Sharp announced three new Blu-ray Digital Video Recorders with different hard drive capacities. The BD-HDW22 with 250 Gigs, the BD-HDW25 with 500 Gigs, and the great BD-HDW30 that will be able to store 1 Terabyte! Even though this sounds exciting the DVRs will not record from BD to HDD, so not ripping Blu-ray discs will be possible with them.

These babies will be available in Japan in early July and have no set prices yet. All three media. DVRs record video in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, with three different Bitrates (4.8, 8 and 12Mbps). They are equipped with both digital and analog TV Tuners. and will do not support the AVREC function, which allows recording of High-def broadcasting on DVD. As far as Blu-ray player capabilities, they are pretty ordinary…nothing really cool. The HDMI interface outputs 1080/24p content, and bit stream DTS-HD Master, Dolby NR TrueHD, DTS-HD HRA, and the Dolby Digital plus audio.

As usual Japan is always leading the pack when is comes to new technology and this time is no different! Apparently Sharp has really decided to invest on Blu-ray players and maybe shifting a little its focus on HDTVs to our “Blu” friend. We can’t complain! The more players on the market the more competitive things will get and consumers will see the benefits!

You can see the original press release here! Let me know if you need help with your Japanese…

Popularity: 14% [?]

MagnaVox started selling a 1.1 profile Blu-ray player for 298 bucks, which has been spotted at Wal-Mart. This is definitely the cheapest option out there…Is this what many people have been waiting for to take the plunge and invest on a Blu-ray player? Maybe… MagnaVox is a second tier brand from Phillips but this player has been manufactured by the Japanese Funai, which also makes a few products for Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Sharp, Denon and others. Also hitting the market is the Sylvania NB500SL9, which can be pre-ordered at amazon.com at an affordable price of $349.99. This Sylvania player is also manufactured by Funai and basically the same as the MagnaVox NB500MG9, only different brand. If you are looking for a “entry level” stand-alone player, these two are a great affordable option but think twice if you are looking for more performance, you are still better off with a Playstation3!

Specs

- Profile 1.1 BonusView Picture-in-Picture
- Video Output Resolutions: 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p (1080p/24 and 1080p/60)
- DVD Upconversion to 720p, 1080i, 1080p
- Support for HD Audio Formats: (bitstream output, no internal decoding)
- HDMI Ver. 1.3
- Weight 9.5 pounds

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Here is a diagram of the MagnaVox Blu-ray Player:

Popularity: 100% [?]

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Although Sharp’s main focus is its LCD flat panel televisions, it also has some interest in the Blu-ray Disc market. Sharp’s new BD-HP50 Bonus View Blu-ray Player will be available in May for $699, which is well above the sub-$500 pricing of some Panasonic players. If the price will hold against the fierce competition remains to be seen. The player includes the Bonus View function (video picture-in-picture commentary), internal decoding of both the Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD high resolution audio formats, and outputs a 1080p video signal via HDMI.

Sharp’s second-generation player will fall under the Aquos umbrella however this will be the company’s first Blu-ray player to feature Profile 1.1, which is already supported in certain Panasonic players and Sony’s PlayStation 3. Aquos Link will be available on the BD-HP50, allowing the player to work seamlessly with other Aquos products. It will also feature Aquos Link and Quick Start to load movies faster.

Sharp will continue to sell the BD-HP20 until April when they will decide whether to make another entry level player or enter the high end market. A BD-Live player is in the works, possibly by the end of the year.

Popularity: 25% [?]

The company stated that they want to release a 250mW blue laser diode for 6x recording as well as the first diode for 8x recorders in the next two years. Sharp has been an industry leader in this field since the early 80’s with the release of industry’s first infrared laser diode used in CDs.

During a technological briefing of its latest laser diodes developments in Japan, they showcased their latest High-Power Blue-Violet Laser Diode for Blu-Ray recorders, which are powerful enough to burn dual layer Blu-ray Discs at the 6x speed. Mass-production of two variations (GH04P25A4G and GH04P25A2G) of the diode will begin in April; the GH04P25A4G (3.3mm diameter) which will be used in lap-top Blu-ray drives and the GH04P25A2G (5.6mm diameter) which will be used in Desktop Blu-ray writers. Both have a power output of 250mW, which makes possible the 6x speed on dual-layer Blu-ray Discs (BD). Sharp also showcased a 8x powerful laser that will be able to burn single and dual layer Blu-ray discs at 8x, using a power output of 300mW. This one will be more likely to reach the mass production stage in 2009, followed by a 400mW device for multi-layer 8-12x recording in 2010.

We will be eagerly waiting!!

Popularity: 9% [?]

The AQUOS BD-HP20U Blu-ray player is Sharp’s first product to be branded with the AQUOS label outside of LCD televisions. Produced with custom-designed Sharp components throughout, including Sharp’s proprietary laser, multi-beam pick up and drive unit, the BD-HP20U is worthy of being the newest addition to Sharp’s Full HD Solution set. Capable of full High Definition 1080p playback at both 24 and 60 frames per second, Sharp’s Blu-ray player also features a new application, the AQUOS LINK. Designed to enable seamless interoperability between the latest generation HDMI-connected Sharp products, the AQUOS LINK allows tight integration between the BD-HP20U player and Sharp’s AQUOS D64U series LCD TVs
To complete the integrated feel, the AQUOS Blu-ray player has also been given the same distinctive stylish look as the AQUOS LCD series. Just like the latest slimline AQUOS TVs, Sharp’s new Blu-ray player is also the slimmest player in its category, measuring just 68mm tall.
The Sharp BD-HP20U’s Quick Start feature loads certain discs superfast; excellent video quality using 1080p/24 output. The new Sharp player supports multi-channel audio output via HDMI by decoding Dolby® TrueHD sound. Dolby TrueHD lossless audio technology delivers sound that is identical to the studio master, for a true high-definition experience on next-generation discs. The player will also decode Dolby Digital Plus, providing optimum surround sound to an appropriately equipped receiver. In addition, via HDMI, the player outputs 7.1 Channel digital audio. However, the player only supports profile 1.0, it has no onboard decoding for high-resolution DTS soundtracks or bit-stream output; poor 1080i deinterlacing on movies.

The BD-HP20U is compatible with a wide variety of formats and customers can also be reassured that their existing DVD libraries will be protected and enhanced by the new Sharp Blu-ray player because it is capable of upscaling the image at playback time, improving the picture performance to 1080p.

Specs

• Media Compatble: CD, DVD, BD-R, CD-R, BD-RE, CD-RW, DVD+R, DVD-R, BD-ROM, DVD+RW, DVD-RW
• Audio D/A Converter - 24bit / 192kHz
• Decodes: DTS decoder, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus
• Supports DTS, PCM, AC-3
• Upscaling Feature
• 1080p Resolution
• Digital Audio Outputs: DTS digital, Dolby Digital
• Picture Zoom
• Video Noise Reduction Capable
• Decodes HDCD
• MP3 Compatible
• Parental lock Available

Connections

• 1 x Composite video output ( RCA phono ),
• 1 x S-Video output ( 4 pin mini-DIN ),
• 1 x Component video output ( RCA phono x 3 ),
• 1 x HDMI output ( 19 pin HDMI Type A ),
• 1 x Audio line-out ( RCA phono x 2 ),
• 6 x 5.1 channel audio line-out ( RCA phono ),
• 1 x Digital audio output (optical) ( TOSLINK ),
• 1 x Digital audio output (coaxial) ( RCA phono )

Popularity: 6% [?]