CES 2009: Pioneer serves up trio of new Blu-ray players

Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. recently unveiled their new series of BD-Live Blu-ray Disc players at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). An overview of their features are below.

Key features of the Pioneer BDP-120:

• Profile 2.0-compatible
• Onboard Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding
• 1GB USB flash drive included
• April release date, pricing TBC (US)
  

Step-up features of the Pioneer BDP-320:

• Deep Color support
• Picture control suite (13 additional video adjustments)
• Three noise reduction circuits
• 7.1 analog audio outputs
• Precision Quartz Lock System (jitter-free audio transmission for CD)
• 1GB of internal memory
• April release date, pricing TBD (US)
  

Step-up features of the Pioneer Elite BDP-23FD

• RS-232C input
• Designed for custom installer market
• April release date, pricing TBD (US)
  

No news yet on whether these will hit Australian shores in April 2009 as well.

CES 2009: Panasonic's latest Blu-ray products

As well as the Panasonic portable blu-ray player we reported on earlier this week, Panasonic have some more conventional Profile 2.0 compatible blu-ray players as well as one very unique hybrid VHS - Blu-ray player that they announced at CES.

Panasonic DMP-BD60

All three of the new Profile 2.0 compatible Blu-ray players – DMP-BD60, DMP-BD80, DMP-BD70V – combine high quality images with enhanced networking functions, including VIERA Cast’s improved internet functionality that provides access to Amazon VOD’s huge selection of titles as well as YouTube™, Google’s Picasa™ Web Album , Bloomberg and a weather channel. The 2009 line of Blu-ray Disc™ players continue to incorporate VIERA Link™, allowing the consumer to operate their audio/video components, via HDMI, with one remote. All three 2009 Blu-ray Disc players feature a high definition audio decoder featuring Dolby® Digital Plus, Dolby® TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio Essential to take advantage of Blu-ray's 7.1 surround sound as well as featuring an SD Memory card slot and USB slot, making it easy for the consumer to view and share both digital still images and HD video recorded with an HD camcorder in the AVCHD format.

Panasonic's DMP-BD70V

The the Panasonic DMP-BD80 differentiates itself some the other players by providing 7.1 analog audio outputs at the back of the unit. Very handy for those not wanting to fork out top dollar for a surround sound receiver.

Panasonic DMP-BD80

No word yet on whether these players will be heading to Australia or what their prices will be.

Source: Panasonic Press Release

Blu-ray Statistics

Here are some interesting Blu-ray Statistics that came out of the Blu-ray Disc Association Press Conference held at CES.

• In roughly two-and-a-half years on the market, Blu-ray has sold over 10.7 million players in the United States market. This number includes PS3 systems that make up approximately 65% of the players reported with standalone players making up the remaining 35%. PC drives are not included in these numbers.
• DVD had only sold 5.4 million players by the end if the format's third year on the market compared to Blu-ray's 10.7 million
• Blu-ray is now installed in over 8% of all US households. After three years on the market, DVD had found its way into slightly over 4% of US households, CD was in less than 2% and HDTV in 1% of homes during the same period.
• 5.6 million Blu-ray movies were sold in 2007 compared to 24.9 million in 2008. The 4th quarter was instrumental in Blu-ray's success in 2008: 2.3 million copies were sold in October, 3 million in November and a whopping 8 million copies in December alone
• Nearly 1,100 BD titles now available

CES 2009: LG Blu-ray players stream Netflix, CinemaNow, and YouTube

LG Electronics forges ahead with its initiative to meld streaming content with Blu-ray playback. At the Consumer Electronics Show today, the company introduced two Blu-ray players that offer access to on-demand streaming content from Netflix, CinemaNow, and YouTube. LG also took the wraps off three new Blu-ray Disc Home Theater Systems.

The new players are the LG BD370 and LG BD390 Network Blu-ray Disc Players, which are follow-ups to the BD300 released last fall. That player let you access streaming content from Netflix; the new players all feature LG's "NetCast Entertainment Access" for on-demand streaming content from Netflix, CinemaNow, and YouTube. Millions of YouTube videos can be accessed via the players and the nterface makes it easy to search, preview, and watch YouTube videos.

All of the new models support BD-Live. Among the standalone players; the BD370 requires you to bring your own 1GB flash memory drive for use with BD-Live, while the BD390 comes with 1GB of on-board memory. Both of these models support Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, and DTS-HD Master Audio Essential; and both have a USB port for viewing multimedia files via a mass storage drive. The BD390 adds wireless networking and discrete 7.1 channel audio outputs. No pricing as yet, but the BD370 is expected in the second quarter of 2009, while the BD390 is due out in the third quarter of 2009.

