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Crave: Panasonic’s new DMP-BDT310 and DMP-BDT210 Blu-ray players are as capable and great to use as always, but now the company has added another feature to attract your attention and spending power. So what is this new trick? It’s the ability to open the disc tray by waving your hand over the top of the player.

No, we don’t know why you’d want that either. But it is kind of cool, and does reduce the amount of time you have to spend looking for a tiny eject button. The only problem we could see is that most people will put the player somewhere that doesn’t make waving at the top of it all that easy.

This technology is only available at the top end of the Panasonic range. The BDT310 also has Panasonic’s twin-HDMI output system, which allows people with older AV systems to connect the 3D output to their TV, while using the second HDMI to send audio to their sound system.

The company has also managed to get disc-load times right down too. The test movie Coraline, in 3D, loaded in around 10-15 seconds. Panasonic can’t do anything about those horrific copyright warnings, but it can at least cut down on the rest of the waiting time before you watch the movie you’ve paid for.

Panasonic is also very proud of the fact that these smaller players use less power than before, take up less space on your shelf and can ship in tiny boxes. Two of these things are great for the environment, and one is great for your home-cinema system.

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T3: Blu-ray players should be big sellers this Christmas, helped by increased availability of films and lower prices – a state-of-the-art deck now comes in at under £300. With cutting-edge features such as media streaming, web access and 3D compatibility these ones are future-proofed and offer a genuine alternative to a PS3.

See below for our pick of the best decks available this festive season.

Best: Value for money
Toshiba BDX2100
£100
Love: Cheap. Easy to use. Fast disc loading
Hate: Light on features
Read the full review  

Best: High-end features
Sony BDP-S570
£230
Love: Very strong picture quality. Quick disc loading. N Wi-Fi built in. 3D ready. Easy to use
Hate: Not cheap
Read the full review

Best: Media streaming
LG BD570
£170
Love: Well designed. N Wi-Fi. 2D picture quality. Extensive file support
Hate: Sluggish menus. Limited Net Cast content
Read the full review  

Best: 3D deck
Panasonic DMP-BDT100
£250
Love: 3D ready. Picture quality. Ease of use.
Hate: No built-in Wi-Fi. Limited Viera Cast content. Expensive
Read the full review  

Best: Sound quality
Yamaha BD-S667
£270
Love: Very good picture and sound quality
Hate: No Wi-Fi or 3D mean it feels expensive
Read the full review

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What HiFi: We’ve just come from Loewe’s press conference, where the company has announced a whole raft of new products and services for the end of 2010 and first quarter of 2011. We’ll be going hands-on with the kit tomorrow, so will add updates (including pricing, with any luck) then, but scroll down now for the early details and pics.

The big news is that Loewe is introducing its first 3D TV, ingeniously titled ‘Loewe 3D TV’. This will be an active shutter model with 400Hz and LED backlighting. It will also be available with an integrated hard disk recorder, which will be compatible with 3D content.

The 3D TV is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2011, along with the 3D Blu-ray player in the picture above.

Interestingly, the company is also doing previews of glassless 3D – more on that later.

The Art range of tellies is also being updated to Art LED, with the biggest new feature being, you guessed it, LED backlighting. As the name suggests, the Art TVs are designed to be very stylish, so edge lighting keeps the profile slim, and there’s a new ‘Mocha’ colour option, as you can see from the pic.

The Art LED will be available in 32in and 40in sizes later this year, with a 46in version following in early 2011. The 40in and 46in models have 200Hz processing, and all have USB inputs for accessing videos, pictures and music via the MediaHome menu. You can also specify a DR+ version, which will add hard disk recording and MediaNet (more on that later).

As with the Art range, the Connect models are also being upgraded to Connect LED. Again, these are edge-lit models, and are available in 32in and 40in sizes, with the bigger of the two getting 200Hz processing. DR+ is standard here, and as well as recording TV, the Connect LED can act as a network server and client, distributing and accessing media right through the home.

Finally on the telly front is news that the Individual range is being expanded with the addition of 32in and 55in models, which flank the current 40in and 46in options. LED backlighting again features here, and while the 32in model has ‘just’ 100Hz processing, the 55in ‘Individual Compose’ boasts 400Hz.

The 55in comes with the 250GB DR+ hard disk, which can also be specified as an optional extra on the 32in, and there are loads of colour options (including custom colour matching for the insets) for you to configure your new telly.

