it'll go for $999 in late spring. Closeups and fact sheet below. More »
blu-ray
Today in NYC, Panasonic showed off its DMP-BD50, the company's first BD-Live Blu-ray 2.0 player—and the second in the market besides the PlayStation 3—setting the price at $700. It's an improvement over the DMP-BD30, which will stay on the market as a $500 step-down. In addition to BD-Live (and the requisite Ethernet port), it will decode all new DTS and Dolby Digital codecs internally, as well as bitstream them to a compatible receiver, if that's your preference. The player, initially announced at CES, will ship in "late spring," presumably the next 4-6 weeks, and will not need a firmware upgrade to be 2.0 compatible—a requirement of the $400 Sony BDP-S350 player due out around the same time. Fact sheet after the jump.
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Panasonic's DMP-BD50 Their First BD-Live Blu-ray Player
Today in NYC, Panasonic showed off its DMP-BD50, the company's first BD-Live Blu-ray 2.0 player—and the second in the market besides the PlayStation 3—setting the price at $700. It's an improvement over the DMP-BD30, which will stay on the market as a $500 step-down. In addition to BD-Live (and the requisite Ethernet port), it will decode all new DTS and Dolby Digital codecs internally, as well as bitstream them to a compatible receiver, if that's your preference. The player, initially announced at CES, will ship in "late spring," presumably the next 4-6 weeks, and will not need a firmware upgrade to be 2.0 compatible—a requirement of the $400 Sony BDP-S350 player due out around the same time. Fact sheet after the jump.
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blu-ray xbox 360
Microsoft Hits Fresh Blu-ray Xbox 360 Rumor With a Fresh Denial
Either Microsoft really isn't doing a Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360, or Microsoft's PR are gonna be called out as gigantic liars in the near future. Their officials have just shot down the latest rumor saying that an Asus subsidiary was making Blu-ray hardware for Microsoft's console, saying "we have no plans to introduce a Blu-ray drive for Xbox 360." If this is true, Microsoft's really just letting the PS3 be the Blu-ray console, and shoving its stack of chips behind digital downloads. Is this smart? Consumers already half transitioned from CDs to digital music downloads, so we'll see in five years whether video will be the same. [Game Pro]
weird combo of the day
Japan Gets Batman Bust With Batman Begins Blu-Ray Set
On July 23, Japan will get their chance to own Batman Begins on Blu-ray—about two weeks after it's released in the US. But while our gift set edition comes with story boards, script pages and a $7.50 movie credit towars Dark Knight, our friends in the Land of the Rising Sun get a 25-cm-high bust. Where's MY bust, Warner Entertainment? Why can't I get a miniature rendition of Christian Bale's hooded face to stare at me stoically from my mantle? I may not be Japanese, but I like creepy stuff too! The regular Blu-Ray will be around $47, the gift set edition is about $180.[AV Watch]
rumor
Asus Subsidiary Making Blu-ray Xbox 360
Despite repeated bashing and smashings, the Xbox 360 Blu-ray rumor is eternal like the sun god. Taiwanese rag Economic Times is reporting that Pegatron Technology—an Asus subsidiary, not a Decepticon as McWhertor points out—has received an order from Microsoft for a Blu-ray-equipped Xbox 360, due to be manufactured soon and shipped in time for the holidays. Weeks ago, Digitimes said Lite-On was going to make 'em. Let's assess. More »
blu-ray
HD DVD's Death Hasn't Helped Blu-ray Sales, Which Are So Bad NPD Won't Talk About 'Em
You guys have apparently been listening to our warnings about not jumping into the Blu pool just yet. NPD says that even after HD DVD stopping peeing in it and lied down to die, not only have Blu-ray sales have only jumped a meager two percent (after falling 40 percent from Jan.), but they're so bad, they won't even release the actual numbers. NPD pegs price as one major factor, with the wait for BD-Live players as another. Course, it's more likely the deeply feared DVD problem: For most people, it's still good enough. [Yahoo, NYT]
blu-ray
Paramount's First Blu-ray Flicks Hit May 20, Will Blow Your Face/Off (Sorta)
Even though Paramount has taken longer to announce their Blu-ray slate than the other former HD DVD lackey, they're getting 'em out the door quicker, surprisingly. The first three BDs (I hate the acronym, but let's go ahead and digest it) from Paramount arrive May 20: Face/Off (yes!), Bee Movie and Next. Then it gets kinda sparse, with intermittent releases through the rest of the summer, though its first simultaneous new release w/ DVD will be The Spiderwick Chronicles on June 24. Not the hot roster I was looking for (Woo's opus excepted), but at least the Blu ball for every major studio is finally rolling. Update: We just did one better and got Paramount's press release with the full list (which confirms HR's report), check it out below. More »
netflix
Netflix to Jack Up Prices For Blu-ray Renters
What's the best way to punish the same early adopter customers that helped make your service a success in the first place? If you're Netflix, it's charging them extra for renting Blu-ray. CEO Reed Hastings justifies this action by saying "consumers are used to paying more for high-definition," basically punching this next generation of early adopters in the nads for doing what they love to do. More »
blu-ray
First Universal Blu-ray Discs Hit July 22, But Where's The Big Lebowski?
