JVC finally brings its Blu-ray products to America

Over here in the US, JVC fans have had to watch with lustful eyes at all the JVC Blu-ray products in the rest of the world, but no more. Today JVC has announced both a stand-alone Blu-ray player and a 3.1 home theater in a box. The XV-PB1 Blu-ray player will be available in March for $299 and as you'd expect, it will support BD Live content as well as playback AVCHD videos you create on your HD camcorder. We assume the new TH-SB100 is a US variation of the NX-BD3 previously available in Europe which is of course a BD Live player, but we're sad to say there's no mention of any support for DTS-HD or Dolby TrueHD. Nevertheless it will be available in April for $699.

Read - JVC XV-PB1
Read - JVC TH-SB100

[LloydChiro @ Jan 7th 2009 11:58AM]

Those speakers look pretty cool.

[Ben @ Jan 7th 2009 12:07PM]

There must be a speaker missing from the picture. What is in the picture would only be a 2.1 system.

[Murad Kheraj @ Jan 7th 2009 12:25PM]

The information provided on the JVC website press release says that its going to be a soundbar setup rather than individual speakers. Maybe its a different configuration than the one previously available in Europe?

[Ben @ Jan 7th 2009 12:26PM]

Right, but there was no picture of the new Blu-ray player or the HTIB, so I posted the picture from the older model.

[Carney @ Jan 7th 2009 12:22PM]

It's probably not true, but I can't help but wonder if they were kind of sulking, Toshiba-style, or like Sony when it was beat by JVC in the VCR format war. Sony took a while to finally offer VHS VCRs instead of Betamaxes, and Toshiba has yet to produce a Blu-ray player after having lost a boat load on HD-DVD.

What I'm referring to is D-VHS, the high definition videotape format JVC championed earlier in this decade as a response to DVD eating VHS' lunch. I picked up one of the last (if not THE last) new retail D-VHS VCRs last year, and the box is festooned with boasting about how JVC was the inventor of VHS, advice that camcorder buyers should use VHS-C or S-VHS-C compatible cameras so the tapes play in your VCR, etc. They had high hopes for D-VHS, hoping to leapfrog optical discs with HD tape before discs went HD, and a few dozen movies were released in the format, but it hasn't gone anywhere.

With JVC going Blu-ray, it's the final surrender in the HD format wars, in a field most haven't even noticed.

[bandigolo @ Jan 7th 2009 12:32PM]

JVC has fans?

[FILA @ Jan 7th 2009 1:39PM]

I like JVC, not sure how BIG of a fan i actually am, but 700, damn, you know its cheaper for a HTPC, add a blu ray drive for 100 bucks a good set of 5.1 speakers, media center or some 3rd party app and your good to go

[Ryze @ Jan 7th 2009 1:51PM]

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=l-Kaw1lmw-M


:D

[Terry Shea @ Jan 8th 2009 6:16PM]

From JVC U.S. PR rep:
Just to clarify, the system we'll offer here in the U.S. is not the NX-BD3 available in Europe. It is, as noted, a 3.1-channel system with a soundbar, wireless subwoofer and Blu-ray player. Unfortunately, there isn't a photo available because the design of the soundbar hasn't been finalized.

The included Blu-ray player does support DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD.

There's a photo of the XV-PB 1 Blu-ray player here:
http://i400.photobucket.com/albums/pp82/JVCAmerica/JVC%202009%20Home%20Video%20Products/JVCDR-MV150B_1.jpg

The XV-PB1 will be our only Blu-ray player for now -- available separately or as part of the TH-SB100 system.

[Terry Shea @ Jan 8th 2009 6:25PM]

Hummmm....sorry, folks. Wrong link for the Blu-ray player photo. Here's the correct link:
http://i400.photobucket.com/albums/pp82/JVCAmerica/JVC%202009%20Home%20Video%20Products/JVCXV-BP1_2.jpg