Can't get enough of Bond, James Bond? In honor of its 50th anniversary, MGM and Twentieth Century Fox are releasing an impressive Bond 50 box set that includes all 22 films in HD, 9 of them available in Blu-ray for the first time. About 130 hours of bonus content is included in the package as well as an hour of new material. All that you need after that is a few shaken martinis to enjoy a movie marathon.
Seems odd that the CES runs early in the year, when having it before the holidays might help electronics companies get potential buyers and journalists/bloggers all fired up. Although this may be the last year for some of them to party in Vegas, many of them came out full guns products blazing.
Sony brought out a gazillion new devices, well, almost that many, including its new line of Bravia HDTVs, some with 3D, Blu-ray players, two with built-in Google TV, and home theaters with Blu-ray as well.
What happens when obsession goes terribly wrong? Just ask George Lucas who never seems to get past 1977's Star Wars. His latest project, the upcoming Blu-ray release, will apparently have such improvements changes as a CGI Yoda, light saber effect adjustment and other audio and video tweaks. The new edition is available for pre-order for a September 16 release and although some of these "improvements" are rumors at this point, they seem to come from several sources and April 1 has already passed. So we just say "Stay the same you should, Yoda."
By the way, if you are a budding filmmaker, script writer or critic, you can participate in Amazon Studios, where you can screen test future films and vote on them. We are speaking some serious prize money for the winners of cash awards.
Freakin' Friday! Affordable Sony 3D Blu-ray Player
The price of 3D Blu-ray is already becoming affordable. Sony's BDP-S570 has built-in WiFi and quick start/load. Stream videos, tunes or photos and get instant access to apps from Netflix, Pandora and YouTube, to name a few. Download another free app to use your iPhone/touch as a remote.
Pioneer's latest Blu-ray players have the convenience of 3D and more. The BDP-430, BDP-43FD, and the Elite BDP-41FD have iOS support and HDMI connectivity. At prices starting at $299.00, users can download a free iControlAV iOS App for control via iPhone/iPod.
Redbox is in the midst of its "Better in Blu" promotion for the holidays. If you do an annual dinner and a movie, sign up for their email and you will get a code that will get you a Blu-ray for the price of a DVD between Dec. 25 and 27.
Rent a movie and give them your e addy at a kiosk checkout and you will be automatically entered to win one of 5 prize packs with a Sony Blu-ray player and 52 promo codes for 2011. This deal is good through December 31.
Acer's Revo 100 is a Windows 7 HTPC powered by an AMD Athlon II Neo dual-core processor and includes 4GB RAM, Blu-ray drive, NVIDIA ION graphics, a multi-card reader and wireless keyboard controller. At a price of £599.99 (~$947.00,) it will handle any disc you toss into it, including 3D.
Best Buy is covering all electronic bases this holiday season. They are offering an Insignia Internet Connectable Blu-ray Disc Player for $99.99 that comes with remote and $5 CinemaNow Gift Card. Add to that a Dynex 32" Class / 720p / 60Hz / LCD HDTV for $279.99 and the Collector's Edition Avatar Blu-ray Disc for $34.99. We call that bonding family fun for less than $400.00. Free shipping is included.
Zotac's ZBOX may be a fine addition to your home theater. The ultra-slim HTPC is powered by NVIDIA ION technology with 512MB of DDR3 video memory and will play Blu-ray discs or stream them as a media center. The HD-ID34BR-U includes a mini-PCI Express slot, two USB 3.0 ports, a USB 2.0 port, combo eSATA 3.0 Gb/s and USB 2.0 port, DVI, HDMI, S/PDIF optical outputs, 6-in-1 memory card reader and 802.11n WiFi.
AOpen's all new XC mini MP55 is certainly designed for the smallest of spaces at a size of 11.5 x 7 x 8". It has the added benefit of keeping its small self from discouraging those who may want to "borrow" it with Intel Anti-Theft Technology. The media center also features 5.1 surround sound, Blu-ray disc or Super Multi optical drive, optional built-in 802.11b/g/n wireless and comes with a MCE wireless remote.
As we have mentioned before, when we covet here at NAV, one of the top choices has to be the Sharp AQUOS line with pictures so impressive it is difficult to tear us away from electronics departments in warehouse clubs. So the release of three new Blu-ray recorders, coming in October and November, makes us practically Pavlovian. The BD-HDW65, BD-HDW63, and BD-HDS65 support 3D and their new standard BDXL, with the main difference being in the amount of storage.
South Korea continues to manufacture new electronics, this time in the form of a Blu-ray player that also supports DVDs. Inkel's VR-654BD has a built-in 7.1 channel A/V receiver to make it easy to hook up with your home theater system. Also featured are USB 2.0 connectivity, DB Live 2.0, an FM tuner and DivX and XviD file compatibility. The player should arrive sometime this month in So. Korea at a price of ~$600.00.
George Lucas once again dusts off the Star War Trilogy to offer them on Blu-ray next year in honor of the 35th anniversary of "A New Hope." This deleted scene is included from "Return of the JedI" but the Original Trilogy will not, being too costly. Sign up if you want to be notified when the grand event occurs.
James Bond 50th Anniversary Set
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