Upcoming Haier Blu-ray players are as intriguing as they are cheap

We spotted Haier's first U.S. entry into the Blu-ray player market luxuriating at Digital Experience following the company's recent trend of surprisingly complete feature sets for low prices. The Broadcom-powered BDP100 and BDP200W are no great surprise, comparing closely with Best Buy's recent Insignia players as Netflix streaming Blu-ray decks, the former without WiFi for $169 and the latter with wireless internet for $229. However they're distinguished slightly by the addition of Pandora's streaming music, plus plans to support apps/streaming from another provider or two around launch in the first quarter. What was promised but not shown this go round were some interesting features powered by the unit's Flash compatibility, we'll be sure to check them out on the CES floor today and report back on the experience as well as its other products, including a new LED edge lit LCD line and Blu-ray/LCD combo TV with Netflix. For now, the press release and a couple of more images after the break.
BDP200W:

BDP100:

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Haier Introduces Blu-ray Players

LAS VEGAS, NV (CES Booth Central 10427), Jan. 6, 2010 – Haier is expanding its line of home DVD products with the introduction of two new Blu-ray players that will enhance the movie watching experience. With full HD 1080p and streaming Internet video, the players support the high-definition content of Blu-ray discs and instantly stream thousands of movies and TV programs from Netflix or music from Pandora. BD Live 2.0 capable for access to added features on Blu-ray discs and compatible with video formats including BD-R/RE (BDMV and BDAV modes), AVCHD, DVD+R/+RW, DVD-R/-RW, CD, CD-R/RW (CD-DA format), and JPEG on BD/DVD/CD recordable media.

"Providing the content that consumers want is the key to customer satisfaction," said Stewart Katz, Vice President of Portable Media Electronics for Haier America. "Haier America has entered into a number of strategic content partnerships for Blu-ray players and will continue to pursue ways to give consumers the best entertainment experience possible."

Both units upconvert standard-definition signals of DVD's to near HD quality and can decode the newest advanced audio codecs including Dolby® TrueHD, Dolby® Digital Plus, and Dolby® Digital.

BDP200W - Wifi Blu-ray player with BD Live 2.0

 BD Live 2.0, USB/Ethernet
 Netflix and Pandora content
 DVD upconversion to 1080p
 HDMI Version 1.3 and component video output
 Dolby® TrueHD, Dolby® Digital Plus, Dolby® Digital

MSRP is $229.99. Available Q2 2010

BDP100 - Blu-ray player with BD Live 2.0

 BD Live 2.0, USB/Ethernet
 Netflix and Pandora content
 DVD upconversion to 1080p
 HDMI Version 1.3 and component video output
 Dolby® TrueHD, Dolby® Digital Plus, Dolby® Digital

MSRP is $169.99. Available Q1 2010

Haier LCD/Blu-ray Combo

-- 32" BD Combo HLB32XK2 --

LAS VEGAS, NV (CES Booth Central 10427), Jan. 6, 2010 – Haier unleashes first combo unit with full HDTV and a Blu-Ray player.

The K-Series 32" LCD TV with Blu-ray /DVD combo, HLB32XK2, is the ultimate in entertainment. The Blu-ray combo has the ability to play DVD or Blu-ray discs, and features a built-in wifi connection and Adobe® Flash® for the Digital Home to support streaming movies in HD or DVD quality directly from pre-installed applications built with Adobe Flash technology like Netflix and Pandora, all powered by Broadcom's chipset.

"The 32" BD Combo is full HD 1080p with a built-in Blu-ray player enabling you to easily play 1080p Blu-ray movies," said Al Levene Vice President of Electronics for Haier America. "The player is also backwards compatible, enabling you to play DVD movies and built-in wifi and Netflix streaming capability adds to the movie experience."

Product Features:

• Sleek modern design with hidden speakers
• Full HD built-in BD player
• Dynamic Contrast Ratio 100,000:1
• Wifi connectivity, 3 HDMI
• PC input, 2 component inputs
• USB input for Video, Audio and Digital Pictures
• MPEG2, JPEG, MP3
• Pause live TV with USB Time Shift
• SRS TruSurround XT Sound
• Sound leveler with distortion control
• AVL Auto Volume Leveler
• 2x10W Output

Available Q2 2010 for $799.99

[Gi Posted Jan 7th 2010 1:52PM]

whys it so dusty looking?

[ugotamesij Posted Jan 7th 2010 1:56PM]

"as intriguing as they are cheap"... and ugly.

[SpikeSpiegel Posted Jan 7th 2010 1:58PM]

Really? who places their players under a TV so it'll be broken?

[Dafrety Posted Jan 7th 2010 2:38PM]

@SpikeSpiegel
It doesn't look broken to me.

[Dafrety Posted Jan 7th 2010 2:40PM]

They seem okay. Why does the supposed higher end model look worse and without a USB port, though?

[yuppiescum Posted Jan 7th 2010 2:57PM]

My Haier air conditioner ($99 at wally world) accumulates a ton of water so it sounds like a paddleboat for the first half hour, then the water starts to freeze and ice gets thrown all over my room.

In conclusion, Haier is shite.

[Dustin F Posted Feb 8th 2010 6:26PM]

@yuppiescum

LOL

Sorry, man.

[Brianbrain Posted Feb 8th 2010 7:32PM]

My Samsung looks a hell of a lot better than those, has all the same features (as far as were mentioned) and was $150. What's the big deal?