The 2009 Panasonic Blu-ray players launched earlier this year will now be able to view more than just Blu-ray discs, following a deal with Amazon.

According to Panasonic, current owners of Panasonic’s 2009 Blu-ray disc players in the USA will automatically receive a free software update to be able to access their Video On Demand service.

The Blu-Ray players, which were launched in April, will be able to access 45,000 titles, 1000 of which are in HD.

Models to get the software update include the DMP-BD60, BD70V, BD80 and the company’s portable Blu-ray disc player, the B15.

As well as Amazon Video On Demand, VIERA CAST will continue to provide access to YouTube, Picasa Web Albums, Bloomberg News and weather information says Panasonic.

To shop for current Panasonic Blu-Ray players at AJ Electronics please click here.

If you are thinking of changing your DVD player for a Blu-ray player and getting rid of all your DVDs to start buying only Blu-ray discs, wait don’t do that!

To help consumers simplify and manage their living room entertainment experience, Sony is launching a new 400-Disc Blu-ray Disc/DVD MegaChanger, this player will organise all your DVD and CDs as well as Blu-ray discs all in one player.

The company also announced the BDP-S1000ES single disc ES player expanding Sony’s Blu-ray Disc line to 13 models offering a broad set of performance and features.

The Blu-ray Disc MegaChanger models store and play 400 Blu-ray Discs, DVDs, and CDs, allowing consumers to relocate their disc library to a convenient, easy-to-access location.

This will also feature the ability to download information from Gracenote’s MusicID and VideoID(TM) products to organize movies and music. When a disc is inserted into the device, Gracenote technology automatically downloads information across an existing Internet broadband service and saves title, director, some cast information, release year, and genre information for most titles, allowing users to easily navigate the library intuitively through the player’s xross media bar(TM) menu system.

Chris Fawcett, vice president for Sony Electronics’ home audio and video business said:

“Think about all those great movie and music discs in your collection. Wouldn’t it be great to instantly play those movies or CDs — definitely gives a new meaning to the notion of a movie marathon!”

It only seems like yesterday when the Blu-ray and HD-DVD players were competing against each other for a place under your TV, with Toshiba firmly in the HD-DVD camp. Now as a sign of Blu-rays dominance Toshiba will be launching a Blu-ray player in Japan before Christmas.

At least this format war wasn’t as long drawn out and protracted as the VHS vs Betamax fight which lasted over a decade, Ironically Toshiba was  a supporter of Betamax in that fight.

One side effect of a format war, is that prices drop faster when there are competing formats and today Blu-ray players have come down in price to under £150. Blu-ray players make an ideal companion to a Large LCD HDTV which can show off the extra resolution of Blu-ray when compared to DVD.

Like most people, the AJ Electronics blog team were staggered to hear Joe Jackson used an interview to plug his latest Blu-ray project shortly after the untimely death of Michael Jackson.

The true horror only becomes apparent when you actually watch the video – the reporter (Don Lemon) deserves a medal for maintaining his composure throughout the interview.

Whilst we all grieve in our own way, he never referred to Michael as a son, but as a great artist and then went on to plug the Blu-ray project, maybe he was a little confused, or maybe he was the man Michael Jackson accused of exploiting him for his own needs and purposes, hmmm what was Joe Jackson thinking about one wonders? Take a look and see what your thought are…

A loving, doting Dad, a little confused maybe? Or the man Michael accused of ruining his life?

What do you think?

Sony has just upped the stakes of Blu-Ray players with their new offering which includes high specifications and a stunning design.

The new Sony BDP-S5000ES has a Super Bit Mapping Technology included which aims to assist you in achieving the best possible outcome, allowing you to select your TV bit depth to match the players output.

Other features include a Vertical Edge Correction to make the images smoother and sharper, a HD Reality Enhancer to fine tune images to perfection and Precision Cinema HD to add detail!

To create the best sound possible, concentration has been placed upon the audio selection and Sony have ensured that with Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio the deepest bass and surround sound is available.

Sony have included connections such as USB 2.0 and Ethernet for BD-Live Interactive content in order to future-proof the BDP-S5000ES.

This is Sony’s technology that allows you to download content to view on your LCD or Plasma TV such as movie trailers, additional scenes and much more.

For AJ Electronics full range of Sony Blu-Ray players, please click here.

According to the British Video Association, in as little as two and half years the 1,000th Blu-ray title has just been released in the UK.

The BVA states family favourite Walt Disney’s Pinocchio Platinum Edition is the 1,000th title and said “despite tough times for the economy, content distributors in Britain are more committed than ever to high-definition home entertainment”.

Blu-ray discs are currently up on a 52 week rolling basis by 325% and its forecasted that blu-ray disc sales will rise from the 3.7 million in 2008 to over 13 million this year. Blu-ray disc player sales reached 300,000 by the end of 2008 and are expected to hit the 1,000,000 mark in 2009.

The Official Charts Company have also announced the best selling Blu-ray titles of all time (so far) which is led unsurprisingly by The Dark Knight.

1.   The Dark Knight  
2.   Casino Royale 
3.   Iron Man
4.   Wall-E  
5.   Spider-Man 3 
6.   Hancock  
7.   Mamma Mia – The Movie
8.   Transformers
9.   Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
10.   I Am Legend   

AJ Electronics Blu-ray disc players can be found here.

Sony, Philips, and Panasonic are joining together to create a less expensive and simpler licensing process for companies that wish to make Blu-ray devices.

A new license will be established by the middle of 2009 as a ‘one-stop shop’ for device makers. The license will include all necessary Blu-ray, DVD, and CD patents for selling Blu-ray players.

The licensing program will be handled by a new licensing company to be led by Gerald Rosenthal, former head of intellectual property at IBM. It will be based in the U.S., but will have local branches in Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

Instead of having to approach Blu-ray, DVD, and CD holders individually and paying them separate royalties; the single license should reduce the total cost of royalty payments by 40%, according to Sony.

The fees for the new licenses will be $9.50 for a Blu-ray player, and $14 for a Blu-ray recorder.

The idea for a one-stop shop for Blu-ray has been floating around since a 2007 meeting of the 18 companies that hold Blu-ray patents. Licensing fees can be extremely lucrative for disc format patent holders: several years ago license fees for making a DVD player cost between $15 and $20.

This one-stop shop will help avoid the headache DVD licenses created. To make a DVD player or disc, manufacturers have had to ink deals with three separate organisations that represented various patent holders.

For our selection of Blu-Ray players, please click here.