Vizio Unveils Routers, Blu-ray Players for the Living Room
Posted in: blu-ray, router, Today's Chili, vizio
Vizio, known mostly for its inexpensive, high-volume HDTVs, has entered the router business.
No, these aren’t the standard data routers (wirelessly) tied to your laptop or other device, but video-optimized wireless 802.11n routers,a dual-band connection which uses both the 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz band to tie your TV to the Internet. Vizio also announced a complementary dual-band Blu-ray player, which also connects to the Internet.
The XWR100 Dual-Band HD Wireless Internet Router prioritizes HD video
and audio to VIA HDTVs and Blu-ray players. Within it are four Ethernet jacks and a USB port for connecting a hard drive. Compatible
with both Mac and PC systems, the XWR100 will be available in Q3 at an MSRP
of $99.99.
Vizio also announced three wirelessly connected Blu-ray players: the VBR210, VBR220 and VBR231. Vizio’s pricing strategy is a bit difficult to understand; you’ll have to wait until July to buy the most expensive model, the VBR231, which will cost $199.99. But that’s just $10 more than the VBR210 and VBR220, whose chief difference is that they operate on the single 2.4-GHz band shared with other 802.11b/g devices, while the VBR231 uses both the 2.4- and the relatively unobstructed 5-GHz band. All three deliver up to 7.1 channels of digital audio output
over HDMI, with support for Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, and DTS
HD audio formats.
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