Blu-ray

Panasonic Reveals Pricing for 2012 Blu-Ray Lineup

by jessica on Thu, 2012-03-08 14:42


Panasonic DMP-BDT320 Blu-ray player

Panasonic this week announced pricing and availability for its 2012 Blu-ray player lineup. It consists of four new Full HD 3D models – the DMP-BBT01, DMP-BDT500, DMP-BDT320, DMP-BDT220, and two 2D Blu-ray players – DMP-BD87 and the DMP-BD77. All four of the 3D models include VIERA Connect, and the 2D models feature IP VOD for access to Netflix, CinemaNow, Vudu and YouTube.

Panasonic's Full HD 3D Blu-ray players include an improved UniPhier chip processor, 24p output for VOD, an expanded VIERA Connect functionality, and FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec),192Hz/32bit Audio DAC (not available on the DMP-BBT01), Smartphone remote control capability, a new touchpad remote control (available on DMP-BBT01, DMP-BDT500, DMP-BDT320), 2D-to-3D up-conversion, and a new slot-in drive (only on the DMP-BBT01 and DMP-BDT320). In addition, the DMP-BBT01 features a stand, allowing for operation either vertically or horizontally.

"Panasonic is always working to improve its technology, design, and commitment to providing the consumer with the best possible video and audio experiences. We are also very mindful of the need to provide products that are user friendly and easy to operate," said Alex Fried, Product Manager, Panasonic Consumer Marketing Company of North America. "Features such as the slot-in drive, home screen customization, enhancement of VIERA Connect allow consumers to easily personalize their entertainment experience to fit their lifestyle. Additionally, a feature like the slot-in drive is one that makes it extremely easy for the user to insert and play the disc."

Specs:

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Super HDTV Deals from Sears

by jessica on Thu, 2012-02-02 05:00


Sears Super TV Deals

Best Buy isn't the only retailer with last minute deals on TVs for the Big Game. Sears is offering huge savings on big screen HDTVs from brands such as Sony, Samsung, Sharp, LG, Panasonic (and more) and also offering deep discounts on home audio systems.

Here are a few examples of Big Game TV and Home Audio Specials at Sears:

  • Save $900 on a Sharp 70" class 1080p Smart LED TV – only $1899.88. While quantities last. In store only (057-71310/LC70LE632U).
  • Save $1400 on a Sony 55" class 1080p 3D Smart LED TV – only $1499.88. Comes with a 3D Starter kit that includes 2 pairs of 3D glasses and a 3D Blu-ray movie ($149.99 value) While quantities last. (057-71693/KDL55NX720).
  • Add a Sony Wi-Fi Ready Blu-ray Player for only $79.99 (057-57251/BDPS380)
  • Save $150 on a Zenith 50" class 1080p Plasma TV for only $549.88 – (057-75861/Z50PV220)
  • Save $50 on a Samsung 32" class LCD TV – only $299.99. (057-71072/LN32D403)
  • Save 10% on a Bose CineMate Series II System when purchased with any HDTV. Add theatre-quality sound to your home, effortlessly. Reg $599.99. (057-90919). Available in select Sears stores and on sears.com
  • Save $50 on a Sharp 2.1 Channel Soundbar – Only $249.99 (057-98311/HT-SL70)
  • $499.99 Onkyo 800 watt Home Theatre System delivers high quality surround sound with speakers, receiver, active powered subwoofer, 4 HDMI inputs. (057-80611/HT-S5400)
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Samsung Unveils New 2012 Smart Blu-Ray Line


Samsung blu-ray line

2012 Blu-ray line features new cloud-based services, full web browser on Samsung’s Smart Hub and sleek design

January 2012 --LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. this week announced an innovative Disc to Digital feature on its 2012 Blu-ray Players that helps consumers turn their personal DVD collection into digital content, and facilitates the sharing of this content on multiple devices in the home and on the go. This service is one of several new features available on Samsung’s new smart Blu-ray line, which also includes a full web browser and a wealth of web-based content and services through Samsung’s Smart Hub.

