Believe it: $70 at Target takes home a new Philips (eh hem, Funai) BDP5010 Blu-ray player that once sold for as much as $250. Hell, it's listed for $139.99 right now on Target's online storefront. If you do manage to track one down in a real life Target store then you'll be getting DivX support, a SDHC card reader, BD Live, and HDMI CEC convenience. While a quick search returns a bevy of mixed reviews (image quality is only so-so), really, for $69.98 you really can't complain if you're looking to finally make the jump to 1080p physical media.

[Thanks, Keith B.]

Philips BDP5010 Blu-ray / Divx player drops below $70 at Target originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's been an under the radar race to 500, but that's how many Blu-ray discs Imagion AG has put together using its dynamicHD BD-Live platform. Many of those are international releases, although their work on CSI and Star Trek:TOS hits closer to home, and now the company is partnering with Giant Interactive to work on more BD-Live discs in the U.S under the BD-Connect name. We're still holding out hope BD-Live lives up to its promise and brings many worthwhile new experiences to Blu-ray discs, are we the only ones? Hello? Anyone?

Imagion AG hits 500 BD-Live movies authored, plans more U.S. Blu-ray releases originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unfortunately, the most telling element of this Blu-ray news is that it didn't merit a mention during Sony's CES keynote, but a new BD-Live feature will be included on This is It. movieIQ Sync updates the original by allowing users to pull up additional movie info on a PC or iPhone synchronized with the movie -- we're guessing the recently released FBI files won't be included -- without it popping up on the television. The other new feature is the ability to create & share customized playlists of the songs featured in the flick. We've been waiting for an event that would change both the reality and perception of internet connected features on Blu-ray -- and there's still some hope -- but this probably isn't it.

This is It Blu-ray release debuts movieIQ Sync, brings more Michael Jackson info to your iPhone or PC originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 10 Jan 2010 12:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dreamer has finally found a partner in its Blu-ray powered IPTV fantasy now that Blu-TV has debuted on the OPPO BDP-83. As the company envisions it, once loaded, it turns your BD-Live capable Blu-ray player into a video and interactive content gateway anyone can develop apps for once the SDK is released. Already powering an IPTV service in Korea, we got a quick demo of the software running on a PS3 in Dreamer's CES booth and flipped through a quick selection of online marketplaces, simple games and video services. We're not sure how many manufacturers will warm to the idea of opening up players currently limited to their choice of streaming services, but if the apps start to flow, having this as an embedded option could be a differentiating feature as player prices dive.

Continue reading Blu-TV brings interactive IPTV to disc players, starting with the BDP-83

Blu-TV brings interactive IPTV to disc players, starting with the BDP-83 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Jan 2010 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One of the main problems with initial Blu-ray director's chat sessions was a lack of feeling any life or interactivity, but Warner gave it another shot this weekend by offering audio over BD-Live as a moderator bounced audience provided questions off of director McG while watching Terminator: Salvation. Despite a less than stellar reputation, BD-Live has continued to slowly creep along, adding features and enhancements, so we wanted to if this event bodes well for the future of internet enabled discs. Check after the break for our impressions, plus a few clips of the director talking about what he did and didn't like about the finished product, director's cuts in general, and the possibility of doing another Terminator movie.

Continue reading Terminator: Salvation BD-Live director commentary impressions

Terminator: Salvation BD-Live director commentary impressions originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It didn't crack the podium on our most anticipated Blu-ray poll behind current number one selling Star Trek, but Terminator: Salvation's feature-laden release December 1 has already made the review circuit and come away with some widely varying opinions. The good news is the picture doesn't disappoint, with a clear transfer and elaborate special effects, although BigPictureBigSound's reviewer found a few issues with a bluish matte line appearing at times, plus a few notes about compression and noise in clouds of dust and smoke also noted in other reviews. On the audio front, the DTS-HD MA soundtrack by all accounts is an impressive treatment, with the only "problem" that viewers might want to dial back slightly on the bass to avoid waking the neighbors. Of the extras included in the U.S. release of the film, the only real issue seems to be a lack of seamless branching, requiring viewers to forego the Director's Cut and its extra few minutes of Moon Bloodgood in order to walk through the flick in Maximum Movie mode with director McG and others showing how they pulled off many of the shots. The European edition released by Sony does feature seamless branching, although CNET UK and DVD Times both complained of slow loads and glitches on their players as a result, with the latter also finding some possible compression issues from being squeezed on one disc. Whatever your choice, check the reviews and make it soon as Warner is planning a one time only BD-Live community screening with the director answering questions via audio December 5.

Terminator: Salvation Blu-ray review roundup originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Media streamers, Others, Internet

Continue reading Microsoft temporarily suspends Sky Player for Xbox 360

Microsoft temporarily suspends Sky Player for Xbox 360 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Internet

Sky TV has made its arrival on the Xbox 360 today in prompt fashion, with live streaming and on-demand video available, and the keen lads over at Electric Pig already have a preview of the service in action. Their immediate reaction was that the Sky Player interface was "ultra-speedy" and easily navigable using the 360 controller. Streaming at the high-quality setting (alas, there's no HD on offer yet) was also no problem on a 4Mb broadband connection, though they reserve their highest praise for the on-demand content which was pumped through within a couple of seconds of selection and benefits from an "astonishingly well-designed interface." For the full impressions of the subscription-based service, which starts out at £15 per month, hit up the read link below.

Sky Player on Xbox 360 receives first eyes-on analysis originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Media streamers

Netgear's EVA2000 Digital Entertainer Live came packin' a lot of promise for just $150, but according to a critique over at TrustedReviews, those into a thing dubbed "high-definition" may want to keep on saving and pass over this one. You see, the only 720p content it's capable of playing back is MPEG-2; other than that, you're stuck watching SD material or upscaled-to-720p SD material. To the box's credit, it did manage to play back content satisfactorily, and the built-in PlayOn software was indeed a boon to the device's overall utility. In the world of media streamers, though, you've got oodles of options, and it seems as if one from WD or ASUS just might be a better overall value. Tap the read link to decide for yourself.

Netgear's EVA2000 Digital Entertainer Live gets reviewed: decent, but lacking originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray, Internet

We'll say it right up front -- BD-Live hasn't impressed early, but we're not going to give up on it altogether. For the most part, it has underwhelmed because of uninspired implementation, not the technology itself. While we skip right by most BD-Live features, however, consumers are connecting their decks to the cloud some 4-million times each month to grab up freebies, according to Deluxe Digital Studios. What's the most popular kind of feature that users are getting their hands on? Trailers, of course -- reinforcing our "uninspired" comment. The linked post at Video Business hints at exciting new BD-Live developments like social networking and hooking into mobile devices, and we'd like to see some of these ideas get traction. But our advice is that if Hollywood doesn't "... want people to feel like they are being marketed to," then just don't market to them. Crazy talk, we know, but share your crazy ideas below.

BD-Live scores 4-million monthly connections, and that's a lot of trailers originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 07 Sep 2009 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft announced today that the Zune HD, its long-awaited media player, is available now for pre-order and is set to hit store shelves on Sept. 15.

Filed under: Blu-ray, Players, Others

We'd heard VIZIO's VBR100 BD-Live ready (& timed Wal-mart exclusive) Blu-ray player would be making an appearance this month, and our friends over at FormatWarCentral have not only spotted the rare bird in the wild, but brought one home and performed a video unboxing for all to experience. Be prepared for bad news like a lack of high definition cables included in the $178 package, though coax and optical audio outputs plus the too often-forgotten rear mounted USB port are welcome bonuses. Still avoiding the potential trampling issue at Wal-mart? Other stores should have a similar VBR110 model soon, check the video beyond the link or embedded after the break and imagine the packaging splayed about your own living room.

