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Sony Announces 'Concussion' for Ultra HD Blu-ray with Dolby Atmos[teaser]The drama starring Will Smith is coming to Ultra HD Blu-ray in March. [/teaser]In an early announcement to retailers, Sony is preparing 'Concussion' for Ultra HD Blu-ray on March 29. Will Smith stars in 'Concussion,' a dramatic thriller based on the incredible true David vs. Goliath story of American immigrant Dr. Bennet Omalu, the brilliant forensic neuropathologist who made the first discovery of CTE, a football-related brain trauma, in a pro player and fought for the truth to be known. Omalu’s emotional quest puts him at dangerous odds with one of the most powerful – and beloved – institutions in the world. With captivating performances by Alec Baldwin and Academy Award® nominee Albert Brooks (1987 Best Supporting Actor, Broadcast News). The Ultra HD Blu-ray will feature 4K video with HDR, a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, and supplements will include: Nine Deleted Scenes; "Crafting Concussion" Featurette; "Inside the True Story" Featurette; and Commentary with Director Peter Landesman. Suggested list price for the Ultra HD Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack is $45.99. You can find the latest specs for 'Concussion' linked from our Ultra HD Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under March 29. Order the Blu-rayPosted Fri Feb 19, 2016 at 02:00 PM PST by: -
Sony Launches Pre-Orders for 2016 4K Ultra HD TV Lineup with HDR, Prices Start at $2,500[teaser]The company's new 4K Ultra HD TVs are now available for pre-order. [/teaser] Following their debut at CES back in January, Sony has announced full pricing and availability for its 2016 4K Ultra HD TVs. The lineup includes the XBR-X850D and the XBR-X930D/XBR-X940D series with models ranging in size from 55-inches to 85-inches. "This new lineup of 4K HDR Ultra HD televisions is proof of our continuing commitment to deliver a premium 4K HDR experience to our customers. With the development of 4K HDR shooting, editing, recording, storage, playback, transmission and display technologies, Sony understands 4K HDR like no other company," said Sunil Nayyar, Director of Product Marketing, TV and Projectors, North America. "Sony TVs provide superior picture quality no matter what content is being viewed, but these new televisions really shine when displaying 4K and HDR content." Sony's XBR-X850D and the XBR-X930D/XBR-X940D series Ultra HD TVs all offer support for HDR (high dynamic range) and TRILUMINOS tech, offering expanded contrast, brightness, and colors. The displays will come branded with the company's "4K HDR Ultra HD" logo ensuring compliance with the Consumer Technology Association's (CTA) HDR definition. In addition, the XBR-X930D features new Slim Backlight Drive technology which uses a unique grid array, local dimming and boosting backlighting structure. Meanwhile, the XBR-X940D incorporates a slim full-array direct backlit LED. Both series also offer X-tended Dynamic Range PRO for superior contrast. Finally, Sony's new Ultra HD TVs use the Android smart TV platform with support for numerous streaming apps, including 4K HDR playback from Sony's upcoming ULTRA service and Amazon Video. The full lineup includes: XBR-55X850D, 55" class (54.6" diagonal), $2,499.99 MSRPXBR-65X850D, 65" class (64.5" diagonal), $3,499.99 MSRPXBR-75X850D, 75" class (74.5" diagonal), $4,999.99 MSRPXBR-85X850D, 85" class (84.6" diagonal), $9,999.99 MSRP XBR-55X930D, 55" class (54.6" diagonal), $3,299.99 MSRPXBR-65X930D, 65" class (64.5" diagonal), $4,999.99 MSRP XBR-75X940D, 75" class (74.5" diagonal), $7,999.99 MSRP Pre-orders for the XBR-X850D and XBR-X930D/XBR-X940D Ultra HD TVs are set to begin today for a March release. Source: Sony via PRNewswirePosted Tue Feb 16, 2016 at 11:00 AM PST by: -
