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Roku, Inc., maker of the popular and award-winning Roku player, announced today for immediate availability two new models. The new Roku SD and Roku HD-XR expand the product lineup to three models. Now customers have a variety of features and price points ($79.99, $99.99, $129.99) to fit their needs. All players continue to deliver instant entertainment from Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand and MLB.TV. With today’s announcement, customers can now purchase a Roku player for as little as $79.99 at www.roku.com or www.amazon.com. For a limited time, customers purchasing through either Roku or Amazon will receive free shipping, making it even more affordable to get started with a Roku.
“We’re introducing a breakthrough price point with the launch of our Roku SD player,” Anthony Wood, founder and CEO of Roku, Inc said. “Additionally the Roku HD-XR is the first Netflix-streaming device to embed next generation 802.11n dual-band wireless connectivity, making it easier and more reliable than ever to start enjoying movies, TV shows, sports and the best online content available, all on the living room TV.”
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DivX, Inc., a digital media company, and MediaTek Inc., a leading fabless semiconductor company for wireless communications and digital multimedia solutions, today announced the DivX Plus(TM) HD Certification of MediaTek's MT8530 chip. This chip is designed to enable Blu-ray players to playback DivX Plus HD video based on H.264 technology and using the MKV container, providing consumers with a true cinematic media experience at high-definition resolutions up to 1080p.
DivX Plus HD Certification is the highest level of certification available from DivX and supports the playback of all content created with DivX® software. Available on www.divx.com, DivX software allows users to create and playback H.264 video in a .mkv file container. DivX Plus HD Certified devices will playback 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. 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.
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Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. (SCEA) and Netflix, Inc. today announced that they are joining forces to make thousands of movies and TV episodes from Netflix available to be streamed instantly to TVs via the PlayStation®3 (PS3(TM)) computer entertainment system. Netflix expects to begin streaming via the PS3 system next month at no additional cost to Netflix members in the United States who have a PS3 system.
Today's announcement pairs two of the most popular and fastest growing home entertainment brands in the U.S. The PS3 system's installed base has reached close to 9 million units in the United States, and Netflix recently reported 11.1 million U.S. subscribers as of September 30.
The partnership further solidifies the PS3 system as the most complete home entertainment hub on the market today, enabling consumers to play high-definition games, watch Blu-ray movies, listen to music, view photos, browse the Internet, and download content from PlayStation®Network - from exclusive games to blockbuster movies and popular TV shows. PS3 system owners will soon enjoy an unparalleled experience watching their favorite movies and TV shows streamed instantly from Netflix, downloading from the PlayStation Network or watching Blu-ray/DVD media. The Netflix offering expands on the entertainment experience delivered to PS3 system owners via PlayStation Network.
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Insignia, a Best Buy Co., Inc. exclusive brand, and Netflix, Inc., the world's largest online movie rental service, today announced the availability of two new Insignia Blu-ray Disc Players that enable Netflix members to instantly watch movies and TV episodes streamed from Netflix over the Internet to their televisions.
The new Insignia Advanced Series Blu-ray Player (NS-WBRDVD) and the Insignia Connected Blu-ray Player (NS-BRDVD3) are now on sale for $249.99 and $179.99, respectively, at all Best Buy retail stores and bestbuy.com. Both models are Internet ready, giving Netflix members on an unlimited plan access to a growing library to watch instantly on their TV. The Insignia Advanced Series model uses built-in Wi-Fi to connect to the Internet while the Insignia Connected player uses an Ethernet connection. The ENERGY STAR-certified players feature Dolby TrueHD to deliver exquisite high-quality sound and use up conversion to display standard DVDs with crisp clarity and precision.
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Samsung Electronics America, Inc., a market leader and award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, and Blockbuster Inc., a global leader in entertainment, today announced the immediate availability of Blockbuster's vast and growing library of premium digital entertainment for rent or purchase on select 2009 Samsung HDTVs, Blu-ray Players and Blu-ray integrated Home Theater Systems.
Specific models featuring the new BLOCKBUSTER On Demand service include Samsung Series 650 and above LCD and Plasma HDTVs and Series 7000 and above LED HDTVs. The service is also available on Samsung BD-P1600, BD-P3600 and BD-P4600 Blu-ray players, as well as select Samsung Blu-ray integrated Home Theater Systems (HT-BD1250, HT-BD3252, HT-BD7200 and HT-BD8200) via firmware upgrade.
