Sony BWU-200S Blu-ray Writes Twice as Fast at 4x

Sony have just unveiled there latest Blu-ray writer; the BWU-200S. With a write speed of 4x for BD-R and 16zx for DVD+R, this new model can burn a BD-R disc with 50Gb in around 45 minutes.

The BWU-200S comes with CyberLink BD Solution (software that provides a comprehensive application for capturing, authoring, editing, burning and viewing high-definition personal content captured in the native HDV 1080i format from an HDV camcorder). It will also record on DVDs and CDs, as well as playback of DVDs recorded in the AVCHD format.

The internal drive features a Serial ATA (SATA) interface and standard 5.25-inch form-factor for easy installation inside a desktop PC with Microsoft® Windows® XP or Windows Vista® software.

The BWU-200S drive will be available directly from SonyStyle next month for about $600.

Source: Sony Press Release

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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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The XAV-W1 in Car Audio Video System from Sony

If you are looking for an in car audio / video system, check out the XAV-W1 from Sony.
The XAV-W1 is claimed to provide ‘high quality video and audio as well as connectivity to MP3 players and various personalization options’.

The new XAV-W1 features the SA-CD audio format and also the accompanying 5.1-Channel surround sound option. It has a 7-inch video screen (measured diagonally) that incorporates the WVGA TFT high-end standard for picture quality.

XAV-W1 specs in brief:
Support for SA-CD playback
5.1 channel audio in the form of Dolby Digital surround sound and dts Digital Surround Processing
7 inch display with WVGA resolution
Supports CDs, DVD video playback
JPEG, WMA, and MP3 file format support
Satellite radio and Apple iPod ready with controller devices sold separately
Support for Sony HD Radio tuner
Includes remote control which allows back seat passengers control of the system
Rear auxiliary input - universal 3.5 mm mini-plug input
Delivers 52 watts across four channels
3AV input to connect other A/V devices
Zone by Zone support allows users to set separate audio zones for front and rear seats

You will be able to pick up the Sony XAV-W1 for around $800 dollars when it becomes available in August.

Source: Sony Press Release

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