Blu-ray

October 23, 2008/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Netflix, Inc. and Samsung Electronics today announced a broad partnership to offer consumers the ability to instantly stream movies and TV episodes from the Netflix Web site directly to their living rooms via Samsung's BD-P2500 and BD-P2550 Blu-ray disc players. The companies also said they are collaborating to enable Samsung to integrate instant streaming from Netflix into a range of home entertainment products.

The BD-P2550 and BD-P2500 are currently available at $399.99. Consumers who already own one of these Samsung players can upgrade their device at no additional cost to enable instant streaming from a growing library of more than 12,000 movies and television episodes from Netflix. The upgrade is available at www.samsung.com/bluraysupport. Read more

October 14, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Lite-On just introduced its 6X internal Blu-ray Disc Combo, iHES206. The new Blu-ray Disc Reader plus DVD writer provides consumers an innovative way to playback high definition content, while maintaining the capability of archiving personal data files onto CD or DVD.

The iHES206 is a great solution for enthusiasts who wish to enjoy the advanced technologies of Blu-ray in home entertainment. It will not only allow them to play high-definition content such as Blu-ray movies, it will also provide users the ability to share with family & friends personal creations of data files, presentations, home videos and other image files on DVDs or CDs. Read more

September 5, 2008 – Pioneer Electronics just introduced its Elite BDP-09FD flagship Blu-ray Disc player featuring BD-Live. With the industry's most advanced internal components including a Pioneer/Renesas jointly developed core processor chipset and complex internal and external composition, the new flagship model illuminates Pioneer's uncompromised design and engineering philosophies to deliver the truest picture and sound performance.

"For more than 30 years, we've led optical disc innovation with product introductions that featured numerous industry firsts, ranging from the highest grade internal components to improved build constructions, all in the pursuit of developing first class products for consumers. It's with this mindset that our engineers were given the freedom to hand select every piece of hardware and wiring for the BDP-09FD to develop a true, reference-quality player," said Chris Walker, senior manager of marketing and product planning for Blu-ray Disc at Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. "The result is a flagship BD player that provides unparalleled picture and sound performance not just for Blu-ray Discs, but also for CD and DVD content." Read more

September 4, 2008 – Merging powerful PC performance with slim stylish LCD panels, Sony today introduced three new all-in-ones— the VAIO JS, LV and RT desktop models. Designed as space-savers, these new models are ideal for everything from everyday computing to editing high-definition video content.

“These new all-in-ones address all your entertainment and computing needs— they’re an HDTV, Blu-ray Disc player and PC in a fashion-forward, clutter-free design,” said Xavier Lauwaert, product manager for VAIO product marketing at Sony Electronics.

Casual Computing/ Affordably Priced

The VAIO JS All-in-One desktop chassis sits directly on your desk complete with a storage space for your keyboard. Read more

September 4, 2008 – Sony just introduced the company’s first home-theater-in-a-box systems with integrated Blu-ray Disc players. Both models offer outstanding full HD video performance, HDMI inputs, advanced audio codecs and a striking design.

The BDV-IT1000ES and BDV-IS1000 are single-disc 5.1 channel surround Blu-ray Disc systems with S-Air wireless technology delivering full HD 1080p video performance and distinctive speaker designs perfect for the demands of today’s modern home décor.

“Personifying performance and style, these systems deliver a true home theater experience in a beautiful package,” said Tyler Ishida, director of marketing for Sony Electronics' Digital Imaging and Audio Division. “The product design is as much of a statement as the incredible home theater audio and video quality that only Blu-ray Disc can deliver.” Read more

September 4, 2008 – Sony just announced the new BDP-S5000ES Blu-ray Disc player, featuring the company’s newly developed HD Reality Enhancer and Super Bit Mapping technologies that deliver even sharper and more vibrant images from today’s Blu-ray Disc movies.

The model, which is fully BD-Live capable, features an Ethernet connection that allows users to connect to the Internet via their existing service provider to access BD-Live features and easy firmware updates. It also is equipped with an external flash memory port and includes a 1GB Sony Micro Vault Tiny flash storage device. The BDP-S5000ES also features Quick Start mode, improving boot-up times to approximately six seconds, which is seven times faster than previous models.

“Sony’s Elevated Standard, or ‘ES’ products stand for the very best Sony has to offer, and the BDP-S5000ES is no exception,” said Chris Fawcett, vice president of marketing for Sony Electronics' Home Video Division. “Featuring the incredible build quality found on all Sony ES products, the S5000ES goes above and beyond traditional Blu-ray Disc players to deliver the ultimate home theater experience.” Read more

August 25, 2008 -- Yamaha, the innovator in home theater and digital audio and video reproduction, today introduced the BD-S2900, an innovative Blu-ray Disc player that gives home theater enthusiasts a front-row seat at the leading-edge of high-definition entertainment. Featuring performance enhancements such as 12-bit Deep Color and HD Audio Bitstream output, engaging BONUSVIEW Functions that leverage the Blu-ray format’s next-generation multimedia capabilities and a stylish design to match the company’s high-end receiver line, the BD-S2900 ($1199.95 MSRP) delivers on the promise of all the excitement the home theater experience can offer. Delivering the highest picture quality, the BD-S2900 can output 1080p via HDMI. Although these signals are generally sent at 50 or 60 frames per second (fps), the BD-S2900 can output them at 24fps, the same frame rate at which movies are shot. Read more

August 11, 2008--Hitachi Home Electronics (America), Inc. continues to introduce state-of-the-art consumer electronics with its next-generation Blu-ray Disc Hybrid Camcorder with the ability to record onto the next generation HD format, Blu-ray.

A step above from its predecessor announced last year, the DZ-BD10HA from Hitachi’s Consumer Group contains several new features and improvements. A newly developed 7 mega pixel CMOS image sensor, which captures rich and vibrant videos and stills in FullHD (1920 x 1080) High Definition. The new DZ-BD10HA can also record up to 4 hours 20 minutes of 1920x1080 video or 8 hours 40 minutes of 1440x1080 video onto the built-in 30 GB HDD. Additionally, the built-in SDHC card slot provides added flexibility by allowing for Full HD video and still recordings. Read more

July 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Building on a groundbreaking technology partnership announced earlier this year, LG Electronics and Netflix, Inc. today announced plans for the first Blu-ray disc player that will have the added benefit of being able to instantly stream a growing library of movies and TV episodes from Netflix directly to the TV.

Available this fall, the LG BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player will play high definition Blu-ray discs, up-convert standard DVDs to 1080p and allow Netflix subscribers to instantly stream more than 12,000 choices of movies and TV episodes from Netflix to the TV for no additional charge.

LG Electronics and Netflix will demonstrate the BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player for the first time tonight at LG's 2008 Summer Line Show at Morgan Library and Museum in New York City. (The event is open to invited media only.) Read more

ONKYO jumps on the Blu-ray bandwagon with the announcement that they will release their first Blu-ray Player in late 2008. It is designed to partner with Onkyo’s HD A/V receivers equipped with full HDMI processing of 1080p video and Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio surround sound formats. The player is set to be released in late 2008. 

Want more information such as pricing, specs, an actual release date? So do we, but unfortunately that hasn’t been released yet. Stay tuned.

For more information on other ONKYO products, visit www.onkyousa.com.