In the near future, a computer hacker called Neo discovers that all life on Earth may be nothing more than an elaborate facade created by a malevolent cyber-intelligence, for the purpose of placating us while our life essence is "farmed" to fuel the Matrix's campaign of domination in the "real" world. He joins like-minded Rebel warriors Morpheus and Trinity in their struggle to overthrow the Matrix.
And that is the basis for the three Matrix films. There had never been anything quite like the Matrix and people were wowed by it’s special effects right through the trilogy but I think the first and the original will always stick out in many peoples minds.
Warner are planning to release a special boxset of the Matrix Trilogy in Blu ray some time in 2008/2009. Can you imagine the glory of this futuristic action thriller in the sharpness of High definition blu-ray DVD? It will be magnificent, almost as good as watching them at the theater and I saw the Matrix twice when it came out in Cinemas way back in 1999. I can’t believe it was 10 years ago. The Matrix was a film ahead of its time.
Keanu Reeves is Neo and he fits the roll well, as Neo os more a doer than a speaker. Carrie Anne Moss is Trinity, his faithful sidekick and Laurence Fishburne is Morpheus, a real Zealot for the Zion cause who never falters in his belief. These actors are all well cast and really add to the gritty realism of the futuristic world.
The Soundtrack is spot on too and I am sure the audio on the trilogy bos set will do this thumping soundtrack justice.
The Matrix is a classic Iconic film, everyone knows the green symbols racing across the screen and the black coated man in dark shades. Soon you will be able to own this piece of Cinematic history in High Definition, I for one can’t wait for the Blu-ray release.
Blu-Ray vs Hd DVD High Definition Evolution
When the CD came in in the early '80s, it was a massive leap from traditional media. It offer a significant improvement in audio quality, its primary application, but it also gave 650 MB storagewhich was a giant leap in data storage and retrieval. For the very first time, there was a universal standard for pre-recorded, recordable and rewritable media that offered the best quality and features consumers really wanted at very low costs.
The CD boomed in popularity and was the media of choice for many all the way up to the 90’s when a demand for higher capacity storage became apparent. These demands lead to the evolution of the DVD specification and an increase in capacity by anything up to 10x. This was just what was demanded and provided a seamless jump as it used the same basic principles as the CD to work on making it easily accessable and understandable for your average CD user.
Now we want better quality, just not more storage and so in comes Blu-ray DVD.History proved that a significant 5-10 x increase in storage capacity and the ability to play previous generation formats are key elements for a new format to succeed. Thishas arrived with the creation of Blu-ray Disc, the only format that offers agreat increase in storage capacity with its 25 to 50 GB data capacity. This gives it the ability to cope with high definition media which the world is demanding right now. In fact, no other format can offer the same data capacity of Blu-ray Disc and it is why Bluray have beaten HD DVD in the race to be the peoples choice. Again it is in the same format as both the CD and DVD and so is easily understood by the Consumer.
Blu-ray is the next big thing and sales of it’s players and blu-ray DVD’s is constantly on the increase. This is helping the price of both essential elements, the player and the blu-ray DVDs to become cheaper. Soon you will be able to pick up Cheap Blu-ray DVD’s just as you pick up bargain DVDs today.
The CD boomed in popularity and was the media of choice for many all the way up to the 90’s when a demand for higher capacity storage became apparent. These demands lead to the evolution of the DVD specification and an increase in capacity by anything up to 10x. This was just what was demanded and provided a seamless jump as it used the same basic principles as the CD to work on making it easily accessable and understandable for your average CD user.
Now we want better quality, just not more storage and so in comes Blu-ray DVD.History proved that a significant 5-10 x increase in storage capacity and the ability to play previous generation formats are key elements for a new format to succeed. Thishas arrived with the creation of Blu-ray Disc, the only format that offers agreat increase in storage capacity with its 25 to 50 GB data capacity. This gives it the ability to cope with high definition media which the world is demanding right now. In fact, no other format can offer the same data capacity of Blu-ray Disc and it is why Bluray have beaten HD DVD in the race to be the peoples choice. Again it is in the same format as both the CD and DVD and so is easily understood by the Consumer.
