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Sony Blu-ray price drop

An “unconfirmed report” surfaced last month about Sony dropping the price of their Blu-ray Disc players. Today I have confirmed through a Sony rep that the price drops will go into effect later this week.

The BDP-S350 will now retail at $299, and the BDP-S550 will sell at $399. What’s not clear is if Sony will be giving refunds to people who pre-ordered the BDP-S550 on their website prior to this news.



As I previously mentioned, we can expect price drops across the board from all manufacturers beginning next month. I also expect they will bring new models in at the old price point to maintain sales margins.

Ritek launches Qflix recordable DVD media

Advanced Media/Ritek USA sent us a press release this morning to announce the launch of Qflix recordable DVD media in North America. Here is an excerpt from the release.

“Advanced Media Inc. is pleased to announce it is an official distributor of RITEK manufactured Qflix DVDs. Home entertainment is a heavily targeted market for DVD and Blu-ray media. Now Sonic has taken DVD technology to the next level with Qflix,” said Harvey Liu, president of Advanced Media Inc. “RITEK’s strong global reputation for producing DVDs of uncompromising quality and compatibility ensures a great consumer entertainment experience regardless of whether content is manufactured on-demand to fulfill an online order, purchased through a retail kiosk, or produced in the home.”


Why Qflix? Qflix DVDs are specialized discs that allow the on-demand recording of digitally distributed entertainment with CSS encryption (Content Scramble System). This is the same protection found on commercially mass-produced movie titles. Qflix DVDs can also be used by duplication system operators providing custom DVD publishing services to Internet retailers and in movie kiosks that will offer retail customers touch-screen access to vast libraries of rich content. Qflix media is also available for consumer use in the home to legally record premium entertainment downloaded from the Internet. To learn more about Qflix visit: www.qflix.com.

The full press release can be found here.

CEDIA: Pioneer Elite Blu-ray player closeup

It’s not the priciest, but it sure is the most impressive. The Pioneer Elite BDP-09FD is the current pinnacle of Blu-ray Disc engineering.

It only costs $2,200, but for some people it’s worth it - especially those who value audio performance over anything else. And if I know my audiophile, they’ll pay anything for the best of the best.

Here are a couple pictures from CEDIA Expo 2008:

Memorex brings budget Blu-ray player to market

We’re hopeful for this holiday season. There should be plenty of Blu-ray Disc players close to $200, or below. Along with older Blu-ray player models being discounted, new lower priced models are also being introduced into the market.

The latest entry into the budget arena is the Memorex MVBD-2510. At $269 list, it is now the low-price-leader (as far as MSRP is concerned). But it doesn’t look like a slouch either. It decodes Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD High Resolution and streams DTS-HD Master Audio to compatible receivers.

Something you wouldn’t expect at this price point, it also includes 5.1 analog outputs!



It is BonusView ready, making it BD1.1 profile. It lacks BD-Live support. While many decry manufacturers leaving this support out, there simply isn’t a lot of title available with online features. But if you want to be future-proof just in case, try the new Panasonic players.

We could see $150 Blu-ray players popping up on Black Friday - without a format war.

TDK launches 6x BD-R media

An Imation/TDK representative sent us a press release today about the launch of TDK Life on Record 6x Blu-ray Discs in North America. The following text was taken from this press release.

Blu-ray media has the high capacity needed to handle content like high-definition movies and television – 25GB on a single layer and 50GB on double layer discs, about 5-to-10 times the capacity of standard DVD media. TDK Life on Record Blu-ray 6x discs have the fastest recording speeds currently available in the U.S. market with data transfer rates of up to 216 Mbps – equivalent to approximately 20x recordable DVD media. Using TDK Life on Record 6x Blu-ray discs, consumers can record 25GB of data in as little as 17 minutes – approximately six minutes faster than a 4x BD-R.

TDK Blu-ray discs are ideal for consumers who expect their archived digital memories to be there in years to come. They feature revolutionary Durabis 2 hard-coating technology, which delivers a high degree of protection against scratches, fingerprints and dust. Additionally, TDK Blu-ray discs incorporate a unique inorganic double-layer metal recording structure that resists against breakdown from exposure to light for superior durability and longevity.

TDK Blu-ray discs also address compatibility concerns with newer technology. They offer one of the industry’s highest compatibility with the wide range of Blu-ray recordable hardware and are compliant with Blu-ray disc recordable format VER. 1.3.

TDK Life on Record Blu-ray 6x media is available in 25GB single layer and 50GB double layer capacities starting in October at select retailers for suggested retail price of $13.99 for a BD –R 1 pack; $32.99 for a BD-R DL 1 pack.

Sharp shows ultra-thin LCD displays

Last week at CEDIA Expo 2008, Sharp displayed a new range of AQUOS LCD televisions at just over 1″ in depth. But it is more than just a slim size, they also pack a stellar picture.

The XS1-series is comprised of two screen sizes, the 65″ LC-65XS1U-S and 52″ LC-52XS1U-S. They feature a three-color LED backlight, and a color gamut that is has 50% greater than the NTSC standard. A dynamic contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1 is boasted by the company, although you will see much less than that in real-life scenarios.



A new feature for Sharp, these panels have a built-in light sensor which is designed to decrease the brightness of the display as the ambient room lighting drops. This maintains a bright image while conserving energy.



Because of its thin depth, the inputs for the TV are made through an outboard set-top box. This box connects via HDMI or with an optional wireless connection.

And what would a premium flat panel be today without an internet connection? Sharp has their own called AQUOS Net.

My gratitude to Cameron for the photographs.

Lite-On made Plextor Drives coming soon

CDRLabs has the inside scoop that a new Plextor drive is in the works, manufactured by Lite-On.

“Based on the Lite-On DH-20A6S (iHAS120), the Plextor PX-806SA features an SATA interface and is capable of 20x DVD±R, 8x DVD±R and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds.”

“Plextor is trying to recapture some of the enthusiast market by offering a new utility that will allow users to tap into the drive’s more advanced features. Like PlexTools, this utility will perform various write quality tests and can measure things like FE/TE and jitter rates. Most likely, it will also control Lite-On’s SmartWrite and SmartErase functions, which are already very similar to Plextor’s own AUTOSTRATEGY and PlexEraser technologies.”

Plextor stopped its own in house design and manufacturing of optical disc drives in January 2007, most likely due to plummeting profits and fierce competition in the ODD market. They still continue to market and sell rebadged drives and have used BenQ, Pioneer and LG as suppliers in the past.