Continue reading VIZIO VBR100 Blu-ray player freed from superstore confines, unboxed on video

VIZIO VBR100 Blu-ray player freed from superstore confines, unboxed on video originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sun, 09 Aug 2009 17:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray, Players, Others

We finally got a peek at the new BD-Live capable Blu-ray player from Marantz a couple of weeks ago, but you should be able to take a peek at the UD9004 yourself, as it began shipping today. For a cool six grand, give or take, the all in one CD, SACD, DVD Audi and Blu-ray playing beast can be yours, complete with internal HD audio decoding, Silicon Optix Realta chipset, 7.1 analog outputs and more. Check out all the specs and details in the press release after the break, though we suspect many of you are wondering just how many Oppo BDP-83 players that $5,999 MSRP could buy.

Continue reading Marantz $6K UD9004 Blu-ray player now shipping

Marantz $6K UD9004 Blu-ray player now shipping originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray

Looks like Sony isn't the only one ready to take a crack at improving BD-Live, Fox has revealed its "Live Lookup" feature, that will pull info from IMDB.com related to the movie being watched, slated to appear first on the Wolverine Blu-ray. Besides an internet hookup, Wolverine will bring a 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack, a digital copy and several Blu-ray exclusive featurettes when it is released September 15. Ready to find out if the performance of Fox's Java applet navigated via remote can beat having a laptop sitting open next to you?

Read - Fox Shares X-Men Origins: Wolverine Blu-ray Details and Cover Art
Read - Fox launches BD Live feature with Wolverine

Wolverine Blu-ray disc includes BD-Live access to IMDB originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Onkyo has introduced two new 7.1-channel home theater systems that it claims deliver leading edge AV processing and surround sound reproduction for HDTV and Blu-ray.
The HT-S7200 and HT-S6200 each feature powerful AV receivers with 1080p-compatible HDMI inputs, 130 watt-per-channel amplification, processing for every major audio format on the market.

Filed under: Blu-ray, Sony

When we first got our hands-on the 400 disc MegaChanger pictured above we'd hoped it would be out a little earlier; but never the less the wait is almost over as Sony officially announced plans to release the BDP-CX7000ES in August, for the hard to swallow price of $1,900 -- about $400 less than rumored. The good news is that it does just about everything we can think of, like handle any Blu-ray Disc, DVD or CD with ease, and of course works with the latest codecs delivered via bitstream or LPCM. Now if you just have to have a Blu-ray changer, but wish it was half the price, you can wait a few more months for the BDP-CX960 for $800. You will however have to be willing to forgo things like RS-232 and IR-in, as well as the ES badge. Also shipping in August with the ES MegaChanger is the BDP-S1000ES. This standalone Blu-ray player is at the top of line and for $700 you get just about every feature and spec Blu-ray has to offer, as well as built-in WiFi and a DLNA client. The full details of all three are in the release after the jump.

Continue reading Sony's Blu-ray MegaChanger hits the streets next month with new ES standalone

Sony's Blu-ray MegaChanger hits the streets next month with new ES standalone originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray

Beyond its Facebook ties, the Watchmen Blu-ray set will include the opportunity to participate in a BD-Live session with the director while he's live at Comic-Con four days after its release on July 25. Hopefully able to do a better job of creating a live experience for home viewers than our experience with Hellboy II: The Golden Army or The Dark Knight, Video Business reports event attendees can watch the movie and observer director Zack Snyder's responses. Other details revealed during a media presentation yesterday included the Blu-ray cut's Maximum Movie Mode, a session that takes the run time up to three hours so Snyder can step in and explain various behind the scenes details of the movie -- only hardcore fans need apply.

Watchmen BD-Live director's chat set for Comic-Con originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray

Are you one of the more than 4,000 people (86%) that answered our poll saying you thought BD-Live was a waste of time, or didn't see any reason to give it a shot? We talked to Sony Pictures recently and were promised that more useful reasons for hooking the internet to Blu-ray discs & players were on the way, and today at a press event it showed why it thinks that will come true. Check out the the gallery for a few pics of its new MovieIQ app, quickly described as a "wiki for movies" that can tie into your discs and provide information from Gracenote on demand on nearly anything in the movie or even specific scene being watched, from actors & directors to background music. The first BD-Live discs with it should be available in September, we'll be back with more details shortly, for now just let the images do the talking.

Sony Pictures to smarten up Blu-ray with MovieIQ, the "killer app for BD-Live" originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray, Players

Finally, here's a peek at the Marantz UD9004 Blu-ray / SACD player announced a couple of months ago. Besides posing for the cameras, it has a release date and price now available, due in Japan next month at a cool 577,500 yen ($5,894 U.S.) As mentioned, all that doesn't buy DVD-Audio support, but 10-bit Silicon Optix Realta chipset, BD-Live, and RS-232 are present and accounted for those with the requisite taste and pocketbooks.

Marantz UD9004 SACD / Blu-ray player combo priced & dated originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray

So many months later, new downloadable content is arriving for those Transformers Blu-ray discs, with Paramount planning to unleash a ton of promotional content for Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen on June 16. Owners of the DVD version can use their access key to log on to a special website, while BD-Live connected Blu-ray owners can view the 25~ minutes of special features directly through their players. Video Business wonders if Blu-ray owners without BD-Live will be able to log in to the website but hasn't heard back yet, we'd ask there will be any treats for HD DVD but Michael Bay probably put the kibosh on that.

Read - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Sneak Peek via Blu-ray and DVD
Read - Paramount loads Transformers with sequel specials

Transformers Blu-ray owners get an early peek at the sequel via BD-Live originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray

Warner Home Video has finally officially slated the Fringe: Season One Blu-ray set for September 8, and included a few details about what to expect on the 5 disc set. The audio tops out with a 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack, but there will be a special Fringe Pattern Analysis extra bringing in "experts" to dissect 6 select scenes with notes photos and diagrams aimed to fill the hearts of those dedicated enough to spot The Watcher in each episode and decode the symbols that flashed before each one. Also included to go above and beyond the DVD experience are BD-Live powered treats with Media Center, My Commentary and a somewhat vague note about exclusive commentary on the season finale with creator JJ Abrams. Feel excited enough to drop the $79.98 MSRP ($55.99 on Amazon)? Check after the break for an animated .gif of the lenticular packaging if you need just a little (really little) more incentive.

Continue reading Fringe: Season One has some Blu-ray exclusives in store September 8

Fringe: Season One has some Blu-ray exclusives in store September 8 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 29 May 2009 22:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray, Players, Set-top boxes, Others, Internet

So far, BD-Live seems like an answer to a question no one particularly cares about, but we're still holding out hope that the technology will be put to good use by someone. The devil's in the details (read - please make it pleasant to use), but putting Profile 2.0 into service as a streaming service like Videocity is promising sounds like a step in the right direction. Lest we forget Dreamer's efforts along the same lines, the company is showing off its Java-based BIDDLE API to developers in hopes of gaining some traction for "BluTube" type of applications. Yeah, we need another way of accessing YouTube about as much as we need more dust bunnies behind the TV, but we see way more potential on this front than, say, Yakuza Fighter redux. With wireless networking, more codecs and increased persistent storage showing up in Blu-ray decks, APIs like BIDDLE just might make the line between STBs and Blu-ray players really blurry -- and if it means we can eBay away some of those STBs, we're all for it.

