CES: Blu-ray Players, Web-enabled TVs and 3D Dominate Media Day
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LAS VEGAS – Buoyed by favorable consumer response to Blu-ray in the fourth quarter, consumer electronics manufacturers Jan. 7 showcased the format in several new profile 2.0 players and related home theater products, during press day at the 2009 International CES confab.
Panasonic unveiled the BD60, BD80 and BD70V players, which are synced with the manufacturer’s Viera Cast-branded HDTVs enabling interactivity with the Internet, among other features.
The company also introduced a portable Blu-ray player with 1080p resolution and BD Live functionality, available this summer.
Samsung bowed three profile 2.0 BD players, including its flagship wireless player, the previously mentioned 1.5-inch thick, wall-mountable BD-P4600, which includes Netflix streaming, 1080p resolution, the latest HD sound quality, and can eject a disc in one second.
“This is a design that is meant to be shown off,” said Tim Baxter, EVP, consumer electronics sales and marketing with Samsung.
Baxter said the holidays proved Blu-ray as a viable format. He said he expects year-end U.S. sales of 2.8 million BD players to double in 2009.
“Blu-ray is definitely not Laserdisc,” Baxter said, referring to the short-lived pre-cursor to DVD. “We believe consumer adoption of Blu-ray has evolved beyond the early adopter.”
Samsung also bowed the HT-BD8200 Blu-ray home theater system that, like most televisions at the show, features wireless technology, including wireless subwoofer, compatible wireless display and audio system.
Panasonic joined Samsung in separate announced partnerships with Yahoo that involve a proprietary widget imbedded in new lines of wireless LCD and plasma HDTV that allow users to view Web-based content.
Panasonic announced its BT 200 and BT 300 Blu-ray home theater systems that include Amazon’s VOD service, YouTube videos, Google’s Picasa music service and Bloomberg news.
The manufacturer said it is working to bring to home entertainment-based 3D technology in Blu-ray by 2010. The format, a favorite of DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, has improved substationally as technological improvements and 3D specific screens has some movie theaters chains experimenting with 3D releases.
Panasonic is working with Titanic director James Cameron and his new film, Avator, the first major studio tent pole movie slated for 3D release in December.
Sony said sales of the BD-350 Blu-ray player and movies ranked among the company’s top selling products in 2008, a 300% increase from the previous year.
“Sony is positioned for continued Blu-ray leadership this year,” said Stan Glasgow, president and COO of Sony Computer Electronics. “I believe this will be watershed year for Blu-ray. The combination of available content and attractively priced hardware is a compelling consumer proposition.”
Sony also announced a line of Bravia XBR9 HDTVs that include internal wireless connectivity to the Internet. Previously, Bravia TVs could be connected to the web through the purchase of a separate after-market Bravia device.
Separately, Pioneer and Sharp announced a series of new BD display options.
Pioneer bowed three new profile 2.0 players, the BDP-120, BDP-320 and BDP-23FD, all slated for April release.
Sharp incorporated a BD player into a new line of Aquos HDTVs (37-inch to 52-inch) priced from $1,000. The manufacturer also unveiled its first profile 2.0 players with BD Live, the BD HP22U and BD HP16U for $299 and $279, respectively.
01-07-2009, 11:49 PM
CES: Blu-ray Players, Web-enabled TVs and 3D Dominate Media Day
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