Tron: Legacy Blu-ray gets a release date, supports Disney’s Second Screen iPad app

Amazon already revealed the three different Tron: Legacy Blu-ray & Blu-ray 3D combo packs on the way, from the 2-disc standard edition to the two movie, 5-disc Identity Disc-packaged limited edition but now we know the release date (4/5/11) and info about the extras. On the disc, Blu-ray-only exclusives include the Daft Punk music video for their song Derezzed, plus Launching the Legacy, Disc Roars and The Next Day: Flynn Lives Revealed features (Tron: The Original Classic Special Edition saves a Photo Tronology just for Blu-ray watchers.) If you have an iPad, the Disney Second Screen app that will make its debut alongside Bambi March 1 adds to the action with 360-degree views of the Tron vehicles, interactive progression reels and other information all synced to the movie by the audio track. There’s more details including MSRPs ($40 – $80) and the press release after the break.

Continue reading Tron: Legacy Blu-ray gets a release date, supports Disney’s Second Screen iPad app

Tron: Legacy Blu-ray gets a release date, supports Disney’s Second Screen iPad app originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Feb 2011 20:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung adds Lovefilm streaming to UK Blu-ray players

Lovefilm, the closest thing Europe has to an answer to Netflix, was recently swallowed whole by the Amazon juggernaut, but that doesn’t seem to have stunted its progress toward ubiquitous availability. Samsung has just announced its intent to include Lovefilm movie streaming as an app on all of its Blu-ray players in the UK, enhancing both the subscription service’s profile and its own claim to providing the user with multifunctional, “smart” technology. It’s disappointing not to see this rollout effective across all of Lovefilm’s European markets, but we guess small steps are better than no steps.

Continue reading Samsung adds Lovefilm streaming to UK Blu-ray players

Samsung adds Lovefilm streaming to UK Blu-ray players originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 04:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Wars Blu-ray discs to arrive September 27th according to Amazon

Even a flashy CES announce event wasn’t enough for Fox and George Lucas to reveal an exact release date for the arrival of Star Wars on Blu-ray, but now Amazon has updated its preorder ship dates to September 27th. We wouldn’t schedule a day off of work to dive into the promised 30 hours of special features until there’s some sort of official word, but since it is a Tuesday it seems a logical time to expect these discs (in full Complete Saga form or either trilogy set by itself, you choice) to touch down. Relive the somewhat underwhelming Darth Vader entrance and the much more inspiring Blu-ray boxed set trailer after the break.

Continue reading Star Wars Blu-ray discs to arrive September 27th according to Amazon

Star Wars Blu-ray discs to arrive September 27th according to Amazon originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 15:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fujitsu unveils Esprimo FH99/CM, touts it as the world’s first glasses-free 3D desktop

After seeing Sharp’s 10.6 glasses-free 3D display last September, we left convinced that parallax barrier 3D technology was a long way off from being ready for prime-time, and then we reached for a bottle of aspirin. Demonstrations by Intel and Sony at CES this year proved, however, that a lot can change in four months, and we hope for Japan’s collective eye sight that Fujitsu’s Esprimo FH99/CM desktop PC follows this trend. That’s because Fujitsu claims it’s the world’s first glasses-free all-in-one, and it’s scheduled to launch in the country on February 25th with a whopping $3,100 price tag. All that dough will get buyers a naked-eye 23-inch full HD 3D display plus top-of-the-line features such as a Blu-ray drive with 3D Blu-ray support, a 2Ghz Core i7 processor, 4GB of memory, a 2TB hard drive, and two USB 3.0 ports. There’s no word whether the computer will land stateside, but if it doesn’t, Toshiba has hinted they could fill the void with a glasses-free 3D PC of its own by late 2011. Still, we wouldn’t recommend stomping your 3D glasses just yet.

Fujitsu unveils Esprimo FH99/CM, touts it as the world’s first glasses-free 3D desktop originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Jan 2011 07:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Analog sunset begins, all the new Blu-ray players will only output HD via HDMI

Las Vegas Sunset

The chicken littles have been worried about this since long before the first Blu-ray (or even HD DVD) title was ever released, and the first step towards the analog sunset has officially come. Any new Blu-ray player announced after January 1st 2011 will only output HD via HDMI — players that started shipping last year can still be sold until the end of this year though. If you just love component video, you might figure you’ll be able to get a player today and continue to enjoy it for years to come, but maybe not. You see the studios also have the Image Constraint Token (ICT) which when set on a title will tell every and all Blu-ray players to down convert analog output to 540p. The only reprieve is that if its set on a title, it must be marked on the box, and of course it can’t be retroactively set (any title you own now will continue to play exactly the same way it does on your existing players). We’re waiting for final confirmation, but apparently the ICT hasn’t been an option to studios until now so start looking for the icon on your latest purchases. The final stage in the sunset is 2013 when analog outputs will be removed from Blu-ray players completely, but we suspect we’ll have better things to worry about by then like ultra HD or digital distribution.

