- Details
- Home Entertainment
Plextor LLC, a leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance digital media equipment, announces its new PX-MMC-BMW1 (or PlexMedia ) networked media player, as well the compatible PX-B120U external BD-ROM drive, at Computex 2010 in Taipei, Taiwan.
Visitors can take a first look at Plextor’s new networked media player, the PX-MMC-BMW1 (or PlexMedia), while at the show. This is the first networked media player that can be connected to an external USB BD-ROM drive, making it possible to watch high-definition Blu-ray discs in your living room without having to purchase a Blu-ray disc player.
Simultaneously with the media player, Plextor also launches the PX-B120U, a compatible external BD-ROM drive. This portable drive can be connected to the media player to become your living room Blu-ray disc player, but is versatile enough to carry in a notebook bag or connect to a desktop PC – allowing you to enjoy HD everywhere.
- Details
- Home Entertainment
RealD Inc. announced today that Zoran has licensed the stereoscopic RealD Format and will incorporate support for 3D content delivery and display technology into its TV, set-top box and Blu-ray products. Zoran's TV reference design with integrated RealD 3D support is available now.
Manufacturers of set-top boxes, televisions and other consumer electronics products that use Zoran's SupraHD, SupraXD and VaddisHD multimedia processors can now support content delivered in the RealD Format and display high-definition 3D with no additional hardware required.
"Supporting the RealD Format is an important element in our strategy to provide comprehensive, high-quality 3D TV capabilities in Zoran's TV, set-top box and Blu-ray player solutions," said Ram Ofir, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Home Entertainment division, Zoran Corporation. "The RealD Format has been adopted by many major consumer electronics companies and is already being used for live 3D event broadcasts by satellite and cable operators. Integrating the RealD Format will help Zoran provide cost-effective 3D TV products that will be compatible with today's HD broadcast infrastructure and support the coming wave of 3D content in the home."
- Details
- Home Entertainment
Sonic Solutions today announced a licensing program for its US Patent 6,944,621; this patent allows for the updating and augmenting of multimedia content on portable storage media including Blu-ray Disc, DVD, SD card, flash memory, UMD, and other update-able media. Applications for the Dynamic Content ‘621 patent include the BD-Live internet-connected enhancements now available on Blu-ray Disc titles, such as updated movie trailers, bonus material, and promotional advertisements. The patent also provides for access to online entertainment services such as those powered by Sonic's RoxioNow platform™. Beyond Blu-ray titles, the Dynamic Content ‘621 patent covers in-game advertising for internet-connected titles that originate on physical media.
"Enhancing physical media with internet-connected experiences will be an important feature in transitioning consumers of traditional media to digital delivery," said Arash Amel, Research Director, Digital Media, Screen Digest. "Bringing the immediacy of Web-based content to physical media not only maintains the relevance of disc-based content, it also acts as a transition point that can help educate consumers and make them more comfortable with digital entertainment experiences."
- Details
- Home Entertainment
DivX, Inc. today announced the DivX Plus™ HD Certification of the latest System LSI (Model: MN2WS0141DFF) in the UniPhier® series from Panasonic Corporation. This chip is designed to enable Blu-ray players to play everything from personal to Internet content in the DivX® format, as well as guarantee compatibility with H.264/MKV DivX Plus HD files.
DivX Plus HD Certification is the premium level of certification available from DivX, optimized for consumer electronics products and supports the playback of all content created with DivX software. Available on www.divx.com, the newly released DivX Plus Software allows users to create and playback H.264 video in an .mkv file container. DivX Plus HD Certified devices will playback all previous versions of DivX video and DivX Plus HD video files with the .mkv file extension and AAC audio created with third-party tools.
Known for great performance, visual quality and interoperability on any DivX Certified® device, DivX provides consumers with a comprehensive digital media solution supporting the majority of high-quality Internet video on their TVs or other consumer electronics devices. In addition, DivX also supports the secure playback of major Hollywood titles from major studios, and many online movie download sites now distribute Hollywood content in the DivX format worldwide.
- Details
- Home Entertainment
Best Buy today announced the availability of its new digital video service CinemaNow which will provide customers same-day instant access to new release movies and TV shows.
The service will initially be accessible through select connected Blu-ray Disc players and HDTVs, and on most PCs via the web at www.cinemanow.com. Beginning this month, the service will be available on all new connected Blu-ray Disc players and home theater systems from LG Electronics. CinemaNow is also expected to launch on an array of other devices from various manufacturers, including Insignia, later this year.
CinemaNow, the result of the previously announced strategic relationship between Sonic Solutions® and Best Buy, will be powered by the RoxioNow™ technology platform. Best Buy owns the legal rights to the CinemaNow trademark, and will use it going forward to market the service to consumers who will have the ability to buy or rent from an extensive library of premium content, including new release movies and TV shows, with no subscription required.
