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Intel announces Atom CE4100 for insanely powerful cable boxes and Blu-ray players
Intel's CE3100 media chip has been behind some of the cooler demos they've done here at IDF, and it's just gotten a big brother, the Atom CE4100. As you'd expect, the big change is the replacement of the CE3100's Pentium M core with an Atom core, but this thing is actually kind of a monster -- it can decode two 1080p video streams with various high-end audio codecs, it adds MPEG-4 support and 3D graphics capability, and it can even capture uncompressed 1080p video. Of course, it's up to manufacturers and cable companies to actually put all this power to use, but Intel's promised us some hardware demos from partners -- stay tuned.
Best Buy bringing value priced all-in-one 32-inch LCD & Blu-ray HDTV to stores "soon"
It's not that surprising to learn Best Buy will be among those delivering a 1080p LCD with Blu-ray disc player packed in under its Insignia store brand, as we've been expecting rebadged units from overseas to hit the value market for some time. Marked "coming soon" at $599, it's easily a few hundred less than a comparable model from Sharp, but buyers will have to live without some of the newer line items like 120Hz motion processing and a contrast ratio higher than 20,000:1. Though we don't expect a lot in terms of load times, audio support or other features (no specs on the Blu-ray player noted) we're sure a bedroom or dorm room somewhere will find a spot for the NS-LBD32X. Your move, Wal-mart. [Thanks, Zach]
Blu-ray releases on September 22nd 2009
There's only one thing to call this week and that's Star Trek week. Sadly, of the six Star Trek Blu-ray Discs being released this week, the one we are really waiting for isn't included -- that's okay though as it'll probably take you that long to watch all of these. Universal evidently isn't out of catch up titles yet as it releases two more worth watching with Hot Fuzz and Shaun Of The Dead. The SciFi week is rounded out with the Terminator TV Show which we still can't believe made it an entire season. Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan (Paramount) Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (Paramount) Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Paramount) Star Trek: First Contact (Paramount) Star Trek: The Next Generation Motion Picture Collection (Paramount) Star Trek: The Original Series (Season 2 (Paramount) Hot Fuzz (Universal) Shaun Of The Dead (Universal) Battle For Terra (Lionsgate) Book Of Blood (Lionsgate) Wallace & Gromit: The Complete Collection (Lionsgate) Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past (New Line) Observe and Report (Warner) Scooby-Doo!: The Mystery Begins (Warner) Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (The Complete Second Season (Warner) Pierrot Le Fou (Criterion) Monterey Pop (Criterion) The Secret of the Nutcracker (BFS) Gojira (Classic Media) Lymelife (Screen Media) The Haunted World Of El Superbeasto (Anchor Bay) Hoop Reality (Terra)
Denon keeps high-end covered with AVR-4810CI receiver, DBP-4010CI universal Blu-ray player and ASD-51 iPod docks
Denon loyalists may have been stinging from the company's no-show at last week's CEDIA Expo, but the latest round of releases should help ease the pain. Here we go with the AVR-4810CI receiver, DBP-4010DCI universal disc player and ASD-51 iPod docks. The 9.3-channel AVR-4810CI ($2,999) looks to be the successor to Denon's popular 4308CI -- feature packed and definitely on the high end of the spectrum. Six HDMI 1.3a inputs, a pair of outputs, 140-Watts to nine channels, and the familiar set of features being rolled out across Denon's lineup: Anchor Bay video processing, Audyssey DSX and Dolby ProLogic IIz. Denon wants you to know it will pair up just fine with the DBP-4010UDCI universal disc spinner, which you should think of as a cheaper -- but at $1,999, not a "poor man's" -- DVD-A1UDCI. It'll play back just about every disc you've got (okay, maybe not laserdisc), and the build quality ensures it'll do so until after your physical media has turned to dust. Finally, Denon has also brought out the ASD-51W and ASD-51N iPod docks that also let you pull in internet radio, Napster and Rhapsody -- grab up the ASD-51W if you want to do that sans wires. As you'd expect from "CI" (custom integrator) designation on these bits of fun, everything is getting in on the network control and connectivity game, but we'll leave it for you to suss out those finer details after the break.
