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LG W63 enters gaming monitor arena, claims to be the best

by Vladislav Savov posted Sep 3rd 2009 at 6:44PM

You can't exactly accuse LG of lacking audacity -- the company that today unveiled the eccentric Color Pop displays has also updated its consumer monitor line with a gamer-centric Full HD entry that has everything but humility. The 23-inch W63 touts a new Thru Mode, which sacrifices image processing to deliver "zero-delay" visuals, a 1,000:1 (real) contrast ratio, 2ms response time, 300 nits of brightness, two HDMI inputs and picture-in-picture functionality. There's even a Tru Light equalizer-like thingy at the bottom of the screen that pulsates in time with the sound of your glorious battle triumphs and Skype message pings. Only question left is, can anyone actually tell the difference between two milliseconds of delay and none at all?

Read - LG press release
Read - W63 product page

300: The Complete Experience double dips on Blu-ray July 21

by Richard Lawler posted May 14th 2009 at 11:41PM


It appears Warner has finally gotten around to this double dip, with the (re)release of 300: The Complete Experience. For fans (who will probably be in stores at launch July 21 picking up Zack Snyder's Watchmen: Director's Cut) there should be plenty to make up for the extras left out last time around. Besides the formerly HD DVD-only blue screen picture-in-picture video track, there's three new Blu-ray exclusive PiP features: Creating a Legend, Bringing the legend to Life and The History Behind the Myth. No word on price, but the three disc set will include a digital copy DVD, BD-Live My Community Screening and My WB Commentary support, all the old extras included with previous releases, a Dolby TrueHD soundtrack and 50 page collectible booklet. That enough to get you to buy again?

Gallery: 300: The Complete Experience

Big Buck Bunny Blu-ray disc busts out 3 PiP streams, BD-Live

by Richard Lawler posted Aug 21st 2008 at 7:18PM


After giving HD DVD a proper send-off with Terminator 2: Ultimate HD-Edition, the Imagion AG team has thrown itself fully into the b's like Paul Pierce, preparing the Blu-ray release of Big Buck Bunny, another open source creative commons-licensed movie from the creators of Elephants Dream. How do you top being the first to do PiP on Blu-ray? With three separate picture-in-picture tracks give us a look at the original storyboards, 3D renders or the original rough renders from the production team's Blender software. The dynamicHD-live portion should be familiar to fans of the T2 release, using BD-Live access to TuneHD.net for constantly updated news, Big Buck Bunny-related websites and calibration settings. The disc packs in both BBB and Elephants Dream and should be shipping soon.

Your PC BD-Live ready? Cyberlink's latest Blu-ray Disc Advisor can check

by Richard Lawler posted Aug 6th 2008 at 9:54AM


Cyberlink's updated its BD Advisor (the HD advice having sadly, but understandably, falling by the wayside), to check for profile 1.1 (Picture-in-picture) and 2.0 (BD-Live) support. A quick download of the 4 MB app and a scan later, and you know if your hardware may need an upgrade to play movies at all, or to enjoy all the special features by checking out the new advanced tab in the new, slightly cleaner interface. Our request for a calculator to add up the cost of necessary upgrades has yet to be answered, though we're slightly comforted in the knowledge that the required equipment is a lot cheaper now than it was two years ago during our first scan.

Sony's $400 BDP-S350 Profile 2.0 Blu-ray player now shipping

by Darren Murph posted Jul 16th 2008 at 5:27PM


Wow, Toys 'R Us was only a day off. Sure enough, Sony's BDP-S350 -- which was first introduced / spotted in February -- has gone on sale at Sony Style retail outlets, the Sony Style website and other fine retailers near you. If you're looking for a quick refresher, this Profile 2.0-compliant deck supports BonusView (picture-in-picture), but curiously enough, Sony mentions that "a firmware update enabling BD-Live is planned [for] later this year." You'll also find full 1080p output, 7.1-channel Dolby TrueHD / DTS-HD Master Audio support and a promise to suck down 21% less power in playback compared to the BDP-S300. All yours for $400 (give or take a few pennies).

Band of Brothers Blu-ray box art emerges from fog of war

by Richard Lawler posted Jul 7th 2008 at 3:23PM


Peep the first picture of the Band of Brothers 6-disc Blu-ray set, recently confirmed as due this fall. The sleeve promises DTS sound (which we'll conveniently take to mean DTS-HD MA), picture-in-picture commentary from the real men of Easy Company and an "interactive field guide" among other features. Fans of the miniseries can rest easy, this set definitely seems to be getting the proper treatment before it hits shelves, we'll keep an eye out for the official list of features that should be unveiled pretty soon.

[Via TheHDRoom]

Poll: Do you utilize picture-in-picture functionality?

by Darren Murph posted Jun 21st 2008 at 12:00PM


A recent article over at Entertainment Weekly got our gears turning, and we began to wonder if anyone actually takes advantage of picture-in-picture anymore? On one hand, it's still a (minor) selling point on even the fanciest of sets, and viewers sure seem to love those multi-screen broadcasts put out by DISH Network and DirecTV. Consequently, we can't even remember the last time we utilized PiP for more than a moment or two in order to keep track of two sporting events simultaneously. Who knows, maybe it's the ability to record one show while watching another that's curbing our usage of picture-in-picture, but we're curious just how dusty your own PiP button is / isn't. Tell all below!

U-control picture-in-picture makes a comeback on The Mummy Returns Blu-ray disc

by Richard Lawler posted May 22nd 2008 at 3:35PM

When Universal releases The Mummy Returns July 22 on Blu-ray, expect a return of the studio's U-control features with exclusive content not seen on the previous HD DVD release. Accompanying all the previously seen extras, Blu-ray viewers get a special picture-in-picture track with behind the scenes footage and filmmaker interviews.The 50GB disc will also have a DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio track, whether or not any of this makes it a better movie this go-round remains to be seen.

