Blu Ray Disc Archive

  • $900 Sony Vaio J is a touchscreen PC for the rest of us

    $900 Sony Vaio J is a touchscreen PC for the rest of us

    While I honestly doubt you’ve been thinking about getting a touchscreen all-in-one, if you have you’re in luck. The Vaio J, which is actually quite handsome, is available now for about $900 on a good day. It’s nothing to call the president about: 21.5-inch 1920×1080 display, Core i7 CPU, and 8GB of RAM. It plays back [...]

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  • Netflix goes with Microsoft PlayReady DRM for upcoming streaming devices

    Netflix goes with Microsoft PlayReady DRM for upcoming streaming devices

    Looks like Netflix has decided to go with Microsoft's PlayReady DRM for all upcoming Netflix-ready devices. If all goes according to plan you shouldn't even notice the DRM being there, but we all know how well DRM has worked in the past.

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  • Harman Kardon releases HDMI 1.4a upgrade for selected receivers

    Harman Kardon releases HDMI 1.4a upgrade for selected receivers

    And just as I was getting used to my HDMI 1.3a! Harman Kardon is releasing updates to its AVR2600,3600, and 7550HD receivers, enabling HDMI 1.4a through a firmware upgrade.
    "In order to meet the requirements for HDMI ver1.4a it is true that a combination of hardware and software specs must be met. The underlying hardware architecture of these models is configured in a way that does not require any change. Thus, only updated software is required. The issue is different from one type of product to another (e.g. AVR vs. Blu ray vs. TV) as well as from one brand or model to another. In some cases a hardware change is needed and a software upgrade is not sufficient, but in the case of these models (as well as some other products in the market)" (Robert Silva example: Sony PS3) "new software and compliance testing is all that is needed."

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  • Denon announces two new 3D-Ready Blu-Ray players

    Denon announces two new 3D-Ready Blu-Ray players

    Denon is jumping into the the 3D market with both feet, bringing two new Blu-ray players to the market. Both feature 5.1 audio, BD Live, Netflix, and YouTube Streaming, and (my personal favorite) 1GB of on-board memory.

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  • Apple prepping a Mac mini with HDMI? And Blu-ray?

    Apple prepping a Mac mini with HDMI? And Blu-ray?

    The Mac mini has long been a HTPC fan favorite. It's small, quiet, yet powerful. But it doesn't have an HDMI port, which makes many Apple clowns sad. But hold on, a rumor just popped up that states that Apple is working on a Mac mini with *gasp* an HDMI port!

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  • Hot deal on a Blu-ray VHS combo player

    Hot deal on a Blu-ray VHS combo player

    I’ll be honest with you. This was an odd product to see first thing on a Monday morning. Take the futuregasm known as Blu-ray and mix it with the nostalgia of VHS and you’ve got the Panasonic DMP-BD70V. Normally selling for $200 and up, Amazon’s got it for $140 today.

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  • The Sony BDP-S470 is ready for all your Blu-ray 3D needs

    The Sony BDP-S470 is ready for all your Blu-ray 3D needs

    Ready or not, 3D Blu-ray movies are coming and the new Sony BDP-S470 is ready to handle all of them -- once Sony outs the necessary firmware. The same goes for the previously-announced BDP-S570 player and BDV-E770W and BDV-E570 HTIB systems. All these systems will be rocking 3D movies soon. The new S470, however, is just curiously $20 more than the S370 and a few dollars less than the flagship S570 besides the fact that all three models are nearly identical.

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  • Walmart Black Friday ad

    Walmart Black Friday ad

    Walmart’s Black Friday ad is here, packed full of holiday goodies. Stores open at 5AM Friday morning and doorbusters will be available until 11AM. Here’s a list of gadget-related items. Doorbusters are marked with an asterisk. Computers Acer 17.3″ Blue Laptop w/4GB Memory, 320GB Hard Drive and Windows 7 Premium (Online Only) – $498.00 eMachines 15.6″ Notebook w/AMD Processor, [...]

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  • VHS lives: JVC announces VHS/DVD/Blu-ray recorder for Japan

    VHS lives: JVC announces VHS/DVD/Blu-ray recorder for Japan

    It seems VHS will never die, and this is generally welcome, as a lot of good movies aren't still available on optical discs. In summer 2008, Panasonic released a VHS/Blu-ray combo, followed by Sharp's Aquos BD-HDV22 that was pretty much the same thing. And today, over one year later, JVC anounced the DR-BH250 [JP], which is a VHS recorder, Blu-Ray Recorder and 250GB HDD rolled into one.

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  • TDK develops disc capable of holding 320GB

    TDK develops disc capable of holding 320GB

    TDK has something pretty interesting in store for next week's CEATEC 2009 electronics exhibition in Japan. The company plans to showcase a write-once optical disc that boasts a capacity of 320GB distributed over ten layers holding 32GB each (as opposed to a Blu-ray disc that can store up to 25GB per layer).

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  • Only the suits stand between you and 100GB Blu-ray discs

    Only the suits stand between you and 100GB Blu-ray discs

    Sharp (yes Sharp, I was surprised too) is working on developing an improved version of the current technology use to read and write Blu-ray discs. By changing the way the discs are made, and improving the laser, Sharp has been able to increase the maximum capacity of the Blu-ray disc to 100GB, from the current standard of 50GB.

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  • Blockbuster OnDemand movies coming to a Motorola near you

    Blockbuster OnDemand movies coming to a Motorola near you

    Blockbuster - the once dominant, now prehistoric video rental company where you used to rack up incredible late fees (and anger towards their employees) - is not only still kicking, but seems to be positioning itself for a 21st century “comeback” of sorts via a new partnership with Motorola. Talk about two companies who [...]

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  • Sony laptop can’t play Sony disk with Sony drive on Sony TV

    Sony laptop can’t play Sony disk with Sony drive on Sony TV

    Zing! Don’t try to watch your copy of Watchmen on your Vaio laptop with Blu-Ray on your Sony TV! Says one forum member at quartertothree.com I bought the watchmen DVD. Pretty cool right. Tried to play it on my sony laptop hooked up via hdmi to my sony flatscreen. Crashed of course. This was only annoying. [...]

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  • It’s official: Toshiba finally went Blu-ray today

    It’s official: Toshiba finally went Blu-ray today

    They've announced it back in June and executed the plan today: Toshiba is now officially a Blu-ray supporter. The company issued a short press release (in English) today, stating Toshiba has applied for membership of the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA). The BDA is a voluntary membership group aimed at fostering the development of the Blu-ray format on a global scale.

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  • The Lexicon BD-30 Blu-ray player should be able to playback everything

    The Lexicon BD-30 Blu-ray player should be able to playback everything

    If you’re one of those geeks whose equipment simply must be compatible with every optical format, Lexicon has something for you. The BD-30 can play-back just about everything from Blu-ray discs, DVD, DVD-audio, SACD, CD and pretty much everything except of course  HD DVD. The presser touts the fact that the player is future-proof thanks to [...]

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