The Age of Blu-ray

The past few days have brought quite a lot of interesting Blu-ray related news and announcements, partly due to the two important shows that took (or are taking) place in this period, namely IFA 2007 and CEDIA 2007. And since we've shown you a little IFA ? Blu-ray roundup a few days ago, it's time to do the same thing for CEDIA as well, despite the fact that two of the companies "tackled" in the previous article are also present in this one.

Thus, the first product we'll talk about is Sharp's AQUOS BD-HP20U player, the US-bound version of the BD-HP20S announced for Europe. Actually, the two models are pretty similar, as the BD-HP20U also features a 1080p image resolution with HDMI 1.3 for deep color support and the ability to scale back its frame rate to 24 FPS for some movies. Moreover, the device provides both writable/rewritable Blu-Ray discs as well as DVDs and, should the player be connected to a compatible TV, it upscales DVD movies to 1080p as well. Moreover, the BD-HP20U supports Dolby 7.1-channel TrueHD audio via HDMI, as well as Dolby Digital Plus, and is available on the US market for around $550.

The second device we'll talk about is the S2000ES single-disc player, presented by Blu-ray's creator and most important backer, Sony. Thus, the device is included in the company's premium ES range and incorporates all the advanced features provided by the Sony's other top Blu-ray players, as for example the S500 (also announced for the US at Cedia). Thus, the device can output images at 1080p resolution and also brings along deep color through HDMI, 7.1-channel Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD sound and 24 FPS playback.

Moreover, besides these relatively common features, the S2000ES Blu-ray player has been fitted with a few interesting stabilization features, as for example dual shielding, a strengthened drive bracket and a stiffer beam chassis prevent the laser from skipping or drive access from vibrating the whole casing. However, all these features will come at a pretty high price-tag, as the S2000ES costs around 1,300 US dollars, thus placing it among the most expensive such products developed by Sony.

The third announcement (so far) comes from Pioneer, who has also announced the release of its top-range BDP-95FD player, which offers users certain advanced features as for example 1080p 24fps video playback, HDMI-CEC technology, support of lossless digital audio formats Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital+, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio. Obviously, it comes packed with HDMI 1.3 connectivity (as well as the numerous classical versions), and will hit the shelves for around 1000 US dollars, which makes it yet another addition to the "way too expensive to purchase for now" category.

We are just a few, but there are many of you, Softpedia users, out there. That's why we thought it would be a good idea to create an email address for you to help us a little in finding gadgets we missed. Interesting links are bound to be posted with recognition going mainly to those who submit. The address is .