Blu-ray won the HD format wars a bit less than a year ago. Since then Blu-ray has been adding features and updating the specifications for more interactivity and features. Many Blu-ray players are now Internet connected offering interactive features like BD-Live.
Warner Home Video has announced its first BD-Live enabled Blu-ray film is coming. The film is The Dark Knight, the latest Batman film that was the last performance of actor Heath Ledger. I saw the movie at the theater and it was fantastic.
BD-Live features on the disc will include My WB Commentary that allows users to record commentary on the movie and overlay in picture-in-picture style on the film as it plays. The movie will also feature BD-Live community to allow fans to schedule screenings with friends and chat with other viewers as the movie plays. The film will be available on December 9.
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Written by Shane McGlaun on December 2nd, 2008 with comments disabled.
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If you think that the current Blu-ray disc is the best then you might be out of date because Pionner has unveiled its 16-layer optical disc that is able to store a huge 400GB worth of data. The Pioneer disk is based on Blu-ray Disc (BD) with a breakthrough in material of reflective layers. The specifications of the pick-up head (PUH) of the disc is the same as those for the PUH of blank BD discs, so the Pioneer discs can be read on BD players that are in the market. Pioneer will release its read-only (ROM) 400GB discs in 2008 to 2010, meanwhile rewritable 400GB discs will make a debut in 2010 to 2012 and the 1TB capacity disc in 2013. [Digitimes]
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Written by Johan on December 1st, 2008 with comments disabled.
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Warner Bros. upcoming “The Dark Knight” Blu-ray title will be the company’s first release to include Internet enabled interactive features exclusive to the Blu-ray format. According to Warner Bros. owners of “The Dark Knight” will be able to host their own Live Community Screenings with friends, record, and post user-generated commentaries over the film using My WB Commentary, access additional exclusive content on Warner Bros. BD-Live, get sneak peeks, and trailers of upcoming films, create an online library of Blu-ray movies, manage a wish list for upcoming releases, and connect to the WB store.
Here’s an excerpt from the press release on what you can do:
“Users will be able to host their own Live Community Screening with their buddy list or the entire Warner Bros. BD-Live community. Fans and friends across the country can send invitations for screenings at a specified time and chat with each other as the movie plays.
The “My WB Commentary” feature of BD-Live will allow fans to post user-generated Picture-in-Picture commentary right over the film then share it with friends or the entire Warner Bros. BD-Live Community. Using a web-camera, users can record their own comments and play them back as a Picture-in-Picture feature over the film scene they have chosen. Users can then post the commentary on BD-Live, share it with whom they select and receive a rating on their videos.
More Warner Bros. BD-Live initiatives will be announced in the coming weeks, including the opportunity for fans to interact with director Christopher Nolan during a special Live Community Screening. “
Additionally…
“Warner Bros. BD-Live will have exciting new content both specific to The Dark Knight and other WB films exclusive only to BD-Live registered users. Content includes, but is not limited to, two motion comics, one created as a bridge between the story of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight and one created about The Joker, and an exclusive look a the premiere of The Dark Knight in New York City.”
The Dark Knight comes out on Blu-ray starting on December 9th.
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Written by flung on December 1st, 2008 with comments disabled.
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Owners of the Samsung BD-P2500 and BD-P2550 standalone Blu-ray players will soon be able to access Netflix HD content via a firmware update that will be made available during the first week of December. Both players already offer Netflix streaming support with access to over 12,000 standard definition titles but the new update will provide playback support for approximately 300 HD titles at 720p resolutions. Xbox 360 consoles with the New Xbox Experience already have Netflix HD support.
[Check it out via GearLive]
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Written by flung on December 1st, 2008 with comments disabled.
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When first announced back in September, the Sony VAIO LV-series was described as a High-Definition PC/TV. That blurring of distinctions between computer and entertainment gives a good idea of how the company envisages their all-in-one slotting into your lifestyle; a relatively rare HMDI input, allowing external sources to use the LV as a 1080p-capable display, helps single the system out even further. Are TV tuners, Blu-ray and Dolby Digital surround sound enough to let the VAIO LV replace your current HDTV?
The specs set the LV off to a good start, with up to a 3.16GHz Intel Core Duo E8500 processor, 4GB of RAM and 1TB of 7,200rpm SATA storage available. Graphics are courtesy of up to an NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS video card with 256MB of memory, and all but the base model has a Blu-ray drive, with the top-end LV supporting both Blu-ray playback and burning. Crowing glory, however, is the 24-inch widescreen XBRITE-HiColor display, running at 1920 x 1200 full 1080p High-Definition.
Connectivity includes gigabit Ethernet, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth with A2DP, five USB 2.0 ports, S-Video, iLink Firewire, HMDI input, S/PDIF and headphone outputs, A/V and line/microphone
inputs. There are also dual NTSC/ATSC TV tuners, with two RF aerial inputs. Sony includes not only a low-profile wireless keyboard and mouse, but also a remote control. On the LV itself there are a small number of controls: separate PC and Display on/off buttons, HDMI source selection, volume, wireless on/off, keyboard/mouse connect and webcam angle adjust control. The webcam is mounted above the display and 1.3-megapixel resolution; it supports software face tracking and has an integrated microphone.
OS is one flavor or another of Windows Vista - Home Premium on the lower-end models, Ultimate on the higher-end - all with Media Center support. That means pausing and recording live TV, including over-the-air HD channels, and scheduled recordings, all through a lounge-friendly GUI that also gives access to music and online content. As well as that, Sony add their usual array of VAIO apps - here including the “Click to Disc Editor”, “Movie Story”, “MusicBox”, “Media plus streaming” and more - together with trials of Microsoft Office 2007 and OneCare. Happily the bloatware for which the company had become known for has been dramatically reduced.
