Christmas Countdown Day 4 Samsung BD-UP5000 HD DVD and Blue Ray Player

Just like back in the day when the VHS and Betamax pitched consumer against consumer; history is repeating itself in the current DVD format war. If you are still undecided between HD-DVD versus Blu-Ray HD discs; then why not take a closer look at The Samsung BD-UP5000.

The Samsung BD-UP5000 gives you 1080p, 1080i and 720p HD native resolutions and will playback both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray HD discs. It also features:
HQV video upconversion processing (720p/1080i/1080p)
1080p 24fps playback on Blu-ray and HD DVD
Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, dts-HD Master Audio support
HDMI version 1.3, Component Video, S-Video and Composite video outputs
16.9 x 3.1 x 12.8 inches ; 9.3 pounds

The only downside to the Samsung BD-UP5000; will not be available for Christmas Day. It will be available at the beginning of Jan 2008 for around $800 You can always print off a picture of the Samsung BD-UP5000 and wrapped it up…

Holiday Gift Idea: 3.5 Stars

Related Posts:
Christmas Countdown Day 1
Christmas Countdown Day 2
Christmas Countdown Day 3



Source: TFTS

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Toshiba HD A2 Below $100 at Walmart

There are still a few weeks to go before ‘Black Friday’ but Walmart are determined to offer a few bargains before then. If you have not decided whether you are a HD or Blu-Ray person, then this weekend’s deal at Walmart might persuade you. This Friday, November 2, you can pick up the Toshiba HD-A2 for the ridiculous low price of $98.87. They are almost giving the thing away.

At this price you could probably afford both formats…

Source: Walmart

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Onkyo HT-SP908 HTiB Brings 7 Speakers to Your Home

This is is Onkyo’s latest Home Theater in a Box (HTiB); the HT-SP908 sports a receiver with 7.1 channel audio, 2 HDMI 1.3a ports, 1080p output, a 1080p upscaling DVD player, 10 inch sub-woofer and a remote interactive iPod dock. It also comes XM/Sirius ready.

The HT-SP908 should retails around $1099 or drop down to the HT-SP904 for $899. The 904 loses upscaling and HDMI.



Source: Onkyo

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Sony Add High End Blu-Ray Players

This week Sony adds to their line-up of Blu-ray players with the BDP-S2000ES and BDP-S500. Both feature full high-definition 1080/60p and 24p True Cinema output. They support 7.1 channel linear PCM and Dolby® TrueHD, Dolby® Digital Plus, as well as dts-HD™ High Resolution Audio bitstream output via HDMI™ (ver1.3) and compliment Sony’s current entry level model; the BDP-S300.

More Features:
Compatible with most standard DVDs and feature 1080p upscaling through HDMI to capable HDTV sets

Support AVCHD discs encoded with x.v.Color™ (xvYCC) technology

Compatible with BD-R/RE (BDMV mode), DVD+R/+RW, DVD-R/-RW (Video Mode), CD, CD-R/RW (CD-DA format), MP3, and JPEG on DVD recordable media

Include BRAVIA® TheatreSync™ through HDMI

Pptical and coaxial digital audio outputs, along with 5.1 channel decoding capability for backward compatibility with existing A/V receivers

The BDP-S2000ES will retail for around $1,300 and the BDP-S500 for around $700.





Source: Sony Press Release

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Let Sony Organize Your Digital World The HES-V1000 Home Entertainment Server

Sony have just introduced there solution to help you organize your personal collections of digital movies, music and photos; the stand-alone HES-V1000 Home Entertainment Server (it’s not cheap…)

The HES-V1000 Home Entertainment Server features a full HD 1080p 200-disc Blu-ray Disc™/DVD/CD changer, a 500GB hard disc drive that can store up to 137 hours of video, 40,000 songs or 20,000 digital photos and a Blu-ray Disc burner.

The HES-V1000 offers Sony’s new x-Application® feature that includes x-Pict Story™ HD and x-ScrapBook™ photo slide show so users can create customized photo presentations with the click of the remote.