- Details
- Home Entertainment
Panasonic announced today exclusive agreements with two of Hollywood's premiere film studios, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and Universal Studios Home Entertainment, to offer the Blu-ray 3D versions of Fox's Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Universal's Coraline, two of the industry's most successful theatrical 3D titles, with its critically-acclaimed and award winning VIERA Full HD 3D TVs.
Consumers who purchase a Panasonic VIERA VT25 Full HD 3D Plasma TV between May 16 and July 10, 2010 will be able to receive the two Blu-ray 3D titles via mail-in coupon. Complete details on the offer are available on the Panasonic web site at www.panasonic.com/promos/3d-blu-ray-movie-offer.asp.
Both the Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Blu-ray 3D version and the Coraline Blu-ray 3D version were authored by the Compression and Authoring Center of Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory. To assure the highest possible image and color quality, both Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and Universal Studios Home Entertainment involved the film-makers in the process of encoding the titles for 3D. Thanks to this close collaboration, both Blu-ray 3D titles deliver dazzling color and image that is true to the original theatrical release.
- Details
- Home Entertainment
Kaleidescape today announced its new M500 and M300 Players. Built on the company's proprietary M-Class architecture, this next generation of players delivers a new and improved onscreen user interface and Blu-ray support. The M500 Player copies Blu-ray Discs, DVDs, and CDs onto a server. The imported content can then be played back instantly by M500 and M300 Players, creating the world's first multi-zone movie server for Blu-ray.
To address the concerns of the studios, Kaleidescape requires the disc to be present when playing Blu-ray content from the server. Today this means the Blu-ray Disc must be in the tray of an M500 Player. To enable the full Kaleidescape experience for Blu-ray, the company is developing a disc loader which will keep a large number of discs present within the Kaleidescape system. It will also provide bulk import, and make it easy to find and retrieve a disc.
- Details
- Home Entertainment
WD today announced that the WD TV Live HD media player, featuring network capability and Full-HD 1080p resolution, is the first network media player compatible with Windows 7. The WD TV Live HD media player makes it easy for anyone to play media stored on USB and network drives, any PC on the home network, as well as content from popular websites, on the biggest screen in their home -- their big screen television.
Using the Windows 7 Play To feature, users can initiate and control the streaming of video, music or photos to the WD TV Live HD media player and home entertainment systems from any Windows 7-based PC on their network. Any compatible media file accessible from the PC – located either on the PC or the network – can be played to the WD TV Live by right clicking on the file name in the folder or directly from within Windows Media Player 12 and choosing the WD TV Live HD media player as the playback device.
- Details
- Home Entertainment
DivX, Inc., a leading digital media company, and Panasonic today announced that Panasonic will introduce DivX Plus™ HD playback technology in its next generation of 3D Blu-ray products. Panasonic's new line of Blu-ray players will enable the playback of DivX Plus HD video using the MKV container, providing consumers with a true cinematic video experience at HD resolutions up to 1080p.
Available to consumers first in Europe late April 2010 and soon after in Russia and Oceania, the DMP-BDT300 is Panasonic's first full HD 3D Blu-ray Disc player and the first to receive DivX Plus HD Certification. With the introduction of 3D products for the home, Panasonic customers will receive an unparalleled 3D experience with realistic and immersive sensation.
DivX Plus HD Certification is the premium level of certification available from DivX, optimized for consumer electronics products and supports the playback of all content created with DivX software. Available on www.divx.com, the newly released DivX Plus Software allows users to create and playback H.264 video in an .mkv file container. DivX Plus HD Certified devices will playback all previous versions of DivX video, premium Hollywood content in the DivX format, and DivX Plus HD video files with the .mkv file extension and AAC audio created with third-party tools.
- Details
- Home Entertainment
Denon Electronics, a premier manufacturer of high-quality home entertainment components celebrating 100 years of innovation and technology leadership in 2010, is providing discriminating consumers the opportunity to enjoy an enriched Blu-ray experience with the addition of two new 3D-Ready Universal Blu-ray players to its lineup. The new models, with expected SRP and availability in parenthesis, include the DBP-2011UDCI (SRP: $799, Aug.) and the DBP-1611UD (SRP: $399, June) that will join Denon’s DBP-4010UDCI (SRP: $1,999) and critically acclaimed DVD-A1UDCI (SRP: $4,499) Universal Blu-ray Disc Players in the company’s line of Blu-ray components, which also includes the S-5BD BD/Receiver (SRP: $1,799), a single-component that combines a 5.1-channel surround sound receiver with an advanced Profile 2.0 Blu-ray player.
Denon’s Blu-ray players represent the leading edge in performance and features for the fast-growing high-definition format. The “universal” Blu-ray models provide superior playback of virtually all 5-inch silver discs. To ensure total future-readiness, an upcoming firmware update is scheduled to be available in the fall for 3D capability in the new Blu-ray players. In addition to their ultimate-quality video reproduction, all Denon players reflect the company’s longstanding heritage as an audio leader, offering impeccable high-resolution sonic playback, including DVD-Audio and SACD.
