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15 June 2006

Samsung sent out a press release this morning, announcing that their first Blu-ray player, the BD-P1000, has shipped to retailers and will be available on June 25th.

Samsung Electronics America, Inc. announced today that the industry's first Blu-ray disc player has been shipped to retailers in the U.S. market for availability on June 25th. The Samsung Blu-ray disc player (BD-P1000) has been eagerly awaited by consumers anticipating the opportunity to view High Definition discs on their existing HDTVs. Blu-ray is the next generation disc format which offers close to five times the resolution of conventional DVDs making it the highest picture quality available on the market. The format is supported by many of the leading movie studios, including Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) and LionsGate Pictures which will release Blu-ray content this month. The innovation marks the latest technology breakthrough brought to market by Samsung and further underscores the brand commitment to offering consumers the ultimate home theater experience.

If you have an extra $999.99 laying around, you can preorder a BD-P1000 today. More information can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

14 June 2006

While the first Blu-ray titles are set to launch on June 20th, gamesindustry.biz has reported that Sony and Pioneer have decided to push back the release dates for their Blu-ray players.

Sony has revealed that its BDP-S1 Blu-Ray disc player will now be launching in mid-August, and not later this month as previously suggested - with electronics giant Pioneer also announcing a delay for its own player.

According to the Sony Style website, the BDP-S1 will now ship "on or about August 15, 2006." The USD 1000 player was originally given a June 30th launch date, which was later changed to July.

Pioneer has also abandoned the proposed June release date for its BDP-HD1 player, apparently due to interoperability issues. It will now launch in September at a price point of USD 1500 - a drop of USD 300 from the MRP originally suggested.

Samsung is still scheduled to launch its Blu-Ray player on June 25th. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

14 June 2006

While Sony's own Blu-ray player has been pushed back until August, the company is moving ahead, releasing their first seven BD titles on June 20th.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) will launch the first slate of Blu-ray Disc (BD) titles in just one week, on June 20, 2006. The delivery of the first seven BD titles, timed to coincide with the first commercially available BD player from Samsung Electronics and BD-compatible VAIO PC from Sony, marks the beginning of a new era in home entertainment that will forever change the way consumers look at, listen to and play movies, music and games.

Titles available at retail June 20 from SPHE include: "50 First Dates," starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore; Luc Besson's visually stunning "The Fifth Element;" the hit blockbuster comedy starring Will Smith, "Hitch;" "House of Flying Daggers" from director Zhang Yimou; "XXX," starring Vin Diesel; "The Terminator," featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger; and the follow-up to the hit action-thriller "Underworld," from director Len Wiseman and starring Kate Beckinsale, "Underworld Evolution."

With the Samsung BD-P1000 hitting store shelves on June 25th, its going to be up to VAIO owners to buy these initial titles. If you'd like to read more, Sony's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

06 June 2006

The German website, heise online, has reported that Toshiba is getting ready to release a firmware update for its first generation HD DVD players, the HD-A1 and HD-XA1. This update is supposed to speed up the boot time, eliminate crashes and improve the black levels when using HDMI. Here's part of the article, translated from German:

Toshiba placed a first firmware update for its Hp-DVD-Player HD-A1 available in the USA and Japan and HD-XA1 finished. The update is to be distributed be able to be downloaded in the countries mentioned by Toshiba on a Disc or shortly on-line. In addition one must connect the Player by its Ethernet interface with the Internet. The update accelerates among other things the start of the operating system of the Players which is based on Linux, eliminates some drive assembly problems and crashes and improves the black value rendition at the HDMI connection. Helvetica, sans-serif,Announcement

If your HD DVD player is connected to the internet, you'll be able to download it directly from Toshiba. Otherwise CD's with the update will be available. More information can be found here. Add a comment