AfterDawn: News

Toshiba unveils Blu-ray player, price, specs

Via a press release today, Toshiba has put the final nail in HD DVD's coffin, unveiling their first Blu-ray player, the BDX2000.

The full specs read as follows:



* BD-Live(TM) (Profile 2.0)
* 1080p/ 24 fps Full HD Video Output
* AVCHD Playback
* Toshiba REGZA-LINK(R) (HDMI-CEC)
* Support for enhanced audio formats from Dolby(R) True HD and DTS-HD Master Audio | Essential(TM) Playback
* Bonus View
* SD Card Slot
* ENERGY STAR(R) Certified

"Toshiba is a technology leader in high definition products," says Jodi Sally, Vice President of Marketing, Digital A/V Group. "From listening to our consumers we know they demand access to full high definition content. With the introduction of our BDX2000 we are offering consumers what they want with a breath-taking HD viewing experience to meet the needs of today's home theater."

The REGZA-LINK, much like how Sony does with Bravia TVs, allows for users to connect a Regza HDTV to the Blu-ray player via HDMI, and then control both from one single remote controller. It's unclear what formats the player can read off the SD cards, but standard MP3, WMA, JPEG and AVI should not be a problem.

The player will hit stores in November and have $249.99 MSRP.



Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 4 Sep 2009 22:32

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• 9 comments

• Ryoohki

  50 bucks more and you could get a ps3. That price isn't much of a bargain.

  4.9.2009 22:55 #1

• Blessedon

  Yes, but will it play a BD-R?

  5.9.2009 07:30 #2

• Toshibot

  The $249.99 MSRP means it should hit the streets at around $199 with possible deals around the holidays i.e. bundling with Toshiba HDTV's.
  
  Some people note the lack of video streaming. Entry-level models from Panasonic, Samsung, Sony and LG already feature net streaming from services like Netflix, Picasa, YouTube etc.

  5.9.2009 08:05 #3

• MIDNITE14

  OK LET ME JUST SAY SOMETHING HERE OK FOR THOSE PEOPLE THAT WANT TO GET THE FULL BENEFIT OF A BLURAY MOVIE AND HAVE A COMPATIBLE SURROUND SYSTEM DONT GO WITH THE PS3 BECAUSE IT WILL NOT ALLOW DTS HD 7.1 OR ANYTHING ELSE OVER 5 CHANNEL SOUND BE PRODUCED SO WHY PAY MORE FOR A PS3 AND LOSE THE FULL BENEFITS OF BLU RAY ?

  5.9.2009 13:40 #4

• DXR88

  Originally posted by MIDNITE14: OK LET ME JUST SAY SOMETHING HERE OK FOR THOSE PEOPLE THAT WANT TO GET THE FULL BENEFIT OF A BLURAY MOVIE AND HAVE A COMPATIBLE SURROUND SYSTEM DONT GO WITH THE PS3 BECAUSE IT WILL NOT ALLOW DTS HD 7.1 OR ANYTHING ELSE OVER 5 CHANNEL SOUND BE PRODUCED SO WHY PAY MORE FOR A PS3 AND LOSE THE FULL BENEFITS OF BLU RAY ?despite what you may think. cap locks is not the cruise control for cool.
  
  Linux defeats this issue yet another reason we are not happy about otherOS's removal.

  5.9.2009 18:02 #5

• mike.m

  Very eager to know about the quality playback on this player. It's not at a bad price either compared to other BD players.

  6.9.2009 00:50 #6

• Ryoohki

  Originally posted by MIDNITE14: OK LET ME JUST SAY SOMETHING HERE OK FOR THOSE PEOPLE THAT WANT TO GET THE FULL BENEFIT OF A BLURAY MOVIE AND HAVE A COMPATIBLE SURROUND SYSTEM DONT GO WITH THE PS3 BECAUSE IT WILL NOT ALLOW DTS HD 7.1 OR ANYTHING ELSE OVER 5 CHANNEL SOUND BE PRODUCED SO WHY PAY MORE FOR A PS3 AND LOSE THE FULL BENEFITS OF BLU RAY ?Considering the average consumer doesn't have a high quality surround sound layout that would make that big of a difference, I am sure the ps3 would suit their viewing needs and they can also play games on it. I don't really see a downside in spending that extra 50 bucks for a ps3 vs having a different player that has better sound capabilities. But that's just my personal opinion.

  6.9.2009 11:05 #7

• kyo28

  Originally posted by MIDNITE14: OK LET ME JUST SAY SOMETHING HERE OK FOR THOSE PEOPLE THAT WANT TO GET THE FULL BENEFIT OF A BLURAY MOVIE AND HAVE A COMPATIBLE SURROUND SYSTEM DONT GO WITH THE PS3 BECAUSE IT WILL NOT ALLOW DTS HD 7.1 OR ANYTHING ELSE OVER 5 CHANNEL SOUND BE PRODUCED SO WHY PAY MORE FOR A PS3 AND LOSE THE FULL BENEFITS OF BLU RAY ?That's not entirely correct. Instead of shouting on forums, perhaps you should do some research:
  
  http://www.us.playstation.com/PS3/Features/BluRayMovies
  Quote:Theater-quality audio Hear it how it"s meant to be heard. Up to 7.1 channels of surround sound.A device compatible with Linear PCM 7.1 Ch. is required to output 7.1 Ch. audio, supported by Dolby TrueHD or a similar format, from the HDMI OUT connector. This system does not support output from the DTS-HD 7.1 Ch. DTS-HD 7.1 Ch. audio is output from a 5.1 or lower channel.Basically, the PS3 decodes DTS HD, and DD HD MA 7.1 to PCM 7.1. If your receiver can handle PCM 7.1, then 7.1 channels will be pushed out.
  
  If your receiver only handles DTS HD and DD HD MA 7.1, then the PS3 will downconvert the audio to PCM 5.1.
  
  Nowadays, I would say every decent receiver that can handle DTS HD and DD HD MA 7.1 can also handle PCM 7.1 so I'm not sure what point you're trying to make?

  7.9.2009 04:21 #8

• hermes_vb

  I wonder when are they going to make BR players that play FLAC? Too much bragging about the quality (audio/video) and yet popular lossless formats like FLAC or WavPack are not supported. That's part of the reason I had to build a Home Theater PC.

  12.9.2009 01:17 #9