Loewe is also going big on internet content with its MediaNet service, which has been developed in collaboration with Philips and Sharp. The web portal will contain a selection of internet sites that have been edited and optimised for large screens with CE-HTML.

You can expect video on demand (including BBC iPlayer), internet radio and information services to be included, and you can also access the full-fat internet using the Opera internet browser. MediaNet launches in November.

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Techradar: While 3D broadcasting is still some time away, those of you with shiny new 3D televisions will soon be able to watch Blu-rays in the third dimension, thanks to Denon. (more…)

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Engadget: Don’t be surprised to see a couple of new Samsung Blu-ray players on the shelf at local or online retailers while shopping, as it’s rolling out new 3D capable models in the BD-C5900, BD-C6800 and BD-C7900. The $399 (MSRP) BD-C7900 updates the older BD-C6900 with two HDMI outs, useful for those with an older receiver that isn’t HDMI 1.4 compatible, while the $279 BD-C6800 seems to have all the features of the BD-C6900 except for that porthole on top, and comes in at a lower price. Last up is the BD-C5900 with an MSRP of $229 which puts it within reach of two bills at retail, but means losing the 1GB of internal storage featured by the other two players. The product pages aren’t all fully updated on Samsung’s site yet, but the BD-C5900 has already arrived at Amazon and Best Buy and the others shouldn’t be far behind. Of course, if 3D’s not your thing, we’d still keep an eye out for their arrival — a price break on the older 2D-only models that were released earlier this year shouldn’t be too far behind.
 

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Engadget: Given the company’s focus on 3D this year, it’s not at all a surprise to see Sony’s 2010 line of ES receivers (and lone Blu-ray player) touched up with a dash of 3D support and HDMI 1.4-compatible features, but it may be a shocker to see their sale restricted to “specialty AV retailers and custom installers.” (more…)

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What HiFi: Pioneer may have pulled out of the TV market, but it has a comprehensive line-up of new products for 2010. There are two new Blu-ray players (with a pair of 3D models to follow later in the year), eight new multichannel receivers, three Blu-ray home cinema in a box systems, a trio of DVD home cinema systems, five new iPod docks and a vast array of headphones.

Blu-ray players

The two Blu-ray players, due this month, are the BDP-LX53 (£399) and BDP-330 (£299). Both new models offer a choice or wired or wireless internet connectivity, BD-Live capability. YouTube and RSS feed browsing and control via a free iPhone/iPod Touch app, but they don’t do 3D (nor will they be upgradeable to make them 3D compatible).

They have onboard decoding for audio formats up to the HD versions of Dolby Digital and DTS, and can output as either raw data or Linear PCM.

In addition they use Pioneer’s Precision Quartz Lock System to ensure jitterless digital audio transmission over HDMI to suitable Pioneer AV receivers. The system works by synchronising the digital clocks of player and receiver.

The upmarket BDP-LX53 is set apart from the mainstream model by its rigid construction, using a layered chassis and drive stabiliser Pioneer calls its ‘Armoured Chassis Concept’. This reduces vibration, and thus plays a part in the player’s superior audio performance. It’s also fitted with more advanced audio components.

Home cinema receivers

There are eight new multichannel receivers from £250 to £1200.

All of the new models (aside from the entry-level VSX-420) can be enhanced with wireless Bluetooth audio streaming and are capable of supporting 3D via the latest HDMI version 1.4 connection. 

All but the cheapest two models are Works with iPhone certified too and thanks to the Pioneer iControlAV app you can use your iPhone or iPod Touch to fully control your receiver.

Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding is on board all but the entry-level model, as well as Dolby ProLogic IIz height channel processing.

The VSX-920, VSX-1020 and VSX-1025 feature the new Pioneer-developed Sound Retriever AIR specifically developed for use with Bluetooth sources, as well as internet radio.

And the forthcoming Pioneer VSX-LX53 is a replacement for the outgoing VSX-LX52 model.

There’ll be two additional high-end multichannel receivers available later this year: the SC-LX83 and SC-LX73, replacing the existing ‘LX82 and ‘LX72. Pioneer has not yet release any details on these two, but we do have a picture (below).

