Bluray Central

Insignia® Bluray Disc Player listed by Best Buy

BluRay — Sun, 25 May 2008 16:56:46 +0000

Best Buy has listed the Insignia® Bluray Disc Player (Model NS-BRDVD) with 1080p output for $349.99.

Product features are:

Bluray Disc format-compatible for high-definition movie playback with resolution up to 5 times greater than DVD;
Delivers greatly enhanced video performance with standard DVDs by upconverting their video resolution to HDTV-compliant 720p, 1080i or 1080p via the HDMI interface;
Plays BD-ROM discs; backward compatible with DVD, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD and CD-R/RW discs; compatible with MP3, WMA and JPEG formats;
Plays Bluray media that can store up to 50GB of high-definition video and audio;
Built-in decoders for next-generation Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD high-resolution surround, plus lossless Dolby TrueHD (2-channel);
HDMI output provides an uncompressed all-digital audio/video link for the highest-quality connection and supports copy-protected HD broadcast content;
Outputs: 1 stereo audio, 1 composite video, 1 component video, 1 digital optical audio, 1 digital coaxial audio and 1 HDMI;
Includes remote, 2 AA batteries, stereo audio cable, composite video cable and AC cord.

Sharp Releases Aquos BD−HDW30, BD−HDW25 and BD−HDW22 Bluray Recorders

BluRay — Tue, 20 May 2008 14:47:58 +0000

Sharp’s new Aquos BD−HDW30 (1TB storage), BD−HDW25 (500MB storage) and BD−HDW22 (250MB storage) Bluray recorders will be going on sale on July 1, 2008 in Japan.

MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 video recording is supported in all the three models.

World’s First Blu-ray Camcorder by Hitachi Now Launched in the UAE

BluRay — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:54:16 +0000

On August 2, 2007 Hitachi announced the world’s first Blu-ray Disc (BD) Camcorder, -which records one hour of 1920×1080 Full High-Definition video onto a BD (single side, single layer). The new camcorders started selling in Japan on August 30, 2007.

Now, Eros Group, one of the leading players in consumer electronics, telecom and allied multi-products in the Middle East region, has introduced the world’s first Blu-ray Hybrid camcorder in the UAE.

The DZ-BD7HSW is Hitachi’s flagship BluRay - Hard Disk Drive Hybrid model which incorporates Blu-ray disc recording capability and a 30 gigabyte (GB) Hard Disk Drive (HDD). The integrated 30GB HDD can record approximately four hours of Full HD 1,920 x 1,080 video (HX mode) or up to eight hours of HD 1,440 x 1,080 video (HS mode).

In addition, with a simple push of a button, it can copy the contents from HDD to BD within the camcorder itself, a major convenience feature for on-the-go consumers who can now bypass external devices (PCs, docking stations, etc) altogether to quickly dub a movie video. Easy editing functions such as split, delete and connect can also be made right in the camcorder before using the 1-touch dubbing function to burn Blu-ray disc copies.

Samsung and Sony Launch New Bluray Recorders

BluRay — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 03:16:07 +0000

Sony and Samsung, two of the biggest backers of the Blu-ray Disc format during its battle with rival HD DVD, are releasing new Blu-ray Disc products with the anticipation that consumers are finally ready to start upgrading to high-definition video discs.

Sony’s new machines, the BDZ-A70 and BDZ-T90, are both Blu-ray Disc recorders that pack a hard-disk drive and dual-tuners for Japan’s digital TV broadcasting system. The former model has a 320G byte hard disk and iLink port for hooking up to a DV camcorder while the latter a 500G byte drive but comes without the camcorder connection. Both cost ¥168,000 (US$1,608) and are available in Japan only.

Samsung’s new player, the BD-P1500, supports “full HD” 1080p playback and accepts not only Blu-ray Disc but also DVD and CDs. In the case of DVDs it offers upconverting to 720p, 1080i and 1080p.

The Golden Compass [Blu-ray] (2007)

BluRay — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 14:38:31 +0000

The Golden Compass, starring in Nicole Kidman, Dakota Blue Richards and Daniel Craig, will be released in Bluray format on April 29, 2008.

A fantasy epic with more than a passing resemblance to the Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia film franchises, The Golden Compass takes place in an alternate universe where each human’s soul is embodied in a companion animal called a daemon.

Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards), an orphan who’s lived most of her life among the scholars at Oxford, is intrigued when her uncle, Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig), announces his plans to travel north to investigate the source of some mysterious particles called Dust. Lyra has little hope of following her uncle until a mysterious woman named Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman, at her most icily beautiful) asks Lyra to travel north as her personal assistant.

All is not as it seems, however, and the disappearance of Lyra’s friend Roger (Ben Walker) sets her on a dizzying adventure. She does have an alethiometer, or golden compass, that can help her see the truth, and a number of companions, including her shape-shifting daemon, Pantalaimion (voiced by Freddie Highmore of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), polar-bear warrior Iorek Byrnison (voiced by Ian McKellen), Texas aeronaut Lee Scoresby (Sam Elliott), and witch queen Serafina Pekkala (Craig’s Casino Royale co-star, Eva Green).

Samsung P1500 BluRay player gets BD-Live upgrade

BluRay — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 22:25:24 +0000

Samsung fourth-generation BluRay player, the BD-P1500, has been delayed until June as the company updates its specifications to include BD-Live functionality. First announced back in January, the P1500 was originally slated for a May launch with a MRSP of $399. Capable of full 1080p playback, the unit will also upscale normal DVDs to 720p, 1080i or 1080p.

Forty Universal Titles on Bluray this Year

BluRay — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 02:19:55 +0000

A staunch supporter of the HD DVD format (at least as long as it was alive and kicking!), Universal Studios yesterday announced it will soon release a raft of films including new titles on the Blu-ray format — around the same time as the release of its standard DVDs.

The studio said the Blu-ray series would kick-off this summer with recent blockbuster “Doomsday”, going on to include about 40 titles in the second half of 2008. Among the illustrious 40 are five of the studio’s real biggies including “The Incredible Hulk” starring Edward Norton, William Hurt, and Liv Tyler; “Wanted” starring James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie; “Hellboy II: The Golden Army”; “Mamma Mia” starring award-winning actor Meryl Streep; and the sequel “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” starring Brendan Fraser and Jet Li.

Buffalo announced MediaStation™ External Blu-ray HD DVD Combo Drive

BluRay — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 04:24:23 +0000

Buffalo Technology, a global leader in the design, development and manufacturing of wired and wireless networking, storage and memory solutions today announced the MediaStation Blu-ray HD DVD (BRHC-6316U2), the market’s first external Blu-ray and HD DVD player.

It is the first device of its kind on the market that allows users to both read and write Blu-ray content. It provides the ability to save high-definition content, giving users an all-in-one solution to meet their entertainment needs. Users can also connect the player to a notebook or other mobile device via USB and view their favorite video content while on-the-go. In addition the player allows for playback of HD DVD content.