Berlin (Germany) – Samsung and Sony are showcasing their latest Blu-ray player flagship
models at the IFA 2008 tradeshow. Both players are priced outside the
mainstream market and may not see especially high production volumes.
But the arrival of more BD-Live players carries the hope that there is
room for previous-generation and entry-level Blu-ray players that are
more interesting for mainstream buyers.
The BD-P2500 is Samsung’s fifth generation Blu-ray player and is the company’s first model to offer BD-Live (BD Profile 2.0) and Bonus View (BD Profile 1.1) support out of the box. To support downloads from the Internet, there is a wired Ethernet connection and 1 GB of internal flash memory. We are still puzzled about the fact that the industry counts on Ethernet connectivity, since we really do not know many homes that have Ethernet ports in their family room. Wi-Fi would be a much more practical solution, but we hear that content providers are still paranoid about potential security issues in Wi-Fi connections, which means that wireless connectivity may not arrive for some time.
On the hardware side, the BD-P2500 comes with Samsung’s HQV chip, which delivers the “highest quality viewing of Blu-ray discs, upconversion of standard DVDs, and viewing of JPEG images.” There is also an HDMI 1.3 output with deep color, a 24 fps film mode and support for Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and dts as an uncompressed PCM signal, as a bitstream, or via the 7.1 analog outputs. dts-HD HR (High Resolution) decoding will become available with a firmware upgrade in the fall, Samsung said. Consumers will be able to upgrade the firmware of the player simply via Ethernet, the USB port or via CD/DVD/BD.
The price of the new player is set at $500 MSRP.
Sony is currently showcasing its BDP-S350 and BDP-S550, both of which are BD-Live capable, but the focus is clearly on the firm’s new high-end model BDP-S5000ES, which can be yours for $1500. Compared to its other Blu-ray players, Sony said that it has upgraded virtually all components of the device to enable a premium Blu-ray playback experience. Among other features, the analog audio board is isolated from the video and servo sections to avoid interference. The player supports Linear PCM and HD audio decoding with bitstream output, and 7.1-channel analog outputs. It will handle all formats up to Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, decoded internally or as a bitstream. Sony also pitches a new “HD Reality Enhancer”, which is promised to analyze the source data. If necessary, edges are sharpened, grain effects are reduced and the color depth is increased from 8 bit to “the equivalent of 14 bit”. The Super Bit mapping features will deliver more realistic color levels, Sony promised.
Also available is Sony’s XrossMediaBar (XMB), which was previously introduced for the PS3 and some TVs, in the user interface of the BDP-S5000ES.
The BDP-S350 is already available for street prices between $350 and $400 and the BDP-S550 currently sells between $450 and $500. The BDP-S5000ES will be available beginning in October.
The BD-P2500 is Samsung’s fifth generation Blu-ray player and is the company’s first model to offer BD-Live (BD Profile 2.0) and Bonus View (BD Profile 1.1) support out of the box. To support downloads from the Internet, there is a wired Ethernet connection and 1 GB of internal flash memory. We are still puzzled about the fact that the industry counts on Ethernet connectivity, since we really do not know many homes that have Ethernet ports in their family room. Wi-Fi would be a much more practical solution, but we hear that content providers are still paranoid about potential security issues in Wi-Fi connections, which means that wireless connectivity may not arrive for some time.
On the hardware side, the BD-P2500 comes with Samsung’s HQV chip, which delivers the “highest quality viewing of Blu-ray discs, upconversion of standard DVDs, and viewing of JPEG images.” There is also an HDMI 1.3 output with deep color, a 24 fps film mode and support for Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and dts as an uncompressed PCM signal, as a bitstream, or via the 7.1 analog outputs. dts-HD HR (High Resolution) decoding will become available with a firmware upgrade in the fall, Samsung said. Consumers will be able to upgrade the firmware of the player simply via Ethernet, the USB port or via CD/DVD/BD.
The price of the new player is set at $500 MSRP.
Sony is currently showcasing its BDP-S350 and BDP-S550, both of which are BD-Live capable, but the focus is clearly on the firm’s new high-end model BDP-S5000ES, which can be yours for $1500. Compared to its other Blu-ray players, Sony said that it has upgraded virtually all components of the device to enable a premium Blu-ray playback experience. Among other features, the analog audio board is isolated from the video and servo sections to avoid interference. The player supports Linear PCM and HD audio decoding with bitstream output, and 7.1-channel analog outputs. It will handle all formats up to Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, decoded internally or as a bitstream. Sony also pitches a new “HD Reality Enhancer”, which is promised to analyze the source data. If necessary, edges are sharpened, grain effects are reduced and the color depth is increased from 8 bit to “the equivalent of 14 bit”. The Super Bit mapping features will deliver more realistic color levels, Sony promised.
Also available is Sony’s XrossMediaBar (XMB), which was previously introduced for the PS3 and some TVs, in the user interface of the BDP-S5000ES.
The BDP-S350 is already available for street prices between $350 and $400 and the BDP-S550 currently sells between $450 and $500. The BDP-S5000ES will be available beginning in October.