Pioneer's last batch of Blu-ray players wasn't exactly earth-shattering, but if you're in the market for the highest of the high-end, it sounds like the upcoming Elite BDP-09FD might be worth waiting for. The first Pioneer unit to support Profile 2.0 and BD-Live, you'll also be getting 4GB of internal storage, eight independent D/A converters for each 7.1 channel (which means there are tons of receiver-caliber adjustments possible from the player), and 16-bit color output over two HDMI jacks. Should be out soon, for a whopping $2200.

Ooh, goodie! A full five months after Corel released its WinDVD 9 Plus Blu-ray application, the first major update pack has arrived. The unimaginatively named WinDVD 9 Plus Blu-ray Update Pack checks in at just under 50MB and size and promises to resolve the "Enable S/PDIF Out" / "HDMI output to speaker" issues while expanding the list of compatible commercial titles and enhancing compatibility for a slew of VGA chipsets within Windows Vista / XP. There's no direct mention of BD-Live support, but for those who purchased the original, why not give the update a go and report back?

[Thanks, Tyler]

This one sounds like little more than pure speculation, but word on the street has it that Panasonic will be following its recently released DMP-BD50 with two new players at CEDIA 2008. The DMP-BD35 and DMP-BD55 will purportedly feature a revamped UniPhier video processor and an Ethernet port for BD-Live compatibility. As for the latter, it'll also boast 8-channel analog audio outputs and isolation feet to reduce the effects of vibration. Obviously, no pricing details have been announced, but let's hope Panny shocks the world with a couple somewhat respectable stickers in just a few weeks.

[Via CNET]

The "BD-Live-ready" BDP-S350 only started shipping in the US a few weeks ago, so we suppose the Brits / Scots / Welsh / Northern Irish (did we just make that up?) can't grumble too loudly about Sony's latest release. Both the BDP-S350 and BDP-S550 have finally been deemed official and ready for use in the United Kingdom, though specifications are precisely the same outside of that really funky power adapter. Curiously, there's no mention of release dates or prices, but it's almost guaranteed that you UKers will be forced to cough up way too many pounds as Sony takes advantage of the current exchange rate situation fiasco.

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).

Remember how your curiosity level shot through the roof when Pioneer abruptly discontinued the BDP-LX70A Blu-ray player in the UK? We're willing to bet this is why. Announced over on Pioneer's European website, we're being treated to three fresh faces -- the Profile 2.0-compliant BDP-LX91, Designer BDP-LX08 and BDP-LX71 -- along with one familiar face (the BDP-51FD). All of the new units will feature 1080p24 support, HDMI 12-Bit Deep Color support, KURO LINK, DTS-HD Master Audio / Dolby True HD compatibility and professional-quality Wolfson Digital Audio Converters (DACs). As for pricing and availability other than Europe, your guess is as good as ours, but we are told to expect the BDP-LX71 in September, the BDP-51FD / BDP-LX08 in October and the BDP-LX91 "later on in the winter."

Call us crazy, but it seems that CyberLink has been patting itself on the back quite frequently. Shortly after announcing that its PowerDVD software was certified for DTS-HD Master Audio playback, it's now trumpeting two more certifications: Profile 2.0 (BD-Live) and AVCREC. These additions assure users that any connected material on BD-Live-enabled titles will play back just fine in PowerDVD, and the AVCREC approval enables it to "play back the recording of high-definition video onto DVD recordable discs using the MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) format." Per usual, owners of PowerDVD 7 or prior will need to fork out some cash for the upgrade, while PowerDVD 8 owners can nab the update gratis.

Panasonic's pricey Profile 2.0-compliant DMP-BD50 can't really be worth that much more than the PlayStation 3, can it? According to a review over at CNET, the answer is likely no, but if you can somehow overlook the sticker, there's a really solid Blu-ray player behind it. Phrases like "excellent image quality" and "outstanding soundtrack support" dominated the review, but even though it was deemed the "most recommendable standalone Blu-ray player to date," critics still couldn't deny that the PS3 was simply "better and cheaper." After all, standard DVD performance was seen as lackluster and operational speed was "sluggish" compared to Sony's latest console, leaving us to wonder how in the world Panny justified such a price tag. Nevertheless, the full review (video included) is waiting just down there, but if you weren't sold already, we doubt this will sway you.