Five months after converting to Blu-ray, former HD DVD diehard Universal will finally release its first Blu discs: The Mummy trio on July 22. The Mummy was already on HD DVD, so they're firing off re-releases from the get-go. All told, Universal plans to drop about 40 discs by the end of the year. Appropriately starting with Doomsday, all new flicks will go out on Blu, with a smattering of older movies like Knocked Up. But no sight of the The Big Lebowski in the release, which is the only Universal flick we really care about. Okay, there are some other cool releases coming up, like Heroes: Season 2, The Incredible Hulk (hopefully not shitty) and Hellboy II: The Golden Army. More »
blu-ray
A source tells us that in May, Pioneer will announce two new Blu-ray players, including the Elite BDP-05FD you see above. Surprisingly, they won't be Profile 2.0, just 1.1 (so PIP but no Ethernet), but they will have some other talents:
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Pioneer's 2008 Blu-ray Player Line Leaked
A source tells us that in May, Pioneer will announce two new Blu-ray players, including the Elite BDP-05FD you see above. Surprisingly, they won't be Profile 2.0, just 1.1 (so PIP but no Ethernet), but they will have some other talents:
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ps3
PlayStation 3 Firmware Update 2.30 Brings DTS-HD Master Audio
Today, SCEA announced that the latest PS3 update, 2.30, would bring the ability to decode DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio tracks, that is to say, Blu-ray audio at variable bit rates up to 24.5Mbps, and 7.1 streaming of 96K/24-bit tracks. Does this make PS3 the best Blu-ray player ever? If you've got a receiver that can take an uncompressed audio stream of that magnitude via HDMI, then we think it does. UPDATE: To be clear, this decodes the DTS formats—plus Dolby's formats, including Dolby TrueHD—and outputs all channels via HDMI to a receiver that can take a 5.1 or 7.1 PCM stream. It won't do 5.1 or 7.1 analog output. Also, as some of you have noted, it does NOT bitstream the DTS or Dolby data to a decoder inside a newer decoder-equipped receiver. More »
pcs
Asus Essentio CS5110 Is World's Smallest PC (With Fully Embedded Discrete Graphics, That Is)
I'm not sure there's room enough to install one of these bad boys, but Asus' new little desktop is supposedly the world's smallest PC that can still support a fully embedded discrete graphics card for gaming and high-def video. With HDMI and 7.1 audio output, it could make a nice Blu-ray player. Because of a thermal cooling module that "insulates heat from the cooling fan," it manages to idle at a relatively low 24dB noise level. Still, it's not super small, at 11 inches wide by 3 inches tall, and besides that, sources don't say exactly what graphics card Asus chose to fully embed. We do like that satin-finish codex design, though. [Fareastgizmos.com]
deals
Dealzmodo: Buy Two Get One Free Blu-ray (Plus 30% Off)
Amazon's got a pretty damn good deal going on Blu-ray movies right now, offering a buy-two-get-one-free off any of 58 selected movies. Better yet, these movies are already at least 30% off, so you can get three movies for about $45ish. We suggest Wild Things, The 5th Element and Into the Blue for a triple-play high def boobstravaganza. [Amazon via PS3Fanboy]
blu-ray magic
iPhone to Become Blu-Ray Player Remote
According to NetBlender, iPhone and iPod touch users will be able to control their Blu-ray players using an application called BD Touch. The application will use the network capabilities of Blu-ray hardware and Apple's handheld devices to transfer data, allowing you to do many different things beyond controlling movie playback. Update: we have spoken with NetBlender about BD Touch. As we imagined, it requires more than just an iPhone application:
