Pioneer announced details, including (European) releasing info, on 4 new Blu-ray players!

• BDP-LX91: LX Line Reference Blu-ray disc player (BD-Live / Profile 2.0)
• BDP-LX08: LX Line ‘Designer’ Blu-ray disc player (BonusView / Profile 1.1)
• BDP-LX71: LX Line Blu-ray disc player (BonusView / Profile 1.1)
• BDP-51FD: Blu-ray disc player (BonusView / Profile 1.1)

Although we already knew of the BDP-LX71, we had no specifics but now we know that the BDP-LX71 will be available in September. The BDP-51FD and the BDP-LX08 will arrive in October; the BDP-LX91 later on in winter.

All four players feature 1080p/24, HDMI-12-Bit Deep Color, KURO Link, 7.1 analog output, and are compatible with DTS-HD Master Audio / Dolby True HD. No pricing is available yet.

Specifications

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Out of the four BD players mentioned, the one we want more details is the BDP-LX91, mainly because it will be Pioneer’s first 2.0 player, so as soon as we get more information we will post it here.

Popularity: 37% [?]

Many people were disappointed when Paramount announced Blu-ray titles and Transformers was not on the list…

According to www.tvshowsondvd.com, this is a fact and the wait will end soon. An inside tip was received on the Blu-ray arrival and Transformers will be available on September 2nd! I find it odd that Paramount would announce all those titles in April but not Transformers and now, one month later, these news pop up on the net. I agree that sooner or later the movie will make its Blu debut since it is the only logic way. However, I am a bit skeptical on the release date until I see it coming from Paramount, which hopefully will be soon. The movie has already seen hi-def with the dead HD-DVD format and if the arrival to Blu-ray news is true the features and extras will be very similar. Bellow are the specs on the 2 Disc Special Edition HD-DVD:

Video Resolution/Codec

• 1080p/AVC MPEG-4

Aspect Ratio(s)

• 2.35:1

Audio Formats

• English Dolby Digital-Pus 5.1 Surround (1.5mbps)
• French Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1 Surround (640kbps)
• Spanish Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1 Surround (640kbps)

Subtitles

• English SDH
• French Subtitles
• Spanish Subtitles
• Portuguese-Brazilian Subtitles

Extras

• Audio Commentary
• Documentaries
• Featurette
• Still Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer
• Picture-in-Picture Commentary
• GPS Tracking
• Subtitle Fact Track
• Customizable Menus

Popularity: 17% [?]

First presented at the CES 2008, Marantz’s first Blu-ray player, BD8002, is just getting DivX certified. This means that the player probably will not be released on the second quarter as first announced. After some more research it seems that this really expensive, but high quality machine, will be out some where at the beginning of summer.

The Marantz BD8002 includes a secondary audio and video decoder which allows for simultaneous playback of secondary tracks, making it fully keeping in the guidelines of BD-ROM version 1 profile 1.1. It features a 10-bit Silicon Optix Realta video processor for direct pixel by pixel noise reduction and upconversion and IP scaling to 1080p HD. New HD audio format are supported including Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD, DTS-HD Master Audio, and is capable of outputting both 7.1-channel analog signals and PCM audio via HDMI 1.3. DVD, VCDs, SVCDs, MP3s, WMA and DivX video files plus Jpeg images are also supported.

It seems as if the Marantz BD8002 is currently the very best profile 1.1 player so far, but of course, you get what you pay for… expect to pay just over $2000 for the privilege.

You can find the DivX press release here! Marantz’s website already features the machine as “Coming Soon”…. Check it out!

x

x

x

Popularity: 11% [?]

Coming up next Tuesday, Bonnie and Clyde is a true landmark film as it was considered very graphic and controversial at the time of its first release in 1967.

Yes, back in the 60’s! Classic movies never die :). I am really curious how it will look on Blu-ray. Not that they will do miracles with the quality; After all, it was filmed 40 years ago but it amazes me how we always find ways of improving and restoring things. Can’t wait for some of the Hitchcocks!

Popularity: 9% [?]