Dreamer trying to draw Java developers to its BIDDLE API originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 21 May 2009 19:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The market for ambient DVDs may still be in its early days - but if HD Coolvision's offering is anything to go by it could take off very quickly.
The LA-based start-up has released The Moon, a DVD of high-def footage of this celestial wonder intended to be displayed as video artwork on flat-panel HDTVs.

Filed under: Blu-ray

In July, BD-Live is going beyond the players when Warner Bros. includes a Facebook tie-in on the Watchmen: Director's Cut Blu-ray release. Probably not enough to turn around BD-Live's rep with this crowd, but others may be surprised to find community screening invites wedged between their Mafia Wars invites and status updates. Also exclusive to the Blu-ray is "Maximum Movie Mode" for a split screen view of the action and video commentary from director Zach Miller, plus Watchmen: Focus Points, Real Super Heroes, Real Vigilantes and Mechanics: Technologies of a Fantastic World extras. Due either July 21, The Hollywood Reporter says we can expect the theatrical version on VOD, Xbox and PlayStation movie stores, while iTunes and Amazon will deliver the Director's Cut without the disc.

Read - Watchmen Gets Heroic on DVD and Blu-ray on July 21st
Read - Warners teams with Facebook for 'Watchmen'

Warner uses Facebook to sync up Watchmen BD-Live viewing sessions originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 12 May 2009 23:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Features, Blu-ray

Last week's poll results and comments came through loud and clear, with an overwhelming majority of responses to the question "Have you seen anything impressive from BD-Live yet?" leaning towards the negative. That many people showing a beef against a key feature of the current dominant HD delivery format? We couldn't let that go and followed up with Rich Marty, VP of Marketing for Blu-ray at Sony Pictures to let them know what you said, and what they're doing about it.

Continue reading Sony Pictures responds to your poll results, discusses the future of BD-Live

Sony Pictures responds to your poll results, discusses the future of BD-Live originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 11 May 2009 16:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray, Players, Sony

One of our tipsters spotted Sony's latest Blu-ray player on a local Best Buy shelf sporting a $299 price tag. The BDP-S360 adds the DTS-HD MA decoding you were missing from the previous model, plus improved DVD scaling and out of the box BD-Live support. Of course one has to ask themselves if, in 2009, a player lacking the Netflix streaming or Amazon VOD features of competing hardware, or the DLNA streaming and integrated WiFi of the upcoming BDP-S560 is really worth braving these H1N1-infested streets, but we'll leave that choice up to you.

[Thanks, RyanD]

Sony BDP-S360 Blu-ray player casually arrives at Best Buy originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 08 May 2009 01:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray

Congratulations Blu-ray, you might be ready to step into the zone of mass market acceptance, as NPD's retail tracking service found Q1 sales of standalone players up 72 percent over last year, moving over 400,000 units with a 14% increase in dollar sales. Last year sure the format survived mad fights but high prices were a setback; fast forward to March when an online survey of 6,994 people found awareness has reached 90 percent in the last six months, with customers fascinated by its updates. Although BD-Live is looking more and more like an unneeded gimmick, the real facts are people care about cost and average player prices dropped from $393 last year to $261 in 2009. The "Blu-ray report" suggests the magic number is $214 for folks like Shawn Marion, so more room might be needed to breeze, and could come as soon as this fall around the time Vizio's player finally appears. It might be tragic for Vudu, CBHD and others trying to get a foothold, but Blu-ray's magic wand is word of mouth - so while much talked about, but much lower selling tech like Kindle is happy as hell to get a record deal, right now Blu-ray's unique skills can't be compared.

Blu-ray making greenbacks, sales up 72% to start '09 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 06 May 2009 20:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Misc, Internet

Know an opera fan that hasn't been willing to drop the cash on a subscription or per episode fee for the Met Player streaming experience? All this weekend until midnight Sunday they're offering free and unlimited access to 200 full length operas, including 20 from the first three seasons of the Live in HD series. English subtitles are available for all of them, plus recently added French, German and Spanish subtitles. From "available only in select markets" to free streaming in HD to your computer in just a couple of years, wonder what they'll think of next?

Met Player offering free HD opera streaming for the weekend originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sat, 02 May 2009 16:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray

It's been a little over a year since we got our first look at BD-Live in the home, so ow do things look now? That first experience was certainly quite disappointing, but in the intervening year there's been at least a few small steps forward, along with some notable failures. With all the director's chats, promotional networks and the like behind us, and the possibility of video on-demand and live video updates from Star Trek conferences in our present and future, have you seen anything impressive yet, or anything that bodes well for the future of BD-Live?

View Poll

Poll: Have you been impressed by BD-Live? originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sat, 02 May 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray

Implementations of dynamicHD on Blu-ray and HD DVD discs so far have been some of the best examples of the potential BD-Live holds that we keep hearing about, but rarely see. For those Star Trek fans that picked up TOS box set this week, it not only ties them into the www.cbs-bdlive.com website, but also brings home interviews, behind the scenes looks and other highlights from FEDCON in Europe that is going on from today until May 3. Next up to tie Internet downloads into the disc based experience? CSI: Crime Scene Investigation The First Season hitting May 12. You can check out the website to see who is watching right now and where, set up watching parties and share quizzes. Imagion AG demoed a lot of these features for us on HD DVD during CES '08, and some got a peek at them on Terminator 2: Ultimate HD Edition, check out the official press release after the break and let us know if this is enough to change your opinion on BD-Live.

Continue reading Star Trek, CSI Blu-ray boxed sets doing BD-Live right with dynamicHD

Star Trek, CSI Blu-ray boxed sets doing BD-Live right with dynamicHD originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 01 May 2009 16:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray, Media streamers, Internet

German production house Enteractive is readying its Blu-ray Java disc powered service Videociety that turns any BD-Live enabled Blu-ray player into an Internet delivered VOD box. Still unknown is what resolution movies will be offered in and which ones, although h.264 compression (with Dolby Digital 2.0 or 5.1 soundtracks) is confirmed, and the company has access to 400 films from sister companies Splendid Film, Polyband and WVG Media and negotiations with other major and independent studios are ongoing. Just like Netflix's Watch Instantly, movies are queued from a PC or iPhone, then streamed to the Blu-ray player once the disc is inserted. Anyone else hoping that if this works well it gets picked up outside of Germany after the official launch at IFA in September?

[Via Blu-ray.com]

Videociety VOD service uses Blu-ray player with BD-Live originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 01 May 2009 11:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray

Still believe in the potential of BD-Live? Sony does, exec David Bishop called this the "Pong" stage of development in the technology during an industry demo yesterday on its lot. Apparently wanting to get some fresh eyes on BD-Live after some glitchy releases and underwhelming features, Sony, Disney and others are still trying to find different ways to work BD-Live into their discs, and new wireless capable players like Samsung's 2009 models mighty see more people going online. We've seen live directors chats, games, story databases and other twists, but at the moment we're not as optimistic about where BD-Live is headed in 2009 and beyond.

Sony still pushing the potential of BD-Live, but is anyone listening? originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray, Players

Looking for region-free Blu-ray and DVD support? The Momitsu BDP-899 fits the bill, including BD-Live and Dolby TrueHD output. It's not clear whether multi region support is included by default or only due to retailer mods, but the BDP-899 can be manually changed between DVD & Blu-ray regions when there isn't a disc in the tray via a code input by the remote. We found a few reviews indicating its region switching and PAL/NTSC conversion works as advertised, though checking out every possible combination could stress anyone's disc library. At $349, it's the cheapest BD-Live compatible region free player we've seen, although questions about how fast Momitsu will be in providing firmware updates in case of problems might have the region switching consumer eyeing more expensive modded players from other manufacturers instead.

[Via CD Freaks, thanks Richard!]

Read - Quick review of Momitsu BDP-899 BluRay player
Read - BDP-899 (modified) Region FREE Blu-ray player review

Momitsu BDP-899 promises out of the box region free Blu-ray for cheap originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SES AMERICOM has signed a multi-year distribution agreement with the US's largest station group, ION Media Networks, to launch its full suite of television networks in HD.
The move means that SES now has 60 HD channels on its HD-PRIME delivery platform.

Filed under: Blu-ray

With sequel Angels & Demons ready to hit theaters in May, Sony Pictures is throwing in nearly a half hour of exclusive extra footage on The Da Vinci Code: Extended Cut coming to shelves April 28. Codebreakers can look forward to in movie BD-Live chat, a $10 coupon off tickets to the sequel, new director's commentary and a picture-in-picture mode allowing for eight different ways to watch the movie at once, we think fans (and with $700 million+ grossed worldwide there's more than a few of those) will find this hard to pass up.

Sony embeds Blu-ray exclusives on The Da Vinci Code: Extended Cut originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 11 Mar 2009 07:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray, Other hardware, Players, Speakers, Sony

Hope you didn't just pull the trigger on a BDP-S350, 'cause we get the feeling Sony's two newest standalone BD decks are going to make you yearn for the next best thing. Here in Las Vegas, the company has just come clean with the Profile 2.0 BDP-S360 and BDP-S560, the latter of which includes integrated WiFi for tapping into BD-Live content and downloading future firmware updates sans an Ethernet cable. Also, the unit is fully DLNA-ready, handles DVD upscaling, bit-streams audio via HDMI, decodes Dolby TrueHD / DTS-HD Master Audio and plays nice with external media loaded up on a USB drive. As predicted, the lower-end BDP-S360 is essentially the same player sans WiFi.

Moving on, we've got a new pair of 5.1-channel Blu-ray HTIB systems: the BDV-E300 and BDV-E500W. Both bundles include a BD-Live-capable (Profile 2.0) Blu-ray player, while the BDV-E500W sports integrated S-AIR wireless audio capabilities. In other words, your rear speakers will get their signal sans cabling, and those who opt for the BDV-E300 are getting a kit that's S-AIR-ready, meaning that you can add modules in the future to get the same wireless support. Both sets also include Sony's Digital Media Port for controlling peripherals like Apple's iPod and Sony's own Walkman line, and the BRAVIA Sync technology ensures that HDMI-CEC lovers are taken care of. The models also bring along the firm's Xross Media Bar (XMB) interface, a USB port for loading up media and an easy-to-follow setup DVD. As for pricing and availability, we've broken all that down below.

• BDP-S360 Blu-ray player: shipping this summer for around $300
• BDP-S560 Blu-ray player: shipping this summer for around $350
• HT-SS360 component home theater system : shipping in May for around $350
• BDV-E300 Blu-ray HTIB: shipping in June for around $600
• BDV-E500W Blu-ray HTIB: shipping in June for around $800
  

Catch the release in full just after the break.

Continue reading Sony outs BDP-S360 and BDP-S560 Blu-ray players, new BD HTIBs

Sony outs BDP-S360 and BDP-S560 Blu-ray players, new BD HTIBs originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 02 Mar 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray

It will take time to find out if 2009 is the year BD-Live takes off, but at least studios are trying a few new things. Sony's latest experiment centers around a Q&A session with the director and one actor from Kramer vs. Kramer, which will be posted for download by owners of that movie and other Sony Blu-ray releases. Throwing in downloads for a 1979 flick is an interesting strategy, and posting content that crosses discs could help raise awareness of the feature among customers but honestly we could just go to the website and read a Q&A without owning the disc too. Good try Sony, but it looks like our wait for more innovative uses of Blu-ray's Internet connectivity continues.

Sony using BD-Live to promote new content across different titles originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 20:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Misc, Other formats

You just know that if times are tough for consumer electronics, they're really bleak for public schools. With that in mind, we're calling out the bright spot that is The Metropolitan Opera's "HD Live in Schools" program that since January 10th has been making its movie theater productions (in HD, naturally) of Met performances free to students, parents and teachers across 18 schools in 13 states. Better still, The Met plans on expanding the program to 180 schools across the US. Now we know that it's not every K-12 schooler that will appreciate opera, but the opportunity to take in some premium HD content for free is pretty sweet if you ask us; any students that get turned on to HD, opera or music in general are bonus. If nothing else, this has got to beat writing a report on what makes the A-B-B-A song form so darn catchy, right?

Metropolitan Opera makes its HD productions free to select K-12 schools originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 23:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray, Players, LG

LG just gifted its multifaceted BD300 with HD Netflix support in December, and today it's blessing owners with one more goodie: YouTube access. The latest update brings the deck to version BD.8.16.537, and as mentioned, the most notable inclusion is YouTube streaming. Sure, it may not change your life, but it just might make your day. Give it a go and let us know how things look.

[Thanks, Kurt]

LG's BD300 gets new firmware update, YouTube access included originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 23:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray, Media streamers, Players, LG

LG Japan will deliver the just-announced BD370 network Blu-ray player later this month in Japan, naturally sans-Netflix and CinemaNow support. The Ethernet port still finds meaning in life through BD-Live and YouTube videos, but don't look for any acTVila support here. Found are DivX, AVCHD, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA support plus a ring that lights up blue for HD discs, and red for all others, and for an expected ¥34,800 ($416) this can be all yours, unless you're here in the U.S. where our wait for a Q2 release date and price continues.

LG BD370 network Blu-ray player hitting Japan later this month originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sat, 07 Feb 2009 19:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Media streamers, Other hardware, Internet

Bad news first: there might be a bit more competition than you expected for that home theater giveaway. Good luck bringing down Netflix's shooting star though, as if last week's good news train wasn't enough comes news that over a million Xbox Live Gold members have already downloaded and activated the Watch Instantly app since its NXE debut last November. That's more than 10% of Netflix's just announced 9.4 million subscribers who've already watched over 1.5 billion minutes of TV and movies through their consoles. They're not the only ones happy, while streaming may be eating into DVD rentals, Xbox Live Marketplace rentals are up 174 percent year over year. The streaming library is up to 12,000 titles, with a "growing percentage" in high definition, for the rest of the celebratory details check the full PR after the break. Nothing left for us to say but congratulations and hey, if you get a minute, could you fix Nilay's HD streaming on the Xbox? Appreciated.

Continue reading Xbox Live tallies 1 million Netflix Watch Instantly activations, 1.5 billion minutes served

Xbox Live tallies 1 million Netflix Watch Instantly activations, 1.5 billion minutes served originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 05 Feb 2009 03:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray

We predicted drastic measures in Blu-ray pricing, but Disney might be going the wrong way. CEO Robert Iger indicated on a conference call with analysts today that since the company's Blu-ray releases are packing all sorts of extra features like Digital Copy and BD-Live, it might be able to raise prices following a Q1 profit drop of 64%. The scariest part is that Disney's economic shortfalls were consistent with the overall home entertainment downturn, so it might not be the only studio with this reaction to shrinking profits, looking to squeeze an extra few bucks out of the customers willing to spend the most.

Disney considering raising Blu-ray prices? originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 19:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray

Lionsgate was early on the BD-Live train with War and Saw IV, and now its latest Blu-ray development Lionsgate Live will debut on The Spirit. Hitting the streets April 14,a flick that underwhelmed at the box office is lavished with a 7.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack, and Lionsgate Live features that notify users of new features across all Lionsgate BD-Live movies. Viewers can also create a "Molog" and insert text, shapes and audio into the movie then share their customizations and commentaries with others on the network. The second coming of BD-Live, or just another useless bullet point like Yakuza Fighter?

Lionsgate Live features debut on The Spirit Blu-ray originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 10:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray, Players, Pioneer

When Pioneer introduced its BDP-120, BDP-320 and Elite BDP-23FD Blu-ray players at CES, we had a vague idea of how much they'd cost. Now, we're being clued in on actual MSRPs. Potentially most impressive is the BDP-120, which will offer up BD-Live functionality and a Pioneer logo for just $249. The mid-range unit includes 1GB of inbuilt memory and will cost $399, while the top-end player will demand $599. Kudos on keeping these priced below the stratosphere, Pioneer.

Pioneer prices latest trio of Blu-ray players originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray

Although Blu-ray has been out for a few years, it is still pretty new and thus the studios are still testing the waters to see what works. The latest test by Disney is one that Blu-ray fans have been recommending for some time; release new titles on Blu-ray before DVD -- but we suspect that many had more than a two day lead time in mind. Although this will be interesting, we still think Disney's previous test of including a DVD with the Sleeping Beauty Blu-ray Disc was more interesting. Also, like the more recent titles from Disney Bolt will feature some BD Live content as well as a digital copy.

Disney to release Bolt on Blu-ray two days before DVD originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 22 Jan 2009 13:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray

Moviemakers ready to jump to BD-Live production can add NetBlender's offering to their list of options, now that NetBlender Live has launched. Much like Ascent Media's group, NetBlender can handle the hosting and backend so interested producers can add content as necessary and extend the life of discs. All this means is we should expect even more Internet-enable movies, we'll have to see what they do with it to know if the effort has been worthwhile.

NetBlender Live BD-Live platform launched originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 21:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic has unveiled the first portable Blu-ray player at CES in Las Vegas.
The DMP-B15 features an 8.9-inch WSVGA display and along with the ability to play Blu-ray discs it also has access (via
Ethernet connection to the Internet) to VIERA CAST. Fully Profile 2.0 (BD-Live) compliant it also features an SD card.

Filed under: Blu-ray, Players, Others

What a difference a few months makes -- just about $69 -- back in September, Memorex rolled out its MVBD-2510 (pictured) at $269, but the follow-up MVBD-2520 will show up this summer at $200. The inclusion of Profile 2.0 on this unit is good to see, but holding back the Dolby TrueHD and DST-HD MA to bitstream output spoils some of the fun, especially compared to what we're seeing at the same price point from VIZIO. That $200 figure is MSRP, so expect street prices to duck lower still. Based on what we're seeing, Blu-ray player prices won't be a valid excuse for failure in the marketplace come this time next year.

Memorex ups to Blu-ray Profile 2.0 with its MVBD-2520 player originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 02:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Industry, Misc, Blu-ray, Media streamers, Others

Imagine this -- utilizing your Blu-ray player for playing back BDs, DVDs and practically anything else available via the internet. A marvelous idea, right? Dreamer has every intention of making that web-to-TV STB you've got totally obsolete with its BIDDLE thin-client, which will theoretically enable any internet-connected Profile 2.0 BD deck to tap into the limitless world of online content. Here at CES, the outfit has announced a partnership with Technicolor that sadly doesn't pinpoint any specific players, though the concept is more than intriguing. Essentially, it would add a whole new world of functionality to BD-Live-enabled Blu-ray players, which is just about exactly what the doctor ordered for the flagging format. Only time will tell if this stuff has a shot at catching on, but we certainly dig the sound of it. [Warning: PDF read link]

Dreamer's BIDDLE could actually make BD-Live useful originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray, Players, Pioneer

Pioneer has put a few new BD-related products of late in other regions of the world, but America has been longing for a fresh line of Blu-ray decks from the outfit for months. At long last, we're being treated to a shiny new Profile 2.0 trio: the BDP-120, BDP-320 and the RS-232C-packin' Elite BDP-23FD (pictured above). From the top, the 120 features HDMI 1.3a, Dolby TrueHD / DTS-HD bitstreaming, 1080p24 output, BD-Live with no internal memory (1GB flash drive is included), TrueHD / DTS-HD Master Audio decoding and an Ethernet jack. The 320 steps it up with 48-bit Deep Color support, three noise reduction circuits, KURO Link, 7.1-channel analog audio outs, 1GB of internal memory and a "jitter free audio transmission for CD playback." The Elite deck adds an aluminum front panel, RS-232C control port and little else. The trifecta is expected to hit in April for undetermined prices, though you can find the ultraslim DV-420 upscaling DVD player in June for just $90. The finer details are just past the break.

Update: We're hearing "around $300" for the low-ender and "sub-$400" for the step-up model. Final prices should be out soon.

Continue reading Pioneer intros BDP-120 / BDP-320 / Elite BDP-23FD Blu-ray players

Pioneer intros BDP-120 / BDP-320 / Elite BDP-23FD Blu-ray players originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray, Players, Others

Okay, so Denon wares aren't exactly "cheap," but you can't knock it for trying to innovate. Despite that fact that about eight people on this Earth still care about their beloved SACD / DVD-Audio collections, Denon has developed a Blu-ray player specifically for them. The DVD-A1UD is hailed as the world's first universal BD deck, and it features a black (shown after the break) or silver motif, SD / SDHC card slot, DivX support, HDMI 1.3, 1080p60 / 1080p24 output, internal decoding of DTS-HD Master Audio / Dolby TrueHD, 7.1-channel analog outputs, Denon LINK and all sorts of sophisticated pixel / audio restoration technologies. Better still, users who buy in can look forward to a Profile 2.0 update in the near future. Not surprisingly, the decked-out player will ship in Japan next month for a patently astounding ¥546,000 ($5,860), so you'll probably be stuck dreaming about it unless your ship rolls in.

[Via Impress]

Continue reading Denon's DVD-A1UD: world's first universal (SACD / DVD-A) Blu-ray player

Denon's DVD-A1UD: world's first universal (SACD / DVD-A) Blu-ray player originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray

Blu-ray's Internet capabilities got a brand new push this weekend, with the first director's chat featuring Hellboy II: The Golden Army's Guillermo del Toro live from New Zealand. Didn't get home in time to access the event (scattered forum posts reported problems logging in at all, or people who were logged in but unable to access the comments), or might not have the movie? No problem, here's a quick look at things after the break, and hopefully a preview of what to expect from future director / fan chats.

Continue reading Hellboy II BD-Live director's chat event recap

Hellboy II BD-Live director's chat event recap originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray, Internet

Hellboy II: The Golden Army director Guillermo del Toro (and avowed Blu-ray fan, take that Michael Bay) is the first to connect to viewers (as suggested by a particular EHD ed at the last CES) and chat live while watching the movie on Internet-connected players November 23. Exactly how "live" the chat will be remains to be seen, as questions will be submitted ahead of time on UniversalHiDef.com, before the event commences Sunday at 6 p.m. PST, but an opportunity to hear the director's responses in real time is not to be missed, and finally scratches the potential for Blu-ray's online capabilities. Still holding out hope for BD-Live? Make sure you're close to your PlayStation 3 this weekend, and think of a different question than "Here's my 10 suggestions on how to make The Hobbit totally awesome" 'cuz we already submitted that.

Hellboy director chats with Blu-ray fans live Sunday originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Misc, DVRs, Set-top boxes

Clearly catering towards the wants, nay, needs of the average American couch potato is TiVo and Domino's Pizza, which have collaborated in order to bring on-sofa pizza ordering to broadband-connected TiVo subscribers. If you'll recall, this service was actually announced for Australia earlier this month, but users in the US of A get the first chance to indulge. 'Course, this is far from the first unorthodox method of ordering pizza, and the lack of a scheduled delivery option is certainly a weak point, but this widget does reveal that all sorts of differentiating applications could eventually find their way to a TiVo box near you. Feel free to give it a spin tonight, but don't blame us if that backlit remote gets dimmed from grease seeping into the crevices.

[Via ZatzNotFunny]

US TiVo users pick up Domino's Pizza ordering / tracking abilities originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Industry, Blu-ray, Other formats, Others

After seeing what we saw at CEDIA this year, we knew this innovation was only a hop, skip and a jump away. RCDb and Nortel have teamed up to showcase what they're calling the Video Bulletin Board, which is an interactive application that enables cellphones and Blu-ray players to communicate like never before. With it, you can "send a photo or video from your mobile phone to your own or a friend's BD Live-enabled Blu-ray deck and then, using the remote, activate a click-to-call feature that would automatically have your phone call back the mobile user who sent you the photo." It won't be long before you're ordering pizza from your Blu-ray player and watching outtakes on your handset -- at least, we hope.

[Image courtesy of Blu-ray.com]

Video Bulletin Board enables mobile-to-Blu-ray player interaction originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sat, 15 Nov 2008 19:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray

One time Xbox 360 HD DVD player pack-in King Kong is finally making its Blu-ray debut, complete with U-Control interactive features and some additional bits we'd missed the first go round. Apparently Universal has seen fit to replace the previous edition's Dolby Digital+ 5.1 soundtrack with a 5.1 DTS-HD MA version, as well as the Extended Edition footage (on an already 3 hour+ movie?) that was missing from the HD DVD. Making the jump from HDi to BD-Live is online My Scenes sharing, just in case you still needed a reason to pay the $29.98 MSRP for this disc January 20.

King Kong gets additional features for Blu-ray release January 20 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 12 Nov 2008 23:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Boinx Software has launched a new tool for video podcasters that turns a Mac into a live video recording studio.
Called BoinxTV, it's an audiovisual mixing application that allows one person to edit high quality recordings live.

Filed under: Blu-ray

Bringing the "look-at-me" Web 2.0 feel to the set-top box, Universal's Death Race Blu-ray will include the ability for users to record a play by play video of themselves, and upload it to be judged and win unspecified prizes. On top of that BD-Live powered treat Digital Copy and DTS-HD MA audio should come home as part of the package. Beyond a December 23 release date (same as the DVD) little else is known for sure but in the meantime we'll need to update our Twitter, Myspace & Facebook statuses while taking oddly-angled cellphone pics in the mirror.

Death Race Blu-ray features unique BD-Live contest originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 22:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Industry, Blu-ray, Players, Sony

Just two weeks ago the Wall Street Journal was telling us that Blu-ray still hadn't arrived, players having an average price way up there at $350 and only 1.7 percent of households owning one. Now the WSJ is telling us to watch out for Black Friday, indicating that retailers have warehouses full of dusty old BD-Live-less players and will be slashing prices to get rid of them. Brick and mortar shops are also said to be cringing at the looming threat of digital distribution, which could be another factor driving low prices this holiday season. The $150 price point, which we've seen predicted elsewhere, is mentioned again, and with units on store shelves around the nation for well under $200 we just might be getting close to mass adoption of the format. Now, if only they could do something about those $30 movies...

Excess inventory driving Black Friday Blu-ray sales? originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Blu-ray

Universal already called its shot, with a "What The Matrix did for DVD, this could do for Blu-ray" proclamation before Wanted even hit theaters so we're not surprised by the long list of extras in store. The Blu-ray version gets four U-control exclusive features, with My Chat, My Scenes and commentary maker BD-Live extras to boot. Springing for the Collector's Edition? Expect some collectible postcards and a lenticular scene thrown in, with 1080p MPEG-4 encoded video and DTS-HD MA audio to make sure the viewing experience lives up to expectations. Even with a $135 million box office haul to its name we don't know if all the hype is deserved, but if Angelina Jolie and guns interest you, the package is due December 2, MSRP $39.98 standard, $69.98 CE.

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While more operators are beginning to offer HD video-on-demand services, live streaming video continues to pose infrastructure and bandwidth problems.
HDTV.biz-news.com spoke to Alex Mashinsky, CEO of DigiMeld, about the challenges of streaming video - and developments that could open-up the service to millions of viewers.

Iron Man is quickly becoming the highest selling Blu-ray disc yet, with an estimated 20 per cent of all discs of the super-hero movie sold last week being on the high-def format.
With the release of the Dark Knight – including a BD-Live version – still to come, could the year end on a high note for Blu-ray?

Filed under: Blu-ray, Samsung

Love it or not, BD Live is the latest must have feature for Blu-ray players. Samsung is finally delivering on its promise today by making a firmware update available for download that turns on the internet magic of your Blu-ray Discs when you load them in a BD-P1500. Of course you'll need internet access behind your TV for any of this to work, but if you prefer, you can still download an image of the update disc if you don't want to use the player's auto-update feature. Now that the BD-P1500 and Sony BDP-S350 do BD Live, can both be had for less than $300, and offer just about every feature you'd want, it combined with Hollywood's impressive slate of titles released on Blu for this season, we can't think of any other excuses that an HD lover could have to not jump on the Blu-bandwagon.

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Filed under: Blu-ray

Billed as a one-day summit for Blu-ray developers, marketers and producers, Blu-con 1.0 will feature "experts" (whether that includes the many people who have so thoughtfully and eloquently shared their opinions in our comments since the start of the format war we have not been able to determine) discussing the various issues and opportunities presented by the format. The $325 ticket price for the December 8 event shouldn't be much of an issue, the conference is only open to DEG members, sponsors and invited guests, we'll wait and see if anyone comes out of it with the secret to lower priced Blu-ray players or more interesting uses for BD-Live.

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Filed under: Reviews, Blu-ray, Players, Panasonic

For you slugabeds who missed out on seeing the DMP-BD55 get priced and dated, it's probably a bit backwards to start at the review first. Nevertheless, those mildly interested in making this their next standalone BD deck should certainly give CNET's review a glance. Put simply, this unit was deemed "a perfect example [of a solid Profile 2.0 player], hitting almost all the essential features we look for and pairing it up with pristine image quality." That being said, critics still couldn't wholeheartedly recommend it. Why? It's little sibling, the DMP-BD35. The $299 BD35 features all of the same niceties save for 7.1 analog outputs and analog audio enhancements, yet it costs a full $100 less than the BD55. Sure, if you're an analog output junkie, the extra cost will be completely justified, but it seems most everyone else should just snag the BD35 and burn the excess on a few flicks.

