Hasta La Gadget!

For those with a disc rack full of Blu-ray packages and who’d like to shove all those optical discs to the attic for a streamlined media server solution — without resorting to other routes like downloading or cracking open AACS — Managed Copy is finally on the way, thanks to the just finalized AACS specification, to offer an authorized option for making a copy of your Blu-ray disc. We had a nice long talk with gatekeepers AACS-LA about what to expect when compatible Blu-ray hardware arrives in 2010 and Managed Copy-enabled discs begin shipping later this year; for more details like how many copies can be made, how the DRM works and how much this might cost head over to Engadget HD and see what it all means, and hopefully when we can put away our discs for the last time in favor of a Blu-ray Jukebox.

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

The plan for legit Blu-ray copies explained at Engadget HD originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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At a press conference Thursday afternoon, Sony Pictures and Sony Electronics jointly announced MovieIQ and CineChat, two features that, the companies say, will inspire consumers to buy up new BD-Live enabled players.

Blu-ray devices are now in 11 million U.S. homes, according to Mike Abary, senior vice president of information technology products and personal audio. The format’s sales grow 400 percent during the first quarter, compared to the previous year. Sony also plans to ship a mammoth 400-disc Blu-ray changer later this year, as well as a Wi-Fi-enabled Blu-ray player next month.

That Wi-Fi connectivity is a key point, as BD-Live requires some form of an Internet connection. Think of MovieIQ as a Web-enabled extra, perhaps a form of the IMDB plus a little more, powered by Gracenote. According to Sony, the feature connects to an updated databases that can provide cast lists, but even set details specific to the scene.

The followup to the popular PopcornHour media streamer series has finally been announced, and the list of features makes it look worth the wait. Revealed in a post on the Networked Media Tank forums the C200 contains an upgraded Sigma SMP8643 667 Mhz processor, HDMI 1.3 out, two SATA slots, a drive bay for mounting your own HDD, DVD or even Blu-ray drive (requires internal HDD or 1GB USB stick) and supports a list of networking standards, codecs and containers far too long to recount here. At first glance, only DivX jumps out as missing from the list, have a look at the forum posting and let us know if you spot. Of course, there’s already a video unboxing available, seen after the break (along with the copied list of specs) or check out the full Google translated early hands on impressions from HomeTheater.co.il. The most pressing questions of when will these be available and for how much, will have to be answered at another time.

[Via HomeTheater.co.il & Geek Tonic]

Continue reading PopcornHour’s latest C200 media box is Blu-ray (& anything else) ready

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Networking

PopcornHour’s latest C200 media box is Blu-ray (& anything else) ready originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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See that player right there? It looks really familiar, doesn’t it? Aside from a power adapter that’s suited for use in the United States of America, it’s essentially the BDP 10 sans a zero. Shortly after announcing its first Blu-ray deck overseas, Harman Kardon has seen fit to offer up a model here in the States, with BD-Live functionality, a USB socket, HDMI 1.3a, Ethernet, IR-remote in / out jacks, optical / coaxial digital audio outputs and support for all the major audio formats. The pain? $499, and it should start filtering into retailers as early as this month.

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Harman Kardon brings Blu-ray to America with BDP 1 deck originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This whole global economic crisis, and its resulting massive loss of jobs got us thinking. We here at Engadget didn’t want to stand helplessly by, announcing every new round of misery without giving anything back — so we decided to take the opportunity to spread a little positivity. We’ll be handing out a new gadget every day (except for weekends) to lucky readers until we run out of stuff / companies stop sending things. Today we’ve got five copies of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete on Blu-ray Disc, which just so happens to street today. Read the rules below (no skimming — we’re omniscient and can tell when you’ve skimmed) and get commenting! Check after the break for some photos of the prize!

Major thanks to Sony Pictures Home Entertainment for providing the kit!

The rules:

• Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, but if you want to share your proposal for “fixing” the world economy, that’d be sweet too.
• You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you’ll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
• If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you’ll be fine.
  
• Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
• Winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive one (1) of five (5) copies of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete on Blu-ray Disc. Approximate MSRP value is $38.
• If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
• Entries can be submitted until Tuesday, June 2nd, 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
• Full rules can be found here.

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Engadget’s recession antidote: win one of five Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete Blu-ray Discs originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Jun 2009 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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