The HES-V1000 system can play back music stored on the hard drive and can wirelessly stream music throughout the home with a router to other devices. The system can register up to ten devices with four independent audio streams.

There are also plenty of connections available; S-video, composite, audio and HDV/DV (i.LINK®) inputs, as well as HDMI™ with BRAVIA Theatre Sync, component, optical, coaxial, analog outputs, as well as, Memory Stick® media inputs, Secure Digital cards, CompactFlash media and xD-Picture CardTM flash memory readers.



The HES-V1000 Home Entertainment Server will be available in October for about $3,500.

Source: Sony Press Release

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Sony BDP-300 Blu-ray Player Price Cut

Originally due to be released at a cost of $599, Sony has just announced that,its BDP-S300 Blu-ray Disc Player will be available for only $499.

As Sony States:

See and hear a whole new world of high definition with the incredible BDP-S300 Blu-ray Disc® Player. The crystalline clarity of 1080p Blu-ray Disc movies and DVD upscaling has to be seen to be believed. Amazing 24p True Cinema output and cinema-tuned picture presets allow you to see movies exactly how the director intended. And with BRAVIA™ Theatre Sync, you can now you can control your compatible BRAVIA TV and AV systems from just one remote.

So if you are in the market for a Blu-ray player here are the specs:
• Dimensions (Approx.) 17 x 3 1/8 x 14 7/8" (430 x 79 x 375mm)
• Weight (Approx.) 10 lb. (4.5kg)
• HDMI™ Connection Output(s) 1 (Rear)
• Component Video (Y/Pb/Pr) Output(s) 1 (Rear)
• S-Video Output(s) 1 (Rear)
• Composite Video Output(s) 1 (Rear)
• Optical Audio Output(s) 1 (Rear)
• Coaxial Audio Digital Output(s) 1 (Rear)
• Analog Audio Output(s) 2 ch; 1 (Rear)
• Analog-to-Digital Converter 192KHz/24bit
• Screen Saver Yes
• DVD+R Read Compatibility Yes
• DVD+RW Read Compatibility Yes
• DVD-R Read Compatibility Yes
• DVD-RW Read Compatibility Yes
• High Definition Full HD 1080/24p and 60p1
• MP3 Player Yes (Content must be in DVD+R/+RW/-R/-RW format.)
• DVD Upscaling to 1080p via HDMI
• BRAVIA Theatre Sync (HDMI-CEC)
• BD/DVD/CD playback(4) and AVC-HD with x.v.Color output
• Multi-channel Linear PCM & Dolby Digital Plus Decoding

Source: Slipperbrick

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Toshiba HD DVD Under $300

Recently Toshiba announced a rebate of $100 for their HD DVD players. It looks like this rebate can be used at Best Buy, Sears, Circuit City among others. But, if you do not want the hassle of the rebate, check out Amazon as they are offering the Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD Player for under $299 (rebate must be included).

Here are the specs:
Video
HD Output 720p/1080i
SD Upconversion 480p/720p/1080i
Combo Format disc playback
HD DVD Video
DVD Video
DVD VR
DVD-R (Video)
DVD-R DL (Video)
DVD-RW (Video/VR CPRM not supported)

Audio
High-performance SHARC® DSP
CD, CD-R/-RW (CD-DA)
Dolby® Digital Plus 5.1ch
Dolby® TrueHD 5.1ch
DTS® 5.1ch
DTS® HD (core only)

Convenience
Persistent storage
Universal remote with glow keys
OSD Language English/French/German/Japanese
Advanced Navigation
Slim Chassis

Jackpacks
HDMI™
Ethernet Port
ColorStream Pro® Component Video Output
RCA Video Outputs (1)

Extension Terminal (2)
2ch. Audio Output
Digital Optical Output
S-Video Output

Weights and Dimensions
Dimensions: 16.9" x 13.58" x 2.58" (WxHxD)

Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD Player at Amazon

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