Vudu on the LG BD390 will bitstream Dolby Digital Plus
We just heard back from Vudu and there's good news. Unlike any other implementation before it, Vudu on the LG BD390 will bitstream Dolby Digital Plus via the HDMI 1.3 port to your AVR. In addition, if you prefer LPCM the BD390 can decode the Dolby Digital Plus track in the Vudu stream as well. This is much better than the LG HDTVs or even the Vudu box itself, which were only capable of re-encoding the stream down to old school Dolby Digital before delivering it to the receiver. We were also directed to this FAQ on Vudu's site which includes all the bit rates for various quality video; interestingly it looks like you need between 4.5 and 9 Mbps of throughput to enjoy moves in HDX quality.
Blu-ray releases on September 15th 2009
These weekly posts are starting to make us sound like a broken record. In fact we really don't know what else there's to say about another week of solid catalogs and TV shows for Blu-ray. By our count we have about another five weeks of this before the Summer blockbusters start to get released on Blu-ray. My Name Is Earl: Season Four (Fox) Wrong Turn (Fox) Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (Fox) X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Fox) Amadeus (Warner) Casablanca (Warner) An American Werewolf In London (Universal) Army Of Darkness (Universal) Van Helsing (Universal) Deep Impact (Paramount) Varsity Blues (Paramount) Easy Virtue (Sony) Iron Monkey (Buena Vista) The Legend Of Drunken Master (Buena Vista) Zatoichi (Buena Vista) Child's Play (MGM) The Hannibal Lecter Collection (MGM) Misery (MGM) Crash: The Complete First Season (Anchor Bay) Grace (Anchor Bay) Camille (E1) Hero (Miramax) The Wonder Of It All (Indican Pictures)
A up-close look at Yamaha's two new Blu-ray players
Press shots are great and all, but you really can't appreciate a great piece of hardware from the likes of Yamaha until you see it in person. Of course the two new players were just announced so unless you went to CEDIA -- not trying to rub it in or anything -- you'll have to live vicariously through us and enjoy our pictures. Contrary to what we originally reported, both BD-S1900 and BD-S1065 feature a detachable power cord, and in addition, the 1900 also offers a direct mode that will help the obsessive compulsive type rest easy knowing their Blu-ray player is just passing on the original bits from the disc untouched.
Video: Sony 400 disc Blu-ray changer with Gracenote in action
Ever since the we first heard about the Sony 400 Disc Blu-ray changer we wondered what it must be like to try and navigate through 400 movies to find something to watch. Sony was quick to tout its award winning XrossMediaBar interface, but you really never know until you see it first hand. We stopped by Sony's booth at CEDIA and we have to say it's pretty sad. We can't even imagine paying that much for something that is frustrating. The fact is that one user interface design does not fit all, and while the XrossMediaBar works for many applications, it is hard to beat the good ol' tile view for browsing movies. The Sony representative giving the demo was quick to remind us that you can use another piece of equipment to browse your movies, which will in turn control the changer, but that's no excuse. The good news though is that the big guy did manage to change discs pretty fast.
