Harman Kardon, a division of Harman International Industries, Incorporated (www.harman.com), today announced the introduction of its first Blu-ray Disc™ media player, the Harman Kardon® BDP 1. The Harman Kardon brand, long respected in the sound industry, builds on its home theater heritage by offering the exciting new features of the next-generation of Blu-ray Disc media. By including BD-Live with the BDP 1 player, home-theater buffs who have vast Blu-Ray-disc movie collections have access to a new world of interactive content, including games, ringtones and other specialized Internet content. With its elegant design, the BDP 1 complements high-definition displays and audio/video receivers, while the unique Harman Kardon user interface simplifies setup and operation.
People with existing DVD libraries will be happy to find that the BDP 1 is backward-compatible with standard DVDs. The BDP 1 also elevates standard DVDs to 1080p (via HDMI™ connection), which lets movie aficionados enjoy higher-quality playback than that from a standard DVD player. More than just a movie player, the BDP 1 allows for simultaneous JPEG and MP3 music file playback from discs or USB memory sticks. And users can dazzle their families and friends with a photo slideshow presentation using the BDP 1’s simultaneous playback feature for image and sound files.
“The Harman Kardon brand has a rich history of delivering the right combination of power, performance, flexibility and ease of use in the home,” says Christopher M. Dragon, director of consumer and field marketing for Harman Consumer. “The introduction of our first Blu-ray Disc player balances our portfolio of home products, which have always featured great sound but, now, thanks to the BDP 1, offer crystal-clear video playback.”
Key specifications:
• Disc formats: Blu-Ray Disc media, including BD-R/RE, BD-Live and BonusView™, DVD/DVD+R/DVD-RW, CD/CD-RW, MP3 or JPEG files on disc
• Audio formats: LPCM, MP3, Dolby® Digital, Dolby TrueHD, DTS®, DTS-HD Master Audio™ and WMA.
• RJ-45 connection for Internet access
• IR-remote in/out jacks for system integration
• HDMI output (V.1.3a with Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD™ bitstreams and high-resolution video)
• Front-panel USB jack for additional BD-Live memory or MP3 or JPEG file playback
• Optical and coaxial digital audio outputs
• Dimensions (H x W x D): 66mm x 440mm x 352mm
• Weight: 3.7kg
The BDP 1, like all Harman Kardon products, is designed to match the entire Harman home-theater lineup; it will be available June 2009 at www.harmankardon.com for a suggested retail price of $499.
