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VIRTUALISATION LG and Panasonic release sub $500 BD-Live Blu-ray players
VIRTUALISATION LG and Panasonic release sub $500 BD-Live Blu-ray players | LG and Panasonic release sub $500 BD-Live Blu-ray players |
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| by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Monday, 27 October 2008 | |
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The newest Blu-ray players from LG and Panasonic were announced earlier today, and come with an important feature all their own, beyond a sub-$500 price point: BD-Live compatibility, part of the BD-ROM Profile 2.0, which lets you connect your player to the Internet via Ethernet to “download video images, subtitles and other data, as well as enjoy related quizzes and multi-player interactive games”. Sadly these gaming features aren’t anywhere near the standard of the PS3 or an Xbox 360, and are at best fluffy extras that make the sale of Blu-ray players slightly easier for the sales people in stores. After all, you’re not buying a Blu-ray player so you can download images and subtitles, or play quizzes or games, but to watch full HD content on a full HD capable television. Still, the feature has been promised for some time, with initially only the Sony PS3 guaranteed of being BD-Live capable, so it is nice to see some Blu-ray players arrive at cheaper pricing with this feature enabled. LG’s Blu-ray player is called the LG BD300, its RRP is $499 and it's due to be available in "October", which is now. Panasonic’s Blu-ray player is the “DMP-BD35” and it will sell for $4 less at AUD $495 from "mid-November", although street/in-store pricing for both will no doubt be lower as we get closer to Christmas. LG boasts that its new player features “enhanced picture and sound quality”, including “the latest advanced digital audio formats such as Dolby True HD and DTS-HD”, promising sound that is “bit-for-bit identical to the studio master”. Warren Kim, Category Marketing Manager, LG Electronics said: “Following on from the launch of the world’s first dual format disc player by LG, we continue to set trends in the industry with the BD300. On a local level we also look to add value with the bonus BigPond DVD Rentals promotion, offering consumers four months worth of DVD rentals when they purchase a BD300. Owners can kick start their Blu-ray viewing by choosing from 32,000 DVD titles including over 300 Blu-ray titles.” LG’s BD300 also counts DivX playback along with DVD and Blu-ray, and promises faster “booting, loading and tray opening faster than rival Blu-ray disc players”. LG’s has a “SIMPLINK connectivity” system which” conveniently allows users to operate all functions with a single remote control”, while a USB port lets you playback JPEG, MP3 and WMA files. More information on Panasonic’s new Blu-ray player is on page 2, please read on. |
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