Blu-ray is the next big thing and sales of it’s players and blu-ray DVD’s is constantly on the increase. This is helping the price of both essential elements, the player and the blu-ray DVDs to become cheaper. Soon you will be able to pick up Cheap Blu-ray DVD’s just as you pick up bargain DVDs today.
Modern Disney Animated Classics
Everyone knows and loves the Disney classics like Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and the Jungle book but there are other Disney films made in the last few years that continue the Disney legacy of good animated films and these deserve as much praise as the old classics.
Cars is a big hit with my family, my 6 year old daughter loves it and we have several lightening McQueen toys scattered over the house. The Blu ray version of this clever movie is well worth the owning as it makes you feel like you’ve got your own mini theater in your living room. The cars seem so real you can just imagine friendly Mater popping through the screen or Lightening crashing through at any moment.
Animals are always a firm favourite with children and adults and the nervous Chicken Little is someone we can all identify with and the cuddly jungle characters in the wild are bound to make you go ‘aaaah.” Again these two movies are available in Blu Ray and the quality of the Movies in this format make it well worth the investment.
Disney don’t always stick to the usual fluffy, cuddly animal characters and this is never more apparent than in last year’s Smash hit Ratatouille about a rat who wants to be a chef. It’s a real heart warming tail, I mean tale and you really do get rather attached to Remy, the furry rat character. That has to be a credit to the Disney animators and writers.
Another not so cuddly animal is the Dinosaur but all children seem to love these spiky, spiny creatures anyway and Disney’s Dinosaurs picks up on that. Another well-loved Mammal is of course the human and Meet the Robinsons is a great human tale with a few fairy tale characters thrown in for good measure.
All these films are available now on Disney Blu Ray DVD and I can assure you that buying any or all of them is a very clever thing to do. Disney films can be watched time and time and time again and so a Disney Blu Ray film is a very wise investment indeed.
Cars is a big hit with my family, my 6 year old daughter loves it and we have several lightening McQueen toys scattered over the house. The Blu ray version of this clever movie is well worth the owning as it makes you feel like you’ve got your own mini theater in your living room. The cars seem so real you can just imagine friendly Mater popping through the screen or Lightening crashing through at any moment.
Animals are always a firm favourite with children and adults and the nervous Chicken Little is someone we can all identify with and the cuddly jungle characters in the wild are bound to make you go ‘aaaah.” Again these two movies are available in Blu Ray and the quality of the Movies in this format make it well worth the investment.
Disney don’t always stick to the usual fluffy, cuddly animal characters and this is never more apparent than in last year’s Smash hit Ratatouille about a rat who wants to be a chef. It’s a real heart warming tail, I mean tale and you really do get rather attached to Remy, the furry rat character. That has to be a credit to the Disney animators and writers.
Another not so cuddly animal is the Dinosaur but all children seem to love these spiky, spiny creatures anyway and Disney’s Dinosaurs picks up on that. Another well-loved Mammal is of course the human and Meet the Robinsons is a great human tale with a few fairy tale characters thrown in for good measure.
All these films are available now on Disney Blu Ray DVD and I can assure you that buying any or all of them is a very clever thing to do. Disney films can be watched time and time and time again and so a Disney Blu Ray film is a very wise investment indeed.
War Movies on Blu-Ray
In the Battle of the Bulge Nazi Panzer forces stage a last-ditch Belgian front offensive that could turn the tide of World War II. Henry Fonda Robert Shaw and Robert Ryan star in the this recreation of a crucial campaign.
The high definition brilliance of blu-ray makes this classic war film jump off the screen and in to your living room. On top of this you get some extra footage too.
There’s a 10-minute featurette on the making of the movie called The Filming of Battle of the Bulge and there is also something called History Recreated. This is a nine minute set of vintage cast interviews. On top of this there is a commentary track by director Ken Annakin and actor James MacArthur who played Lt. Weaver.
