HDI Dune BD Prime: world's first hybrid Blu-ray player / HD streamer

by Darren Murph posted Dec 29th 2008 at 11:02PM

Unbeknownst to many (us included), HDI's Dune BD Prime has been making the rounds for a little while now. The deck, which is primarily marketed and sold outside of North America, claims to be the first bona fide multimedia player that's also a Blu-ray deck. The unit is available in four variations: the vanilla package, one with 802.11n WiFi, one that adds Ethernet and another that packs twin eSATA ports. The unit essentially plays dual roles by sucking down HD content from network-accessible drives / PCs while spinning up the latest Blu-ray Disc in its spare time. File format support doesn't look to be an issue, though a critical review over at MPCClub definitely found a few faults. Those with Euros to burn can find the player for around €449 ($638), though we don't get the feeling this is heading stateside anytime soon.

Read - Announcement
Read - Review

Filed under: Reviews, Blu-ray, Media streamers, Others

Tags: bd, BD Prime, BdPrime, blu-ray, Dune, global, hd streaming, HDI, HdStreaming, media streamer, media streaming, MediaStreamer, MediaStreaming, stream, streaming, uk

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

shawnmos @ Dec 30th 2008 12:52AM

Looks cool, but a little expensive.

Neutral

L3 @ Dec 30th 2008 1:42AM

I don't care what it is or what it does. I want it.

How cool are those antennae?

Neutral

Galley @ Dec 30th 2008 7:08AM

Surely the PS3 supports streaming of HD content.

Neutral

Michael Sterling @ Dec 30th 2008 7:48AM

Why is it that every piece of REALLY cool HD kit is only available outside the U.S.? Are manufacturers afraid we might actually want to buy this stuff? It's just amazing that for every device that I think to myself, "Ooh, I want that," Engadget's post ends in "but don't expect it stateside anytime soon." Good grief.

Neutral

snakesmullet @ Dec 30th 2008 11:13AM

Is the reference to Frank Herbert's Dune in the name intentional or not?

Neutral

z0phi3l @ Dec 31st 2008 12:34AM

Because the MPAA would flip out if any manufacturer makes it easy for us to enjoy any content

Neutral

Christophe Cherel @ Dec 30th 2008 2:31PM

Dune BD Prime Review in french (the test of the player) :
http://www.hdsoir.com/2008/12/dune-hd-prime-test.html

Translation :
http://www.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hdsoir.com%2F2008%2F12%2Fdune-hd-prime-test.html&langpair=fr|en&hl=fr&ie=UTF8

Neutral

neo @ Jan 2nd 2009 8:59AM

Actually these are coming to the US. The BD Prime (no hdd bay, different case build) being ready and the HD Center coming later. I pre-ordered the euro version but am thinking about cancelling and paying a bit more for the US version (region 1/A locked and US power cords being the issue). The only shop I've found so far however is, http://duneplayer.com/shop/

But I'd check the homepage out for reseller additions: http://hdi.co.il/index.php?do=resellerlist

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