The flagship 3D Blu-ray products from the market leader and award-winning innovator in consumer electronics include:

  • Compact Blu-ray player boasting a slightly larger-than-a-disc form factor (model BD-ES6000);
  • 3D Blu-ray with Dual HDMI Inputs and built-in WiFi (model BD-E6500).
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The Best and Worst Things to Buy in December


shopping online

December is a month when you almost can't avoid shopping. You may have skipped Black Friday — overwhelmed by the hassle, hype and crowds — but the holiday season is a different beast all together.

Keep your holiday cheer level high by shopping wisely. The editors over at dealnews have poured over their extensive archives of sales, coupons and individual products from years past to guide you in your quest for the savviest purchases in December.

Buy a Bike, Use it Later?
For many of our northernmost readers, bike riding in the winter is implausible, but you should consider purchasing a bike this month all the same. While other months might have seen greater volume of bicycle deals, we saw the most Editors' Choice-level bargains during the month of December last year from vendors like REI, Walmart, and Performance Bike. Otherwise, the next time we saw a substantial number of deals and sales came in May.

Get Good Deals on Toys ... by Still Waiting
Finally, it's the best time to buy holiday toys! Almost. As we've mentioned before, many toys will hit their lowest price points of the season as we get closer we get to Christmas. Last year, many of the tops toys of the season hit their lowest points in the week before Christmas. That said, during the week before that, we saw a staggering number of Editors' Choice toy deals on the whole; in fact, it was the best week of the month for top-shelf discounts on toys. Shop during this period, and you'll improve your chances of getting the best deals.Read more

Best Rated Gadgets for the Holidays


Retrevo’s Picks

Holiday Shopping is in full swing now. Before you head out to the mall this weekend, be sure to check out Retrevo.com's 2011 list of the "best rated gadgets" for the holidays. This year's winners include in-demand gadgets such as smartphones, cameras, Blu-ray players, HDTVs and more. The list was complied by Retrevo.com's editors and their exclusive "Artificial Intelligence engine" which scans the web every day, looking for the best gadgets at the best prices. Read on to see Retrevo’s 2011 Holiday Gadget Picks…

Welcome to Retrevo's 2011 list of holiday gadget picks from Retrevo's Artificial Intelligence-based product evaluation engine. Retrevo's algorithms process over 100M data points from across the web every day to give you an objective, unbiased, comprehensive, and relevant, "Retrevo Real Time Review," that answers these questions:

Is this product current? Our algorithms analyze the age of a product relative to the shelf-life of similar products from a given brand, the velocity of the product through the retail channel and the velocity of user discussion around it on the web.

Do people like it? Retrevo aggregates expert and user opinions about a product from around the web, synthesizing and summarizing them into a single overall community sentiment.Read more

Black Friday Deals Revealed


Black Friday Electronics

Black Friday 2011 is almost here. The editors over at Retrevo have been analyzing the deals on electronics from HDTV sets to digital cameras and have turned up some real deals and some duds. There are some great deals like a Sharp 42-inch 1080p TV for $199 at Best Buy although we suspect supplies will be limited on killer deals like this one. On the other hand, there are some deals that don't look as sweet - like the $78 Magnavox Blu-ray player at Walmart - that has been offered in past Black Friday deals. Here are some picks and recommendations:

*Amazon hadn't announced their prices as this list was put together but we're sure Amazon will be offering some very compelling deals

HDTV Bargains Come in All Sizes

If you're looking for a small TV to put on the counter, bedside or next to Grandma's chair there are some under $100 small screen sets worth considering. There are plenty of larger screen deals to consider as well even some 3D sets.

Samsung 55-inch D6000 LCD TV for $1099 at Sears
This TV offers some attractive features for the price. You get 120Hz, LED backlight and connectivity all for $400 off the normal price.

