Sony intros a couple of new Profile 2.0 Blu-ray players: the BDP-S360 and BDP-S560. The BDP-S560 will feature built-in Wi-Fi connectivity that taps into BD Live content, as well as the ability to download future firmware updates without a cable.

It is also fully DLNA-ready, upscales your DVD collection, bit-streams audio via HDMI, decodes Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD Master Audio and is compatible with external media loaded up on a USB drive. The BDP-S360 is the same player, it just lacks Wi-Fi connectivity.

Samsung’s new value priced Blu-ray player has been overlooked in favor of other better equipped players, but that doesn’t mean it’s not out there and being spotted at retail stores. This one was spotted on a Best Buy shelf.

Supposedly Blu-ray player prices will be dropping across the board, and it looks like Samsung is positioning the BD-P1600 as one of their lower-end models. $300 may not be dirt cheap but Netflix subscribers will probably like the unit. However wireless networking requires purchasing a Samsung USB accessory that isn’t released yet and BD Live requires at least 1GB of external storage.

Marantz unveiled it’s flagship Blu-ray player known as the BD8002, which they describe as “an ultimate-quality, reference standard High Definition source component”. That’s probably why it will cost you at least £1,799 to bring home.

The BD8002 features full HD resolution at 1080p, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding, DVD upscaling, HDMI 1.3a, 12-bit/297MHz video chipset, 10-bit Silicon Optix Realta processor, and SD memory card slot. It only supports Profile 1.1.

The LG BD390 Blu-ray player gets a couple of added features that take it to the next level when compared with most other competing players. With internet connectivity being this year’s mantra for TVs at CES, the BD390 decided to include Wi-Fi connectivity.

To complement it’s new tricks, the player has 1GB of onboard memory, so there’s no need for a USB stick to access BD-Live features, and 7.1 channel analog outputs for some killer sound and compatibility.

In the US, JVC fans have had to watch with envy as the rest of the world gets all of the JVC Blu-ray products. Not anymore. Today JVC announced a stand-alone Blu-ray player and a 3.1 home theater in a box. The XV-PB1 Blu-ray player will be available in March for $299. It will support BD Live content and also playback AVCHD videos that you create on your HD camcorder.

The new TH-SB100 is likely just the US version of the NX-BD3 previously available in Europe, which is a BD Live player. There’s no mention of any support for DTS-HD or Dolby TrueHD. It will be available in April for $699.

If there’s one certainty in life, it’s that gadgets get smaller and smaller while storage size goes up. Thin is in. And it’s not just TVs and display screens that are shedding pounds, but even the portables. Now there’s Samsung’s slimmest Blu-ray player. The player is only 1.5-inches thick.

With the BDP4600, other manufacturers are sure to follow and scale down their Blu-ray players as well. Because let’s face it, most look like crap. No other specs at the moment, but we’ll let you know if anything is sacrificed to gain that trim exterior. It sure looks pretty.

I always see some really cool gear at CES each year and CES 2009 will be no different. At CES 2008, one of the coolest things I saw was a 3D gaming demo NVIDIA put on. I can’t wait for 3D gaming to be more accessible for the average gamer. Perhaps one of the most exciting things at last year’s show and this year’s show will be technology to allow for 3D full HD TV viewing.

A company called TDVision has announced that it will be showing the world’s first 3D/2D compatible full HD stereoscopic broadcast and Blu-ray format. The TDVCodec is a system for encoding and decoding HD 3D video streams that can broadcast at 1920 x 1080 resolution.

LG isn’t standing still with their Blu-ray disc players. Instead they are taking them to the next level for ‘09, promising support for YouTube and CinemaNow videos on their next generation decks. Along with Netflix, which is now standard, owners can browse CinemaNow pay-per-view offerings and other stores powered by the service.

You’ll also be able to sort through YouTube’s immense catalog directly from the device. No word yet on price and we’re waiting for some more detailed specs, but hopefully we will know more in early January.

It took long enough didn’t it? But it has arrived. The same benefits of HD DVD have finally made it over to Blu-ray. A Blu-ray/DVD hybrid disc. It features a single-layer of Blu-ray on one side and a standard DVD on the very same side (You won’t have to flip it).

As you are used to hearing, it’s appearing first in Japan, with something called Code Blue emergency helicopter doctor Blu-ray BOX as the first hybrid title. It’s a shame we have to miss that one. No word yet on when or if we will see this technology in the states, but a little backwards compatibility never hurt anybody.

Blu-ray won the HD format wars a bit less than a year ago. Since then Blu-ray has been adding features and updating the specifications for more interactivity and features. Many Blu-ray players are now Internet connected offering interactive features like BD-Live.

Warner Home Video has announced its first BD-Live enabled Blu-ray film is coming. The film is The Dark Knight, the latest Batman film that was the last performance of actor Heath Ledger. I saw the movie at the theater and it was fantastic.

Netflix streaming has made it’s way into everything and people like it. As usual, Blockbuster is behind. But here’s some good news for the company.

According to Chairman Jim Keyes, Blockbuster’s download-to-rent service in a Blu-ray player will be here by Q1 of next year. Basically, if you’re an HD film fan then you’ll be able to rent HD quality films from Blockbuster directly through your Blu-ray Disc machine. No word if this will be in the form of a firmware update for existing hardware or part of a new player, but it’ll need to standout a bit and lower the price in order to compete with Netflix.

Optical drives are changing with constantly evolving speeds and features. Blu-ray drives for PCs are coming down in price and gaining features as well. One of the things that is important to computer users, especially those using notebooks is power consumption. Plextor has announced a new line of optical drives with internal and external USB models that uses new control software giving control over power use and more.

The line of drives includes the PX-601U, PX-B310SA, PX-B310U, PX-850SA, and PX-850A. The 610U is a small external DVD super multi drive that draws all of its power from the USB port. The B310SA is an internal SATA Blu-ray combo drive that reads Blu-ray discs and burns CD/DVD media. The B310U is the USB external version of the drive.

Blu-ray was able to beat HD DVD early this year to become the HD format champion. After it won the format wars many hoped that the price for Blu-ray players would become more affordable. So far that price drop hasn’t really materialized.

According to ABI Research, the Blu-ray price drop may finally be here. ABI says that prices for Blu-ray players this holiday season could be as low as $150 to $200. Amazon has a Samsung Blu-ray player for $200 that includes four Blu-ray movies with it. According to ABI Blu-ray hardware makers need to reduce prices to gain the momentum needed to penetrate the market further.

Apple and Psystar are currently negotiating behind closed doors, trying to settle some differences. Meanwhile, the Mac-cloner is releasing some new products. Psystar announced today that they are ready to ship a Mac clone with built-in Blu-ray and NVIDIA 9800GT graphics cards.

You might remember, Steve Jobs recently referred to Blu-ray as a “bag of hurt” due to licensing costs and that’s one of the reasons a Blu-ray drive wasn’t integrated into a Mac so far. I think I speak for most users when I say that Blu-ray will bow down to digital downloads anyway. Though I know that there are people out there who want a Blu-Ray in their Mac. And so Psystar fills the void.

Now that HD DVD is dead, the Blu-ray player is pretty much a commodity item. Player manufacturers are looking for anything they can get to differentiate their players from the competition in the market. Samsung announced a partnership with Netflix today that will help make Samsung Blu-players more interesting.

The Samsung BD-P2500 and BD-P2550 Blu-ray players will be able to stream Netflix movies instantly from the Internet to Netflix subscribers. In addition to a catalog of 12,000 movies, Netflix also offers TV shows.