Blu-ray home cinema systems

Pioneer is releasing three new Blu-ray in a box home cinema systems for 2010. Key technical features common across all three models include:

• BD-Live Profile 2.0

• 1080p/24fps resolution

• 12-bit Deep Colour support

• Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio Essential

• Wireless music playback via Bluetooth

• DLNA home network connectivity

• Made for iPod/Works with iPhone certification (iPod dock included)

• Support for DivX, DivX HD and MKV vieo files

• Support for WMA. MP3 and AAC audio files

• FM radio with RDS

iPod docks

There’s a five-strong range of iPod docks, building on the success of last year’s XW-NAS5. The XW-NAC3 and NXW-NAC1 are equipped with docking stations for two iPods or iPhones so, using the ‘shuffle’ function, music can be played back from both of the docked devices at random. Both models are Bluetooth-enabled too.

The XW-NAC3 also includes internet radio via the Vtuner portal, DLNA connectivity and a multiline display.

For those who want video capability with their dock, the XW-NAV1 has a built-in CD/DVD drive with 1080p upscaling via HDMI, an FM radio, USB connectivity and iPod video/photo playback (via composite connection).

Later this year, two further models will arrive: the wall-mountable XW-NAW1 (£199) and the more upmarket XW-NAM1 at £350.

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Engadget: The “works with iPhone” stamp has taken a whole new meaning for Pioneer as it’s just added two new Blu-ray players due in May featuring iControlAVR app support baked in. You won’t be taking advantage of the VSX-1020′s (VSA-1020 in Japan) 3D compatibility with the BDP-330 or higher end BDP-LX53, but owners will enjoy return of last year’s well-received Precision Quartz Lock System with the addition of YouTube streaming and RSS feeds. Taking advantage of the Apple tie-ins will require hooking up to the network and a WiFi dongle is extra, check out the screens from the remote app after the break and decide on your own if physical buttons (or only being able to bring a touch interface to certain discs) was just too much of a hassle.

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Akihabara News: Sharp announced Yesterday at Osaka 2 new Blu-Ray recorders with the BD-HDW55 and its 500GB HDD as well as the BD-HDW53 and its 320GB HDD, capable of offering 10x more recording time compared with the usual DR recording method. Offering up to 63h of Digital Video recording for example on the 500GB HDD model, 3h on a 25GB Blu-Ray Disc or finally up to 6h of the very same Digital HD Video on a 50GB Blu-Ray disc in the maximum video quality possible.

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CNet UK: Do you dream of Blu-ray players? If the answer is ‘yes’, then we suspect the Onkyo BD-SP807 might be the player that features in your brain’s nocturnal activities. What makes this machine factor in so many happy dreams is that it offers stunning-quality hardware at a wallet-friendly price. The £600 BD-SP807 is intended to best machines that cost twice as much, and we’re very pleased to have got our hands on one for testing purposes.

The BD-SP807 has a fairly interesting appearance. Quite a large player, it’s roughly the size of early machines from the likes of Panasonic and Sony. In the BD-SP807′s case, however, the size, weight and design are all intended to produce the best picture and sound quality possible from Blu-rays, DVDs and even audio CDs. It’s not ugly either. It looks quite industrial, but that’s kind of cool. The LED display is rather basic, but we’re not too bothered about that — it’s not like you have to watch a film on it. Read more…

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T3: LG is about to make your current Blu-ray player look so 2008, with a range of new networked players offering full access to the YouTube catalogue.

Launching at the forthcoming CES, the as-yet unnamed models will focus on both Blu-ray playback and on-demand entertainment, with deals in place with US movie retailers CinemaNow and Netflix. And if the bank balance is looking bleak, YouTube will be available for clips of comic pets and bootlegged gig footage.

Ok, we’re talking US services right now, but the technology is universal. So don’t be surprised to see these new players in the UK not long after the US launches.

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TWICE: New television and video products slated to be unveiled at the 2009 International CES, will get considerably greener, if not more profitable, based on show trends predicted by TWICE. Among those on the floor, several first-tier manufacturers are expected to emphasize new eco-friendly TV designs this year with full ranges of products scheduled to conform to the Energy Star 3.0 guidelines at a minimum.

At the same time a number of top-tier LCD TV model lines are expected to shift to the use of new back-lighting systems, such as LEDs, to reduce power consumption while boosting contrast and color saturation performance levels significantly.

A number of plasma makers are expected to get into the power-savings act with models that significantly reduce draw levels in big-screen displays, taking away another advantage often cited by LCD TV competitors. Also expect to see a number of companies introduce plasma sets with thin-panel depths.

Blu-ray players are expected to be everywhere at this year’s show, with most new models making BD-Live interactivity virtually a stock feature. Price points should also continue their inevitable downward spiral, opening up adoption to a much wider audience.

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