Sony network Blu-ray player spied at CEDIA
Why wait 'til October to get a peek at Sony's BRAVIA Internet features come to Blu-ray on the BDP-N460? Check them out right now in the following gallery, we got a good look at the future on the CEDIA show floor, though whether Sony delivering all new hardware or everyone else's strategy of upgrading existing players for Netflix, Amazon and other forms of streaming is the path to follow remains to be seen. The BDP-N460 should hit for about $250 starting next month.%Gallery-72636%
New Blu-ray laser from Sharp burns triple, quad layer discs but can't cut red tape (yet)
Sharp stepped up at the 70th Autumn Meeting of the Japan Society of Applied Physics to promote its new 500mW Blu-ray laser that is reportedly production ready and waiting to churn out triple and quad layer (100GB) discs at 8x speed. The only thing holding it back from release now is the lack of an official spec from the BDA. Geeking out over details of the aluminum oxynitride film that enabled this breakthrough (pictured above) continues beyond the read link.[Via Blu-ray.com]
Panasonic Full HD 3D experience eyes-on
It's been less than a year since we first entered Panasonic's demo trailer, the main difference at CEDIA this year was the addition of a trailer for James Cameron's Avatar. We were lucky enough to get an early look at the footage shown, while it shared much with the trailer released a few weeks ago, you haven't seen the Terminator and Titanic director's latest effort unless you've seen it in 3D. Check after the break for the rest of our thoughts on the 3D demo, and what the future has to hold for thid display tech in the home.
JVC's TH-BA1 and TH-SB100 soundbar systems fill out 4.1-channels
Back in January, JVC slated its TH-SB100 soundbar + subwoofer + Blu-ray player system as "3.1-channel," which kind of made sense since the soundbar housed LCR drivers. There's been something funny in the punch since then, because the TH-SB100 has morphed into something with 4.1-channel status. It's still a soundbar system, but JVC is using magic called "front surround" to get the outermost drivers to handle the left/right channels and the inside two drivers to handle the center + surround audio. It sounds crazy to us, but we'll try to keep an open mind because otherwise things look pretty good -- 220-Watts total, wireless subwoofer, and Dolby Digital, Pro Logic II and DTS processing in the soundbar. If all you've already got a Blu-ray player, opt for the $400 TH-BA1 (soundbar + sub only), otherwise get onboard with Blu-ray and grab the $700 TH-SB100 (complete with Blu-ray deck).
NAD doubles its Blu-ray fleet with new flagship M56 player
Until now, if you wanted a Blu-ray deck with the NAD (New Audio Dimensions, smart guy) logo, you could either pony up the $1,500 for the T587 or get familiar with silk-screening your own faceplate. But now, a $1,999 option from NAD's Master Series has opened up for you in the M56. Back in the day, we had some pretty nice NAD stereo gear, but those pieces always stood for good value -- and unfortunately, we can't say we're seeing the same value proposition here. Aside from the overbuilt chassis construction , the specs add up to a Profile 2.0 player that can dole out Blu-ray's lossless audio via bitstream, LPCM or 7.1-channel analog jacks and play back media via a USB port; in other words, the standard feature set for a reasonably "complete" Blu-ray player these days. If you really need something that fits style-wise into your current rack full of NAD gear, go for it; otherwise consider some alternatives -- including getting back into silk-screening.
Yamaha adds two new models to its Blu-ray lineup
No such thing as enough Blu-ray players in the world right? Seems just like yesterday we were searching show floors for prototypes and now we live in a time when you can rest assure that your favorite brand has more than one Blu-ray player to choose from. Now if you love Yamaha but couldn't stomach the price of the BD-S2900, then you'll be happy to hear about its new little brothers, the BD-S1900 (pictured) and BD-S1065 which are $699 and $599. Both have just about every Blu-ray related feature a HD videophile is looking for, like BD Live and full audio codec support. The main difference you get to enjoy for the additional benjamin is RS-232 control, detachable power cord, aluminum front panel and gold plated output terminals. We assume that most will pass on these, but can't ever hate on a company for offering more options and at least some will pay a premium for those premium integrator type features. Read BD-S1900Read BD-S1065
Video: Vudu on the LG BD390 Blu-ray player
As far as picture and audio quality, it is impossible to beat Vudu in HD streaming business. And for that reason we're happy to see some of our favorite products like the LG BD390 working with Vudu. We had a chance to catch up with Vudu at the LG's CEDIA booth and ask them a few questions. Apparently there were a few changes to the encoding techniques necessary to transition from a disk based device to all streaming, including more profiles to adapt to different broadband connections. We have ot say that our overall initial impression was that the changes went off without a hitch. One question we didn't get answered though was whether or not the Dolby Digital Plus used in downloaded stream could be bitstreamed to an AVR via HDMI -- the original Vudu hardware could only output vanilla Dolby Digital -- but we were promised an answer. In other words you'll know as soon as we do, so in the meantime click through and enjoy the short demo.
