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Five Promising Blu-ray Players from CES 2009
Thu Jan 29, 2009 at 05:30 PM ETTags: Blu-ray Players, Industry Trends, CES 2009, HD Gear (all tags)
With CES wrapped up and 2009 stretching out ahead of us, we wanted to take a look at five of the most interesting Blu-ray players coming out in the coming year.
ezGear bluCobra EZ3000 – It seems like everyone’s getting into the Blu-ray game this year, including a little known company shooting to become a household name. ezGear is primarily a seller of add on products, such as the UFO wall plug, iPod skins, and Wii accessories, and the bluCobra marks their first venture into the world of home theater.
With the bluCobra , ezGear is trying to fill a very interesting niche, that of a budget high end player. The EZ3000 supports DVD, SACD, and Blu-ray with full 1080p/24Hz output, BD profile 1.1, and has outputs that should satisfy no matter how high or low tech the home theater. The player also supports multiple audio formats including Digital Dolby, Dolby True HD, and DTS-HD Master Audio.
ezGear has stated a price of “$399 or less”, but we will see exactly what that means when the player is released in March. With a less than impressive price tag, the bluCobra EZ3000 looks to be an economic alternative to higher end players.
It will come down to the consumer of course to determine the success or failure of the new entry to the already crowded Blu-ray market, but this just might be a niche that needs to be filled.
Samsung BD-P4600 – Samsung is a name synonymous with cutting edge technology. A constant innovator and always ready to show off their latest and greatest, Samsung changed the pace a bit at this year’s CES by unveiling, not the most technologically advanced player, nor the most full featured, but without question the best looking Blu-ray player at the show.
The BD-P4600 is absolutely beautiful. Jet black with a hint of dark red and an amazingly sleek design, were it not for the Blu-ray Disk logo in the center, Samsung’s new player could easily be mistaken as a piece of home décor. The touch sensitive controls on top of the player even fade to black when not in use. The BD-P4600 isn’t just looks though, this 1.5” thick wall mountable player abides by the old rule “it’s what’s on the inside that counts.”
Supporting BD Live (Profile 2.0) and Bonus View (Profile 1.1) straight out of the box and boasting a gigabyte of internal storage, this is definitely a capable player. Full HD 1080p playback is of course supported as is total HD soundtrack support. Last but not least, the BD-P4600 comes packaged with a Wi-Fi dongle allowing wireless streaming of both the ever popular streaming movies of Netflix and music of Pandora.
Vizio VBR100 – Economy and quality so rarely come together as well as they consistently do with Vizio products. Certainly not the top of the line, Vizio is clearly happy to offer an affordable alternative at a quality above what consumers have come to expect out of budget televisions.
Taking that philosophy into the realm of Blu-ray, Vizio’s foray into Blu-ray looks to be headed right for the mainstream. Fairly plain feature wise, the VBR100 is profile 2.0 compatible and features onboard Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio decoding. Perhaps the most interesting feature is the 7.1 analog outputs, ensuring that those without the newest receivers will have guaranteed compatibility.
This is all pretty standard, so what’s got us so excited about the Vizio VBR100? The price. Launching in April at an MSRP of only $199, this is a price point clearly set for those new to Blu-ray. Cheaper prices mean that more people will be bringing Blu-ray into their homes, edging that adoption rate even higher and ensuring more quality Blu-ray content for years to come.
LG BD390 – LG, never one to be overlooked, has several Blu-ray players coming to market in 2009. Surely we can expect the same quality from them as with all LG products, but quality alone doesn’t set a product apart. Profile 2.0 compatible, a gig of built in memory, Dolby TrueHD, Digital Plus and DTS-HD Master Audio processing, you get the picture. There are only so many ways to say the same thing so let’s cut to the chase.
The BD390, along with the full feature set to be expected in a Blu-ray player, features built in Wi-fi connectivity. No wires, no dongles, and good to go right out of the box. Coming out in June, the sub $400 BD390 should help to set the standard of what’s expected from a Blu-ray player.
Panasonic DMP-B15 – At first, many people see it as having a limited interest, others see it as pointless, but Panasonic is bringing out the first portable Blu-ray player. Clearly, the 8.9” screen isn’t big enough that the 1080p resolution will even matter, and it’s a WSVGA display, meaning the screen can’t even handle 720p. The battery life won’t be as good as portable DVD players, and clearly it’s not going to be cheap.