Dynex 24-inch 1080p LCD TV, $79 at Best Buy
Dynex is Best Buy's house brand which we understand is made by a Thai electronics manufacturer named Orion. Even though you don't really need 1080p on a set this size, it might make DVDs and games look better and it's hard to turn down at $79. Read more

Best Buy Deal: Buy a Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch, Get a Blu-ray Player Free

by jessica on Tue, 2011-11-15 05:00


Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch and Samsung Blu-ray player

Are you in the market for a new smartphone? Best Buy announced an amazing deal for shoppers who purchase the new Samsung Galaxy S II. Now through Saturday, November 19, customers who purchase a Samsung Galaxy S II, Epic 4G Touch smartphone from Sprint for $199.99 (with a 2-year activation) will get a Samsung BD-D5100 Blu-ray player (MSRP $89.99) free!

"This is a great holiday offer for our customers and something that they just can't find anywhere else," said Scott Anderson, head of merchandising for Best Buy Mobile. "Through our partnership with Samsung and Sprint, we're able to bring the best of the smartphone and home theater categories together into one great deal."

Features of the Sprint Samsung Galaxy S II, Epic 4G Touch:

  • 4G speed for fast web browsing with 4.52" Super AMOLED Plus touch screen
  • 16GB memory with Android 2.3 operating system
  • 8.0MP rear facing camera with 1080 high profile video recording and 2.0MP front facing camera
  • Samsung Exynos 1.2GHz dual-core processor
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Black Friday Predictions for 2011


Rest Up, Start Early

Ready or not, the holiday shopping season is fast approaching. Black Friday is less than 70 days away, and we all know that the best way to make the most of the savings is to be prepared. The folks over at dealnews decided to kick off the holiday season a little bit early with their fourth annual Black Friday deal predictions.

And here they are...

dealnews Black Friday Predictions for 2011

HDTVs

  • 32" 1080p LCD HDTV for $199
  • 40" to 42" 1080p LCD HDTV for $319
  • 46" 1080p LCD TV for $399
  • 55" 1080p LCD HDTV for $549
  • 55" 1080p 3D LCD TV for $999
  • 60" 1080p LCD TV for $699
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Pioneer Intros Three New Blu-ray 3D Players

by jessica on Thu, 2011-09-08 10:14


Pioneer BDP-53FD

Pioneer Electronics announced three new Blu-ray 3D players at CEDIA - the BDP-140, BDP-52FD and BDP-53FD, the last two being Elite branded models. All three offer improved loading times, wireless capability (AS-WL300 required), and audio/video streaming from Pandora, YouTube and NetFlix. Additional features include high definition audio and video playback from both USB and DLNA sources.

The new players deliver a 1080p HD picture, as well as include 3D video output with the latest HDMI 1.4a. All three models can up convert standard definition video to 1080p resolution, and deliver excellent color reproduction, thanks to 36-Bit Deep Color support. Each model also supports high-quality audio formats such as DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby TrueHD and Super Audio CD. The Elite models add in Precision Quartz Lock System (PQLS) Bit-Stream Multi-channel for jitter-free reproduction of Blu-ray Disc, DVD-Video/Audio, Super Audio CD and CD content. Read more

Last Minute Back-to-School Roundup

by jessica on Mon, 2011-08-22 08:47


Cocoon Central Park Professional Backpack

What's on your back-to-school shopping list this year? While books, new clothes, and basic school supplies are a given – don't forget about other important necessities such as a quality backpack, computers and accessories, or a "smart" DVD player for the college crowd. Here are some of our last minute picks:

Cocoon: Central Park Professional Backpack
Backpack featuring Stow-away Water Resistant Hood and the GRID-IT! -- the most intelligent organization tool ever!

  • Features a stow-away water resistant hood for rainy days
  • Spacious Central Park Pro features a padded laptop compartment that will fit up to a 17" notebook
  • Ergonomic shape, air mesh padded shoulder straps and back, adjustable sternum strap, ensure a comfortable, cool fit
  • Handy media pocket near the top of the bag keeps the user’s smart phone or MP3 player safely stored away
  • Made from tough ballistic nylon
  • Available black, brown red, and gray
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