The Hollywood Reporter reports that Sony has admitted that BD-Live is still at the ‘Pong’ stage in its development. Sony held an industry event yesterday to showcase some of the features of BluRay to studios.
Full story here
Warner Bros has announced two new programs to promote its BluRay catalogue. The first is Red2Blu a trade in program for those that still have HD-DVD disks. Warner is offering for a limited time a chance for US and Canadian customers to swap their old HD-DVD disks for new shiny BluRay platters. You can upgrade up to 25 disks
Also announced today is the “Warnerblu Buy 5 Get 1 Free” promotion. You can register at Warnerblu.com/rewards and will earn a credit for each BluRay you purchase. When you reach five disks you can claim another free (plus the usual shipping and handling).
Both of these look like great promotions and can only help build the popularity of BluRay. In addition it shows the studio is committed to the format when many are saying that BluRay has a short life span and that download is the future (how dare they with their inferior video and audio quality)…
Now I wonder if my local Blockbuster has any HD-DVD’s left in the pre-owned section…
Visit Warnerblu/rewards and Red2Blu
Netgear has launched the Entertainer Elite media streamer. While I like the idea of these devices I’m not quite sure of what you’re supposed to stream. OK I get the usual audio and photo’s but a lot of these devices support 1080p video so unless you’re streaming you high def home movies around your house (what a dreadful idea) I can’t see the point really.
Anyway this one looks good, 802.11n Wi-Fi and a 500GB hard disk that you can upgrade (presumably you’ll lose whatever you had on the old drive). The unit also has a few USB ports so you can play content straight off USB. You can also stream from Flickr or nice grainy YouTube videos.
Other useful features include the fact that multiple Netgear Digital Entertainer Elite units can work in concert throughout a house. Using “Follow Me,” consumers can pause a video in one room and resume it in another. While in “Party Mode,” they can synchronize music playback for whole-home listening. This could be fun – on my wife’s last significant birthday I ran slideshows on our 52” TV in the living room during the party of old photos of her from childhood, all around the house would be great.
A word of caution I have several Netgear products (WNR3500 router and SC101 NAS) and I’d advise to wait for a few firmware updates before taking the plunge, it usually takes them a few months to get things stable – just my opinion/experience
Video Business reports that Blockbuster may not complete its current refinancing and despite an increase in sales may be forced to close. No word on how this could affect their other operations including the UK. They’re pretty well priced for BluRay movie purchases (for a bricks and mortar business) but since they have been getting rid of the Game Station stores inside the Blockbuster stores their game pricing has been off when compared to others. But they are one of the few BluRay movie rental stores in the UK so good luck to them.
Full article here
Sony has announced two new HDMI cables with one end set at a right angles. Aimed at the flat panel market these new cables ideal for installation where the panel is wall mounted with minimal depth behind the TV. Whereas typical connectors need 7cm clearance (so claim sony with ferrite suppressors – which are typically lower on the cable anyway) these new cables only require 28mm clearance.
Specifications;
• HDMI™ version 1.3a Category 2 rated for an all-digital, uncompressed A/V signal supporting 1080p or higher
• Support for up to 10.2Gbps signal bandwidth, 240Hz refresh rate and 48-bit Deep Colour
• 24 carat gold plated connectors for optimal conductivity and long life
• High quality OFC (Oxygen-Free Copper) core wire for excellent signal transmission quality
• Triple shielding for a high level of protection from electro-magnetic interference
• PLAYSTATION® 3 and Blu-ray™ Certified, compatible with BRAVIA Theatre Sync and X.V. Colour™
Both 1m and 2m (which seem a little short for wall mounting) will be available in April
Also announced today from Sony are two new all-in-one systems featuring BluRay. Both systems feature BDV-E300 and BDV-E500W. The models are BD-Live capable and support the latest advanced audio including 7.1 channels of Dolby® TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus, DTS®-HD High Resolution Audio, and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding.
The BDV-E500W also features Sony’s S-AIR technology to enable wireless surround (but I’m guessing you still need to run power cables so not wireless really). The BDV-300 can be upgraded to S-AIR later on.
Both systems also feature DVD upscaling and a USB port to add memory for BD-Live. Sony’s Digital Media Port is also present for iPOD docks and Bluetooth adapters.
The BDV-E300 and BDV-E500W ship in June for about $600 and $800, respectively in the US.