Another more modern but still a classic war movie is We were Soldiers.
This story is a testament to the young Americans who died in the Valley of Death and a tribute to the young men of the People's Army of Vietnam, who died by our hand there. It is Based on the book "We Were Soldiers Once, and Young" by Retired Lieutenant General Hal Moore.
We Were Soldiers stars Mel Gibson and is a must-have for all war movie lovers.
On top of the high definition version of the film there is a feature-length commentary track with director and writer Randall Wallace
And there’s also a piece called Getting it Right which is a Behind-the-Scenes peek at the movie and you also get to see ten deleted scenes.
Another must have for the war movie collector is Hart’s War which was released in 2002.
It is aMoody and powerful WWII drama and stars Colin Farrell as a lieutenant and senator's son who is captured in 1944 and sent to a German Prisoner of War camp. When a racist white prisoner is murdered and a black airman becomes the prime suspect, former law student Farrell is chosen by American commanding officer Bruce Willis to defend the flier before a tribunal. With Terrence Howard, Linus Roache.
This is not your typical war movie, in that it is not necessarily all about the battles yet it still captures the essence of that time. There are no real extras just the theater trailer and a few others but the high definition viewing is excellent.
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So that is my list of three must have War movies on blu ray DVD.
The high definition brilliance of blu-ray makes this classic war film jump off the screen and in to your living room. On top of this you get some extra footage too.
There’s a 10-minute featurette on the making of the movie called The Filming of Battle of the Bulge and there is also something called History Recreated. This is a nine minute set of vintage cast interviews. On top of this there is a commentary track by director Ken Annakin and actor James MacArthur who played Lt. Weaver.
Another more modern but still a classic war movie is We were Soldiers.
This story is a testament to the young Americans who died in the Valley of Death and a tribute to the young men of the People's Army of Vietnam, who died by our hand there. It is Based on the book "We Were Soldiers Once, and Young" by Retired Lieutenant General Hal Moore.
We Were Soldiers stars Mel Gibson and is a must-have for all war movie lovers.
On top of the high definition version of the film there is a feature-length commentary track with director and writer Randall Wallace
And there’s also a piece called Getting it Right which is a Behind-the-Scenes peek at the movie and you also get to see ten deleted scenes.
Another must have for the war movie collector is Hart’s War which was released in 2002.
It is aMoody and powerful WWII drama and stars Colin Farrell as a lieutenant and senator's son who is captured in 1944 and sent to a German Prisoner of War camp. When a racist white prisoner is murdered and a black airman becomes the prime suspect, former law student Farrell is chosen by American commanding officer Bruce Willis to defend the flier before a tribunal. With Terrence Howard, Linus Roache.
This is not your typical war movie, in that it is not necessarily all about the battles yet it still captures the essence of that time. There are no real extras just the theater trailer and a few others but the high definition viewing is excellent.
.
So that is my list of three must have War movies on blu ray DVD.
Wanted on Blu-Ray
Wanted is the story of your average nobody. Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) works in a cubicle and does the same thing, day in day out. He’s constantly yelled at by his boss and his girlfriend spends half her time ignoring him. He has a completely boring existence.
Well that was until he met Fox(Angelina Jolie), that is when everything changes. Fox is sexy and deadly, an (excuse the pun) deadly combination.
Wes’s estranged father is murdered, this is why Fox seeks him out to recruit him into the Fraternity, a very secret society that trains him to avenge his Dad’s death. You see Wes has dormant powers and The Fraternity help to unlock them. He has lightening quick reflexes and great agility. Through honing his skills he becomes much more than the wet squib he was at the beginning of the film, but at what cost? When does the thirst for vengeance become an unhealthy obsession?
Wanted is an action thrill that will have you on the edge of your seat and will definitely be a hit on Blu Ray. The cinematography is breath taking and will transfer to high definition brilliantly, I am sure any film fan will rush to put this on their wishlists.
