bluray

Onkyo's new flagship 3D Blu-ray player costs $600

Onkyo has announced a new flagship 3D Blu-ray player, the BD-SP809, to be released in August for $600. In addition to Blu-ray, the BD-SP809 offers several streaming-media services, including Netflix, Vudu, Blockbuster, and Film Fresh. There's also a USB on the back panel, with the BD-SP809 capable of playing back several digital file formats, including DivX HD, MP3, and WMA.

The BD-SP809 is also THX-certified and (more importantly to us) includes Marvell's Qdeo processing, which we've found to deliver excellent image quality on Blu-ray movies and DVDs in the past. There are two HDMI outputs, which is helpful for those with an older receiver that has non-3D compatible HDMI inputs. Alternatively, dual-HDMI outputs can be used to connect to both a TV and projector simultaneously.… Read more

Facebook launches video calling

Links from Thursday's episode of Loaded:

Facebook unveils video chat features

Amazon offers unlimited cloud music storage

Spotify makes official U.S. launch

Civ World comes to Facebook

Mac Blu-ray a possibility now

Motorola Droid 3 launch date

Exclusive trailer: 'Ben-Hur' Blu-ray coming 9/27

Back in 1959 "Ben-Hur" won 11 Academy Awards, including Best Motion Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director. You'd figure a movie like that would be out on Blu-ray, but it has remained on our "Top 30 movies not out on Blu-ray" list for the last couple of years.

That's about to change, as Warner Bros. has announced that "Ben-Hur" will make its debut on Blu-ray on September 27 as the "Ben-Hur 50th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition."

… Read more

Blu-ray player streaming-media services compared

Editors' note: The chart doesn't list every streaming-media service available on each content portal; for the sake of simplicity, we chose those we considered most important.

If you're buying a Blu-ray player this year and you care about streaming media, the chart above is your new best friend. We've tallied up all the streaming-media services offered on each manufacturer's Blu-ray content portal, making it easy to directly compare the competing platforms. While every manufacturer includes Netflix, Vudu, YouTube, and Pandora, that's where the similarities end.

You can read the in-depth reviews of each streaming content portal by clicking on the links in the chart, which includes screenshots and a detailed look at each service's user interface. We'll continue to update the chart as the year goes on, but here's the quick-and-easy takeaway as of now.… Read more

Crave giveaway: Malcolm McDowell-signed copy of 'A Clockwork Orange' Blu-ray

For the May 31 release of 'A Clockwork Orange'' 40th Anniversary Blu-ray Edition and the Stanley Kubrick: Limited Edition Collection on Blu-ray', Warner Home Video has provided us with a Malcolm McDowell signed copy of 'A Clockwork Orange.' (Alas, Kubrick isn't around anymore, so we got the next best thing).

Normally, "A Clockwork Orange'' 40th Anniversary Blu-ray Edition would cost around $30, but you have the chance to get it gratis.

So, how do you try to win this specially signed Blu-ray? Let me enumerate the basic rules. Please read them carefully; there will be a test.

Register … Read more

Lebowski finally coming to Blu-ray

Mark it August 16, dude.

Yes, after a long wait, "The Big Lebowski" is finally coming to Blu-ray on August 16.

Here's the quick skinny on the Limited Edition release:

Available for a limited time with an all-new 28-page companion book featuring an exclusive interview with Jeff Dowd--the real-life inspiration for The Dude--Jeff Bridges' personal, on-set photography, a film timeline, trivia and much more, The Big Lebowski Limited Edition Blu-ray is a must-own addition to any collection. In addition to all-new features exclusive to the Blu-ray release, The Big Lebowski Limited Edition Blu-ray also offers a digital … Read more

'Star Wars' 3D coming to theaters in early 2012

"Star Wars" will be entering the third dimension in less than a year, Lucasfilm and Twentieth Century Fox have revealed.

The studios announced yesterday that "Star Wars: Episode 1 The Phantom Menace" will be coming to theaters on February 10 in all its 3D glory. Purists will be happy to hear that Lucasfilm is guaranteeing that the conversion to 3D is "being done with utmost respect for the source material, and with a keen eye for both technological considerations and artistic intentions."

Lucasfilm first announced its intention to bring the "Star Wars" … Read more

CES: Philips intros first wireless HDMI Blu-ray player

LAS VEGAS--If you always wished you had a Blu-ray player equipped with wireless HDMI to stream video from across the room to a wall-mounted TV, Philips has a new solution: the BDP7580 wireless HDMI Blu-ray player.

Due out in April with a price tag of $499.99, the BDP7580 offers 3D playback, NetTV, Netflix, and Blockbuster streaming, as well as Philips MediaConnect, which allows you to stream content from your PC to your TV via a Wi-Fi connection. NetTV is Philips' integrated Internet TV feature that offers a built-in browser for accessing standard Web sites, including Facebook and Twitter. The … Read more

Panasonic shows next-gen 3D TVs, ups its streaming game

LAS VEGAS--Panasonic's press conferences aren't known to be all that scintillating, but the good news this year is that the Japanese electronics giant kept things relatively short.

As expected, we got to hear about second-generation 3D TVs and, as usual, several new digital-imaging and home theater-products were announced, many of them featuring some 3D angle.

Perhaps most interesting was the company's decision to rename its Viera Cast streaming media platform Viera Connect. The rechristening was part of a concerted effort of the company to build out its smart TV platform. One of the demos included Gameloft CEO … Read more