Blu-ray

Nintendo has announced that its Wii U gaming console will not feature a Blu-ray drive, and will instead stick to a proprietary disc format. Patent fees related to the technology are too high, the company explained. The Wii U will, however, compete with existing consoles in terms of hardware - it is equipped with a customized CPU from IBM and a GPU from AMD, and is rumored to be 50 percent faster than PS3 and Xbox 360. Read More

Plextor's new external Blu-ray writer is designed with speed in mind. The PX-LB950UE offers a 12x write speed for single-layer Blu-ray media and 8x for double layer. The company has also thrown USB 3.0 and eSATA connectivity into the mix to help keep waiting time to a minimum and there's in-device labeling technology for professional-looking disc production. Burn accuracy, quality and stability is given a boost with the inclusion of a low vibration system and 8MB buffer. Read More

From keeping the kids amused to giving you something to do while stuck in a snow drift, in-car video entertainment systems are becoming an increasingly important essential component of the modern automobile. For videophiles who demand the very best in onscreen visuals, news that the Audiovox Corporation is set to release the industry's first automotive Blu-ray Disc player will no doubt be very welcome indeed. The compact device can be connected to any in-vehicle monitor, comes with an infrared remote and also has wireless streaming capabilities. Read More

Pioneer has announced that it's started shipping the world's first optical personal computer drive capable of reading and writing to the new BDXL Blu-ray format. The integration of additional layers into Blu-ray discs offers a single quadruple-layer storage capacity of up to 128GB, and will likely see the new device head straight for media professionals who need to archive broadcast quality, high-definition video. Read More

In May, Sony and Google announced a strategic alliance to develop new Android-based hardware products. The partnership is bearing fruit in the form of Sony Internet TV, powered by Google TV. It seems that most premium new release HDTVs come with Internet connectivity these days but one of the big differences offered by Sony’s Internet TV devices is a Dual View feature that lets viewers watch TV and surf the web at the same time. Read More

There’s no doubt the format war between HD-DVD and Blu-ray scared a lot of consumers away from upgrading from DVD to a higher definition format. Even though it’s been more than two years since Blu-ray took the honors and HD-DVD was relegated to the technological scrap heap sales of Blu-ray players haven’t really scaled the heights that manufacturers would have liked. But as prices continue to drop more and more Blu-ray devices are hitting the market. The latest is the world’s first mini-PCs with an integrated Blu-ray drive in the form of the Zotac Zbox Blu-ray series. Read More

Samsung, the manufacturer with its fingers in just about every consumer electronics pie known to man, has announced a flood of new 3D-enabled products. There’s Blu-ray players – both standalone and as part of a home theater, as well as the world’s first portable 3D Blu-ray player. There’s also new 3D TVs, including a 65-inch model the company says is the world’s largest Full HD 3D LED TV, along with three new 3D enabled plasmas. Kind of gives the impression that Samsung thinks this 3D thing will be a little more than a flash in the pan. Read More

In April this year, the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) announced the final specifications for the new multi-layer recordable Blu-ray Disc format which can more than double the storage capacity of existing 50GB dual layer discs. The new BDXL format supports rewritable discs of up to 100GB and 128GB for write-once recordable discs. Looks like Sharp gets to claim bragging rights as the first company to release both media and hardware that supports the new standard – two new BDXL compatible AQUOS Blu-ray Disc recorders, as well as 100GB write-once BDXL format media to the Japanese market this month. Read More

LG may have been beaten to the 3D TV punch by the likes of Samsung, Sony and Panasonic but the Korean manufacturer has still managed to claim a first with its new Infinia HDTVs – namely the world’s first Full LED 3D HDTV. This seems to be splitting hairs a bit as both Samsung and Sony offer 3D TVs in edge LED backlit flavors, but LG’s new LX9500 series are the first with LED backlighting that supports localized dimming for improved contrast and blacker blacks. LG’s entry into the 3D market also sees the release of the edge backlit LX6500 series and the company’s first 3D-capable Network Blu-ray player. Read More