It may be tough to remember back, but when Sony's PlayStation 3 launched well above the price of its two rivals, many were immediately turned off. Reviewers everywhere panned the system for being too pricey, forcing Blu-ray upon the unsuspecting public, and being quite limited in home theater applications. Fast forward to today, and everything has changed. BD is the sole next-gen format, Sony has slashed the price, and its internal components have enabled it to keep up with the Profile changes while standalone decks get left in the proverbial dust. The folks over at ArsTechnica took the time to sit back down with the PS3 now that the tables have turned, and unsurprisingly, they found a lot more to like this 'go round. For HD aficionados in particular, the console is simply hard to ignore, as it still stands as the "most affordable fully-featured HD disc player on the market." Check out the full re-review below to see if Sony's latest console really is your best bet.

[Via BLORGE]

Just over a month ago Cyberlink was the first to announce its product would support BD Live and today ArcSoft claims it's the first to be "certified." Unfortunately, ArcSoft failed to mention exactly when this free update would be available, so for now if you can't go without the current unimpressive features already available on select discs, PowerDVD is the only game in town. Regardless, the Blu-ray playback software market is really heating up, and although none of them offer a full featured player yet, with BD Live checked off the list that only leaves the highest quality lossless audio support.

NAB Show 2008 is in full swing, and just in case you haven't heard, here's something worth taking a listen at. DTS has just revealed v1.6 of its DTS-HD Master Audio Suite toolset for Blu-ray Disc and DVD production, which includes "numerous highly anticipated file management features [along with] the public release of Dynamic Automation for DTS Express." The latter is an interactive secondary audio codec for BD, and according to Brian Towne, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Consumer Division, "the latest feature set empowers content creators with the freedom and flexibility to dynamically vary the primary audio volume, which is essential for picture-in-picture, alternate tracks, director commentaries and other interactive features for Blu-ray Disc." Best of all, DTS Express streams encoded for Blu-ray with MAS v1.6 are playable on Profile 2.0 and Profile 1.1 players, and it's available as a free upgrade (right now) for existing customers.

Merely hours after The 6th Day hit retail floors, Gaming Bits was able to secure a copy, pop it in a PlayStation 3 and test out those BD-Live features. If you'll recall, experiences with connected extras in Walk Hard were less than smooth, and while this look isn't nearly as in-depth, reviewers did come across noticeable lag in parts. Still, if you're interested in catching a few more glances at what kind of BD-Live fun awaits on this disc, the read link is calling your name.

Shortly after finding out what kind of extras would be available on the BD-Live-enabled Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story release, the folks over at The Man Room were able to snag a pre-release copy and give it a whirl on Sony's recently updated-to-Profile 2.0 PlayStation 3. Unfortunately, "slow" was the term of the day. From the initial four minute wait until the BD-Live menu appeared to the four to five minute pause as each "Coxologist featurette" downloaded (in SD, no less), we quickly learned that patience was paramount. Even worse, an HD trailer took 18 minutes to grab on a DSL connection, and there's no apparent way to stream the content versus downloading it in full before watching. Nah, we're not giving up hope just yet, but feel free to hit the read link for a look at just how rough around the edges the whole thing seems right now.

Okay, so we dutifully updated our PS3 software to version 2.20, and took it for a quick spin. Granted, the removal of portable copy from the release lowered our expectations, but we really wanted to see what BD-Live is all about. During the install, we got a dialog to "... allow Internet connection from BDs" that got our attention. Hello, BD-Live! The number of discs with BD-Live content makes for slim pickings, but we popped in a copy of "War." Based on what we've seen, you can strike this title off the Profile 2.0 list -- despite what we'd heard before about this being a BD-Live title, we didn't notice any special extras on our updated PS3. We uncovered the BD-Live enabled version of "Yakuza Fighter." It's without a doubt, the lamest game ever to grace our PS3: you set a sequence of moves and then pit your sequence against the other player. Once you're done, your scores and moves can be kept associated with your online profile for future fights. Think "scripted rock-paper-scissors" here. Even more disappointing is that we found it impossible to get the "Resume play" function to work with this title. The feature did work just fine on other discs, however, and is a welcome addition to our fragmented lifestyle. We'll hold off on a verdict until more BD-Live content becomes available, meanwhile perhaps we'll try to grab a copy of the other BD-Live disc, Saw IV, and see if the BD-Live Easter Egg hunt yawn-fest continues.

UPDATE: We found the BD-Live enabled game on War, and updated the post with the info. - Thanks, Dave C!