Home Theater Week in Review, July 7-11, 2008

by Oliver Amnuayphol

A couple of Blu-ray nuggets this week: It seems Panasonic is now shipping their eagerly-anticipated DMP-BD50 ($699) Blu-ray spinner. Savvy home theater enthusiasts already know that the BD50 will be the first fully-featured Blu-ray machine, with BD Live, internal DTS-HD decoding, SD memory card slot, and Profile 2.0 technology. Reports of recent sightings have thus far included the likes of 6th Ave, Rainbow Electronics, and other online retailers; no word yet on when major brick-and-mortar retailers are expected to follow suit.

Sony will also be shipping their BDP-S350 ($399) this coming Tuesday. While this unit doesn't feature onboard DTS-HD or Dolby TrueHD decoding, the player does support bitstream outputs for both, features 1080p 60/24 fps capabilities, and is Profile 2.0 compatible.

Speaking of home theater products that aren't out yet, Sony's got another one: an FED (Field-Emission- Display) TV due next year. Current FED development is based on carbon nanotube technology and supposedly brings together the best of all HT display worlds: CRT-like black levels, flat-panel thinness and energy efficiency that surpasses developing OLED technology. We'll follow up with more details once they're available. 

Movie Releases for Next Week.

DVD: The Bank Job; Penelope; Monsieur Vincent; Beau Brummel--This Charming Man; Meet Bill; Never Forever; Escaped Maniacs--Iggy and the Stooges; Secretary.

Blu-ray: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest; Step Up 2: The Streets; College Road Trip.