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Blu-ray holiday primer gets you informed

by Darren Murph posted Nov 6th 2008 at 4:58PM


If you've been conveniently ignoring all the ins and outs of Blu-ray while the prices have been out of reach, you may have found yourself feeling a bit behind the times now that the technology is becoming more attainable. No worries, though -- Forbes has hosted up a detailed Blu-ray Holiday Primer that gives you the skinny on BD's advantages over DVD, how it stacks up against digital downloads and what all those Profiles actually mean. If you've been scouting a simple crash course in Blu-ray before plunking down $150 or so (we hope, anyway) this Black Friday, you know where to head.

[Thanks, Anthony]

NAD's $1,500 T 587 Profile 2.0 Blu-ray deck shipping in December

by Darren Murph posted Nov 3rd 2008 at 10:05PM


During a period where Blu-ray deck manufacturers are begrudgingly lowering prices in order to increase BD adoption, NAD's sticking to its high-end roots and pricing its own Profile 2.0 player accordingly. The T 587, which was briefly spotted at CEDIA 2008, got all official on us today, as we learned that it'll come loaded with HDMI 1.3, Ethernet, composite / component outs, coaxial / optical digital audio ports, an external IR input, front-panel USB socket and internal decoding of the latest lossless audio codecs from Dolby and DTS. It'll also offer 1080p24 playback, specially developed silicon rubber feet (you know, for vibration isolation), a swank upscaler for sprucing up your DVDs and native support for BD-Live / BD-Java applications. Too bad it's being priced entirely too high at $1,499, but those with reputations to uphold can get one installed next month.

[Image courtesy of HomeTheaterMag]

BluFocus beefs up Blu-ray control labs with BD-J / THX certification

by Darren Murph posted Oct 16th 2008 at 1:23AM

At the front end of this year, we heard that BluFocus was getting a facility going to help studios pumping out Blu-ray Discs to the adoring public make sure no terrible backlashes occurred. Now, the quality assurance specialists are offering up two more critical certifications: THX and BD-Java. What does this mean for you? Hopefully nothing that you can tell, but it's not like we're complaining about one more layer of scrutiny before a flick hits the open market.

sofatronic's Kaleidoscope software creates interactive applications for Blu-ray

by Darren Murph posted Feb 23rd 2008 at 1:40AM


Now that Blu-ray is the last format left standing, we're definitely hoping that it ups its own game in regard to interactive content. Thankfully, sofatronic is looking to make the development of interactive applications on Blu-ray Discs a good bit easier. Essentially, Kaleidoscope -- not to be confused with Kaleidescape -- enables users to work in a visual authoring environment and create "user interfaces and advanced interactive features without having to write Java code." Additionally, the program's framework "supports all available Blu-ray player models and automatically handles performance differences and compatibility issues," which sounds pretty impressive, we must say. Click on through for the full release.

Continue reading sofatronic's Kaleidoscope software creates interactive applications for Blu-ray

Digital Leisure's Space Ace headed to HD DVD and Blu-ray

by Darren Murph posted Feb 6th 2008 at 2:41PM


If you didn't quite get your fill of Dirk the Daring with Dragon's Lair on HD DVD and Blu-ray, Digital Leisure has you covered. Slated to arrive on April 8th on both major formats, the completely restored Space Ace will allow fans of the series to check out a 1080p version of the game and treat their ears to a freshly created 5.1-channel audio mix. Additionally, the title was authored in both BD-Java for Blu-ray and HDi for HD DVD, ensuring that customers have access to the highly-anticipated interactive features regardless of what camp they're in. Also of note, each title will have slightly different extras (detailed in the read link below), so hardcore fans should be sure to pick up both for the full experience -- if you're cool with dropping $49.95 apiece, that is.

BluFocus working with studios to ensure Blu-ray disc quality

by Darren Murph posted Jan 20th 2008 at 1:04PM


Barely a month after Microsoft revealed the Xbox 360 HD DVD Emulator in hopes of speeding up development of HDi, we're seeing a new company emerge with bolstering Blu-ray Disc quality as its top priority. Of course, anyone paying attention over the past few weeks would realize that something like this is sorely overdue. Reportedly, BluFocus is already working with a number of studios in order to ensure that BD-J / BD Live functionality is properly implemented and that discs arrive to end-users sans issues. The company (accurately) points out that mastering Blu-ray titles is a much more involved process than mastering a vanilla DVD, and considering just how much interactivity is being mixed in, there's a lot more room for error than in days past. Notably, we're not told exactly which studios BluFocus is currently working with, but here's to hoping we find fewer reasons to plead for replacement discs in the future.

[Via Blu-ray, image courtesy of DailyGame]

Blu-ray early adopters "knew what they were getting into," apparently

by Darren Murph posted Jan 14th 2008 at 9:09PM

As if there hasn't been enough debate over the inability of Profile 1.0 players to make the leap to Profile 1.1 / 2.0, the folks manning the Blu-ray booth at CES gave us all something else to yap about. According to BetaNews, BD representatives on hand proclaimed that early adopters "knew what they were getting into" when they purchased a player that lacked advanced functionality such as Bonus View and BD Live. Apparently, BDA President Andy Parsons felt the same way, as he noted that it was par for the course for technology to evolve and change. 'Course, we suppose there's no room to argue with that, but we can certainly sympathize with folks yearning for an easier way to receive Profile updates. Then again, it's not like the Blu camp had much choice but to pull the trigger and rush players to market if it wanted to keep pace with HD DVD, right?

