The JVC XV-BP11 is a new entry-level Blu-ray player available immediately for a price of $199.95. Features of the XV-BP11 include:

• BD Profile 1.1
• Playable Discs: BD-Rom, BD-R/RE, DVD-Video, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, Audio CD, CD-R/RW
• Playable Formats: AVCHD, WMV, JPEG, MP3, WMA, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital plus, Dolby True HD, DTS, DTS HD Master Audio/Essential
• Connections:
  • Video: HDMI V1.3, composite
  • Audio: Analog L/R, coaxial, HDMI V1.3
  • USB Host (front panel)
• Convenience Features: Quick loading, cinema zoom (x16), parental lock, slim design
• 1080/24p Playback
• HDMI with x.v.Color(TM)/Deep Color

Yeah.. no Profile 2.0 support but then again this is an entry level player.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: JVC XV-BP11 Blu-ray player

Samsung announced today their first internal Blu-ray/DVD/CD combo drive called the SH-B083. The new drive supports the following features:

• Reads Blu-ray discs and reads/writes CD/DVDs
• Reads BD-R and BD-ROM discs at up to 8x speeds
• Reads CDs at up to 40x and DVDs at up to 16x
• Average access speed of 350ms
• Comes with two lenses for more stable reading and writing – one lens for BD read and one lens for CD/DVD read/writes
• Spherical Aberration Compensation Technology (SACT) improves reading quality on a BD drive whose protective layer does not have a uniform thickness
• Precision Step Control Technology (PSCT)
• Four point skew adjustment
• Optical lens cooling system reduces heat buildup
• Eco-friendly drive with low power consumption and aerodynamic frame design to lower acoustic noise by preventing pressure concentration in several areas of the bezel and the door
• Bundled Cyberlink Powerproducer software
• Front bezel includes chic mirror front door design and blue LED

The Samsung SH-B083 will be available in November – no word on pricing as of yet.

Technorati Tags: Samsung SH-B083

Pictured above is Denon’s latest Blu-ray player – the DBP-4010UDCI Universal Blu-ray Disc Player – which features many of the latest technologies and enhancements found in their DVD-A1UDCI player yet at a lower price point (though at $1999, the DBP-4010UDCI is still not for the faint of heart).

The DBP-4010UDCI features:

• Profile 2.0 support
• BD Live and “Bonus View” support
• Plays back DVD-Audio and SACD discs with native digital audio output via DENON LINK or PCM conversion with full bass management
• Ethernet port for Internet connectivity, firmware updates, BD Live interactivity, IP control for third party controllers, CI remote access, and web browser support
• Support for AVCHD and DivXHD playback
• Built-in SD card reader
• Anchor Bay Technologies (ABT) VRS processing for “highest resolution video available via HDMI connection” – supports upconversion and IP scaling to 1080p and HD audio decoding
• New HDMI Clock Control feature – when using HDMI for A/V output, the DENON LINK allows for connected AVR or AV processor to take over the Master Clock Control signals – avoiding digital jitter via HDMI
• Dynamic Discrete Surround Circuit-HD technology (DDSC-HD) with decoding of all the latest HD formats from Dolby and dts.
• Bit-Stream Bypass to HDMI for Dolby Digita+
• Support for TrueHD 7.1 and dts-HR, dts-HD Master Audio 7.1 digital transmission to an AVR/AVP for decoding
• 12 bit 297MHz Analog Devices Video DACs
• Burr-Brown 24/192 PCM1796 DACs
• Multi-channel analog outputs with separate dedicated stereo analog outputs
• All aluminum construction

The Denon DBP-4010UDCI will be available in October and will have a suggested price of $1999.

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Toshiba’s finally joining the Blu-ray camp. Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Online confirms that Toshiba plans on introducing their first Blu-ray player before the end of the year – over a year and a half after the company discontinued the HD DVD format. Sony must be loving this one..

[Check it out via PC World]

Technorati Tags: Toshiba, Blu-ray player

If you’re looking for a dirt cheap Blu-ray player, you might want to drop by your local Wal-Mart retail store. According to Crave.com (via several other blog sites), Wal-Mart is now offering the low-end Magavox NB530MGX for a mere $98 dollars. It’s not a profile 2.0 player so forget about BD-Live support – but then again how many of you actually use BD-Live? Seems like a good bargain for those on a tight budget.

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Technorati Tags: Magnavox, NB530MGX, Blu-ray player, Wal-mart

Are you hoping or wondering whether Sony will enter the low-end, inexpensive Blu-ray market? This question was posed to several Sony executives recently at industry analysts meetings and the answer was a definite no. According to Dave Migdal of SonyElectronicsCommunity.com:

“.. count Sony out of the $150 (or lower) Blu-ray player market and so-called “The Battle at the Bottom” in 2009.”

Why skip this market? For Sony, it comes down to quality and costs:

“They (analysts) know and understand the real manufacturing costs; they also know that there’s a broad delta between inexpensive chip sets and those that can deliver what consumers expect. They also know full HD video when they see it, and most of the blu-ray players on the lower end simply aren’t providing a compelling entertainment experience in their view.”

Dave cites one analyst’s quote which was:

“If I needed a hearing aid, I wouldn’t want to bottom feed when it came to price”

True.. but a Blu-ray player isn’t quite as important as say a hearing aid.. so there’s something to be said about inexpensive players – especially in these tough times.. just a thought.

