Sony BDP-S370 and BDP-S470 Now Shipping

The first 3D blu-ray player, the Sony BDP-S470 has hit the market and is now shipping at Amazon. It is not 3D out of the box but expect a firmware update to make it fully 3D in a few months time. Built with BRAVIA Internet Video, you’ll have instant access to the likes of Netflix, YouTube, Pandora, and Picasa. What makes the BDP-S470 worth it are the little extras, like DLNA compatibility, Gracenote Metadata Service accessibility, cross searching functionality, and iPod/iPhone compatibility.

Also just released is the Sony BDP-S370 that Sony lists at just $179.99 at Amazon. Although it is positioned as a basic entry level model it is well decked with a host of useful features that includes SACD playback, streaming movies and the ability to view digital photos from your PC or other Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) enabled devices to the player.

Gone are the days of wading through a messy bunch of network cables between your home theater system and your computer. Yes, three cheers to the Wi-Fi Alliance for untethering us from the burdensome aspect of technology, making our lives clutter free. And four cheers to Sony for making the BDP-S470 WiFi ready. All you need to connect to your wireless broadband network is a USB WiFi adapter.

Sony has also done a good job with improving disc loading times. Both these players load really fast taking just seconds for a blu-ray movie to start up on screen.

Sony Launches First 3D Blu-ray Player

Sony has just announced the launch of the BDP-S470, its first 3D Blu-ray player, which is scheduled to hit the stores later this month at a sensible price of $199.99. This price will almost assure a good take up rate right from the start. The player will support playback of single-disc Blu-ray, DVD, CD, and even SA-CD. It will be 3D-ready when Sony ships a firmware update this summer.

“Consumer excitement for 3D is unbelievably high and Sony is poised to deliver the best possible in-home experience,” said Sony home division VP Chris Fawcett, in a statement.

The BDP-SS470 uses Sony’s new “monolithic” Bravia design and connects to Sony’s Bravia Internet Video via a separate USB-based wireless adapter. With that you will get to enjoy Amazon Video On Demand, YouTube, Netflix, Slacker, and Internet-enabled BD-Live content. Other features include Sony’s Entertainment Database Browser (powered by Gracenote) for movie and CD data. At the audio end, Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD Master Audio are on board too. Video upscaling to 1080p for DVDs are standard. Sony claims a boot up time of just 3 seconds which is a real improvement over previous models.

The Sony BDP-S470 joins the ranks with the BDP-S770 which shares the 3D capability, but adds built-in wi-fi (an add-on for the S470) and 1 GB of internal storage.

Samsung BD-C5500 & BD-C6500 Now Shipping

Samsung’s 2010 lineup of Blu-ray players – the BD-C5500 and BD-C6500 are both currently available and shipping on Amazon for $199 and $299, respectively.

The BD-C5500 is the Samsung’s new entry level blu-ray player. Featuring an environmental friendly eco-design it draws 13 watts during use and a mere 0.1 watts on standby. Although it’s an entry level player it does come with all the features you will need for high definition entertainment in your home.

The new Samsung BD-C6500 was launched at the Consumer Electronics Show recently as part of Samsung’s new line of blu-ray players for 2010. The BD-C6500 combines performance and speed with improved energy efficiency. The BD-C6500 received an CES 2010 Innovations Honoree award for being the ‘World’s Fastest Blu-ray Player’. Samsung claims a lightning fast 15-second disc load and 15-second boot-up time!

Both players has the new high tech slim profile and access to the updated version Internet@TV including Samsung Apps. The flagship 3D capable BD-C6900 is not available yet.

Panasonic’s 3D Technology Given CES 2010 Innovation Awards

Continuing its tradition of producing innovative technology products that enhance the consumer’s entertainment experience, Panasonic is proud to announce that its cutting edge 3D Plasma television, and 3D Blu-ray Disc player were awarded 2010 Innovations awards by the Consumer Electronics association. The innovative Full HD 3D products will be showcased at the 2010 CES convention, held in Las Vegas, January 7-10.

“Panasonic strives to produce the highest quality consumer electronics products that feature cutting edge technology, while providing the user with a product that increases their entertainment experience,” said Bob Perry, Senior Vice President, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company. “Our goal of providing innovative products reflects Panasonic’s philosophy of creating products from ideas for life and is totally affirmed by this recognition by the Consumer Electronics Association. We are extremely proud to have our 3D Plasma, 3D Blu-ray player and portable Blu-ray player selected for such a prestigious award.