VIZIO Expands Availability for D-Series HD & 4K Ultra HD TVs, Prices Range from $140 to $1,200[teaser]The value-conscious display collection is now available in more stores. [/teaser] VIZIO has announced expanded availability for its D-Series lineup. The collection includes HD and Ultra HD models with sizes ranging from 24-inches to 70-inches. Models are now available in-store and online through Walmart, Best Buy, Sam's Club, Target, BJs Wholesale Club, Amazon and VIZIO.com. As previously reported, the D-Series features LED panels with HD or 4K Ultra HD resolutions. In addition, select models offer Full-Array LED backlighting with up to 16 active zones for deeper black levels. Likewise, select models also include the company's VIZIO Internet Apps Plus smart TV platform with built-in Wi-Fi and access to many popular streaming services like Netflix, XUMO, VUDU, iHeartRadio, Hulu, Spotify, YouTube and more. The full D-Series lineup includes: D-Series 24 Edge-Lit LED TV (D24hn-D1) - MSRP $149.99 D-Series 24 Edge-Lit LED Smart TV (D24-D1) - MSRP $169.99 D-Series 28 Full-Array LED TV (D28hn-D1) - MSRP $169.99 D-Series 28 Full-Array LED Smart TV (D28h-D1) - MSRP $189.99 D-Series 32 Full-Array LED TV (D32hn-D0/D32hn-D1) - MSRP $189.99 D-Series 32 Full-Array LED Smart TV (D32-D1) - MSRP $229.99 D-Series 39 Full-Array LED TV (D39hn-D0) - MSRP $279.99 D-Series 39 Full-Array LED Smart TV (D39h-D0) - MSRP $299.99 D-Series 40 Full-Array LED Smart TV (D40-D1) - MSRP $349.99 D-Series 40 4K Ultra HD Full-Array LED Smart TV (D40u-D1) - Coming soon D-Series 43 Full-Array LED Smart TV (D43-D1/D43-D2) - MSRP $389.99 D-Series 48 Full-Array LED Smart TV (D48-D0) - MSRP $479.99 D-Series 50 Full-Array LED Smart TV (D50-D1) - MSRP $529.99 D-Series 50 4K Ultra HD Full-Array LED Smart TV (D50u-D1) - MSRP $729.99 D-Series 55 Full-Array LED Smart TV (D55-D2) - MSRP $599.99 D-Series 55 4K Ultra HD Full-Array LED Smart TV (D55u-D1) - MSRP $879.99 D-Series 58 4K Ultra HD Full-Array LED Smart TV (D58u-D3) - MSRP $1,049.99 D-Series 60 Full-Array LED Smart TV (D60-D3) - MSRP $749.99 D-Series 65 Full-Array LED Smart TV(D65-D2)) - MSRP $999.99 D-Series 65 4K Ultra HD Full-Array LED Smart TV (D65u-D2) - MSRP $1,199.99 D-Series 70 Full-Array LED Smart TV (D70-D3) - MSRP $1,299.99 Source: VIZIOPosted Tue Feb 16, 2016 at 09:00 AM PST by: -
Hands On First Look: Samsung UBD-K8500 Ultra HD Blu-ray Player[teaser]We've done it! Our very own UBD-K8500 is in hand. [/teaser]At first it wasn't shipping until March. Then rumors implied mid-February. Then Video and Audio Center blew the lid off things last week, followed by Frys and BestBuy.com. These players are flying off the shelves into the hands of excited early adopters, and we managed to snag one.It's official. The era of Ultra HD Blu-ray is upon us...Well, sort of. We don't have any discs just yet, but we're going to. Very soon. Over twenty titles from major studios like Sony, Warner Bros, Lionsgate, and 20th Century Fox. All of them officially dropping March 1, 2016 and we're, for lack of a better term, super excited. Pardon the gush. Of course not all of these UHD Blu-rays are going to be a home run, and having held 'The Martian' and 'The Kingsman' UHD BD packages in hand, I can confirm not all of these new titles are getting Dolby Atmos and DTS:X upgrades versus their Blu-ray counterpart (a damned shame, in my opinion). And there's still some questions about resolution (some films were supposedly shot and/or mastered in 2K for their theatrical runs).And like many others, I wish there was room for 3D in the Ultra HD Blu-ray specification. Not because Hollywood even produces 4K 3D content(I'm pretty sure they don't), but because of the wider color gamut. I caught a special screening of 'The Martian 3D' last night in Dolby Vision HDR 3D (it was 2K) and it was extraordinary. Hopefully this can be addressed in the future.So, yeah, Ultra HD Blu-ray isn't some magical resolution revolution.But the key features for me are