It may not be a deep, film buff film but it is enjoyable. You can leave your brain at the door and just watch, relax and enjoy and sometimes that’s just what you need after a hard day at work. So if you missed Wanted in the Cinema, don’t worry. The blu-ray experience should be almost as good as going to theater to see it!
Well that was until he met Fox(Angelina Jolie), that is when everything changes. Fox is sexy and deadly, an (excuse the pun) deadly combination.
Wes’s estranged father is murdered, this is why Fox seeks him out to recruit him into the Fraternity, a very secret society that trains him to avenge his Dad’s death. You see Wes has dormant powers and The Fraternity help to unlock them. He has lightening quick reflexes and great agility. Through honing his skills he becomes much more than the wet squib he was at the beginning of the film, but at what cost? When does the thirst for vengeance become an unhealthy obsession?
Wanted is an action thrill that will have you on the edge of your seat and will definitely be a hit on Blu Ray. The cinematography is breath taking and will transfer to high definition brilliantly, I am sure any film fan will rush to put this on their wishlists.
It may not be a deep, film buff film but it is enjoyable. You can leave your brain at the door and just watch, relax and enjoy and sometimes that’s just what you need after a hard day at work. So if you missed Wanted in the Cinema, don’t worry. The blu-ray experience should be almost as good as going to theater to see it!
Future Disney Classic on Blu-ray: Toy Story
Toy Story is (as the name suggests) a story about a group of toys belonging to a six year old boy called Andy. In the first scene you see Andy playing with his toys but as soon as he leaves the room the toys come to life and begin to play and interact together.
All is well and good in the room of Andy but the toys know they are moving soon and are making preparations for this when they find out Andy is having his birthday party early. This causes a small riot as they are all worried that they will be replaced by new and better toys. Woody (Tom Hanks) does his best to allay these fears but finds his own nose put out of joint by the appearance of the other big character in this film BUZZ LIGHTYEAR.
Tim Allen does Buzz's voice and I recognised him as Tool-time Tim from Disney's comedy "Home Improvements".
Buzz is a super hero with wings, helmet, laser and karate chop action! Buzz is convinced he is the real Buzz Lightyear and acts accordingly. He soon becomes Andy's favourite toy and Woody gets jealous.
Anyhow, Woody takes a chance to get rid of Buzz for a while by trying to knock him down the back of a desk but by a freak accident sends him out of the bedroom window and into the bushes below. The other toys think he's done it on purpose and this is where the real adventure begins.
When Andy can't find Buzz he picks up Woody to take to Pizza Planet with him. Buzz Jumps onto the back of the car and confronts woody at a petrol station where they proceed to have a bit of a fight and Andy and his mum drive off without them.
What follows are the hilarious moves made to try and get our two heroes home to Andy.
Everyone loves Toy Story, right? Well Disney plan to bring this fantastic Pixar computer animated classic to blu-ray DVD in 2010 and can you imagine how awesome it’s going to look in high definition? This is an iconic film which blew audiences away when it first came out in 1995 and will still impress on blu-ray in 2010 I am convinced of it.
All is well and good in the room of Andy but the toys know they are moving soon and are making preparations for this when they find out Andy is having his birthday party early. This causes a small riot as they are all worried that they will be replaced by new and better toys. Woody (Tom Hanks) does his best to allay these fears but finds his own nose put out of joint by the appearance of the other big character in this film BUZZ LIGHTYEAR.
Tim Allen does Buzz's voice and I recognised him as Tool-time Tim from Disney's comedy "Home Improvements".
Buzz is a super hero with wings, helmet, laser and karate chop action! Buzz is convinced he is the real Buzz Lightyear and acts accordingly. He soon becomes Andy's favourite toy and Woody gets jealous.
Anyhow, Woody takes a chance to get rid of Buzz for a while by trying to knock him down the back of a desk but by a freak accident sends him out of the bedroom window and into the bushes below. The other toys think he's done it on purpose and this is where the real adventure begins.
