A highlight among the new video products on tap here from Samsung is the company’s first 3D-enabled Blu-ray Disc player.
Reid Sullivan, Samsung digital audio video products marketing VP, said that in developing the 2010 Blu-ray line, the company “focused on core performance, improving video quality, improving speed, design, and expanding its leadership in online content delivery.”
The company, which Sullivan said enjoyed the No. 1-ranked market share in Blu-ray in 2009, will expand its lineup from three player “platforms” to four in 2010, and will add a portable product later in the year.
For the portable unit, he said Samsung would look to offer a 10-inch LCD screen size and built-in Wi-Fi to use the BD-Live functionality and online content services offered in the home-based units. It will ship with a three-hour battery, with an option for a 10-hour battery, he said.
All connected Blu-ray players this year will offer access to core partners Net-flix, Blockbuster, YouTube and Pandora, plus a dramatic expansion of services during the year.
The highlight of the home-based product line will be the BD-C6900 3D Blu-ray player, with plans for delivery later in the year. Pricing was not available at press time.
The 3D Blu-ray includes 1080p 3D TV support for forthcoming 3D Blu-ray Discs along with multichannel HD surround sound, a slim design and transparent cover that reveals the spinning disc in play, BD-Live support, built-in Ethernet connection, and built-in wireless LAN to support Internet@TV widget-based content.
Samsung’s system will be compatible with active-shutter-style glasses, and Sullivan said the company is looking at the possibility of add-on bundles for the necessary additional 3D components.
The BD-C7500, which Samsung calls the “world’s slimmest Blu-ray player,” includes a nature-inspired design style with a 1.1-inch slim cabinet in a wood design coated with jewel-like gloss.
The player, which will ship in the first half, can be wall-mounted, placed on a 25-degree-angle stand or placed flat.
Other improvements include: faster disc-load and boot-up times, paired with an eject time of 1 second. It will support up to 1080p/24 fps playback, Deep x.v.Color technology, Dolby True HD and DTS-HD Master Audio and includes an Ethernet connection and wireless LAN capabilities for access to BD-Live features and an improved Internet@TV connected-content system that is now powered by a Samsung engine.
In other BD offerings, the company will present the BD-C6500 Blu-ray player with fast disc-loading and boot-up times, 1080p/24fps resolution, a slim design with silver brushed-metal accent, Deep x.v.Color support, built-in Ethernet connection, and wireless LAN capabilities for BD-Live and Internet@TV content access.
The Samsung BD-C5500, which will also ship in the first half, is billed as Samsung’s new eco-friendly Blu-ray player, offering what the company describes as one of “the lowest-power-consuming players on the market.”
The player is said to consume just 0.1 watt in standby mode and 13 watts during playback, and includes loader duty control, a low-voltage spindle motor and analog video detect. The player includes a high-gloss slim design that uses eco-friendly resin instead of spray paint.
It is BD-Live Profile 2.0 compatible with the addition of 1GB or greater of add-on flash memory through a USB drive, and it includes a built-in Ethernet connection with wireless LAN capabilities to provide access to online content partners.