BANDWIDTH -- a whopping 100Mbps compared to streaming, which is in the 10-20Mbps range depending on your ISP -- and HDR (High Dynamic Range). Dolby Vision HDR is a revelation in cinemas, and here in Ultra HD Blu-ray, Dolby Vision and "HDR-10" promise to not just give us MORE pixels, but BETTER pixels. Deeper black levels. Brighter brights. Insane contrast ratios. And cinema-level (and beyond) color gamut capabilities.Movies and TV Shows have never looked this good. Ever. Not even at your local theatre. Then there's reliability. Assuming you don't lose power, UHD Blu-rays will play all day long with nary a moment of buffering. 100Mbps instantaneously. After coincidentally spending half of my day on the phone with Apple and Time Warner Cable trying to put an end to random dropouts of what's normal blazingly fast broadband, I have to say physical media is looking extra sweet as I write this. The UBD-K8500 Unboxed Say what? HDD's starting up a YouTube channel and here's our first video, a quick hands-on unboxing of the UBD-K8500? Yes, please. Features The K8500 is a mid-sized disc player -- not quite as chunky as those first gen Blu-ray players, but not nearly as svelte as modern players. I'd compare it to second or third gen Blu-ray players. It features a curved design, mirroring the look of Samsung's 2015 and 2016 flagship displays. Some take a little umbrage to this aesthetic, but it's pretty subtle in person and almost-invisible when its tucked in amongst your other gear.Upfront, you've got the disc-loading tray, a USB input, and a few buttons -- power, eject, etc. Round the backside, owners are treated to a detachable power cord input, an optical digital audio output, a LAN port for hard-wiring the player to your home network (WiFi is also built-in), and dual HDMI outputs. The main HDMI port is for use with 4K-capable gear (HDCP 2.2) -- connect either to an AV Receiver or a pre-pro or to a display. The other HDMI port is marked AUDIO and is for sending uncompressed and lossless audio codecs to older non-4K-compliant audio gear. So, good news, if you get this UHD BD Player and don't really care about Dolby Atmos or DTS:X, you don't have to run out to get a new AVR at the same time. Score. Samsung calls the K8500 a "universal disc player". In other words, in addition to playing Ultra HD Blu-rays, it is 100% backwards compatible with your Blu-rays, your 3D Blu-rays, your DVDs (including DVD-R and DVD-RW), and even your CDs. Oh, at while your AVR and 4K Ultra HD display will also offer these features, the K8500 can upscale all content to 4K.Physical media, meet your new King! In terms of file type compatibility, the K8500 hearts all MPEG-2, MPEG-4, JPEG, HD-JPEG, AVCDH 41, MVK, WMV, MPO, MP3, LPCM, AAC, WMA, and FLAC files. It's also got you covered for Dolby Atmos, TrueHD and Dolby Digital, as well as DTS:X, DTS-HD Master Audio, and good ole DTS.(Pro Tip: I just noticed the player defaults to PCM digital audio out via HDMI, so if you have Dolby Atmos or DTS:X, make sure to set it to bitstream.) HDR and Samsung's Smart Hub are the two other major features for this model. As mentioned above, High Dynamic Range is the future of color grading, offering more contrast and color capabilities than ever before. And the studios are really jumping on the HDR bandwagon because, outside of resolution, it's the biggest and most obvious difference between UHD and HD content. In the K8500's case, it can reproduce HDR-10, meeting the UHD BD specification, but sadly does not offer Dolby Vision, which is currently available in professional Dolby Cinema locations as well as via streaming apps like VUDU.Speaking of streaming, the K8500 is also -- like many Blu-ray Players -- a media hub. Akin to the Roku 4, it offers resolutions up to 4K on services like Netflix, HULU, Amazon, YouTube, YUPP TV, M-GO, and VUDU. These apps live in the Samsung Smart Hub menu system, which seeks to seamlessly