High Definition Optical Discs (Blu-ray and HD DVD)
We reported on Toshiba's entry level gen 2 system yesterday and today we have a review of their pro-line. The huge leap ahead here is that the XA2 is able to output 1080p and much quicker load times. On the audio side of things, the new player supports HDMI 1.3 which passes the new audio CODECS to a AVR or […]
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Not even a year after the HD-A1 entered our lives, Toshiba has released the A2. Somewhat confusing to me is releasing a second generation player without 1080p support, I think if nothing else this should have been a key inclusion. However, according to Ultimate A/V they did make changes in boot time, which was a big problem in the first […]
Read moreIf you were considering buying a Blu-ray player in the next couple of months, you had better hold up. Sony is set to announce a new player for $599 that will have the same capabilities of the first generation player. Surprisingly enough, the announcement was not full of arrogant statements. Kudos to Sony for not sticking their foot in their […]
Read moreI have to say, I am rooting for HD DVD now. Just because of the arrogance portrayed by the Blu-ray team. They really remind me of overpaid sports stars. Never the less, Blu-ray has nudged past HD DVD in next gen DVD sales. From the article: Graffeo says that HD DVD players continue to have the highest disc to player […]
Read moreArrrr, ya landlubber, Pirates Of The Caribbean Blu-ray release date has been set for May 22nd. As well, Curse Of The Black Pearl Blu-ray edition will be released on the same day. Each release will have have a dual layer disc for the movie and an extra 25 GB single layer for the extras. The BD Java features will include […]
Read moreJust when the battle between high def DVDs was taking off, Ross Perot…errr…..we've got a new contender. I don't think much of this, considering we're talking about 720p DVDs, but it's worth a read. And nevermind the features, what genius thought of that name. "3X, yeah!!! We'll get all the pr0n boys to support us for sure!" In order to […]
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Continuing our morning of A/V reviews, we have Sound And VIsion's review of Pioneer's Elite Blu-ray player. Pioneer's $1500 entry into the Blu-ray market has a lot going for it including 1080p/24f output, a wide array of media csupport, and network PC connectivity support. However, for this much coinage it is missing a few critical features. The most obvious one […]
Read moreWell if the idea of play BR titles on a relatively cheap PS3 doesn't get your fancy, perhaps a cheap stand alone player will. Funai Electric, an OEM manufacturer, intends to release Blu-ray players to the market for about $500 a pop later this year. Good news for consumers who are not early adopters and would have paid twice that […]
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Not a terrible revision from Toshiba, if you're in the market for a $1k HD DVD Player. The one thing they really make clear is just how great the image quality is, so if that's your thing & you have the money, you could do much worse. In addition to being built on an IC platform that's much faster than […]
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If I was lucky enough to have a next gen DVD player, I would likely pick up The Departed and thats about it from this latest bunch of releases. Sure the HD goodness is nice, but it isn't quite enough to make me pick up a movie. If I want pointless HD fun I will go watch HD New or […]
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