Funai NB500 series Blu-ray player will be less than $300, coming 2Q08, Profile 1.1

[zombieflanders]

Funai Press Release:

Funai Corporation, Inc., the North American sales and marketing subsidiary of Funai Electric Co., Ltd., today announced the introduction of its first Blu-ray Disc player (NB500 series) for the North American market.

The Company will begin production in the first quarter of 2008, and plans to begin selling the player at retail stores in North America during the second quarter. The retail price is projected to be under $300. Demand for players that supports High Definition contents is increasing swiftly in the U.S. market thanks to the rapid spread of Full HD flat-panel televisions in addition to FCC mandate to switch from analog to digital formats. In the consumer products market in particular, movie and music contents are becoming more common in the Blu-ray Disc format, and shipments of specialized disc players and game machines compatible with Blu-ray Disc products are increasing. Within the healthy competitive environment in this next-generation DVD market, the Blu-ray Disc format is steadily enhancing its market position. The player supports Profile 1.1 (Final Standard Profile), the latest Blu-ray Disc format standard, and will allow consumers to fully enjoy the Blu-ray Disc HD experience. The product is expected to further stimulate the Blu-ray Disc market, and enable customers to appreciate movies and music with even higher resolutions and higher quality sound.

http://funai.us/bluRayDiscFunai.aspx

[dominica]

Some More Details:

http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/01/07...north-america/

"If you're waiting for the manufacturers of value priced gear to enter the Blu-ray arena, your day is coming. Funai, the company associated with brands Sylvania, Emerson and Magnavox officially announced that it will begin production of its NB500 series of players in Q1 2008 with the intent to bring them to the North American market during Q2. The NB500 will be a Profile 1.1 number, with HDMI 1.3a, DeepColor, a "high-bit-rate audio stream out," CEC and output of SD card video footage. The press release is calling for a retail price under $300, but with the recent price cuts seen in the market, we're thinking that Funai will have to come in at substantially less than that figure to stand out."

[ack_bak]

That is a nice player and comes in at the same MSRP as the A3 currently.

[Grubert]

(Notice it is branded 'Sylvania')

BD-VIDEO Profile 1.1
PiP
Dolby Digital 5.1ch Re-Encoder
HDMI 1.3a
1080p output
Deep Color
High-bit-rate audio stream out
HDMI-CEC
SD Slot

Under $300. Available in Q2.

http://www.funai.us/BDPrelease010208.pdf

[mgillespie]

By the time it's released, all player will have slid in price, so I would predict $200 - $250.

Personally, the PS3 is still a far better bet, as it's everything this is, plus 7.1, gaming and mediacentre capabilities...

I think Sony made the PS3 "too good", it's very hard for other manufacturers to actually make something better, cheaper.

[MNTWISTER]

While I prefer a better model, this is great news for blu-ray. These will now surely sell and probably get down to $199 eventually, if not sooner than later. Very good news, Walmart too.

[chris gerhard]

This player sounds great to me. The PS3 doesn't work for everybody with the design so this is terrific news. I don't believe it will sell for under $250 until replaced by the next generation but we will soon know.

Chris

[ack_bak]

Wow. This looks like BD's low cost player for the masses.

[jcc]

You wonder why it took so long for Funai and others that announced BD players over a year ago to finally release one, but at least it is Profile 1.1, HDMI 1.3a and will bitsream HD audio (specifics not given yet). This is better than the PS3 in some respects, is cheaper and it will sell well. I am sure that Warner knew that these full-featured and cheaper BD players were finally coming, and that was one of the reasons they went Blu.

Still, name brands like SONY, Panasonic, Sharp, etc. will also see standalone sales rise, because a lot of people buy the name. PS3 sales will also rise, because it also does games, music video chat and web. I started ripping all of my cds to the PS3, it is a great media server.

[Blu-Balls]

I know this is an unrelated topic but I had to ask users out there.

Is it me or does Transformers look really grainy on HD DVD? I have a 50" 1080p Panny plasma and an HD-A30. I can't stand to watch the night scenes in the movie. It's grainy to the point of utter viewer distraction.

Does anyone else notice this?

[cooper1010]

Originally Posted by Blu-Balls

I know this is an unrelated topic but I had to ask users out there.

Is it me or does Transformers look really grainy on HD DVD? I have a 50" 1080p Panny plasma and an HD-A30. I can't stand to watch the night scenes in the movie. It's grainy to the point of utter viewer distraction.

Does anyone else notice this?

that's the best non sequitur i've ever seen.

[Blu-Balls]

Yes, I know but I want answers fast. This is the newest thread out there so I figured I'd be heard this way.

Any thoughts anyone?

To continue on this topic though, this player is very affordable and should help bring BD to all the HD supporters. I'd rather get the BD50 that Panasonic just announced but I have a feeling that's going to out of my price range. But I will hold out. I'm not sure I can trust this little Funai guy.

[canoehead]

Originally Posted by mgillespie

Personally, the PS3 is still a far better bet, as it's everything this is, plus 7.1, gaming and mediacentre capabilities...

I think Sony made the PS3 "too good", it's very hard for other manufacturers to actually make something better, cheaper.

Well yeah, because it is subsidized out the ying yang, on the premise that those costs would be recouped by games licenses. Problem is, it really is the best player for the money, so quite a few folks are buying it to use strictly as a player - good for adoption, bad for Sony's bottom line.

This is in no way a criticism - as soon as I can get an ethernet cable to the bedroom, I will be picking up a second PS3 and putting the old modded XBMC out to pasture, and moving all files to AVC.

[chris gerhard]

Originally Posted by Blu-Balls

Yes, I know but I want answers fast. This is the newest thread out there so I figured I'd be heard this way.

Any thoughts anyone?

To continue on this topic though, this player is very affordable and should help bring BD to all the HD supporters. I'd rather get the BD50 that Panasonic just announced but I have a feeling that's going to out of my price range. But I will hold out. I'm not sure I can trust this little Funai guy.

I believe Funai is not little and in fact is the world's largest manufacturer of DVD players. Funai is a Japanese company with manufacturing operations in China and makes DVD players for Denon including the one in my signature and as an OEM for many other name brands and for Wal-Mart and other retailers. It is not a company without experience. I expect it to be a great value and work properly, but Funai has made some real clunkers too, so waiting until the player is in service a while would not be a bad idea.

Chris

[zombieflanders]

Originally Posted by chris gerhard

I believe Funai is not little and in fact is the world's largest manufacturer of DVD players. Funai is a Japanese company with manufacturing operations in China and makes DVD players for Denon including the one in my signature and as an OEM for many other name brands and for Wal-Mart and other retailers. It is not a company without experience. I expect it to be a great value and work properly, but Funai has made some real clunkers too, so waiting until the player is in service a while would not be a bad idea.

To build on this, Funai is Wal-mart and Target's main supplier of DVD hardware, and other then Denon, they are also responsible for Magnavox, Emerson, and Sylvania products.