integrate traditional video streaming apps with Facebook, Pandora, and many other apps. There's also screen mirroring and, presumably, access to content stored remotely on networked computers and hard drives.All of these features, and probably more, for $399.99. Yes, that's a few more clams than most are paying for current generation Blu-ray players or media streamers, but I'm pretty stunned this is a first gen price-point. Remember the thousand-plus dollar price tags for DVD and Blu-ray players...and they hardly worked at all. Those days are gone. First Impressions Caveat one. I've now spent more time WRITING about the K8500 than TESTING it; most of this is due to the fact that 1) we don't have any UHD Discs just yet, and 2) I'm hoping to score a different, flagship display for review purposes. Either way, we're going to be ready to review this player along with these discs the moment the studios send them our way (or at least as soon as they hit stores).Caveat two. I did get to see fifteen or so minutes of 'The Martian' UHD Blu-ray in a store last Friday, and the results were impressive to need-more-research. In comparing the UHD Blu-ray to the standard Blu-ray (on difference tiered displays, sadly) UHD Blu-ray offered a noticeable uptick in visible on-screen detail, even at ten feet away from the 65" displays, and the Blu-ray seemed much more grainy and dark. I mention this to say I'm excited about the format; I believe there will be obvious improvements over Blu-ray. However, I can't be more specific because the calibration on this in-store display was wonky -- over-saturated colors (a suspicion that was confirmed last night when I saw 'The Martian' in Dolby Vision, so I have a benchmark) and an image made waxy by unnecessary motion processing.Image quality aside (more testing on the way, for both streaming and all sorts of physical media), I'm already pretty impressed with this player. Startup time is less than 10 seconds. Setup process took less than five minutes (including a firmware upgrade, not including typing your password into streaming services). I have thus far successfully streamed content and played back Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, and DVD -- I was particularly impressed by how quickly it loaded a Disney Blu-ray 3D that nearly sends my older Panny into fits. The streaming apps are pretty speedy too; maybe not quite Roku or Apple fast, but close. I'm not sure I love Smart Hub, but I honestly need to give it more time to see what it can do. And, should you need, for any reason, the K8500 can be hooked up to 1080p and 720p displays thanks to an AUTO resolution setting in menu. Basically, if you have HDMI, the K8500 will connect to it (how it reacts to playing HDCP 2.2 content on such a display has yet to be tested). Conclusion All in all? This could have been an epic disaster -- slow loading times, a horrible interface, clunky remote, EXPENSIVE -- but it's not. It's pretty much a machine any home theatre enthusiast can use and, assuming these performance levels hold, shouldn't be a hair-pulling experience.We have a LOT more work to do with it, of course, but so far I have high hopes for this little machine. Stay tuned for more.Posted Wed Feb 10, 2016 at 06:00 PM PST by: -
First Warner Brothers Ultra HD Blu-ray Titles Now Available for Pre-Order![teaser]Titles include 'Mad Max: Fury Road' and 'The Lego Movie.' [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Warner Bros. is preparing their launch lineup for Ultra HD Blu-ray. The discs are expected to arrive on March 1. Warner Bros. Ultra HD Blu-rays will feature a resolution of 3840x2160 with HDR (high dynamic range), offering four times the resolution of HD along with superior contrast and colors on supported displays. Likewise, each release will feature a Blu-ray and Digital HD copy as well. Full specs and supplements have not been detailed yet. Order the Ultra HD Blu-ray Order the Ultra HD Blu-ray Order the Ultra HD Blu-ray Order the Ultra HD Blu-ray Suggested list price for each Warner Bros. Ultra HD Blu-ray is $44.95. You can find the latest specs for all of the Ultra HD Blu-ray titles listed above linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where they're indexed under March 1.Posted Mon Feb 8, 2016 at 12:00 PM PST by: -