“Panasonic is a leader in the evolution of 3D as a home experience and we firmly believe, along with the Hollywood community, that 3D will be the next big thing in home entertainment. 3D is the next frontier in home entertainment and Panasonic is proud to be a leader in this exciting technological advance. ” added Perry.

The TC-P50V25, a 50-inch class Full HD 3D Plasma TV, features Panasonic’s newly developed high-speed 3D drive technology that enables rapid illumination of pixels while maintaining brightness. The 50V25 allows for the viewing of true to life Full HD 3D images that distribute full HD (1920×1080) images to each eye. The alternating left and right images are each played at 60 frames per second. Viewing the TV with active shutter glasses, in which the left and right lenses alternately open and close at the same speed as the images, the viewer’s brain recognizes the images as 3D. The high precision glasses utilize Panasonic’s technology to precisely control the opening and closing of the shutter in synchronization with the left and right eye images alternately shown on the Plasma screen.

In addition to the 3D technology, the TC-P50V25 features Panasonic’s state of the art IPTV functionality, VIERA Cast™, which provides such targeted web sites as Amazon VOD™, You Tube™, Picasa Web Albums™, Bloomberg and a weather channel. The 3D Plasma also features Eco link functions – Stand-by-Power and Auto Power. Stand-by Power minimizes the power consumption of connected devices, when power is turned off. Auto Power Stand-by minimizes power loss by using VIERA link to control interconnected devices.

Panasonic’s DMP-BDT350 was recognized by the CES Innovations awards as the world’s first Full HD 3D Blu-ray player with WiFi. In addition to its Full HD 3D technology, the BDT350 is noteworthy for the inclusion of VIERA Cast, as well as BD Live, 7.1 channel audio decoder (Dolby True HD, DTS HD), an SD Memory Card slot (to play AVCHD HD video and JPEG digital still pictures), a USB port, twin HDMI and DivX HD. The Blu-ray player also employs Panasonic’s PHL Reference Chroma Processor to insure the highest picture quality and P4HD Super Resolution to achieve high speed, precise pixel generation, resulting in accurate up conversion of 480i and 1080i to 1080p.

Source: Panasonic Press Release; January 6, 2010

New Samsung Blu-ray Players For 2010

Samsung recently announced their new line of blu-ray players at the CES in Las Vegas. Four players were introduced in their press release. Top of the list is a 3D capable player that won the CES Best Innovations Award. Here’s the full range of model numbers and a summary of their features:

• Samsung BD-C5500 – This is their entry level player featuring an eco-friendly design that uses only 13W of power during play and just 0.1W on standby. It is wi-fi ready and requires the use of an USB dongle to access the internet.
• Samsung BD-C6500 – With a lightning fast 15-second disc load and 15-second boot-up time this is the fastest blu-ray player on the planet garnering a CES Innovations Honoree Award for this feat. It comes with built-in Wi-Fi support that connects to Samsung’s latest incarnation of Internet@TV. It also features enhanced Blu-ray playback using Samsung’s Adaptive Servo Technology (AST).
• Samsung BD-C6900 – This is the 3D player that won the CES Best Innovations Award 2010. Samsung must be mighty proud of this achievement. But to enjoy 3D you would need have a 3D HDTV, a pair of 3D glasses and last but not least a good dose of 3D content. This is a player for early adopters that are willing to fork out the extra bucks to get a taste of the future. Mass market adoption might not come till 2012 according to industry estimates.
• Samsung BD-C7500 – Another world first by Samsung is this ‘nature inspired’ machine adorned with wood paneling finished with jewel-like gloss. Touted as the ‘World’s thinnest player’ it measures only 1.1 inches in height. Designed to be wall-mounted, placed on a 25-degree angle stand or just flat, it is easy to match it with any home decor.

With a focus on connected entertainment, all models from the step-up BD-C6500 and above include built-in Wi-Fi support, and for the first time, you will be able to access Samsung’s upgraded Internet@TV feature through these Samsung Blu-ray players via wireless/broadband connection, even if you do not have a Samsung HDTV. Consistent across all of the 2010 Blu-ray player models is Samsung’s commitment to green attributes. Each player has improved energy efficiency by using new technologies and are compliant to the more stringent EnergyStar® 4.0 guidelines.

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