BD8002
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Marantz's pricey BD8002 Blu-ray player on sale in UK
We were told at CES that Americans would have to wait another quarter or so to take possession of Marantz's pristine-but-pricey BD8002, but Britons can grab one and simultaneously stick their tongues out in this direction right now. A number of UK-based retailers are now stocking the Profile 1.1 player, but given the current economic situation, we have to wonder who all is willing to hand over £1,799 or so for this thing. Then again, a $131,000 cellphone sold out in just three days late last year, so we suppose anything's possible.%Gallery-43438%
Marantz BD8002 Blu-ray player gets June date for Japan
Sliding in just under the "Q2, 2008" line we were told back at CES, Marantz will deliver its BD8002 Blu-ray player to Japanese shores in June. It's still got some good looking specs, including Silicon Optix Realta video processing, DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD; but somehow another pricey Profile 1.1 player leaves us feeling a little empty. We're really hoping that the announced pricing doesn't carry straight over (it usually doesn't) -- the ¥336,000 ($3200) sticker would be a 50-percent markup over the already-steep $2100 tag we saw just a few months ago. We'll definitely hold off judgment until we can put our eyes on the performance, but even accounting for MSRP-to-street adjustments, the pricing will keep this baby off of most short-lists (our included).
Hands-on with Marantz's first Blu-ray player, the BD8002
Just as promised, we got a hold of the Marantz BD8002, the company's first Blu-ray player. It was hard to let it go once we did, but the $2100 price tag made it a little easier. Silicon Optix Realta, HDMI 1.3, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA support. We want it all, and we want it now; but even the well-heeled among you will have to wait until Q2 2008 for this rig. And if you're looking for a pic of the remote, trust us -- we asked, too. Sorry, it's not final yet.%Gallery-13223%
Marantz's new high-end Blu-ray player
Supposedly Marantz's new Blu-ray player was at CEDIA, but if it was, we missed it. We won't let that happen again next week and we guarantee we'll get our hands-on the new BD8002 at CES next Wednesday. This players seems it may be one of best players ever considering it includes everything we can think of -- as it should with a MSRP of $2,099.99. At the top of the list is the players ability to decode just about every new audio codec out there including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA, and output it via 7.1 analog outs or uncompressed via HDMI. The icing on the cake is the inclusion of the 10-bit Silicon Optix Realta video processor, which should help make it the best Profile 1.1 player yet when it's released the second quarter of 2008.