Analog sunset begins, all the new Blu-ray players will only output HD via HDMI originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 21:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Audiovox shows off the industry’s first in-car Blu-ray player, the AVDBR1

We’ve been seeing demo units of in-car Blu-ray players at CES for years, but Audiovox is apparently finally ready to offer one for sale with its AVDBR1, seen here skulking about the halls of CES. Due in the spring with an MSRP of $349.99, it can be installed under the seat or in a storage compartment and is even BD-Live compatible with optional WiFi upgrade, available after a firmware update arrives later this year. Of course, even if you like video in the car — usually for the kids in the backseat — there’s plenty of other ways to get it including digital copies that can be activated on your phone, tablet or laptop, or DVDs included in the combo packs most major releases have. Add to this the fact that mobile screens are generally too small to make a big difference with HD and there’s plenty of reasons to be skeptical, but if you are on a long road trip with only the Blu-ray copy of Black Dynamite to keep you company, you’ll be glad you opted for the AVDBR1. Want more details? Check the press release after the break.

Continue reading Audiovox shows off the industry’s first in-car Blu-ray player, the AVDBR1

Audiovox shows off the industry’s first in-car Blu-ray player, the AVDBR1 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 00:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG’s CES 2011 booth tour

If there is one booth at CES this year that is going all out, it’s arguably LG’s. The massive, supermarket-sized chunk of show floor real estate showcases everything from the manufacturer’s latest phones — like the Revolution, Optimus Black and Optimus 2X — to SmartTV devices, network Blu-ray players and HDTVs. You’ll also find smart appliances linked with WiFi and smartphone apps using LG Thinq, and even a scanner mouse — not to mention a mesmerizing display wall. Sample the insanity in the gallery below, and in the video after the break.

Continue reading LG’s CES 2011 booth tour

LG’s CES 2011 booth tour originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 09 Jan 2011 18:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Philips bringing ultrawidescreen TV, wireless Blu-ray player, apps and eventually Android TV to USA

And here we were worried that Funai’s takeover of the US arm would lead to a falloff. Whatever its name or corporate structure, Philips has brought plenty of US-bound heat to CES 2011, with none bigger than the news that we will see the company’s sweet 3D-capable 21:9 ultrawidescreen HDTV on this side of the Atlantic in the second half of 2011. Today it also announced plans for a Blu-ray player with wireless HDMI, the world’s first (meaning you’ll probably need a dongle on any TV to use it until compatible displays arrive later in the year) but no surprise for an outfit that’s been pushing HD streaming for some time. On a similar front its MediaConnect app on new TVs and Blu-ray players will let it stream anything playing on a PC to the TV screen WiDi-style (video embedded after the break.)

Continue reading Philips bringing ultrawidescreen TV, wireless Blu-ray player, apps and eventually Android TV to USA

Philips bringing ultrawidescreen TV, wireless Blu-ray player, apps and eventually Android TV to USA originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 07:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD’s E-350 Zacate APU finds a home in Zotac’s Zbox AD03 Blu-ray HTPC

AMD’s Fusion APU has had its coming out party here at CES, and already companies are champing at the bit to offer updated systems with the E-350 embedded within. Zotac’s offering up a revised version of its Zbox HTPC this week, with the AD03 boasting an all-too-familiar exterior, a slot-loading Blu-ray drive and the aforesaid 1.6GHz E-350 APU. There’s also an AMD Radeon HD 6310 GPU, a pair of DDR3-1066 RAM slots, room for a 2.5″ SATA 6Gbps hard drive, a USB 3.0 port, two USB 2.0 sockets, an optical audio port, HDMI / DVI outputs (a VGA adapter is included as well), Gigabit Ethernet, support for Dolby TrueHD / DTS-HD Master Audio bitstreaming, 802.11n WiFi, a 6-in-1 card reader and a bundled copy of Cyberlink’s PowerDVD software. The “Plus” version of the system actually ships with 2GB of DDR3 memory and a 250GB 5400RPM hard drive, whereas the standard version leaves it up to you to fill those voids. Mum’s the word on pricing, but we suspect it’ll be loosed on the universe soon.

Continue reading AMD’s E-350 Zacate APU finds a home in Zotac’s Zbox AD03 Blu-ray HTPC

AMD’s E-350 Zacate APU finds a home in Zotac’s Zbox AD03 Blu-ray HTPC originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 23:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Best New Blu-ray Player [BestOfTheBest]

They’re the cornerstones of our home theaters—and there’s always an ungodly number of them at CES. We scrutinized this year’s more intriguing 3D Blu-ray players and found the one that looks like the king of the hill. More »