Blu-ray

If you haven’t jumped on the Blu-ray band wagon, this may be the moment you have been waiting for. DivX has granted certification to six new Blu-ray DVD players from Panasonic, Philips, and Denon. These models include the Panasonic DMP-BD30EE, the Philips BDP7200 and Denon DVD-2500BTC1B, DVD-3800BDC1B, DVD-3800BDC1B, DVD-3800BDSP and DVD-2500BTSP.

Each of these products have been put up to the DivX rigorous testing program in order to bear the DivX certification. Now each of these players are inter-operational with the same universal security and picture quality. And with the excellent compression of the DivX format, you can take advantage of Blu-ray technology to store and playback over 25 hours of DVD-quality video on a single Blu-ray disc. Read more

May 7, 2008 --Elevating the high definition experience in home theaters, Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. today announces the Elite BDP-05FD and Pioneer BDP-51FD BonusView Blu-ray Disc players that exceed the capabilities of current players in the market with support of next generation high resolution audio and video formats that fulfill the emotional experience of high end entertainment. Featuring picture-in-picture interactivity and a redesigned platform that significantly improves overall performance, the new players work in tandem with Pioneer’s KURO displays and A/V receivers to provide film enthusiasts the most true-to-life reproduction of HD feature films.

“Our new Blu-ray Disc players continue to demonstrate Pioneer’s unwavering commitment to delivering an immersive seeing and hearing experience for those who want the absolute best in form and function,” said Chris Walker, senior manager of marketing and product planning for Blu-ray Disc at Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. “In offering a full line of players, we are solidifying Pioneer’s reputation as a brand that is continually meeting the needs of consumers who are designing or upgrading their home theaters.” Read more

May 6, 2008 - Panasonic announces the introduction of the anticipated DMP-BD50, Panasonic's third generation Blu-ray disc player - the ultimate playback source for high definition 1080p content. Blu-ray media offers a wide range of functions that foster the transition to HD - including 1080p image quality, lossless Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio and versatile Picture-in-Picture applications. The BD50 adds the new BD-Live function, which uses the internet to further enhance the consumer's entertainment experience and employs VIERA Link, a technology that allows the consumer to operate VIERA Link equipped home theater components with a single remote. The DMP-BD50 will be available this spring and will have an SRP of $699.95.

BD-Live opens up a myriad of interactive possibilities for the consumer. In the future BD-Live will allow users to connect the DMP-BD50 to the internet to download such data as images and subtitles, and to join in multi-player interactive games that are linked to bonus movie content contained on Blu-ray discs. Read more

May 6, 2008 – Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company has announced that its first home theater in a box (HTiB) system with an integrated Blu-ray Disc player will be available for purchase in late Spring, with a suggested retail price of $999.95. The new model, SC-BT100, is the perfect complement to a high definition, flat panel large screen TV.

The new model epitomizes Panasonic's emphasis on media friendly capabilities. It is made for iPod and features an advanced integrated dock which not only recharges an iPod but plays music or video through the home theater system, displays audio tracks and menus on the TV screen and operates with the supplied remote control. Its SD Memory Card slot offers simple playback of digital images or original video footage in either standard or High Definition AVCHD format. The optical input offers simple digital 5.1channel audio connection for a set-top box, digital video recorder and game system. Read more

March 12, 2008 -- DivX, Inc., a digital media company, today announced that it has granted DivX Certification to six new Blu-ray DVD players from Panasonic, Philips, and Denon.

The new DivX Certified DVD models join the world’s best-selling Blu-ray playback device, the Sony PLAYSTATION 3, which has been capable of DivX playback since December, 2007. The growth of DivX technology in the emerging Blu-ray market demonstrates growing traction of the Company’s licensing business into new product categories. DivX technology has already become a de facto standard on standard definition DVD devices, with an estimated 41 percent penetration in the global market as of the end of 2007. Read more

If what you are interested in is the best of the best, then this is the product for you. Introducing the Rolls-Royce of Blu-ray players, the Eidos 20 BD by Goldmund. The Goldmund company is a Swiss-based provider of high-end electronics for true connoisseurs with great expectations of quality. The Eidos 20 BD is the first Blu-ray player to be released by a luxury manufacturer. It embodies all of the fine craftsmanship of the Goldmund company and features the “AC-Curator” to give you top quality sound stability, picture and dynamics, the “Mechanical Grounding” which prevents vibrations that can blur picture, and the “Magnetic Damper” which is exclusive to Goldmund’s top products. Read more

February 26, 2008-- Goldmund, makers of the world’s most extravagant and technologically advanced systems for audio-video purists, introduced today the company’s first Blu-ray player, the Eidos 20 BD. With the announcement of the Eidos 20 BD, Goldmund becomes the first high-end audio/video manufacturer to issue a Blu-ray player.

The Eidos 20 BD embodies the Goldmund high-tech refinement that has made the Swiss-based company a leader in the audiophile community for the last 30 years. Goldmund signature features found on the Eidos 20 BD include the “AC-Curator” power supply circuit which dramatically improves picture and sound stability and dynamics, and the "Mechanical Grounding" construction which removes from the player mechanism spurious vibrations blurring the video signal and increasing jitter. In addition, the new Eidos 20 BD uses the Goldmund "Magnetic Damper," a device lowering the reading errors, a feature that previously was exclusive to Goldmund’s highest end devices. Read more

February 11, 2008--Best Buy Co., Inc. is taking a step forward in addressing consumer confusion about high-definition formats. Beginning in early March, the leading consumer electronics retailer will prominently showcase Blu-ray hardware and software products in its Best Buy retail and online channels in the United States.

“Consumers have told us that they want us to help lead the way. We’ve listened to our customers, and we are responding. Best Buy will recommend Blu-ray as the preferred format,” said Brian Dunn, Best Buy’s president and chief operating officer. “Our decision to shine a spotlight on Blu-ray Disc players and other Blu-ray products is a strong signal to our customers that we believe Blu-ray is the right format choice for them.” Read more

Feb. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- With the industry now having picked a winner in the face-off between the two competing high- definition DVD formats, Netflix, Inc., the world's largest online movie rental service, today said that it will move toward stocking high-def DVDs exclusively in the Blu-ray format.

Citing the decision by four of the six major movie studios to publish high-def DVD titles only in the Sony-developed Blu-ray format, Netflix said that as of now it will purchase only Blu-ray discs and will phase out by roughly year's end the alternative high-def format, HD DVD, developed by Toshiba. Read more

Jan. 30, 2008 – With the introduction of two new powerful desktop PCs available at retail partners nationwide, Gateway makes it easier than ever to afford and enjoy quad-core fueled gaming, entertainment and productivity based tasks.

Both the new Gateway GM5664 and Gateway GT5662 bring the AMD Phenom Processor and DirectX 10 Technology to the GM and GT Series of desktops, turning up the performance and entertainment capabilities of each line. In addition, Gateway is introducing a new Hybrid-SuperMulti drive on the GM5664, enabling customers to watch both Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs. Read more