When Andy can't find Buzz he picks up Woody to take to Pizza Planet with him. Buzz Jumps onto the back of the car and confronts woody at a petrol station where they proceed to have a bit of a fight and Andy and his mum drive off without them.
What follows are the hilarious moves made to try and get our two heroes home to Andy.
Everyone loves Toy Story, right? Well Disney plan to bring this fantastic Pixar computer animated classic to blu-ray DVD in 2010 and can you imagine how awesome it’s going to look in high definition? This is an iconic film which blew audiences away when it first came out in 1995 and will still impress on blu-ray in 2010 I am convinced of it.
50 First Dates- Romantic Comedy on Blu-Ray
Imagine living the same day over and over again. Imagine not knowing you were doing this and that your friends and family were setting up your day to be exactly the same for you every day.
Now imagine something goes wrong and you realise that today isn’t the day you thought it was but it was actually a year later.
Scary huh? You’d probably be right to assume that this was one of those freaky thriller horror movies where the horror is all in the mind and it eventually leads to madness and/or sadness. However you’d be wrong. This is a review of a romantic comedy.
This film is a romance. It is about a guy who loves someone so much that every single day he sets out to make her fall in love with him over and over again. It is bittersweet. He gets to spend a whole day in her company and to share many first kisses but their relationship is constantly stuck on that first date as Lucy cannot remember anything about him when she wakes from sleeping.
50 first dates is funny. Nope scratch that it is hilarious! I will admit some of the humour is a bit childish and silly but hey we all need to be a bit silly now and then don’t we? A lot of the humour is aimed at Ula, (who is played byRob Schneider) who you will recognise if you’ve seen any of Sandler’s other movies.
50 first dates is collaboration between the delectable Drew Barrymore and the sweet, silly Adam Sandler. Did you watch the wedding singer? They had wonderful chemistry going there and I was hoping to see the same thing in this new offering.
It is a romantic comedy but I would say it is one of the best and fantastic on blu-ray. The beauty of Hawaii really comes through in the High-Definition pictures. You also get a few bonuses with your purchase. You can watch the really funny bloopers and a Documentary all on a special way of speaking English.
If you love RomComs, this is th blu-ray DVD for you.
Now imagine something goes wrong and you realise that today isn’t the day you thought it was but it was actually a year later.
Scary huh? You’d probably be right to assume that this was one of those freaky thriller horror movies where the horror is all in the mind and it eventually leads to madness and/or sadness. However you’d be wrong. This is a review of a romantic comedy.
This film is a romance. It is about a guy who loves someone so much that every single day he sets out to make her fall in love with him over and over again. It is bittersweet. He gets to spend a whole day in her company and to share many first kisses but their relationship is constantly stuck on that first date as Lucy cannot remember anything about him when she wakes from sleeping.
50 first dates is funny. Nope scratch that it is hilarious! I will admit some of the humour is a bit childish and silly but hey we all need to be a bit silly now and then don’t we? A lot of the humour is aimed at Ula, (who is played byRob Schneider) who you will recognise if you’ve seen any of Sandler’s other movies.
50 first dates is collaboration between the delectable Drew Barrymore and the sweet, silly Adam Sandler. Did you watch the wedding singer? They had wonderful chemistry going there and I was hoping to see the same thing in this new offering.
It is a romantic comedy but I would say it is one of the best and fantastic on blu-ray. The beauty of Hawaii really comes through in the High-Definition pictures. You also get a few bonuses with your purchase. You can watch the really funny bloopers and a Documentary all on a special way of speaking English.
If you love RomComs, this is th blu-ray DVD for you.
Madagascar Blu-Ray DVD
Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), Alex the lion (Ben Stiller), Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer) and Gloria the hippo(Jada Pinkington-Smith) live in a New York Zoo with other various animals including some escape-scheming penguins and some very British monkeys. Alex is the King of the Zoo, adoring playing up for the crowd but Marty his best friend yearns to go back to the wild. He uses his birthday wish to this end and makes his escape from the Zoo to find the great outdoors. However things don't quite go to plan and the group of friends end up washing up on a sandy beach in Madagascar and wander into the middle of a party.