The new home theater systems are the LG LHB954, the LHB977, and the LHB979. The LG Network Blu-ray Home Theater System LHB954 features BD-Live support, a 1000W 5.1 channel spherical speaker system, as well as NetCast Entertainment Access, Netflix streaming, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio Essential, and iPod Direct Docking. This system is due in the second quarter of 2009.

The LHB977 adds two HDMI inputs; and the LHB979 bumps the 1000W speakers up a notch thanks to two wireless rear satellite speakers and an overall loudspeaker design by Mark Levinson.

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/156549/lg_adds_to_connected_bluray_player_lineup.html/

CES 2009: Panasonic Introduces World's First Portable Blu-ray Player

Innovative Player Features BD Live and VIERA CAST® Internet Accessibility

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Panasonic, a major developer and contributor to the success of the Blu-ray format, introduced the world's first portable Blu-ray Disc player at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show. The DMP-B15, designed to provide the ultimate high definition Blu-ray experience for those on the go, features a high quality 8.9-inch WSVGA LCD screen and includes the unique VIERA CAST® internet accessibility and BD Live functionality. The DMP-B15 will be available in May.

The DMP-B15 provides all the technology found in its stand alone brethren, the DMP-BD60, DMP-BD80 and the VHS-Blu-ray dual player DMP-BD70V. Image quality is of the highest level, thanks to PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus technology developed in collaboration with Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory.

"As a pioneer in the development of DVD and Blu-ray expertise, Panasonic has always been in the forefront of cutting edge, consumer friendly technology. Panasonic was the first company to bring to market a portable DVD player and stand alone Blu-ray players to feature Bonus View and BD Live," said Richard Simone, Director, Entertainment Group, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company. "Blu-ray technology came together with HDTVs to bring exciting High Definition viewing into the living room. With the introduction of this unique portable Blu-ray Disc player, the consumer can take this HD entertainment experience when they travel."

The PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus is a high quality image-processing technology that precisely processes each pixel of the Blu-ray Disc(TM) video signal in the vertical direction. It reproduces color data with twice the accuracy of conventional systems, resulting in faithful and sharp colors.

Ease of use is an important element in Panasonic's products and the DMP-B15, with a three hour rechargeable battery, is designed with that in mind. In addition to its use as a portable player, the consumer can connect it to an HDTV via HDMI cable, and use it as a standalone Blu-ray Disc player. The player can also be connected to an HD-Audio compatible AV receiver with a home theater speaker system and enjoy movies with outstanding surround sound. To accommodate the traveler, the DMP-B15 offers an optional headrest mounting bracket for in-car use. Like all Panasonic Blu-ray players, the B15 features an SD Memory Card slot that allows the consumer to view and share digital photos, as well as HD video recorded on a SD card.

For 2009, Panasonic's entire line of Blu-ray players includes VIERA CAST functionality. This unique application gives the consumer access to select entertainment sites, including Amazon Video-on-Demand, a streaming video service that gives the consumer access to more than 40,000 titles; YouTube(TM); Google Picasa Web Album; Bloomberg and a weather channel.

Source: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/090107/ny56492.html?.v=1

CES 2009: Sharp's latest blu-ray offerings

Today Sharp announced a number of New products. Sharp spoke about Home theatre in a box 5.1 with built in Blu-ray, TV's with built in Blu-ray players. Environmentally friendly seemed to be the under tone of much of Sharp's press conference today.

“BD-Live gives consumers access to downloadable features for an interactive home theater experience,” said Bruce Tripido, associate vice president, Entertainment Products Division, Sharp Electronics Corporation “Additionally, these new models raise the bar for image quality with features that display full high-definition content in its purest form.”

Two new set top Blu-ray players were announced, which are Sharp's third generation Blu-ray players.

BD-HP22U

Full HD 1080p24 digital output

Profile 2.0 (also known as BD-Live) via a wired Ethernet connection.

Low energy consumption in both the standby and power on modes.

HDMI 1.3 digital output with x.v. color support.

Sharp's proprietary Quick Start feature for quick disc loading including 2GB of USB memory.

Dolby® TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio via HDMI digital output. The player also decodes Dolby Digital Plus

Available in May for a MSRP of $299.99

BD-HP16U

Full HD 1080p24 digital output

Low energy consumption in both the standby and power on modes.

HDMI 1.3 digital output with x.v. color support.