"This is another real example that shows our commitment to giving consumers even more ways to access and enjoy a broad variety of high quality content through innovation, and really pushing the envelope with defining what connected TV experiences can deliver," said Tim Baxter, President of Samsung Electronics America. "Whether it's renting their favorite Blu-ray movie from Blockbuster or streaming their favorite content, our goal is to take the TV-watching experience to new levels and deliver maximum value."
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Patriot Memory, a global pioneer in high-performance memory, NAND flash and computer technology, today introduced the new Box Office all-in-one High Definition media player.
Patriot has simplified playing and accessing your digital library, bridging the gap between your digital media and your Home Theater. The Patriot Box Office offers an easy way to play your digital media stored on USB storage devices, on a network device, or using an optional internal 2.5" Hard Disk Drive (HDD). Box Office becomes the digital media hub tying everything together into one simple, easy to use high definition media experience. Patriot has also increased the competitive value of their Box Office by including an HDMI 1.3 cable. Simply connect the HDMI cable from the Box Office to an HD ready display, and gain immediate access to your digital media collection, streamlining your ability to access content that before was a multi-step process.
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WD, the world's leader in external storage solutions, today introduced the WD TV Live HD media player featuring network capability and Full-HD 1080p resolution. The new WD TV Live HD media player makes it easy for anyone to play HD (high definition) videos stored on USB and network drives, as well as Internet content from popular Web sites, on the biggest screen in their home -- their HD television. Building on the success of the WD TV HD media player, the WD TV Live HD media player offers a new, more responsive interface to help consumers enjoy a world of digital content in their living room, without a computer.
The network capability of the WD TV Live media player enables users to stream or transfer movies from PC or Mac® computers or a network-attached storage device such as WD's My Book® World Edition™ and WD ShareSpace network drives to their HD TVs. The WD TV Live media player also allows users to stream rich content from YouTube™, Flickr® and Pandora®. The HD onscreen menu brings together all of the users' available media in an elegant and simple-to-navigate interface.
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QNAP Systems, Inc, a world-class manufacturer of Network Attached Storage (NAS) servers today unveiled a unique new network appliance that can best be described as a set-top player crossed with a NAS server. Computer users around the globe face the dilemma of how to centrally store, manage, and playback growing amounts of digital content spread around the home on multiple computers.
"QNAP 's ground-breaking NMP-1000 Network Multimedia Player is the definitive product that bridges the gap between the home network and the living room" said Meiji Chang, CEO of QNAP Systems, Inc. "Users are clamoring to centrally store and enjoy all their digital content in the living room and the NMP-1000 just fits the bill" Mr. Chang added.
The new NMP-1000 incorporates an internal hard disk drive that easily catalogs digital pictures, videos, music, and other content from computers on the home network and can effortlessly play them back in the home theater with the included remote control.
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Seagate, the worldwide leader in hard disk drives and storage solutions, today unveiled its new FreeAgent Theater+(TM) [Plus] HD media player, the next generation home theater solution designed to instantly and easily connect your digital media library to your home entertainment system.
The FreeAgent Theater+ HD media player leverages a docking system unique to Seagate FreeAgent Go(TM) portable drives and accessories, providing a quick and easy way to connect your external hard drive to your television or home entertainment center. After loading the drive with your favorite movies, videos, music and pictures from the home PC, simply slide it into the FreeAgent Theater+ dock to get instant access to your digital media library. With the FreeAgent Theater+ player, you can just sit back, relax, point, click and enjoy as digitally captured memories and your favorite movies come to life in 1080p HD video, DTS(TM) 2.0 + Digital Out, or Dolby Digital technology. The interface is easily navigated with the included remote control, and you can choose from video, photos or music with the up/down arrows on the remote to make your selection.
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Sharp today expands its suite of Blu-ray players with the introduction of the Full HD 1080p BD-HP52U AQUOS® Blu-ray Disc™ (BD) player. When paired with an AQUOS HDTV Liquid Crystal television, consumers can enjoy the latest Blu-ray Disc titles, as well as standard-definition DVDs, in the highest resolution possible. The BD-HP52U will also provide consumers access to premium streaming video content for a first-class home theater experience. The BD-HP52U also adds advanced audio decoding, additional playback options and Deep Color™ for the purest color available on video images, as well as an RS-232 port for management by external control systems.
The BD-HP52U supports BD-ROM Profile 2.0 for BD Live interactive features through an Ethernet jack-enabled Internet connection. Users can download and stream bonus content such as additional scenes, shorts, trailers and multi-player interactive games, providing the consumer full access to content otherwise unattainable.