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Filed under: Blu-ray

Since the year between HD DVD & Blu-ray releases wasn't enough time to get all the features on-disc, BD-Live connected owners of the Transformers Blu-ray disc can download "Robot Ninjas" starting today. Promised to be the first of many downloadable add-ons, this one gives a look behind the scenes of the fights in the movie, specifically Bumblebee vs. Barricade. High-Def Digest mentions that next up is a "What Effing Happened to Mason City" feature, as these fill in the gap until the sequel Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen hits theaters. Wondering what in the name of Michael Bay's righteous indignation you're missing? Check out a clip from the feature after the break.

Continue reading First Transformers featurette available via BD-Live

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The Dark Knight is likely to be the biggest Blu-ray release of the year – if not ever.
So it’s appropriate that Warner Bros has decided to make the Batman tale its first BD-Live capable release.

AT&T is to continue growing its high-definition channel line-up in the US with the help of increasingly efficient MPEG-4 compression.
The efficiency gains will allow the telco to support more simultaneous IPTV streams, upping the live HD streams to three and the recorded HD streams to four in 2009.

Filed under: Misc

We suspect that there aren't many occasions at the Metropolitan Opera that call for the term "hat trick," but the Met is kicking off its third season of simulcasting performances in HD this Monday. It's been a great ride for the Met: seasons one and two saw the audience swell from 325,000 to 935,000, with distribution increasing from seven to 17 countries. And season three has no plans on slowing down -- with almost the full Met season in the lineup, projections are set for 1.2 million viewers in 30 countries across 850 movie theaters. With the uneasy economic times here in the US, this is a great way to check out first rate performances with picture and sound quality to match without breaking the bank, so keep your eyes open.

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Filed under: Blu-ray, Fox

If you plunked down the extra coin to get yourself a BD-Live-enabled deck, you can look forward to having one more BD-Live-enabled title to enjoy come December. Fox Home Entertainment has announced that its very first BD-Live enhanced film will be The X-Files: I Want To Believe, which will take advantage of the web-connected functionality with "exclusive features, games, additional content and connectivity to other BD-Live users and X-Files fans nationwide." The X-Files Dossier will allow users to "create their own Special Agent avatar that can browse through Agent Dakota Whitney's case files on clairvoyance and post their own notes and theories to her files online and download other profiles directly to their BD player memory files." Fun, right? Make your choice on 12/2 when it hits shelves (with Digital Copy, no less) for $39.99 MSRP.

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Filed under: Blu-ray, Players, Sony

Sony's latest high-end Blu-ray player was sitting pretty at the outfit's CEDIA booth, so we did exactly what you figured we would -- stop by and snap some pictures. Though the unit wasn't exactly compact, the build quality seemed sufficient and the design was suitably simple. As you very well know by now, the gallery is below.

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Filed under: Blu-ray, Players, Pioneer

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Filed under: Blu-ray, Players, Sony

While some other manufacturers are churning out Blu-ray decks with price tags closer to the magical $200 mark, Sony's bucking that trend by aiming squarely at those with bulging wallets and even fatter egos. The November-bound BDP-S5000ES one-ups the BDP-S350 by being BD-Live-capable (as opposed to BD-Live-ready) and boasts an Ethernet jack, external flash memory port, a 1GB Sony Micro Vault Tiny (gee, thanks!), Quick Start mode for getting those BDs spinning quicker and an ultra-special 14-bit HD video processor, which "improves standard-definition and high-definition picture quality with the help of HD Reality Enhancer and Super Bit Mapping technologies." Infringing on Toshiba's latest playground is the highly-touted Precision Cinema HD Upscale technology, which unsurprisingly upconverts DVDs to 1080p in order to make the most of your splendid DVD collection. You'll also find niceties such as an RS-232C / IR input, BRAVIA Sync and an XMB-inspired user interface -- now, if only we could find the secret sauce that makes this package worth the $2,000 asking price. (Psst... full release after the cut.)

Continue reading Sony introduces $2,000 BD-Live-capable BDP-S5000ES Blu-ray player

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Filed under: Blu-ray

While we haven't seen many truly inspired uses for BD-Live yet, we'll see if Dreamer's partnership with disc authoring house L2Digital can turn that around. L2Digital plans to use the Biddle platform to deliver video on-demand, social networking and "interactive TV" to any BD-Live enabled Blu-ray player. We're not sure if the company's envisioned end-run around your cable or satellite provider will be realized but we'll be happy to see someone try.

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Filed under: Blu-ray, Players, Samsung

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Filed under: Blu-ray

The Incredible Hulk Blu-ray is definitely getting a more thorough treatment than its barebones Hulk HD DVD distant cousin, packing U-control picture-in-picture and interactive features as well as a standard definition digital copy on a second disc. The 50GB Blu-ray disc includes the 1080p MPEG-4 encoded flick, a DTS-HD Master Audio track as well as BD Live chat, and scene sharing. Hopefully there's room for the hour+ additional footage hinted at by the director in previous interviews, but we're sure that won't stop fans from preordering to get the limited edition "Green Ray" 3D packaging.

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Filed under: Blu-ray, Pioneer

Pioneer's last batch of Blu-ray players wasn't exactly earth-shattering, but if you're in the market for the highest of the high-end, it sounds like the upcoming Elite BDP-09FD might be worth waiting for. The first Pioneer unit to support Profile 2.0 and BD-Live, you'll also be getting 4GB of internal storage, eight independent D/A converters for each 7.1 channel (which means there are tons of receiver-caliber adjustments possible from the player), and 16-bit color output over two HDMI jacks. Should be out soon, for a whopping $2200.

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Filed under: Blu-ray

After giving HD DVD a proper send-off with Terminator 2: Ultimate HD-Edition, the Imagion AG team has thrown itself fully into the b's like Paul Pierce, preparing the Blu-ray release of Big Buck Bunny, another open source creative commons-licensed movie from the creators of Elephants Dream. How do you top being the first to do PiP on Blu-ray? With three separate picture-in-picture tracks give us a look at the original storyboards, 3D renders or the original rough renders from the production team's Blender software. The dynamicHD-live portion should be familiar to fans of the T2 release, using BD-Live access to TuneHD.net for constantly updated news, Big Buck Bunny-related websites and calibration settings. The disc packs in both BBB and Elephants Dream and should be shipping soon.

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Filed under: Blu-ray

We've heard for some time that Samsung planned to have two Blu-ray players in its lineup, but it's been well over a year since there's even been a peep about the BD-P2400, now out of nowhere the BD-P2550 shows up at Best Buy stores all over the country for the premium price of $499. According to Best Buy's website, the new model has many of the missing features from Sammy's latest BD-P1500, like 7.1 analog outputs and the sought after Silicon Optix HQV video processing. What does appear to be missing though, is the elusive BD-Live, but with the included network connection and USB port, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to imagine that either Best Buy failed to mention it, or it's coming in a firmware update. Although $500 Blu-ray players aren't for everyone, it's good to see Blu-ray manufacturers offering multiple models for those in need of premium features.

[Via Format War Central]

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Filed under: Industry, Blu-ray, Players, LG, Internet

We've been following the rumor since January, today it's official: LG's BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player will begin streaming Netflix movies in the US this September. The player will cost "well under $500" and allow Netflix members to stream more than 12,000 standard definition TV and films through the device at no additional increase to their monthly paid subscriptions. Members will use the Netflix website to add movies or TV to their individual instant queues. Movies will begin playing in as little as 30 seconds when selected from the TV where users can browse, make selections, read synopses, rate movies, and fast-forward / rewind video streams using the BD300's remote control. While specs on the player itself are scarce, we do know that it supports BD Live and LG's SimpLink technology to integrate easily with LG TVs and AV products. One thing's for sure, with this deal announced and those with Roku and the Xbox 360 in the bag, it looks like Netflix is grown-up and ready for the digital age.