While the LV would make a perfectly pleasing desktop PC - with 24-inches of high-resolution screen ample for just about any application you could think of - it’s true home is in front of your sofa. The integrated dual 5.5W stereo speakers do a passable job, but for best results we’d recommend hooking up a full surround system. Do that, and the LV comes into its own: the XBRITE display is a typical Sony triumph, with deep blacks, minimal motion smear and crisp, bright colors. Vista comes in for plenty of (often justified) criticism, but its Media Center functionality is straightforward and intuitive to use. The Sony remote manages to be both comprehensive but not overwhelming, and the keyboard (which feels a little plasticy) has an integrated trackpad for surfing the web from your lap.
Plug another video source, such as a PS3; into the LV’s HDMI input and instead of a Vista PC you’re now looking at a high-definition display. Copyright reasons mean Sony won’t allow you to use both the PC and the HDMI input at the same time, so you have to switch between them, but all the aspects that made the VAIO such a good PC monitor make it an equally good standalone screen. We can’t help but be disappointed by the inability to have, say, a PS3 window onscreen at the same time as a Word document, though.
Sony has obviously used some of their HDTV knowledge with the LV’s physical design. Unlike many all-in-one PCs, the power supply is integrated; go for wireless networking, stick with the integrated speakers and the cordless peripherals and you’ve got a one-cable system. A standard VESA mounting plate means suspending the LV on the wall or, even, on a poseable arm is straightforward, and with the slot-load optical drive hidden on the right-hand side you could easily mistake it for a standard TV. Overall, we’re fans both of the LV-series design and its construction: plastics and other materials used in the main unit are of high quality.
So could you - should you - replace your HDTV with the VAIO LV? A lot of it will come down to room size: 24-inches is big for a monitor, but small for an HDTV. The same display that looks impressive on your desk or, even better, mounted on the wall in your study, looks overwhelmed on a TV stand in all but the smallest of rooms. Yes, you can connect to a bigger screen, but that then leaves you with two high-definition options in close proximity, which seems a bit like overkill.
On the other hand, keeping the LV-series PC as a bedroom set - where the size might be more typical - is a tremendous waste of a very capable computer. No, the VAIO LV makes most sense in a den or games room, serving duty both as your everyday PC and, when the workday is done, the display for some impromptu gaming.
As for the price, there’s another argument. While the range starts at $1,699.99, that gets you a mere 320GB of storage and a DVD burner; the former will quickly fill if you use the Media Center functionality, while the latter doesn’t do justice to the LV’s screen. Instead, you’re looking at $1,899.99 for the 500GB model with Blu-ray player or, if you’re serious about high-def media editing, $2,799.99 for the 1TB version with Blu-ray burner. That’s a whole lot of money, and it would buy you a decent standalone PC and an HDTV certainly larger than 24-inches.
That said, we’ve still a soft spot for the Sony VAIO LV-series. It’s undoubtedly well designed, well constructed and well specified, and if space is an issue but 1080p a must then it’s well worth considering. Mainstream users will likely find they get more for their money - including more interconnecting cables - if they spread it out to separate components, but those who pick the LV are unlikely to be disappointed.
Related: Sony Vaio RT Review - Top Tier All-in-One Multimedia PC
Unboxing Sony VAIO LV
Click here to view the embedded video.
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Written by Vincent Nguyen on November 28th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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If you’re looking for a new Blu-ray burner to perhaps finally jump into the whole Blu-ray burning thing, then you might be interested in the Pioneer BDR-03J. This burner is capable of up to 8x speeds. Impressed yet?
This Blu-ray PC burner is really fast. It can burn Blu-ray media at up to 8x speed. But it is also capable of burning DVD-R at 16x and even CD-R at 32x. That’s pretty cool, even if you don’t make mix CDs very much anymore.
This serial-ATA optical drive is expected to be released in January sometime, though only Japan. There’s no information on whether or not this fast Blu-ray burning wonder will make it stateside, but we will certainly keep our fingers crossed.
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Written by Brenda Stokes on November 28th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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To help drive sales for the Hitachi DZ-BD10HA Blu-ray camcorder, Hitachi has announced a new direct sales website at www.hitachibd.com. Launched today, the website will allow consumers to purchase the camcorder which sells for $1099. The website also features information to help educate consumers about Blu-ray as well as interactive guides that demo the features of the Hitachi DZ-BD10HA.
The Full 1080p capable DZ-BD10HA was launched back in September and features a 7 megapixel CMOS image sensor, optical image stabilization technologies, face detection technology, a built-in 30GB hard drive, and support for recording HD video to three separate formats (Blu-ray Disc, Hard Drive, and SDHC cards).
[Check it out]
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Written by flung on November 17th, 2008 with no comments.
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Once you get your eyes fixed on Blu-ray movies you’ll never want to watch DVD’s again. But even then you’d need a good system to fully enjoy the Blu-ray experience. Pioneer knows this, and in attempt to bank your cash satisfy your entertainment cravings, they released the LX01BD Home Cinema System. What you get is an all-in-one package of Blu-ray player with 5.1 amplifier, surround speakers, and a bass-firing woofer.
The 3D-cut shaped drivers can generate sound in all directions, which means you can keep them all together and still get full 3D surround sound. A little expensive at £2,000 but the Blu-ray player is Profile 1.1 compatible and outputs video at full 1080p at 24fps, supports both Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD surround sound, and come with two HDMI inputs. [Electricpig]
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Written by Jeremiah on November 7th, 2008 with no comments.
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