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Technorati Tags: Sony, Blu-ray players

Harman Kardon announces today the U.S. availability of their first standalone Blu-ray media player – the BDP 1. We first saw this player last month when it was announced for the European market (it goes by the BDP10 name there). If you’re already an owner of several Harman Kardon products, then you’ll love the BDP 1 since it matches nicely with many of their existing home theater products. The BDP 1 features:

• Supports BD-Live
• Upscales DVDs to 1080p (via HDMI connection)
• Allows for simultaneous JPEG and MP3 music file playback from discs or USB drives
• Comes with photo sldieshow presentation for image and sound files
• Supports Blu-Ray Disc media, including BD-R/RE, BD-Live and BonusView, DVD/DVD+R/DVD-RW, CD/CD-RW, MP3 or JPEG files on disc
• Audio formats support includes: LPCM, MP3, Dolby Digital, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, DTS-HD Master Audio and WMA
• RJ-45 port for Internet connectivity
• HDMI output (1.3a with Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD bitstreams and high-resolution video)
  Front-panel USB jack for additional BD-Live memory or MP3 or JPEG file playback
• Optical and coaxial digital audio outputs
• Measures 66mm x 440mm x 352mm
• Weighs 3.7kg

You can purchase the Harman Kardon BDP 1 now at www.harmankardon.com for a suggested retail price of $499.

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Technorati Tags: Harman Kardon BDP 1, Blu-ray player

Pioneer Electronics will be showcasing two new professional 1080p high definition video devices at the upcoming InfoComm 2009 Expo to be held in Orlando, FL – the Pioneer BDP-V6000 Professional Blu-ray Disc Player and the Pioneer HD-V9000 Professional HD Video System. Both players offer high quality playback and performance designed for A/V professionals in application scenarios such as digital signage, museums, video walls, etc.

The BDP-V6000 Professional Blu-ray Disc Player features the following:

• Supports Blu-ray and standard DVD media playback in both NTSC and PAL formats
• Serial RS-232C support allows integrators to control the player through multiple external devices
• Enhanced Search Option – Users can navigate through a disc’s file, chapter, and time code menus quickly and easily
• Plays 30, 25, and 24 frames per second
• Professional Graphical User Interface – newly designed GUI
• 1GB of on-board memory
• BD-Live capable
• USB 2.0 port supports external devices
• Rack Mount Kit included

Meanwhile, the new HD-V9000 Professional HD Video System allows playback of high quality video files through the use of swappable SD/SDHC memory cards. Features of the HD-V9000 include:

• Four advanced control options including stand-alone operation, RS-232C support, IP addressable embedded web server, and the HD-Pilot PC software program. The HD-Pilot PC provides network access to integrators for remote content update, playlist revisions, etc
• Maximum of 80 Mbps of MPEG2 and up to 50Mbps of H.264 video file playback
• IP addressable and can be accessed through Pioneer’s HD Pilot PC software or through embedded web serbver
• Text crawl and image overlay support – user specified messages, RSS text fieldds, and BMP graphics can be displayed over video content
• SD/SDHC memory card support
• RS-232C control

You can expect the BDP-V6000 Professional Blu-ray Disc player to begin shipping in September while the HD-V9000 HD Professional HD Video player is not expected until Q1 of next year. No word on pricing as of yet.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Pioneer BDP-V6000 Professional Blu-ray Disc Player, HD-V9000 Professional HD Video System

Sony Insider reports that Sony will soon unveil two new Blu-ray Disc Changers – the BDP-CX960 and BDP-CX7000ES. The CX960 expects to sport a 200 disc changer while the CX7000ES should have a 400 disc changer. (OK.. I’m not sure about all of you out there, but I don’t know a single person with more than 40 Blu-ray discs at home.. now of course you can store DVDs in these changers too). The CX7000ES will cost ya around $2250.. ouch.

[Check it out via DVICE.com]

Technorati Tags: Sony BDP-CX960, Sony BDP-CX7000ES, Blu-ray Changers

Harman Kardon will soon release their very first standalone Blu-ray player in the form of the BDP10 (and it’s about time folks!). Key features of the BDP10 include:

• Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, and PCM outputs – up to 7.1 channel
• Outputs include one HDMI (v.1.3a with x.v.Color), one wide-bandwidth component output, one front-panel USB port for flash drives and external USB hard dives (FAT32 support), Ethernet port, two digital outputs (coaxial and optical), two-channel analog output, one composite video output
• Full-color and multilanguage user interface
• 1080/24p playback support
• BonusView support
• BD-Live (BD-Video Profile 2.0) support
• DVD playback with 1080p upscaling via HDMI output
• Plays back audio and video files on USB connected drives
• Supports MP3, WMA v.8/9 audio playback
• Supports HD JPEG playback along with slideshow playback of JPEGs and audio from same source
• Supports DivX video playback
• Backlit remote control
• Removable power cord
• Seven speed smooth scan and three speed slow motion playback
• Program playlist
• Parental control system with user-programmable password
• Dimmable dot matrix front panel display
• Color coded connections

According to Electronista, the Harman Kardon BDP10 will be coming out in May for the European market at a price of around $940 U.S. dollars (ouch). Expect the unit to eventually make it to the US.

[Check it out via Electronista]

Technorati Tags: Harman Kardon BDP10, Blu-ray player