bd-hp20s
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Mustek intros the BD-100, aka Sharp BD-HP20S
Yeah, it took a while for Sharp to actually deliver their BD-HP20S Blu-ray player (top picture). So long, in fact, that it seems to have cloned itself during the process -- witness the BD-100 (bottom picture) which Mustek is displaying at their CES booth. Strong family resemblance, right? Front panel displays -- match; button locations -- match; slot location -- match. That's three strikes, Mustek. Of course there's no way to tell who actually made the box, and although we haven't spent much time with the BD-HPS20S, we do know that it doesn't live up to the expectations we have for Sharp products.One more pic after the jump.
Sharp might intro, yet again, another Blu-ray player
This might be the last time we report on a Sharp Blu-ray player launch as it will be the fifth announced model (BD-MPC70, BD-HD1000, BD-MPC10, BD-HP1 & BD-HP20S), but yet, where are they? We have yet to see a Sharp Blu-ray player on any shelf -- virtual or physical for that matter. CEDIA is next week and an insider is reporting via AVS Forum that a $499 player should drop. Deets are somewhat sketchy, but the good money is on that the player is either going to be the BD-HP20S or something very close to it. This means the unit should be slim with supposedly quick load times, equipped with HDMI 1.3 support; still no word on profile 1.0 or 1.1 though. Hopefully all these details will be cleared up at CEDIA next week, or maybe sooner at IFA, but if this player launches and doesn't hit the market -- we're done.
Sharp's BD-HP20S not coming to America -- resume waiting for BD-HP10U
It figures, doesn't it? Nearly every time we hear "cheap" and "high-definition player" in the same phrase, the news either turns out to be completely and utterly false, relates solely to HD DVD, or in the most recent case of the BD-HP20S, is not suited for American homes. As fate would seemingly have it, we're now hearing that Sharp's briefly anticipated no-fills Blu-ray player will be reserved for Japan, and according to PCWorld, it won't be making its way stateside "anytime soon." Sadly, that means we must all resume waiting for the nearly forgotten BD-HP10U, which was mentioned way back at CES but has hardly been heard from since. Ah well, at least you can snag a PS3 and five Blu-ray flicks for a mere $500 now, right?
Sharp's BD-HP20S: a (cheap?) no-nonsense Blu-ray Disc player
Somebody, somewhere has to get their hyperbole under control when calling this Sharp's "first" Blu-ray player. Fact is, we've already seen the Sharp BD-MPC70, BD-HD1000, BD-MPC10, BD-HP1 (hint: BD = Blu-ray Disc) devices. Now if what they mean is that it only plays Blu-ray discs (no recorder, no receiver, etc), well, why even bother? Regardless, their new BD-HP20S is expected to ship in the fall and features HDMI 1.3 output in support of Dolby TrueHD's raw bitstream form. It will also feature a "Quick Start" option which plays newly inserted discs in just seconds. As a stand-alone player, we do expect it to be Sharp's cheapest -- now that's noteworthy. [Via Blu-ray.com, thanks Dave]