Funai announces sub $300 Blu-ray player

[stratman]

A blurb posted on CNET might give clue as to who might produce the first sub $300.00 BD player.

" CES 2008 January 8, 2008 11:16 AM PST

Funai announces Blu-ray player for less than $300
Funai's new Blu-ray player might finally bring standalone Blu-ray players within reach of the average buyer.

The major gripe against Blu-ray has always been that the hardware is just too expensive, especially when $99 HD DVD players were flying off the shelves at Wal-Mart a few months ago. While videophiles on a budget could opt for the $400 Sony PlayStation3, there hasn't been a real alternative for those looking for a cheaper standalone unit. Funai is looking to fill this gap with its latest announcement of a Blu-ray player slated to come in the second quarter of 2008 for less than $300--which is the lowest price we've seen on any Blu-ray player.

Other than the price, the Funai didn't release many other details about the new Blu-ray player, which it is referring to as the NB500 series. Like all other Blu-ray players released this year, it will be fully compliant with Blu-ray Profile 1.1, which means it can handle "picture-in-picture" video commentary tracks available on some new Blu-ray discs coming out in 2008. Like all other Blu-ray players, it will also be capable of upconverting standard DVDs to 1080p over its HDMI 1.3 output. The NB500 series also includes an SD card slot, which Funai claims can be used to display digital video from a camcorder or digital camera."

Funai's biggest retail partner: Wal-mart, the rest I'll leave to your imagination.

So much for the market being flooded with cheap Chinese HD DVD players to be sold at Wal-Mart for peanuts. Wal-Mart isn't as dumb as certain folks make them out to be.

 

[majorloser]

Funai USA Press Release

http://funai.us/bluRayDiscFunai.aspx

 

[j_garcia]

I think this was mentioned in the CES thread some time ago (by me ). I thought they said it would be closer to $200, not $300, as Philips also announced a $249 MSRP player.

 

[ParkerAudio]

I bet quality just oozes out of these players.

 

[j_garcia]

No, I don't think they will be top quality, but people who are looking for lowest cost aren't usually looking for the best build quality either...

 

[ParkerAudio]

Well, what kind of difference in sound and picture quality do you think we can expect here. Will there be a large variance in 1080p picture quality, and sound, even if both players are DTS-MA.
I ask, because I wonder if the PS3 becomes profile 2.0, will there be any difference between paying $399 for that and lets say $500-$600 for the new Panny? And barring reliability, outputs, onscreen menus, and remote controls, will there be any difference between these cheap models and top of the line models like the Denon?

 

[j_garcia]

There aren't enough specs published for the player to really get a good idea of just how good it will be compared to something that is twice the price. Inexpensive build quality doesn't necessarily translate into less features; Oppo is proof of that. Only thing I see is HDMI 1.3, Profile 1.1, no mention of what audio formats it will handle and in what ways - bitstream or PCM or analog? We'll have to wait and see when full specs are released. Even if it isn't as good as the top players, it will be better than SD DVD.