Blu-ray

What's New

Sharp AQUOS with Built-in Blu-ray
- By sandv blog
- Posted October 16, 2008
Remember how low-class it was to have a TV with a built-in VCR? No one would ever take that seriously. What if an HDTV had a built-in Blu-ray player? Better yet, add in an HDTV tuner too. Not too shabby, right?

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Black Friday, Blu Friday
- By sandv blog
- Posted October 16, 2008
What better way to burn off the calories from Aunt Sandy's Thanksgiving Whiskey Cake than to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving. You know, Black Friday is the day to find amazing deals on everything from toasters to TVs.

Looks like this could also be the premiere of $150 Blu-ray players. Will it be enough to spur people to buy Blu?

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Blu-ray Recorders Coming?
- By sandv blog
- Posted October 16, 2008
Stand-alone Blu-ray recorders have been available in Japan for a while, but alas, we're not so lucky here in the U.S. Prices aren't that great even over there — about $800 US for a Sharp Blu-ray recorder.

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Blu-ray, "A Bag of Hurt"
- By sandv blog
- Posted October 15, 2008
Wow, Steve Jobs is telling it like it is. Well, telling it like he thinks it is. Engadget is reporting from Steve Job's keynote speech. The Apple Computer honcho said, "Blu-ray is just a bag of hurt. It's great to watch the movies, but the licensing of the tech is so complex, we're waiting till things settle down and Blu-ray takes off in the marketplace."

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Neil Young's Archives: To Blu-ray Or Not?
- By sandv blog
- Posted October 14, 2008
Neil Young is known for hating early digital audio formats, and seemed to be all set to embrace Blu-ray as the format with high enough resolution to be acceptable. His Archives Vol. 1 (1963-1972) had been slated for a November 3 release, but it's been pushed back, until some time in 2009.

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Samsung's Matrix/Blu Combo Special
- By sandv blog
- Posted October 14, 2008
Perhaps trying to get your Blu-ray dollars before Black Friday, Samsung is offering a tasty combination plate. Currently, Samsung's BD-P1500 (now a Profile 2.0 player) is being sold with a great offer. The Ultimate Matrix Collection is being released this week on Blu-ray, and you can get it for free with the BD-P1500.

How much can you save?

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Blu Christmas?
- By sandv blog
- Posted October 10, 2008
Is Blu-ray in or out? Hot, or not-hot? It seems that pendulum swings daily. Most recently, though, it seems to be looking good for Blu-ray heading into the holiday shopping season.

The Blu-ray Disc Association, made up of manufacturers and movie studios, is quite optimistic. And why not? New blockbuster releases are drawing more and more people into the Blu-ray fold.

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Xbox 360 Turning Blu
- By sandv blog
- Posted October 9, 2008
Check the weather — looks like a freeze might be coming. Back in the day, PS3 was Blu-ray, Xbox 360 was HD DVD. And, Toshiba was HD DVD, and still refuses to switch to Blu-ray. My, oh my, how times are changing.

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$1 Blu-ray Premium From Netflix
- By sandv blog
- Posted October 9, 2008
Netflix has always had very reasonable rates, but if you want to keep getting Blu-ray Discs as part of your rental agreement, you're gonna have to pay to play. Not by much. The Blu-ray premium is only $1.00 per month.

Is there anything to complain about?

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Upgrade Fever Hits Samsung BD
- By sandv blog
- Posted October 8, 2008
Samsung's BD-P1500 is getting better. BD Live is the next big thing to hit Blu-ray players, and it's now available as an upgrade for the Samsung BD-P1500. The upgrade is available as a download that you can get two ways. Connect the player to the Internet for an automatic update, or download it to a CD on your computer.

What else will you need?

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Sony's Frequent Flyer Club: Sony Pictures Blu-ray Club
- By sandv blog
- Posted October 6, 2008
Everyone's doing it. Frequent flyer programs for airlines, frequent shopper loyalty cards for the drugstore, grocery store — even the Flying J Truck Stop I went to today (don't ask) asked me if I was enrolled in their rewards program.

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Thomson's Technicolor Is Testing Blu-ray
- By sandv blog
- Posted October 6, 2008
Nothing like buying a shiny new Blu-ray Disc movie, and discovering that its BD-Live or BD-Java feature doesn't work properly, or takes forever to load. Kinda sucks, doesn't it?

Technicolor, a division of Thomson, has opened a facility to test those features, and give a thumbs up or thumbs down. Sort of like the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.

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