AfterDawn: News

Pioneer set to introduce 4 new Blu-ray players

Pioneer has announced the launch of 4 new Blu-ray players, three Bonus View and one BD-Live compliant.

The Bonus View players are the BDP-LX08, BDP-LX71, and BDP-51FD and the BD-Live player (Profile 2.0) is the BDP-LX91. The company says the players each have "redesigned chipsets to improve overall performance."



As is now standard, each player can handle 1080p/24 as well as HDMI 1.3a. According to the press release, "HDMI 12-Bit Deep Colour support guarantees smooth transitions between different shades and delivers an unprecedented range of colour tones, recreating the natural world on the TV screen." The players also have internal decoding for DTS HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD.

The BDP-LX71 will be available by September, the BDP-51FD and the BDP-LX08 will arrive in October and the BDP-LX91 finally in December. There was no word on pricing.



Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 2 Jul 2008 14:48

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• 4 comments

• johnflash

  PS3 works good enough. I don't need another brick near my TV.

  2.7.2008 16:08 #1

• ThePastor

  Quote:There was no word on pricing.
  The single most important fact is convienently left out.
  
  DL disks are still overpriced. There is still no realistic BR solution for the computer. No way to copy or back up or anything.
  
  There is simply no value to BR...
  
  Unless we're all getting upgrades for our eyeballs to take in all this new High def media I'm afraid that there is just not enough bang for the buck.
  
  DVD is popular because it's everywhere. A DVD player/burner in every computer and it costs little or nothing.
  
  Give me a call when BR gets this ubiqutious.

  2.7.2008 16:14 #2

• ikari

  Hmmmm.. with HDMI 1.3a compatiblity it will most likely be pretty spendy. Also, isn't the there a saying: "If you ask the price, you can't afford it."
  
  On a side note, this is why I haven't bought a HDTV yet. Companies need to lock down a HDMI verison. This upgrading verisons all the time is not cool. Are we going to have to "update" every piece of equipment we buy now? I have had my TV for 8 years now. I don't want to buy a new one every 2-3 years because companies can't decide on a standard. And besides, more verisons means it is harder to make things compatible with it. /rant

  2.7.2008 17:43 #3

• emugamer

  Quote:Quote:There was no word on pricing.
  The single most important fact is convienently left out.
  
  DL disks are still overpriced. There is still no realistic BR solution for the computer. No way to copy or back up or anything.
  
  There is simply no value to BR...
  
  Unless we're all getting upgrades for our eyeballs to take in all this new High def media I'm afraid that there is just not enough bang for the buck.
  
  DVD is popular because it's everywhere. A DVD player/burner in every computer and it costs little or nothing.
  
  Give me a call when BR gets this ubiqutious.I agree for the most part. But let me add that another reason why DVD is popular is because SD televisions are everywhere and have not been phased out. Upscaled DVD quality vs Bluray quality is close enough in smaller HDTV's where the increase in price for a bluray disc is just not worth it, as you stated. Upscaled DVD's look good enough on my 26" LCD. But throw that bad boy in my buddy's 46" (a size that I don't believe has fully penetrated most American households - correct me if I'm wrong) and it doesn't hold water compared to bluray. I personally can't justify buying a bluray movie for my smaller HDTV.
  
  I agree that there is no value to bluray....yet. I don't think many people in the States are going to be investing in full-on HD setups including a bluray player with the way the economy is hurting. People over here are cutting everything they can in order to be able to afford food, gas and home heating oil. I'm all for progress and applaud these manufacturers for continuing to develop more options, but in an HD market that is not even fully developed, who are these manufacturers appealing to for purchase of their media? With people's available spending money decreasing, an excess like bluray (and I say excess because it is excessive to most people who can enjoy SD media at a fraction of the cost) may never really get a hold on the market before some other form of media distribution moves ahead. It's a race right now. They've gotten past the first checkpoint (HD DVD). But there is a long way to go.
  
  Just my 1 cent (I need the other for gas)

  3.7.2008 12:35 #4