Panasonic unveils Blu-ray HTIB
New hardware news has been coming in on the Blu-ray tide. Panasonic has revealed specs and pricing on their new SC-BT100 home-theater-in-a-box system, as well as announced a new BD2.0 player.
The SC-BT100 features BD1.1 “Bonus View” compatibility, 24fps output on HDMI 1.3, and codec support for all mandatory and optional formats. It is a 5.1 surround system with all satellites in the famous D’Appolito array. The rear speakers are wireless, meaning they are powered at the rear and wires still need to be attached but they don’t have to run to the front of the room. You can also add another pair of wireless speakers for a 7.1 setup. Out of the box, 7.1 sources are give phantom channels in the rears.
This HTIB also features an embedded iPod dock that plays audio and video from all iPods with the exception of the iPhone. The integrated Blu-ray Disc player upconverts DVD to 1080p over HDMI. This system costs $999 MSRP.
Also announced is the new DMP-BD50 which will be identical to the DMP-BD30 but with added features. Included are all advanced codecs on board, BD2.0 “BD-Live” compatibility (using an SD card slot on the front panel), and 24fps video support. This player will retail at $699. The DMP-BD30 is the BD1.1 player at $499.
