VHS has gone the way of the dinosaur. DVD is on its way out. Blu-ray is the flavor of the month, but how long will that month last?
Netflix and iTunes already offer streaming movie rentals to computers and game consoles, and more and more DVD and Blu-ray players are coming equipped with the ability to stream video from online services. Today, Best Buy announced that it’s adding CinemaNow’s DVD streaming service to “every Web-connected device” the retail chain sells.
So I have to ask the inevitable question: How long will it be until physical media goes away forever, in favor of …read more

Best Buy is offering a Blu-ray player with streaming Netflix for just $99. The player is part of Best Buy’s own “Insignia” brand of electronic products, and it also includes BD-Live capabilities, which connect your player to the Net for added content that enhances your Blu-ray disc experience.

The Insignia NS-BRDVD3 Blu-ray Player outputs at 1080p and comes with a remote control and an A/V cable (HDMI cable sold separately). It plays BD-ROM discs, standard DVDs, and MP3 & WMA audio, and has a USB port built in.
Best Buy’s deal, which discounts the player down from a regular price of $149, …read more

Panasonic today has launched a nationwide truck tour that will give the public its first look at the Full HD 3D Home Theater System, a revolutionary system that uses hi-def Plasma and a prototype Blu-ray player to deliver 1080p HD 3D entertainment in your living room.

Panasonic is going to unprecedented lengths to show consumers how this new technology works — and why you’re going to want it. Three custom-built, expandable tractor trailers are traveling the nation, each containing a Full HD 3D Home Theater experience. Each truck can accommodate between 25 and 35 people at a time.
The Tour trucks will …read more

Move over, AppleTV.
Panasonic has just announced that as of today, Amazon Video On Demand is now available on its entire line of Blu-ray players. So in addition to playing those incredible high-def movie discs, your Blu-ray player will also now instantly stream movies and TV episodes from Amazon’s catalog of 45,000+ titles, including more than 1,000 in HD.

Panasonic has already been offering Amazon Video On Demand on its line of VIERA CAST-enabled HDTVs as of April ‘09. Today Panasonic is extending the reach of its VIERA CAST software to include its line-up of Blu-ray players as well. Existing Panasonic Blu-ray …read more

Samsung has announced a new partnership with Blockbuster to bring its OnDemand streaming movie service to all 2009+ model Samsung Blu-ray players and HDTVs.
Samsung’s Plasma Series 650 and above HDTVs, LED Series 7000 and above HDTVs, and all 2009 model Blu-ray players will get a firmware update this fall that will allow users to search the entire OnDemand library, and then stream any movie directly onto their TV, with no other hardware required. (Sorry international movie buffs, but the Samsung/OnDemand deal is for U.S. residents only.) The firmware update will come as a free download.

Panasonic is releasing the first Blu-ray recorder for the UK, and it’s a slick package that comes with all the extras.

From Panasonic’s press release:
The continued trend toward Full HD in TV broadcasts, discs and digital AV equipment has spawned demand for innovative digital recorders. Panasonic’s response is the “HD Everything” concept – products that allow anyone to easily control, preserve and share a wide variety of Full HD images.
Specs include:

DVR recording in high-def
Copy up to 24 hours of content from the DVR over to a single Blu-ray disc in high-speed copy mode
High-image-quality PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus and P4HD
Dolby TrueHD …read more

On the heels of Apple cutting the price of its MacBooks, Sony fires back with its brand new bargain-priced VAIO NW, priced at just $880. The best part: it comes with a built-in Blu-ray drive!

There haven’t been very many computer releases so far that feature Blu-ray drives, and while we all wait for Apple to jump on the Blu-ray bandwagon, Sony has stepped up to the plate with a very affordably-priced PC that has a nice, sleek look, a widescreen display, built-in webcam, a strong variety of ports and software, and all in a package made of 98% recycled materials.
Here’s …read more

If you’ve been wrestling with the should-I-or-shouldn’t-I? debate of upgrading the ol’ DVD player to a Blu-Ray player, Walmart has reportedly made your decision an eentsy bit easier. The house that Sam built has dropped the Magnavox NB500MGX Blu-Ray/DVD combo player to the rock bottom, record setting price of just $128.

There’s a catch: you can’t buy it online. You have to leave the house, drive down to your local Walmart (which, let’s face it, is probably less than 300 feet away — right between McDonald’s and Starbucks), and buy it there. Online ordering nets you the player for $168, and …read more

With over 20 million registered users around the world, the PlayStation Network or PSN is huge but it doesn’t mean worldwide PS3 sales are better. In order to promote PS3 (sorta), Sony intends to introduce PSN to other hardware (think HDTV, laptops?) under its brand.
So if you don’t have the PS3 or PSP, you can still enjoy the online content but you still need a controller to play online games, if you know what I mean.
Via: Crunchgear
Image: Sony

Not willing to be outdone by the Wii or the Playstation 3, Microsoft will be released an HD-DVD drive as an accessory to their Xbox 360.
The attachment will cost 19,800 yen in Japan, bringing the combined cost of the basic Xbox 360 and the HD-DVD player to 49,600 yen — compared to 59,800 for the basic PlayStation 3 in Japan. The higher-end Xbox plus the HD-DVD player will cost 57,700 yen. Sony has left it up to retailers to set the price for its higher-end PlayStation 3.
Yep, that’s right…yen. Which can only mean it’s going to be released in Japan …read more