LG Launches Pre-Orders for 65-Inch SIGNATURE OLED Ultra HD TV, Price Set at $8,000[teaser]The company's latest OLED display is now available for pre-order. [/teaser] Following the debut of their Super Bowl commercial, LG has announced the launch of their flagship SIGNATURE OLED TV model. The OLED65G6P is now available for pre-order at select retailers for $8,000. "As we kick off 2016, our ad during the big game couldn’t have been a better time and platform to introduce the flagship model in our 2016 OLED TV lineup," said David VanderWaal, vice president of marketing, LG Electronics USA. "LG continues to pioneer OLED TV technology and bringing this OLED TV to market so quickly after its debut at CES 2016 underscores LG’s commitment to growing the OLED TV category and making it accessible to more households across the U.S. We can't wait for consumers to experience LG OLED TV for themselves." The OLED65G6P Signature OLED Ultra HD TV offer perfect blacks, wide viewing angles, an integrated soundbar speaker system, and a thin Picture-on-Glass design. In addition, the TV has been certified as "Ultra HD Premium" and includes full HDR compatibility with support for HDR10 and Dolby Vision. Likewise, the display uses LG's webOS 3.0 smart TV platform. LG's OLED65G6P is now available for pre-order through select retailers including Abt, Best Buy, Bjorns, Brandsmart, Fry's, Nebraska Furniture Mart, P.C. Richard & Son, Value Electronics and Video & Audio Center. Shipments are expected to begin late next month. In addition to the 65-inch flagship model, the company's new OLED65E6P Flat 65-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart OLED TV ($7,000) is also available for pre-order. Pricing and availability for the rest of LG's 2016 OLED lineup, including the 55-inch OLEDE6P, 55- and 65-inch OLEDB6P and 55- and 65-inch OLEDC6P will be announced this spring. Source: LGPosted Mon Feb 8, 2016 at 08:15 AM PST by: -
Lionsgate Reveals Ultra HD Blu-ray Launch Titles, Release Date Set for March 1[teaser]The studio's Ultra HD Blu-ray launch titles will include 'Sicario' and 'The Expendables 3.' [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Lionsgate is preparing its first batch of Ultra HD Blu-ray titles for a March 1 release. The lineup will include 'Sicario,' 'The Last Witch Hunter,' 'The Expendables 3,' and 'Ender's Game.' Lionsgate's Ultra HD Blu-rays will feature a resolution of 3840x2160 with HDR (high dynamic range), offering four times the resolution of HD along with superior contrast and colors on supported displays. In addition, 'Sicario,' 'The Expendables 3,' and 'Ender's Game' will feature Dolby Atmos immersive audio tracks. Meanwhile, 'The Last Witch Hunter' will feature a DTS:X immersive audio track. Each release will include a Blu-ray disc and Digital Copy as well. Supplements will mirror those found on the previous Blu-ray releases. Suggested list price for 'Sicario' and 'The Last Witch Hunter' will be $42.99 each. Suggested list price for 'The Expendables 3' and 'Ender's Game' will be $22.99 each. In addition to Lionsgate, Sony, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., and Shout! Factory have also revealed their own Ultra HD Blu-ray launch titles. The first Ultra HD Blu-ray player from Samsung is now available for pre-order and will start shipping in March. You can find the latest specs for all of the Ultra HD Blu-ray titles listed above linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where they're indexed under March 1.Posted Wed Jan 13, 2016 at 01:00 PM PST by:
