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Cheaper Blu-ray? Sony, Panasonic, and Philips say it's coming, honestly
Look, we don't really "get" people who aren't willing to buy the latest and greatest thing regardless of the price and / or current economic state, but evidently there's a rather large sector still clinging to their antiquated DVD format. Blu-ray proponents Panasonic, Philips, and Sony are looking to change all that by knocking down the tab a few notches. The trio has revealed plans to form a single licensing firm for Blu-ray, which they anticipate will lower the cost of the license -- and therefore the retail price -- by "at least" 40 percent. They expect it'll amount to $9.50 for read-only BD player, $14 for a burner, 11 cents for read-only discs, 12 cents for BD-Rs, and 15 cents for BD-RE rewritable discs. In its current form, hopeful BD makers have to seek out each company individually. The group also hopes a single licensing entity will help them spot unauthorized BD devices, so watch out, suspicious mom and pop Blu-ray stores.
OPPO to start BDP-83 Early Adoption Program
Seriously, why aren't more companies like this? In a somewhat unprecedented move, OPPO Digital has decided to let the people choose how it will proceed with the production of its highly anticipated universal Blu-ray player. Its Early Adoption Program will allow 50 randomly selected customers to purchase the BDP-83 for $499 before the official release; after those 50 have tested things out for a week or so, they'll be required to vote on whether the program should be extended or suspended. If 70 percent or more votes to expand, OPPO will select another 100 individuals to join the original 50 in testing. We're told that the deck will be shipped with a pre-production firmware version that will be updated "from time to time." Also of note, OPPO has confirmed Profile 2.0 support, internal decoding of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio formats and that DVD-Audio playback is still in the works. Needless to say, we'll be doing our best to become one of those lucky 50. OPPO's full email on the matter is after the break.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Futuresource predicts 100 million Blu-ray Discs sales in 2009
Futuresource Consulting has produced some rather controversial predictions before, so it's not at all surprising to find that it was this firm that forecast a whopping 100 million Blu-ray Disc would be sold in 2009. As we wait for BD sales to exceed DVDs in 2012, we're told that consumers are on pace to purchase in excess of 100 million Blu-ray Discs across the US, Western Europe and Japan this year. Mai Hoang, Senior Market Analyst, even concluded that in America, BD has moved from "early adopter phase through to early majority," noting that in the US last year, BD video retail sales increased some 320 percent to 24 million units. Couple that with rampant growth in the UK, and that 100m figure seems just a wee bit more believable. Of course, it's not like these guys really have any accountability in any of this, but at least these conjectures will lead to some pretty fiery discussions, right? [Warning: PDF read link][Via Joystiq]
Chumby widgets coming to connected HDTVs, Blu-ray players and STBs
If you thought Chumby would stop at digital photo frames, you were wrong. Dead wrong. Today, the widget-loving company has announced a tie-up with Broadcom that will integrate its rich media internet platform onto system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions that will eventually find their way into HDTVs, set-top-boxes and Blu-ray players. Essentially, Chumby is making sure it doesn't miss out on the quickly filling insert-your-connected-device-here bandwagon, and quite frankly, we'll be shocked if any of those other guys can rival what Chumby's bringing. After all, widgets are this company's forte, and we're downright giddy at the thought of having over 1,000 internet-connected snippets of information at our fingertips while intently watching future episodes of Lie To Me. Hey, TV / STB makers -- jump on this. Now. Video demonstration is after the break.%Gallery-45649%
Philips unveils BDP3000, BDP5000 and BDP7300 Blu-ray players
Given that Philips handed off its North American Blu-ray and DVD operations to Funai here in North America, you can bet its latest trio of BD decks won't be hitting US soil anytime soon... at least not branded like this. At any rate, those across the pond can look forward to three more BD-Live-capable players in the near future, all of which support 1080p24 and upscale DVDs to 1080i. As of now, details are pretty scant about the low(er)-end BDP3000 and the mid-range BD5000; all we're told is that they'll be DivX Certified, and the latter of the two will boast a USB 2.0 port for multimedia viewing. The top-end BDP7300 will include integrated 7.1 audio decoding along with 1GB of storage, but prices for the three are still undisclosed. Though, we shouldn't be waiting long, as the 7300 should land in March with the other two following shortly after.[Via TechRadar]
Insignia's NS-2BRDVD Blu-ray player gets reviewed
Ever heard that phrase "you get what you pay for?" Yeah, it applies here. Insignia's low-cost NS-2BRDVD has been effectively panned by reviewers over at CNET, with the only bright spots coming in the form of a relatively low price, a USB port for accessing digital media and "solid Blu-ray image quality with most movies." The bad? That Profile 2.0 compatibility we reckoned it had actually isn't there (currently, at least), and it lacks full onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. In truth, that's not totally awful, but what affluent individual with a decoding AV receiver (psst... those aren't cheap) would go out and grab this? At any rate, the deck is also slow to load some flicks, and it doesn't support firmware updates via Ethernet or USB. If you really needed a bottom line, here goes: "The NS-2BRDVD is an under-featured and slow-loading Blu-ray player, but it provides basic BD playback at a bargain."
Poll: Would you buy a Blu-ray recorder if you could?
While Blu-ray recorders have been available in Japan for years, here in the US it's Blu-ray's third year and there's no sight of one. The reasons are obviously not technological and instead limited by DRM and other factors, but we think one of those is that the market might be too small. So we're asking you since we know you're the early adopter type; Would you buy a Blu-ray recorder if you could? %Poll-26567%
Star Trek: TOS and Trilogy gets US box art, release date
We already saw these delightful pieces of Blu-ray magic unveiled in Norway, but TheDigitalBits has confirmed that Star Trek: The Original Series - Season One, Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection and Star Trek: Motion Picture Trilogy will all ship here in America, with the former shipping on April 28th and the latter two on May 12th. The details about each collection are far too lengthy to cover in this space, but you can head down to the read link if you're even remotely interested in dropping $118, $104.99 or $29.99 (in order of mention).[Via The Blu-ray Blog]
Mitsubishi unveils prototype in-dash Blu-ray player
Difficult though it may be to believe, Panasonic showcased a conceptual in-dash BD deck of its own back in October of 2007. Obviously, nothing has really come of that, so Mitsubishi's stepping in with a prototype of its own. It's stated that the player has only a third of the volume compared to a traditional "home Blu-ray player," with it somehow being able to slip into a standard single-DIN opening. Better still, we're told that the final unit -- which is slated to hit production during fiscal year 2009 -- could also boast a mobile TV tuner in select markets, giving us even more reason to not pay attention to pedestrians, road signs and stop lights while taking that Sunday cruise.
S3 crams DisplayPort, HDMI and DVI onto $70 Chrome 540 GTX
While the future seems bright for DisplayPort, it's still tough to find a GPU out there with a DisplayPort socket -- and the search becomes increasingly difficult when hunting one down that's affordable. Enter S3, who is expanding its Chrome 500 series with the Chrome 540 GTX. Hailed as the "world's most connected high-def card," this PCI Express card boasts 256MB of GDDR3 memory, compatibility with DirectX 10.1 and OpenGL 3.0, support for Blu-ray playback and a trifecta of interfaces: DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort. The best part? It comes bundled with WinDVD 8 for BD playback and can be procured today for the low, low price of $69.95.
Poll: Are you happy being a Blu-ray early adopter?
Even with some Blu-ray players checking in below $200, we'd still argue that those jumping ship to BD are early adopters. Or, at least some of the earliest. All things considered, are you happy with your decision to step up and support Blu? Do you now think upscaled DVD would've been enough? Do you wish you had jumped earlier? We reckon future success has a lot to do with how jovial existing supporters are, so we'll be interested to hear your opinions. Fire away! %Poll-26302%
Sharp's 32- / 37-inch Blu-ray AQUOS LCD HDTVs up for pre-order
Right on cue, Sharp has offered two of its new Blu-ray-equipped AQUOS HDTVs up for pre-order. The 32-inch LC-32BD60U and 37-inch LC-37BD60U both feature 1080p panels, a trio of HDMI inputs, six millisecond response times and a slot-loading Blu-ray player on the side. Best of all, the 32-incher is coming up a dollar under a grand, while the 37-inch sibling will only run you $1,199. Sure, they're a bit pricey compared to optical drive-less alternatives, but if you've been holding off on simultaneously scratching the BD + new TV itch, here's your sign.[Via GadgetReview]
Panasonic drops the axe on DMP-BD35 Blu-ray player
Not that the act of discontinuing Blu-ray players rather early on in their life is unheard of, but Panasonic's DMP-BD35 still had a few months left in it by our estimations. Shortly after Panny unveiled a new trio of BD decks at CES, the company has reportedly killed production of its BD35, and we're left to assume the BD55 ain't far behind. Of course, this means that those on the prowl for a Panasonic Blu-ray player will either have to wait until April (for the DMP-BD60) or try and procure one of the remaining BD35 / BD55 models from a local retailer. If you've waited this long, however, we'd suggest holding off -- the connected nature (YouTube, Amazon Video on Demand) of the forthcoming models makes 'em way more attractive. Just sayin'.
LaCie intros 8x d2 Blu-ray burner, LaCinema Black MAX media streamer
It was May of last year when LaCie last updated its external d2 Blu-ray burner, so it's about time we saw that 4x burn rate double to an entirely more palatable 8x. Available now for consumers in the US, the latest d2 Blu-ray Drive ($449.99) can toast both single- and dual-layer BD-Rs at 8x, and it can connect to one's machine via FireWire or USB 2.0. In related news, the outfit has also introduced a LaCinema Black MAX over in Europe, which acts to serve up all sorts of digital media (photos, video clips, music, etc.) on one's HDTV. You can order it with 500GB / 1TB of inbuilt storage, and the integrated Ethernet jack / WiFi module enables it to pull media (up to 1080p) from other locations on your network. We've nary a clue on pricing / availability for this one, but we'll leave it to those in Europe to hunt it down and brag to us Yanks.Read - 8x d2 Blu-ray DriveRead - LaCinema Black MAX [PDF; thanks Predator]%Gallery-44203%%Gallery-44202%
Digital distribution not expected to rule packaged media anytime soon
Whoa, vaquero -- calm your jets. This is just a projection, which may or may not prove to be indicative of reality. That said, there's still quite a lot here to discuss, particularly since we've been hearing so much hubbub over the supposed explosion of digital distribution. Media Control GfK International has forecast that sales of Blu-ray Discs will increase some 150 percent to $2.9 billion, up from $1.1 billion in 2008. For those keeping count, digital distribution only generated $1.5 billion last year, and that's including every penny made from VOD and broadband services. In-Stat analyst Michael Paxton was quoted as saying that the "bandwidth required to stream any type of HD video is way beyond what most households have," and he continued by noting that the "convenience factor is still not there for streaming media." You owe it to yourself to hit up the read link for the full report before blasting your opinion in comments below, but we suppose we can't stop you either way.
Sony issues revised firmware for BDP-S350 Blu-ray player
Sony already gifted its BDP-S350 Blu-ray player with BD-Live functionality last September, but apparently that firmware just isn't good enough any longer. The outfit has just released a newer version that elevates the machine from 010 to 015, and with the update comes "improved BD-Java compatibility to enhance interactivity with some BD-ROMs and improved BD-Live performance." The file weighs in at a rather hefty 49.42MB, so hit up the read link if you're interested in getting it started.[Thanks, Brendan]
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%
Sony's BDV-IS1000 Blu-ray HTIB reviewed: probably a skip
Sony's BDV-IS1000 has two big things going for it. For starters, it comes with a Blu-ray player. Secondly, it's drop-dead gorgeous. Critics over at DigitalTrends were able to secure one of the 5.1-channel HTIBs for review, and while they were big, big fans of the compact design, powerful subwoofer and inclusion of Profile 2.0 on the BD deck, they simply couldn't recommend it as it stood. Why? The wireless rear speakers didn't work on either of its test units. Instead, they were troubled with dropouts and interference from other radio emitting devices. It seems that critics went out of their way to ensure this wasn't just some setup issue, and they even caution to prospective buyers that they too are apt to encounter the problem. 'Tis a shame -- these looked so promising.
Will BD-Live finally shine in 2009?
Let's not sugarcoat things -- BD-Live hasn't exactly been a runaway success. Sure, you could blame some of that on the fact that Profile 2.0 players are just now becoming a) affordable and b) plentiful, but really, it's the uninteresting content that's truly holding it down. According to a report over at VideoBusiness, that's set to change in 2009. Lionsgate is planning to open a dedicated BD-Live portal (christened Lionsgate Live) which will provide even casual fans with easy access to games, ringtones and filmmaker chats. Other studios are shifting focus to ensure that interactivity is seamlessly integrated and simple to navigate, not to mention getting BD-Live material onto more Blu-ray Discs. In our eyes, '09 is a make or break year for BD-Live; if consumers still aren't digging it by CES 2010, there's a good chance the investments in the technology will taper off. 'Course, those widgets sure seem to be catching eyes over on the connected HDTV side, so maybe there's hope here after all.
Multi-region capabilities come to third-generation Blu-ray players
Ah, the sweet smell of progress. Just months after Blu-ray Mods hosted up a wave of BD-Live decks with multi-region support, the site is now offering up the next gaggle of units in the same fashion. For those scouting a high-end player with an ICOS HD mod baked right in, you can order up a number of Pioneer players (the BDP-LX91 and BDP-09 Elite included), Denon's DVD-1800BD / DVD-3800BD and Sony's BDP-5000ES. We won't even scare you with the prices here, but you can venture to the read link if you're suddenly curious.
