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Denon delays Japanese delivery of its DVD-A1UD universal Blu-ray deck
Have you been waiting for Denon's DVD-A1UD universal Blu-ray player to fill that gaping hole in your equipment rack left when sold your SACD, DVD-A and Blu-ray decks on eBay? Be prepared to wait a little longer than expected -- the Japanese launch, originally set for January, has been moved out by a couple of months due to a "delay in the launch of production." That means the February US release is right out, and we wouldn't be surprised to see the European availability slip from its March date either. It looks like sister company Marantz's BD8002 will have to serve D&M Holdings' kilobuck Blu-ray player market for a while longer. Hit the link for the bad news, made worse by machine translation.[Via Electronista]
Oppo coughs up BDP-83 universal Blu-ray player details
Lookie, lookie -- we just might have a winner on our hands here. While Denon just announced the world's first universal Blu-ray player at $3,800, the highly respected Oppo is looking to trump said offering with a low-cost version of its own. The heretofore elusive BDP-83 has finally been detailed, as consumers who signed up to know more have received an email (posted in full after the break) with oodles of delicious information. For starters, the player will indeed be fully universal -- a Profile 2.0 BD deck with SACD, DVD and DVD-Audio support -- and for SACD playback, it will support DSD over HDMI and DSD-to-analog without any PCM conversion. As of now, the unit is currently undergoing "an extensive and thorough beta test program," and Oppo is considering opening up an "Early Adoption Program" later this month to give a limited number to mere mortals for feedback. Obviously, there's no finalized date for release, but the anticipated price will hover between $499 and $599.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Denon prices DVD-A1UDCI universal Blu-ray player for US market: $3,800
So, there's good news and bad news. The good? Denon's US version of the DVD-A1UD (coined the DVD-A1UDCI) is priced considerably lower than the yen-to-dollar conversion led us to believe. The bad news? It's still $3,800. For those that that missed it, Denon's calling this the world's first universal Blu-ray player, and folks looking for a premiere unit to handle Blu-ray, DVD, SACD and DVD-Audio can satisfy their every desire in February 2009. Better hope that Christmas bonus comes through.