PS3 firmware v2.30 walkthrough: DTS-HD MA support / new PS Store included

by Darren Murph posted Apr 10th 2008 at 11:12AM Breaking News


Oh sweet mercy, what have we here? A sneak peek (on video) of the looming PlayStation Store revamp and a confirmation of DTS-HD Master Audio output in the next PS3 firmware update, that's what. Over on the PlayStation Blog, we're casually walked through the impending v2.30 update, and just as we had heard, Blu-ray fans can shout in unison as the inclusion of their favorite audio codec (as well as DTS-HD High Resolution Audio) is just days away. Word on the street has v2.30 headed down the pipes on April 15th, and if you're eager to catch a glimpse of some more stills from the made-over PS Store, head on over to Joystiq.

Read - PlayStation 3 firmware v2.30 walkthrough video
Read - Revamped PlayStation Store images
Read - DTS' own confirmation of the good news (Thanks, sTeViO!)

PS3 firmware engineers interviewed, DTS-HD MA support on the way

by Richard Lawler posted Apr 9th 2008 at 6:17PM

AV Watch scored an interview with some of the engineers behind the frequent PlayStation 3 updates -- most recently adding BD-Live in 2.20 -- and uncovered details on what's been going on under the hood so far, as well as what to expect in the future. 1080 deinterlacing and DTS-HD MA support are definitely in the works, although no date is given. A possible answer why it's not there yet, is the indication that the just implemented mosquito noise reduction on MPEG-4 AVC videos uses less processing power than the original version of BD player software, which used 100% of resources for DVD upconversion, but now only maxes out on PiP streams with BD-Java running. For best PQ, play your digital files from disc or USB stick instead of DLNA, since they are currently processed differently. Otherwise, we can expect future updates quarterly, and for those beyond the reach of the net, updates are also packed onto discs, like the Resident Evil flick with 2.10 firmware on it. Check out Beyond3D for more highlights and see if all your most burning questions have been answered.

[Via PS3 Fanboy & Beyond3D, thanks Isaac]

Forthcoming BD-Live rollout gets inspected

by Darren Murph posted Mar 28th 2008 at 6:21PM


Our favorite database of Blu-ray statistics has gone above and beyond the call of logging data and has detailed the forthcoming rollout of BD-Live titles. Granted, we already knew of -- and played with -- some BD-Live-enabled films, but this list goes beyond Saw IV and War and touches on flicks landing anywhere between next week and later this summer. Let's just hope designers come up with something a touch more riveting than Yakuza Fighter. Hit the read link and dig in!

CyberLink's PowerDVD Ultra Blu-ray Profile 1.1 update now available

by Richard Lawler posted Jan 31st 2008 at 2:53PM

Being Bonus View (or Profile 1.1 like we used to call it back in the old days) enabled has gone from theoretical to actual for users of Cyberlink's PowerDVD Ultra. Also enhancing BD-J compatibility with certain movies, the 71.8mb download brings users to build 3730 and should provide the seamless PiP quality observed at CES -- if your PC can handle it of course. No charge for supporting more of Blu-ray's features, so get to downloading.

[Thanks, François]

Resident Evil: Extinction's Bonus View gets tested

by Darren Murph posted Dec 19th 2007 at 1:34PM


Back in October, we noticed that LG's BH200 wouldn't really be able to take advantage of its snazzy Profile 1.1 features until Resident Evil: Extinction landed in 2008, but due to a little magic, Blu-ray.com managed to secure a screener copy of the flick and give us all a look at what's in store. Utilizing a recently updated PlayStation 3, we're able to see exactly how Bonus View will change the way we experience films, as various PIP displays emerged in varying corners of the screen to showcase video commentary, storyboard comparisons and behind-the-scenes footage while the movie itself rolled along behind it. It was also noted that a non-Profile 1.1 player (Panasonic's DMP-BD10, to be exact) played back the title just fine, but of course, there was simply no option to watch the PIP content. Hit the read link for a few more shots of RE:E's Bonus View in action.

Terminator 3: I'll be back, in a couple of weeks

by Steven Kim posted Nov 7th 2007 at 4:03PM

Terminator 3 Blu-ray delayed two weeks
We all have to wait a couple of weeks longer than expected to check out Terminator 3, Warner's first Blu-ray release with IME. The release date has been bumped from December 4 to December 18. It's been an interesting road to release for this title: an initial HD DVD-only release; then its announcement as a Blu-ray "catch up" disc; clarification that the PiP commentary would come from two copies of the movie on one disc rather than a single Profile 1.1 version; and now this delay. No word on what the cause for the delay is -- hopefully Warner isn't having to compromise the sound or video quality to make space for the IME version.

The BDA "clarifies" the Profile 1.1 mandate (PIP)

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Nov 1st 2007 at 11:14AM

Blu-rayWe don't know about anyone else, but we've been a little confused about this so-called mandatory profile 1.1 deadline of October 31st 2007. While some couldn't care less about PIP, -- or any other extras on their HD movies -- who wants to buy a player that doesn't support everything Blu-ray has to offer? The reason we're confused is because manufacturers like Sony just released a players right before the deadline and Samsung's new BD-UP5000 is 1.1 "ready". Well, at this week's Blu-ray fest, Andy Parsons clears up the confusion by saying "We won't quibble over something like the firmware upgrade. The most important thing is to deliver product that meets customer expectations." We're not sure what your expectations are, but as long as your brand new Blu-ray player can handle the first PIP title when it hits the street, we guess it doesn't matter when it became officially 1.1 compliant. Honestly, we're surprised Samsung said anything at all, after all who'd be able to say it wasn't compliant if there weren't any movies before the firmware hit the streets.




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