Sharp's proprietary Quick Start feature for quick disc loading the memory capacity is unknown at the time of posting.

Dolby® TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio via HDMI digital output. The player also decodes Dolby Digital Plus

Available in March for a MSRP of $279.99

Sharp's TV's the AQUOS BD series.

52 inch LC-52BD80U 46 inch LC-46BD80U 42 inch LC-42BD80U 37 inch LC-37BD60U 32 inch LC-32BD60U The 52 inch and 46 inch units will be available in February 2009, all the other units will be available in January”. No prices have yet been quoted. All TV's come equipped with a multi-slot loading for Blu-ray, DVD and CD. The TV's have numerous features that are also included with the Sharp Stand alone TV's as well as unique features such as automatic switch on when a BD disc is inserted. Sharp's Home Theatre In A Box Sharp have released 2 units. Both have a Blu-ray player included in the main unit. These are 5.1 surround systems. It seems the only difference between the two models is the color. The BD-MPC40 is a high gloss black whilst the BD-MPC30 “allowing for limitless design and décor options that complement any room of the home” your guess is as good as mine as to what that means. The blu-ray player specifications appear to be similar to those of the BD-HP22U Blu-ray player. Source: http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=2253

CES 2009: Samsung Reveals Two Sleek New Standalone BD Players

Samsung Electronics America, Inc., has announced two new players at the 2009 CES, including the BD-P4600, a wall mountable design which, at 1.5 inches, is also the world's slimmest BD player. This mounting capability garnered the 4600 model a 2009 CES "Best of Innovations" award at this year's show. At just over 2 inches tall, Samsung's second unveiling, the BD-P3600, sports a similarly svelte exterior.

Both players include support of full 1080p video and all the latest high definition audio formats. One of the most notable new features is the players' new internet and wireless networking abilities. Each come with a BD-Live (Profile 2.0) standard, and in addition to Ethernet ports, the players are wi-fi ready, with the use of an included 802.11b/g/n dongle device. If subscribed, one can use streaming capabilities from both players to access over 12,000 movies and TV episodes from Netflix and Pandora music services. Their fast loading mechanism ejects a disc in approximately one second, and the sleek black design, with new versions of Samsung's groundbreaking Touch of Color™ accents, is equipped with a touch-sensitive control system.

No news yet on whether these players will be heading to Australia.

The Samsung BD-P3600

The Samsung BD-P4600

The Samsung BD-P4600, shown with its optional stand.

Source: http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=2256

Pioneer's TAD to introduce new Blu-ray audio format at CES

Technical Audio Devices (TAD), a subsidiary of Pioneer Electronics, will be demonstrating a new audio-only Blu-ray format at their booth at CES this year. This format, which will provide uncompressed 24bit 192kHz stereo audio, has not been named, though it sounds like this may be the first Blu-ray Profile 3.0 (Audio Only) demonstration.

While most Blu-ray users are familiar with Profiles 1.0, 1.1 (BonusView), and 2.0 (BD-Live), very few are aware that Blu-ray has yet another profile which allows for an audio only experience. Basically, the same audio codecs can be used (PCM, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD Master Audio) to provide users with a lossless/uncompressed audio experience at the highest fidelity, but without any requirements for video interaction. Much like CDs or SACDs, the disc would only have to be inserted into the player before it would automatically begin playing. All current players would be capable of playing the disc, but the spec allows for other, audio only players to be released as well.

The new ultra high-end audio format, currently unnamed, will be presented by two world famous recording legends Bill Schnee and Doug Sax at the Technical Audio Devices booth during all three days of CES. Most importantly, however, the technology unquestionably claims to "rival 2-channel analog sound," which for discerning audio enthusiasts will aim to restore the reminiscent sound quality of direct-to-disc recordings which can now be mastered in high resolution for digital replay on the Blu-ray Disc.

During CES, Pioneer's Chief Speaker and Designer Andrew Jones will work closely with the recording legend duo and will play a series of hand-selected tracks through TAD Compact Reference monitor speakers and a 24-bit/192Hz audio DAC with crystal definition that surpasses what current audio equipment is capable of reproducing.

To define a central purpose for the new format, Bill Schnee states that "while the industry has made a steady shift toward compressed audio, [Pioneer] believes that home audiences deserve a richer listening experience and there is a tremendous opportunity with emerging high definition technology to develop a medium that can successfully maintain the integrity of an original recording."

The full press release from Pioneer can be found here

Article source: Blu-ray.com & Fudzilla