[Thanks, Andrew and Jason]

Lionsgate, Sony readying BD-Live-enabled flicks for January

by Darren Murph posted Dec 7th 2007 at 4:32PM

Nah, BD-Live isn't even close to where it should be, but hopefully the impending stream of BD-Live-enabled films will push the hardware vendors to get with the program. Apparently, both Lionsgate and Sony are readying web-enabled titles for January, even though "hardware that can fully playback BD-Live interactivity has not yet been confirmed." War and Saw IV should both be hitting shelves before February dawns, and while Miguel Casillas didn't elaborate on the former's interactivity, he did note that Saw IV would enable users to "share content through their Blu-ray players' web connections." Furthermore, Sony executive VP of advanced technologies Don Eklund proclaimed that internet-enabled features would "represent a major theme in the studio's 2008 Blu-ray slate." Of course, we're not going to get too riled up until we see this stuff in action, but hopefully a lot more details will be spilled at CES.

Fox, MGM strike back -- proudly unveil slew of upcoming Blu-ray films

by Darren Murph posted Aug 20th 2007 at 5:22PM


Call us crazy, but the response time between camps seems to be growing increasingly shorter with each and every blow. Merely hours after Paramount and Dreamworks chose HD DVD (or were they "persuaded?") as their one true love, Fox and MGM (Blu-ray backers from the start, mind you) have struck back with a few fightin' words of their own. Most notably, Mike Dunn, President Worldwide, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, proclaimed: "Given that Blu-ray has consistently outsold HD DVD all year, we believe that the time is right for us to accelerate our activities and help convert the nearly 60 million high-definition households worldwide into Blu-ray households." In order to do so, the release also lays out details for a whopping 29 titles that are slated to hit BD in the not-too-distant future. Of course, the timing here is especially noteworthy considering Fox's unexplained absence of late, and the two made quite clear that BD-J / BD-Live components won't be skimped on in the upcoming releases. Though not confirmed, you can also likely count on facing BD+ when picking up any of these forthcoming discs, but with choices like Ronin, Master & Commander, and A Bridge Too Far, Blu-ray fans should have plenty to keep them occupied in the coming months.

Read - Fox, MGM Blu-ray plans
Read - Were Paramount / DreamWorks paid to commit?

Disney shows off Cars' interactive features in trailer

by Darren Murph posted Aug 18th 2007 at 1:56AM


Those patiently awaiting November 6th can now tide themselves over a bit, as Disney has released a trailer that actually shows off some of the much-anticipated bonus features that will reside on the Cars Blu-ray disc. The well-detailed "Car Finder" game (pictured above) purportedly enables viewers to "search for over 200 models of cars hidden throughout the movie and even race the clock to find a specific car in a frozen frame of film." Also shown is the "Cine-Explore" mode, where you'll be treated to a making-the-movie walkthrough with John Lasseter. Go on, hit the read link to give it a look yourself.

[Via HighDefDigest]

Toshiba HD-XA2, HD-A20 HD DVD players to get 24p update

by Darren Murph posted Jul 4th 2007 at 7:19AM


Though we've already waxed rhapsodic about Toshiba's HD DVD players of late, the firm is finding a way to keep the recently discounted standalone players in the news. This time around, the firm is getting official about the rumored 24p output, as we now know that at least the HD-XA2 and HD-A20 will be eligible for a September update that will enable playback of content in 1080p/24. It wasn't insinuated that any other Toshiba players would eventually receive the same upgrade, nor did we get the feeling that HD DVD players on the whole would be refreshed, but here's to hoping (for the latter, primarily).

Panasonic launches $600 DMP-BD10A Blu-ray player, bundles five films

by Darren Murph posted May 15th 2007 at 9:31AM


Not too long after Pioneer went and introduced its second generation Blu-ray player, along comes Panasonic to follow suit, but unlike the BDP-LX70, we've got a pricetag as well as a few tempting reasons to pick this one up over the competition. The DMP-BD10A packs an audio upgrade that brings 7.1, Dolby True HD, and DTS-HD on board, and it incorporates Panasonic's EZ-Sync system for "one-touch operation" of your home theater. The overall design doesn't deviate too far from that seen in the first iteration, but you will find 1080p upconversion via HDMI, a 14-bit DA converter with 4x oversampling, support for BD-J, and compatibility between select HD camcorders via the AVCHD (H.264) codec. Notably, Panasonic is giving users two reasons to seriously considering its new offering, as the fairly reasonable $599.95 pricetag looks even better when you consider the five BD films (Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Transporter, Fantastic Four, and Crash) you'll be getting right in the box.

[Via Impress]

The Descent giving fits to BD-Java-less Blu-ray players

by Darren Murph posted Jan 6th 2007 at 6:03PM Featured Story

If you've just picked up the recently released The Descent on Blu-ray disc, hold back from tearing the plastic off just a minute. If you're using a first-generation Blu-ray player that doesn't yet support the "BD-Java environment," chances are you'll be graced with a depressing black screen instead of an action-packed thriller. Users across the web are complaining that the film isn't playing back on their particular Blu-ray player, and High-Def Digest has suggested that units that don't play nice with BD-Java extras are having a hard time swallowing (and playing) the featurette-packed disc. Sony's BDP-S1 and Pioneer's BDP-HD1 have been singled-out as the two most problematic players in this ordeal, and while Sony has promised a firmware update to add BD-J support "early this year," the Pioneer users are currently out of luck. Notably, Panasonic units, Samsung's BD-P1000, and Sony's own PlayStation 3 are having no troubles, although some Samsung devices may need the latest firmware installed to overcome any glitches. Hopefully more manufacturers will get on the ball and start supporting these newfangled extras that were supposed to make high definition discs worth more than the pretty resolution, and kudos to Lionsgate for pumping this one up with BD-J action -- even though some of us are still trying to make it spin.

[Via High-Def Digest]




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