Finding themselves in the wild they have to fend for themselves and soon become very much aware of what they are.
King Julien is voiced by Ali G and has some of the best lines ever, though he wouldn't be half as funny if it wasn't for Maurice his little monkey Vizier (Cedric The Entertainer) as the combination of these two and the sweet little bush baby Mort really show the mentality of herbivores in the wild.
The theme is a well known one. This is a buddy movie and illustrates the power of friendship and tolerance and how love can conquer anything. It is nothing new, there are no twists, no clever plot diversions but it isn't particularly needed in such a simple child's film.
The beauty is in the humour and especially the slapstick and punning that this film is filled with. There are many, many one liners that you will take home with you and annoy family members with. For the adults and teens there are many mick-taking moments, including a homage to "American Beauty" and a quick reference to "Castaway." As well as this, the Dreamworks crew go right back to the basics of good cartoon making and include lots of characters falling, being set on fire, chased, bitten and generally making fools of themselves!
Madagascar is a great CGI movie and is due for release on blu-ray In September 2008. It will be a great addition to any collection as the humour and animation appeals to adults and children alike. This is a classic that will come to life on blu-ray DVD.
Finding themselves in the wild they have to fend for themselves and soon become very much aware of what they are.
King Julien is voiced by Ali G and has some of the best lines ever, though he wouldn't be half as funny if it wasn't for Maurice his little monkey Vizier (Cedric The Entertainer) as the combination of these two and the sweet little bush baby Mort really show the mentality of herbivores in the wild.
The theme is a well known one. This is a buddy movie and illustrates the power of friendship and tolerance and how love can conquer anything. It is nothing new, there are no twists, no clever plot diversions but it isn't particularly needed in such a simple child's film.
The beauty is in the humour and especially the slapstick and punning that this film is filled with. There are many, many one liners that you will take home with you and annoy family members with. For the adults and teens there are many mick-taking moments, including a homage to "American Beauty" and a quick reference to "Castaway." As well as this, the Dreamworks crew go right back to the basics of good cartoon making and include lots of characters falling, being set on fire, chased, bitten and generally making fools of themselves!
Madagascar is a great CGI movie and is due for release on blu-ray In September 2008. It will be a great addition to any collection as the humour and animation appeals to adults and children alike. This is a classic that will come to life on blu-ray DVD.
PS3 A Stand alone Blu Ray Player?
When I say “Playstation” to you, what do you think? Games Console maybe or Sony or maybe you think of your favourite playstation game but do you think ‘Good quality blu ray DVD player?’ If the answer is no, maybe you should rethink your answer.
The new Playstation three is marketed as a high end games console but this is not it’s only use. It is also a good Blu-ray player. In fact osme people will go even further than that and say it is the best and maybe they are right. The PS3 is fully upgradable and has all the features of Profile 2 and Profile 1.1 and of course it can play PS3 games too. They are great value too at around $500 which makes it one of the best value players on the market.
Now, if you are seriously going to use your PS3 as a blu ray DVD player you may want to invest in the separate blu ray DVD remote as it will make your movie viewing a lot easier and much more relaxing. Also you may find you need to do a little tinkering with the sound settings to get the full benefit of the HDMI 1.3 sound. If you are not particularly technically minded this could prove challenging.
However, even with all this extra hassle you have to see the advantage of having a fully functioning blu ray dvd player integrated with your games console, it saves space and just makes a whole lot of sense. Why have two machines when one will do? The blu ray capability of the playstation 3 cannot be questioned. It is excellent. You may quake at the idea of paying out so much for a games console but when you think about the money your saving by not having to buy a separate blu-ray player, it suddenly becomes apparent what a bargain it is.