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Filed under: Blu-ray, Players

With its latest EMMA3P Blu-ray SoC just launched, NEC is already looking to the future with its next generation EMMA3PF chip, that takes all the features of its most recent hardware, and adds the hardware to control the Blu-ray drive itself into a single processor (as pictured above). These chips will start sample shipments in September, and are expected to continue to drive Blu-ray player prices down. Staying a step ahead of the competition like Panasonic, Broadcom and Sigma is key since the company hopes to double its sales of Blu-ray hardware in the next two years, owning 40% of the market by March 2009, and half in March 2011. Cheaper players with full functionality? Sign us up.

Read - Impress
Read - Reuters

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Filed under: Blu-ray, Media PCs

As if DTS-HD Master Audio support and enhanced BD-R / BD-RE compatibility weren't enough, WinDVD is also now proudly BD-Live certified. Unfortunately WinDVD with Profile 2.0 support won't be available at retail until early next year, but is ready to ship for OEMs right now. We're a bit surprised it's taken this long compared to some of the competition, but thanks to Corel, our planned Sleeping Beauty viewing party can now go off without a hitch.

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Filed under: Blu-ray

NEC seems to be over that whole HD DVD thing, announcing it's begun mass production of its EMMA3P SoC for Blu-ray players. Squeezing USB and Ethernet control components for BD-Live compatibility, h.264 / VC-1 / MPEG-2 compression, Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD and of course DivX onto just one chip should make for more cheap (& fully featured) Blu-ray players on the way soon. Narrowly trailing the announcement of Panasonic's UniPhier single-processor solution it certainly hasn't come a moment too soon.

[Via Impress]

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Filed under: Blu-ray

Looks like Warner's BD-Live commitment doesn't stretch beyond U.S. borders, with Warner Bros. International VP Marc Gareton recently telling a conference in London not to expect an BD-Live titles in 2008. European BD fans aren't going totally without, as he added it might follow in it's domestic twin's footsteps by adding digital copies to movies before the year is out. A lot of things could play into this decision by the studio, but for the time being if there's any Blu-ray exclusive features your best bet may be importing or hoping someone else owns the international release rights and goes the extra mile to make things right.

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Filed under: Blu-ray, Panasonic

One of the most highly anticipated new Blu-ray players is the Panasonic DMP-BD50 and after months and months of waiting it is starting to show up as in stock on various obscure online retailers. A quick search online shows that the big box stores have yet to receive their initial shipments, but it is safe to assume that when the likes of 6th Ave and Rainbow Electronics has them, widespread availability can't be too far behind. The first full featured Blu-ray that includes everything from BD Live, to internal DTS-HD MA decoders won't come cheap though, the initial prices are right at the retail of $699.

[Via Blu-ray Stats]

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Filed under: Blu-ray, Players, Sony

When Sony introduced its classically-styled BDP-S350 Blu-ray player in late February, all we knew was that the $400 machine would land sometime this summer. Now, we're seeing a pre-order page (on Toys R Us, admittedly) that pegs the ship date at July 15th. Yeah, a fortnight from now. The price remains unchanged at $399.99, but at least you'll find Profile 2.0 compatibility as well as bitstream support for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, right? Okay, now that it's a date, who's buying (and more importantly, who's not?)

[Thanks, Rahul]

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Filed under: Industry, Blu-ray, Sony

That sound you hear off in the distance is the BD-Live bandwagon gaining steam, and the latest studio to hop on board is Sony. Shortly after Universal, Disney and Warner Bros. announced their BD-Live plans, along comes Sony to do the same. Reportedly, Rich Marty, Sony's VP of new business development, has affirmed that all new Sony Pictures Home Entertainment releases that hit store shelves after Men In Black will have at least some level of BD-Live interactivity wrapped in, though no specifics about what to expect were given. Marty did note that the studio has seen "a great response so far," with some 1 in 5 BD-Live movie buyers taking the time to activate and explore the feature. Not that we necessarily agree that 20-percent represents a "great response," but we can't argue with more interactive content for the minority demanding it.

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Filed under: Industry, Blu-ray

Considering that Disney just made headlines with its decision to go BD-Live on a few notable releases, it's no real surprise to see Warner Bros. following suit. At the Entertainment Supply Chain Academy conference, the studio's president of Technical Operations Darcy Antonellis asserted that it was "looking to launch web-enabled Blu-ray titles with BD-Live as early as the winter holidays." He elaborated by specifically mentioning "real-time viewing, library tools, a search engine, a recommendation tool with e-mail reminders, ringtones and wallpapers." Unfortunately, nary a clue was given as to what titles would be sporting what features, but it can't go and just reveal everything ahead of time, right?

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Filed under: Industry, Blu-ray, Players

The Blu-ray fans at Hollywood in High Def took their videocams with them to a Disney Sleeping Beauty event and have come back with a nice preview video of the BD-Live features planned for the title. The Disney BD-Live Network demo highlights Movie Chat instant messaging, Movie Mail for sharing video content and online interactive gaming that can be used to collect Disney Reward points. It's pretty good-looking stuff, and definitely leaves us with a better impression than, say, Yakuza Fighter. The Movie Mail demo came off as a little creepy to us, but that has to do with the content rather than the tech. The big question is, how many profile 2.0 players (besides the PS3) will be on the market when the title ships on October 7? The marketing folks from Disney had something to say about that -- hit the video after the jump to check it out.

[Via HollywoodInHighDef]

Continue reading Previews of Disney's BD-Live features for Sleeping Beauty

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Filed under: Blu-ray, New content

As Disney gets its digital strategy together, one feature to look forward to is BD-Live on every Blu-ray release going forward. ABC, Touchstone and Miramax flicks are exempt from the requirement, but that doesn't mean you won't see BD-Live titles there eventually. Sleeping Beauty will get things started, but look for Disney to highlight networked features in its Blu-ray mall tour and try to sell families on why they should even bother with networked features. Tinker Bell is the next movie up to get the BD-Live tretment, plus future Pixar releases like WALL-E. Unfortunately for online Disney Channel fans Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds and the Jonas Brothers' Camp Rock will not have BD-Live capability, but we'll be waiting to see where Disney goes next with the technology.

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Filed under: Blu-ray

Check it, Blu-ray fans. That totally believable rumor about Transformers finally fitting into a BD sleeve was indeed accurate, and now we're starting to see the nitty-gritty details about what we can expect come September 2nd. For starters, the Blu-ray edition will feature a 5.1 Dolby TrueHD track as well as a 5.1 PCM uncompressed track to complement the obligatory 1080p transfer. We're also told to expect a trailer for the BD release of Iron Man, BD-Live content and a lengthy list of supplemental material -- all of which is expected to be in beautiful high-def. Tap the read link for the full list of extras, and start saving that $39.99 (or so) right now.

[Thanks, Wii60Warrior]

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Filed under: Blu-ray

The day Michael Bay and fans of Blu-ray and big robots have all been waiting for is September 2, according to advanced, inside information obtained by TVShowsonDVD.com. Last year's HD DVD blockbuster Transformers is finally coming to Blu-ray after last fall's exclusivity agreement fell by the wayside, in a 2-disc release described as "similar" to the previous version. Hopefully that means all HDi and internet connectivity features intact, with new bits added courtesy of 50GBs of storage space and BD-Live. We expect there should be, and with a majority of Blu-ray owners using PlayStation 3s, they may even surpass the HD DVD edition's 30% internet-connected rate.

[Via Seibertron.com]

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