That’s the obvious, now here’s the interesting bit. The DMP-B15 has, according to Panasonic “all the technology found in its stand alone brethren, the DMP-BD60 and 80.” This includes Bonus View, BD Live, and Viera Cast functionality, allowing access to Amazon on Demand, YouTube, and other web based entertainment sources.
Making the DMP-B15 a bit more practical are HDMI and HD Audio outputs, allowing the player to be hooked up to not only televisions but home theater systems as well. Imagine starting Return of the King on a plane or a bus on the DMP-B15 only to come home and finish it in full surround sound.
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News From CES 2009: Panasonic Focused on High-Def
Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 01:15 PM ETTags: Blu-ray Players, Industry Trends, Panasonic, 3-D, CES 2009 (all tags)
As CES gets into full swing, some of the biggest early news is coming from Panasonic, with the company making some exciting announcements regarding HDTVs and Blu-ray.
First up, Panasonic has announced the debut of its first 3D Full HD Plasma Home Theater System (3D FHD) which incorporates a 103-inch Plasma HDTV and a Panasonic Blu-ray player. According to a company press release, the system takes advantage of Blu-ray's increased bandwidth and resolution to provide two different images, one for each eye. Wearing special active shutter glasses, viewers are able to experience 3D movies in full surround sound, while taking in dual images captured, recorded, and displayed throughout in full HD quality.
“This goes well beyond conventional 3D” said Bob Perry, Executive VP of Panasonic. “Plasma is currently the only TV capable of delivering a 3D Full HD experience due in great part to its ability to refresh at a speed which enables multiple image display without loss of resolution." He says Panasonic is "fully committed to making [3D Home Theater] a reality, and soon."
In other news, the company is also debuting some new super thin Plasma and LCD HDTVs, which use technology that has been dubbed NeoPDP and NeoLCD, respectively.
The NeoPDP technology has been utilized in two different plasma displays. A highly efficient 42-inch plasma model that uses 1/3 the energy of the company's 2007 model (the TH-42PZ750SK), and an ultra-thin 50-inch plasma display that provides 1080 lines of resolution in a unit that's only 8.8 mm thick.
The NeoLCD technology has been utilized in LCD displays in order to provide high moving picture resolution with a wide viewing angle. The technology also promises dramatically improved image contrast while consuming only 90 kWh per year (roughly half that of the 2008 model (the TH-37LZ85).
Finally, there has been much talk of Panasonic's DMP-B15, which is being touted as the first portable Blu-ray player. The player, which features an 8.9-inch WSVGA LCD screen, internet accessibility, and BD Live functionality, is capable of displaying images in full 1080p. The player will go on sale in May.
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Related links:
- PANASONIC’S WORLD'S FIRST 3D FULL HD PLASMA HOME THEATER SYSTEM* MAKES U.S. DEBUT AT CES 2009 [Panasonic.com]
- PANASONIC DEVELOPS SUPER HIGH-EFFICIENT THIN-PROFILE PLASMA AND LCD HDTV DISPLAYS [Panasonic.com]
- PANASONIC INTRODUCES WORLD’S FIRST PORTABLE BLU-RAY PLAYER [Panasonic.com]
Amazon Offering Sony BDP-S300 for Under $200
Mon Sep 22, 2008 at 03:00 PM ETTags: Hardware, Blu-ray Players, Sony, High-Def Retailing, Amazon (all tags)
Amazon is offering the Sony BDP-S300 for just under $200 while supplies last.
We haven't been given any specifics on this deal or how long it will last (assuming the players don't all fly off the shelves in the next hour), but folks in the market for some early holiday bargains may want to check out the special pricing Amazon has just rolled out on the Sony BDP-S300 Blu-ray player.
According to the Amazon page, tech specs on the player include the following: Full HD 1080/60p and 24p True Cinema Video Output, DVD Upscaling to 1080p via HDMI, BRAVIA Theatre Sync (HDMI-CEC), BD/DVD/CD playback(4) and AVC-HD with x.v.Color output, and Multi-channel Linear PCM & Dolby Digital Plus Decoding.
This one looks like a pretty good deal. What else is there to say? It's less than 200 bucks! Check it out here!
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Related links:
- Sony BDP-S300 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player [Amazon.com]
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