Sony is launching a pair of new portable DVD players in Japan. The 9-inch DVP-FX970 and 7-inch DVP-FX750 both feature a 12Bit 108MHz Video D/A converter and 96kHz 24Bit Audio D/A converter. Both also support MP3 and JPEG files, which are stored on CD.

The Sony DVP-FX970 also has a 180 degree swivel display. The Sony DVP-FX970 and DVP-FX750 will be launched in July for 30,000 ($374) and 20,000 Yen ($248).

Sometimes it just doesn’t pay to buy cheap electronics at Wal-Mart. The items in question are the $18 – $29 Durabrand DVD players sold in the US and the UK, which were recently recalled. 1.5 million of the units recalled to be exact, due to 12 reported cases of overheating.

They caused some property damage, but no injuries, but now, they have more reported cases of the same problem, so they’ve upped the recall to cover 4.2 million devices. The original recall was only for the silver units sold, but now it also covers the pink and purple DVD players sold between January 2006 and July 2009.

Wal-Mart is recalling about 1.5 million Durabrand DVD players because of a potential for the device to simply burst into flames and ruin your day. Wal-Mart received 12 complaints about the DVD players overheating and in five of those cases, the overheating resulted in a fire that damaged property.

That’s not the kind of movie night you want right? Even if you were watching Backdraft. The DVD player in question is imported from China and sold at Wal-Mart stores from January 2006 through July 2009 for $29. The DVD player came with a remote and is silver with a U-shaped opening at the top to insert the DVD. If you spot this culprit in your home, call Wal-Mart immediately.

DVD players don’t get too much love in the press today because they are pretty dull. The new Pioneer DV-420V, however, looks slightly more interesting than the average models being showed off at CES this year. It costs around $90.

The Pioneer DV-420V is notable as it sports a song encoding feature, letting users copy inserted audio CDs so the audio can be turned into MP3 files. These files are immediately transferred to an attached USB device. The same USB port can be used for playback of DivX Internet video and JPEG photos as well as multiple audio (WMA and AAC) and video (WMV) format files.

Toshiba, sent packing earlier this year in its battle against Blu-ray, is back again with what one might consider a low-budget HD competitor. The technology is called XDE and the first product out with it is the Toshiba XD-E500, a DVD player priced around $150.

XDE, also known as “eXtended Detail Enhancement,” is reportedly DVD upconversion on steroids. Toshiba says of it that “in addition to providing upconversion from 480i/p up to 1080p, XDE offers user selectable picture enhancement modes that allow for greater detail, more vivid colors and stronger contrast that bring standard DVD quality closer to the HD experience.” Three selectable picture mode settings – sharp, color, contrast – lets one bring closer to “true HD quality” their DVD viewing experience.

Samsung has done a rather unique spin on the whole sound bar in front of the flat panel thing, unveiling the other day a sound bar which doubles as a self-contained DVD system. It is called the Samsung HT-X810 and pricing is said to be around $700.

The Samsung HT-X810 is, according to Samsung, a virtual 5.1-channel system which incorporates an upconverting DVD player and FM tuner. It makes use of 5.8 GHz technology to connect with the included wireless subwoofer and also incorporates Bluetooth so one can stream from Bluetooth-enabled mobile devices and home theater components.

Kaleidescape is adding some new DVD players to its line up the company says rival Blu-ray in viewing experience. These players are known as the 1080p Player and 1080p Mini Player.

The 1080p Player, said Kaleidescape, is designed as a 1U rack mount device, and includes a DVD/CD-ROM drive for import and direct playback of DVDs and CDs. The 1080p Mini Player offers the video and audio performance of the 1080p Player, in a smaller package. The company says the players adapt video processing to the type of content currently being played, resulting in what is supposedly a more custom viewing experience.

Here’s a cool high tech furniture concept idea which works well if you like the extreme minimalist look in your urban crash pad. It is called, simply enough, the Digitable.

The Digitable, as envisioned by designer Peter Lea, looks simply at first like a contemporary glass coffee table. Closer inspection shows though the center circular part opens up to reveal itself as a CD/DVD player. The underside as well also plays into the geek factor, serving as a disc storage carousel.

Sony in Europe is showing off a new upscaling DVD player which is pretty slim. It is called the Sony DVP-NS708H.

The Sony DVP-NS708H, like other upscaling DVD players, converts standard DVD video up to 1080p. The player itself is of a slim design, sporting a high-gloss black finish and compatibility with BRAVIA Sync to cut down on extra remotes lying around the media room.

Westinghouse is introducing a new 40-inch LCD 1080p display which pulls double duty as a DVD player. It is known as the Westinghouse VK-40F580D and you’ll find it pricing around $1,150.

The Westinghouse VK-40F580D offers 1080p resolution on its 40-inch display, bringing to HD lovers as well two HDMI inputs and an integrated ATSC/NTSC/ClearQAM tuner. It also has built-in a front slot loading DVD player which, unfortunately, does not seem to offer upscaling.

Envision, if you will, a home where your electronics look more like art than traditional rectangular boxes. You might on your desk have this above concept design – a hybrid DVD player & display unit – as your distraction during the home work day. Since it is just a concept though, there is no word on this ever being available at retail. At least not right now.

This DVD player/display unit, designed by Touch Interactive, is focused on “regenerating the look and feel of a home entertainment system through the design of a new generation DVD system.” The unit is described as having a metallic look with blue edge. The attached widescreen display offers a width of 19-inches.