Video: First working Blu-ray Managed Copy demo
Just because Pioneer isn't in the plasma business anymore doesn't mean the company is dead, and one of the new points of focus over there is on media aggregation. So part of the new do-it-all Entertainment Tap concept Pioneer was displaying today included a demo of storing Managed Copies of Blu-ray Discs on a hard drive. The copy itself was done in about 4x real time (dependent on the drive's speed) and looked great thanks to some hardware transcoding. We also appreciated the Pioneer interface that made copying the disc easy. Of course at this point this is just a demo, with no word on availability or price, but it is a start to what will one day hopefully be a better way to enjoy HD movies.
Sharp refreshes its top of the line Blu-ray player with the BD-UP52U
Sharp has waited for CEDIA to refresh its top of the line Blu-ray player and for good reason. You see although the older BD-UP50U was only Profile 1.1, and lacked most of the features we expect today, it was the only affordable BD player that featured RS-232 for home automation control. The good news is that control freaks won't have to make that much of a compromise anymore because the new BD-UP52U still has the aforementioned control interface, but also has has all the great Blu-ray features you're looking for -- you know like BD Live, a network adapter (apparently no WiFi) and the latest audio codecs. No fancy streaming services like Netflix or Vudu yet though, but the price and availability is all right at $379.99 this October. And the rep promised we'd see Netflix very very soon.
Sherwood BDP-5004 Blu-ray player moves up to Profile 2.0, down to $200
It sounds like Sherwood took critical reviews of its BDP-5003 Blu-ray player to heart when it worked up the plans for the successor. The BDP-5004 is taking a bow at CEDIA in advance of its October release, and the wrongs have been righted -- it's a Profile 2.0 player with onboard decoding of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA, it has 5.1-channel analog outputs around back so you can get some more miles out of your old receiver, and it's targeted for just a nickel under $200. If that's still not enough for you, how does DiVX support through a front-panel USB port sound? If you can't bring yourself to consider a deck that doesn't do the online streaming thing, though, keep looking.
Toshiba BDX2000 Blu-ray player seen slumming it at CEDIA
If you thought Toshiba's IFA Blu-ray showing was weak, consider its CEDIA display: simply a BDX2000 player connected to nothing at all. We understand, the format war was long and bitter, but c'mon Tosh, you could at least act excited about offering customers 1080p disc players again.%Gallery-72466%
Pioneer shoots for the moon with its Entertainment Tap concept
What do you get when you take every single source of audio and video content, including Blu-ray with Managed Copy, online streaming content and everything else you can think of (except Hulu), and then combine it with control and remote viewing capabilities? You guessed it, the Entertainment Tap. We understand that Pioneer is shooting for the stars with this one, but it most definitely falls under the category of it sounds too good to be true. Of course Pioneer is just trying to throw everything against the wall to see what sticks, which is great, but the anticipated release of 2010 seems ambitions considering everything included in the demo. We could go on and on listing the media sources and control devices, but Pioneer wasn't exactly giving us any negative responses. Lets just say the new ET concept is a do it all media server as well as a client client that plays nice with everything. For example, the ET can connect to a HR22 DirecTV HD DVR via USB and using the data from the DVR, it'll build its own version of the interface. Of course the whole video part is hard to integrate, so the ET simply instructs the TV to switch inputs at the right time to give you a seamless experience. At this point none of these features are finalized so don't be bashful with your ideas in the comments, because who knows, Pioneer might actually include them. %Gallery-72467%
