CEATEC 2008: Sony Blu-ray
HomeCEATEC 2008: Sony Blu-ray
Posted October 1, 2008 02:17 AM by Ben Williams
Sony came out in force today at CEATEC by debuting a large array of new Blu-ray products. Most of what was showcased is intended for the Japanese market and falls into the category of Blu-ray players featuring hard drives as well as Blu-ray burning capabilities. In addition, Sony showcased their new signature BDP-S5000ES high end Blu-ray player. This was the only player featured that is destined for the United States market and is squarely aimed at the Audiophile / Videophile market. Pricing announced for this high-end player comes in at a hefty 294,000 Yen ($2900 US). Expect the BDP-S5000ES to internally decode all available audio codecs and to be profile 2.0 (BD-Live) capable.
For the Japanese market, the BDZ-L95, BDZ-T75, BDZ-T55, BDZ-T30 and BDZ-X100 were all announced. All feature internal hard drives, AVCHD recording capabilities and Blu-ray / DVD burning. Pricing is based on the size of the machine's internal hard drive with the 320 GB BDZ-T75 clocking in at 140,000 Yen ($1400 US), while the 120 GB BDZ-T30 is considered entry-level at 90,000 Yen ($900 US).
Sony seems perched to take the Japanese market by storm with their latest batch of players and recorders. Stand-alone Blu-ray players without recording and burning features seem to be a thing of the past for the Japanese market as every manufacturer has focused their attention on integrating these advanced features into all of their new products. As low-cost Chinese manufactured players begin their assault on the world market, some would say that focusing on these types of players allows the larger consumer electronics manufacturers to focus on higher priced Blu-ray solutions that offer features the Chinese manufacturers have no interest in. Time will tell if these technologies ever see the light of day in the United States and other western markets. Unfortunately for those wishing to import these products into the US or Europe, their internal tuners are only capable of handling Japanese Hi-Vision broadcasts, so cable, satellite or an external ATSC HD tuner would be required.
|
|
|
|
|
Sony's large array of new Blu-ray products. |
|||
For the Japanese market, the BDZ-L95, BDZ-T75, BDZ-T55, BDZ-T30 and BDZ-X100 were all announced. All feature internal hard drives, AVCHD recording capabilities and Blu-ray / DVD burning. Pricing is based on the size of the machine's internal hard drive with the 320 GB BDZ-T75 clocking in at 140,000 Yen ($1400 US), while the 120 GB BDZ-T30 is considered entry-level at 90,000 Yen ($900 US).
Sony seems perched to take the Japanese market by storm with their latest batch of players and recorders. Stand-alone Blu-ray players without recording and burning features seem to be a thing of the past for the Japanese market as every manufacturer has focused their attention on integrating these advanced features into all of their new products. As low-cost Chinese manufactured players begin their assault on the world market, some would say that focusing on these types of players allows the larger consumer electronics manufacturers to focus on higher priced Blu-ray solutions that offer features the Chinese manufacturers have no interest in. Time will tell if these technologies ever see the light of day in the United States and other western markets. Unfortunately for those wishing to import these products into the US or Europe, their internal tuners are only capable of handling Japanese Hi-Vision broadcasts, so cable, satellite or an external ATSC HD tuner would be required.