Gizmo Lovers Blog » Philips

WeaKnees Selling TiVos Bundled with Product Lifetime Service Starting at $199.99

MegaZone — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 07:38:17 +0000

WeaKnees, well known provider of upgraded and expanded TiVo units and supplies, is offering TiVo units with product lifetime service included for those who don’t need, or can’t use, a Series3 or later unit. They have 40GB Philips Series1 units with product lifetime for $199.99, for 80GB or 120GB add $19 or $39, respectively. Or 40GB Sony SVR-2000 Series1 units are going for $249.99 with the same 80GB/$19 or 120GB/$39 upgrade options.

They also have 40GB TiVo Series2 units for $299.99, with upgrades to 80GB, 500GB, or 1TB for $19, $99, or $149, respectively. All of these units are refurbished. Shipping is free on all units, and they come with a six month warranty. Note that product lifetime service alone is $499.99 for new subscribers, and $399.99 for subscribers adding an additional unit to an existing account. So this is a cheap way to get lifetime if these units meet your needs.

Via WeaKnees Blog.

The Full HD 3D Glasses Initiative Gains Four Members

MegaZone — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 05:15:55 +0000

The Full HD 3D Glasses Initiative, the unwieldily named group formed by Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, and XPAND to establish a standard for active shutter 3D glasses, has welcomed four more members. Royal Philips Electronics, Sharp, Toshiba, and TCL have all jumped on board.

This is good for everyone – industry and consumer – but my earlier diatribe stands. I think Full HD Passive systems will be better in the long run than active shutter systems, standard glasses or not.

Via TWICE.

Sellout.Woot! – Refurbished Philips Blu-ray Home Theater System Only $154.99

MegaZone — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 07:38:13 +0000

Today’s Sellout.Woot deal is a refurbished Philips Blu-ray Home Theater System for only $149.99 + $5 S&H.

The system includes:

Philips Blu-ray Home Theater Main Unit
(5) Satellite Speakers with Attached Speaker Wires and Color-Coded Connectors
Subwoofer with Speaker Wire and Color-Coded Connectors
Remote Control
(2) AAA Batteries
FM Antenna
AC Adapter
Quick Start Guide
User Manual

It supports BD-Live and Full HD 1080p. Not a bad system to take to the dorm, it is about that time.

Blu-ray Player Prices Falling

MegaZone — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 18:07:32 +0000

I’ve said before that Blu-ray player pricing would drop this fall as we head into the holiday shopping season, and it sounds like Sony will be kicking off the trend in September. HD Guru, citing an unconfirmed report by Consumer Electronics Daily, says that Sony will cut the MSRP on their BDP-S350 by $100, from $399 to $299, on September 28, 2008. The BDP-S350 is a full-featured, Profile 2.0 / BD-Live player.

Sony will also reportedly introduce the previously announced BDP-S550 with an MSRP of $399, instead of the expected $499 price point, in mid-October.

The price reductions will certainly result in competitive pressure on other vendors.

In fact, HD Guru reports that Funai will cut the MSRP of their NB500 from $299 to $249 to remain competitive. The NB500 is a Profile 1.1 / BonusView player sold in the US under the brands Philips, Magnavox, Sylvania, Insignia, and others.

Since these are the MSRP prices the players will almost certainly be available for less online, and even at retail. While the NB500′s MSRP has been $299, it has been selling normally at stores such as Wal*Mart and Best Buy (under the other brands) for $280 or less. So the cut to MSRP will likely result in a further reduction in retail pricing.

I expect that this is just the beginning of price cuts for the holidays. With the inevitable sales, there should be some good deals on Blu-ray players. And the price cuts on BD-Live units will finally make them competitive with the PS3, unless Sony also cuts the pricing on those. While an entry-level PS3 remains $400, with the BDP-S350 at $300 (and less online) it becomes an option to consider.

From HD Guru via Gizmodo.

Funai Electric Also Signs Cable MOU

MegaZone — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 22:00:30 +0000

I posted this morning about LG Electronics signing the cable MOU on tru2way. Well, it looks like Funai Electric has also signed it. You may not be familiar with the Funai name, but Funai markets their products under the Philips, Magnavox, Sylvania, and Emerson brand names and also provides ‘store brand’ units such as Insignia for Best Buy and Pye for Circuit City.

Picked up from TWICE.

Lots Of Blu-ray News

MegaZone — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 03:44:04 +0000

Unlike the HD DVD camp, which seems to have slunk off with their tail between their legs thus far, there is a ton of Blu-ray news already coming out of CES. Lots of new players being announced. Samsung announced the BP-P1500 BD player and the BD-UP5500 BD/HD DVD combo player, which update the BD-P1400 and BD-UP5000 respectively. The P1500 will be a Profile 1.1 player with extensive audio codec support and an MSRP of $399 and the UP5500 will basically share the functionality of the P1500 but adds HD DVD playback (any point to that now?) for an MSRP of $599. That’s the lowest MSRP for a combo player to date. And you now that they’ll be available for less online. The P1500 is due in June, and the UP5500 in 2H08. While they both have Ethernet ports, neither is certified as a BD-Live player. Though there is a chance they could be upgraded in the future, as they have the hardware.

Philips announced the BDP7200 a Profile 1.1 player due in April with an MSRP of only $349. I’d expect to see it for less than $300 online. I think that’s the lowest MSRP for a Blu-ray player to date.

Sharp announced the BD-HP50U Profile 1.1 player with a $699.99 MSRP. The press release makes it sound like it may support BD-Live, which would help justify that high price, but I tend to doubt it:

In addition, the BD-HP50U supports BD-ROM Profile 1.1, or BD Live, the latest version of the Blu-ray format. BD-ROM Profile 1.1 provides secondary audio and video decoders for Picture in Picture (PIP) capability, as well as an external storage.

Profile 1.1 is ‘Bonus View’ or ‘Final Standard Profile’ and not BD-Live. BD-Live is also known as Profile 2.0. I tend to think this is a press release writer crossing their wires.

Sony is releasing a $200 BD-ROM drive for PCs, the BDU-X10S, making it easier for PC owners to add Blu-ray support to their machines. They also reportedly have two BD-Live players on display in their booth, and we’ve heard yet again that the PS3 will be receiving a BD-Live update this year.

And Panasonic had a lot to share. They announced a ‘home theater in a box’ with integrated Blu-ray support, the SC-BT100. It is Profile 1.1, of course, and will be available in May – but pricing isn’t available. They also announced what they claim is the first BD-Live player, the DMP-BD50. However, they haven’t revealed pricing or availability yet. Perhaps we’ll hear more once the show officially opens tomorrow.

Picked up from numerous press releases, vendor web sites, Engadget, EngadgetHD, Gizmodo, High-Def Digest, and Blu-ray.com.