The new Playstation three is marketed as a high end games console but this is not it’s only use. It is also a good Blu-ray player. In fact osme people will go even further than that and say it is the best and maybe they are right. The PS3 is fully upgradable and has all the features of Profile 2 and Profile 1.1 and of course it can play PS3 games too. They are great value too at around $500 which makes it one of the best value players on the market.
Now, if you are seriously going to use your PS3 as a blu ray DVD player you may want to invest in the separate blu ray DVD remote as it will make your movie viewing a lot easier and much more relaxing. Also you may find you need to do a little tinkering with the sound settings to get the full benefit of the HDMI 1.3 sound. If you are not particularly technically minded this could prove challenging.
However, even with all this extra hassle you have to see the advantage of having a fully functioning blu ray dvd player integrated with your games console, it saves space and just makes a whole lot of sense. Why have two machines when one will do? The blu ray capability of the playstation 3 cannot be questioned. It is excellent. You may quake at the idea of paying out so much for a games console but when you think about the money your saving by not having to buy a separate blu-ray player, it suddenly becomes apparent what a bargain it is.
Sharp BD-HP20H Bluray Player Review
The sharp BD-HP20H is a relatively low priced Blu ray player but is it worth the money?
It is certainly aesthetically pleasing with a pleasingly minimalistic look. The fascia is mirrored and the top section is jet black in comparison. There are some pretty lights that let you know which kind of DVD you’re playing but you can turn this option off, if pretty lights aren’t your thing.
The connection line-up has an HDMI 1.3 output, which can output video up to 1080p at 24 frames per second (if you love movies this is great) plus 7.1-channel audio bitstreams. There is also component, composite, S-video and stereo audio outputs on the rear, plus coaxial and optical digital audio outputs for regular DTS and Dolby Digital playback although there is no USB port or memory card slot at all.
There's analogue audio outputs that give you Dolby Digital Plus, high-resolution Dolby True HD and Dolby Digital Plus soundtracks to an amplifier. They are only 5.1 though, not 7.1, which means that users without HDMI-equipped receivers can't take advantage of 7.1-channel Blu-ray soundtracks at all which is a definite negative point.
While we’re talking negative, this is only a profile one player, meaning it can’t, won’t and is unable to play Profile 1.1 which is disappointing. Also it doesn’t support many different formats meaning you’ll have to hang on to your DVD player or throw out all your old DVD’s which seems a bit extreme.
But more pluses, there’s a great, easy to use remote control, the picture is incredibly crisp and clear, giving you just what you expect from your blu-ray DVD experience and there is a great quick start option that means you can get to view your movie quickly.
All in all, this isn’t a bad little player considering it’s small price tag.
It is certainly aesthetically pleasing with a pleasingly minimalistic look. The fascia is mirrored and the top section is jet black in comparison. There are some pretty lights that let you know which kind of DVD you’re playing but you can turn this option off, if pretty lights aren’t your thing.
The connection line-up has an HDMI 1.3 output, which can output video up to 1080p at 24 frames per second (if you love movies this is great) plus 7.1-channel audio bitstreams. There is also component, composite, S-video and stereo audio outputs on the rear, plus coaxial and optical digital audio outputs for regular DTS and Dolby Digital playback although there is no USB port or memory card slot at all.
There's analogue audio outputs that give you Dolby Digital Plus, high-resolution Dolby True HD and Dolby Digital Plus soundtracks to an amplifier. They are only 5.1 though, not 7.1, which means that users without HDMI-equipped receivers can't take advantage of 7.1-channel Blu-ray soundtracks at all which is a definite negative point.
While we’re talking negative, this is only a profile one player, meaning it can’t, won’t and is unable to play Profile 1.1 which is disappointing. Also it doesn’t support many different formats meaning you’ll have to hang on to your DVD player or throw out all your old DVD’s which seems a bit extreme.
But more pluses, there’s a great, easy to use remote control, the picture is incredibly crisp and clear, giving you just what you expect from your blu-ray DVD experience and there is a great quick start option that means you can get to view your movie quickly.
All in all, this isn’t a bad little player considering it’s small price tag.
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