It’s official. September 1st the $299 PS3 Slim will be shipping. It comes with a 120 GB hard drive and two USB ports. Roughly 1/3 smaller and lighter the new design features the same performance with reduced fan noise. IR hasn’t been added but the latest word is bitstreaming of HD Audio (Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA) will be supported. A great addition for Blu-ray enthusiasts.

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• July 4th Celebration
• OPPO Goes Blu-ray
• OPPO BDP-83 Now Shipping

We wish everyone a happy 4th of July and give our thanks to the many readers who have supported us by ordering their new OPPO BDP-83 via Amazon. We knew OPPO had a winner on their hands but we had no idea how many readers would be kind enough to place their order via our site.

We appreciate the support and as one enthusiasts to another we promise you’ll find the new OPPO BDP-83 even more valuable than our site! If not, heck you have thirty days to return it.

Bonus little known fact: It has the best Blu-ray remote we have used not to mention it’s backlit.

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Read Our OPPO BDP-83 Take

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• OPPO BDP-83 Now Shipping
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OPPO Digital, Inc. has finally released their BDP-83 Blu-ray Disc Player with SACD and DVD-Audio. Place your OPPO BDP-83 order here! We have been using this player for a month or so and on every level it’s well worth the entry fee. We posted our take in this post.

The short take is the price is the same $499 charged during the Early Adoption Programs. It’s built extremely well for its price point and offers everything one could wish for and then some being a true universal player.

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Read Our Take on the OPPO BDP-83

If you don’t require world-class DVD upscaling OPPO’s new BDP-80 might just be a better choice and being over $200 less can’t hurt!

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OPPO BDP-83 Blu-ray Disc Player with SACD & DVD-Audio

If the above photo looks familiar there is more than likely a very good reason. We have too many OPPO BDP-83s in-house and you probably saw the same image on eBay. Now we could have returned the surplus to OPPO and they will even pay for the return shipping but we know many enthusiasts can’t wait to get their hands on one. Frankly from the time we have spent with the BDP-83 we don’t blame them.

Now before you get too upset with us our price is $100 less than the only other current listing and after we pay the various fees associated with selling the player the price seems rather fair. Certainly the player is worth it but of course if you can wait until the general release and or initial backorders you’ll save some money.

Rumor has it we may be giving one away for next month’s Contest so if yours hasn’t shipped by then be sure to check back and see if it’s true. Now back to the player itself. Instead of giving you endless information we’ll tell you it’s a killer player and simply list a few reasons why.

• Superior build quality
• Fantastic back-lit remote
• Plays DVD-Audio and SACD discs
• Uses Anchor Bay’s Video Reference Series technology which provides the best DVD upscaling and de-interlacing.
• 7.1-channel analog output configurable for size, distance and trim
• It’s PS3 fast!
• HDMI cable
• Spears & Munsil High-Definition Benchmark Blu-ray Edition (calibration disc)

Of course it comes with the other players’ features including Profile 2 and bitstreams or decodes all HD audio formats. The only thing missing is Internet based streaming like Pandora and Netflix. If you can live without streaming and willing to spent a little more you’ll be rewarded with everything we listed. Currently none of the other players offer any of the above so your choice should be pretty easy.

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Sony BDP-S360 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player, Black

At least one of the new Sony Blu-ray models is shipping. Compared to other manufacturers they are well overdue and lack all of the add-on features found on most current generation Blu-ray players. The BDP-S360 is a solid performer with reasonably good DVD upscaling and it stops right there.

It doesn’t offer Netflix, Pandora, YouTube, local streaming or just about any of the latest features. Also it doesn’t stand out from the crowd in anyway so you’re left with no real reason to purchase it over the competition.

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• Sony BDP-S1000ES Blu-ray Player
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• Pick of the Day – Blu-ray Player

If you are looking to enter the world of HD either the Sharp AQUOS LC46BD80U (46 inch) or AQUOS LC52BD80U (52 inch) might be the perfect entrance. Both feature an integrated Blu-ray player and a few other noteworthy features.

• 1080p resolution
• 120Hz motion flow
• Low reflection panel (10-Bit) for a bright and detailed image
• Removable swivel stand
• High-performance speakers (20 watts)

The blue-accented Sharp BD80-series HDTV might not be the ultimate home theater but it’s certainly convenient. Plus you’ll save money by not having to purchase an outlandishly expensive HDMI cable!

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• Buy One HDTV Get One Free
• Samsung’s 2009 LCD LN HDTV Lineup
• Samsung’s 2009 LED UN HDTV Lineup

Samsung has released the following LED UN B-Series 1080p HDTVs:

UN40B6000 UN40B7000
UN46B6000 UN46B7000 UN46B7100
UN55B6000 UN55B7000 UN55B7100

The 2009 model lineup feature “edge-lit” LED technology and we much prefer “local dimming” which will available in the upcoming 9000 series. The new LED models offer a superior image over the traditional LCD models but at the same time suffer from issues not found on the non LED models. For details see this post where we covered the topic.

Our take is if you are willing to pay the difference between this series and the LN series wait until the 9000 series ships. It will cost even more but you’ll be getting the benefits of LED technology without any of its growing pains.

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Samsung LN52B550 52-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color

Samsung has released the following LN B-Series 1080p HDTVs:

• LN32B530 LN32B540 LN32B550 LN32B650
• LN37B530 LN37B550 LN37B650
• LN40B530 LN40B540 LN40B550 LN40B610 LN40B650 LN40B750
• LN46B530 LN46B540 LN46B550 LN46B610 LN46B650 LN46B750
• LN52B530 LN52B550 LN52B610 LN52B750

The 2009 model line-up comes with higher dynamic contrast ratio and one more HDMI input (4) than the 2008 models. As before some models come with a matte finish which we prefer over the gloss finish. They are a little thinner, weigh less and the high-end models feature 240Hz refresh rates.

Our early take is the Samsung LCD models continue to offer a great bang for the buck and have no glaring release issues. We recommend the 2009 models unless you happen to find a great close-out on the A-Series.

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• Samsung’s 2009 LED UN HDTV Lineup
• HDTV with Integrated Blu-ray Player
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Most of the manufacturers have recently introduced LED-based LCD models with features being more similar than different. We happen to prefer the Sony models as they offer the deepest blacks, widest viewing angles and other advantages or perhaps better stated fewer weaknesses.

However taken as a class LED-based LCD models aren’t worth investing in at this time. Especially if you aren’t willing to do some serious research before purchasing your new pride and joy. Currently as superior as they can appear over your traditional LCD models many have numerous weaknesses that make them perform worse in several areas.

I’m sure after another generation or two these issues will go away just as the extreme premium one has to currently pay. Not to say today you won’t end up with a better looking picture but just like about the first generation of anything it’s best avoided. If cost isn’t an issue and you have your heart set on purchasing the latest and greatest here are a few points to keep in mind when considering this new breed of TV.

• Reduced viewing angles
• Ambient light reflections
• “Blooming” during high-contrast scenes
• Color uniformity
• Discoloration in large dark areas

Not every model suffers from all of the above but these are issues which don’t exist at all or if they do to a lesser degree on traditional LCD models. The one killer feature to look for is called “local dimming” This is what makes the previous unheard of high-contrast ratios possible and the very reason LED-based LCD models were invented.

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• Is it Time for VUDU?

Suddenly HD DVD is popular again. Toshiba hasn’t decided to revive HD DVD but Warners Bros. has with their new offer. It’s called Red2Blu and lets you purchase a copy of your HD DVD discs on Blu-Ray for $4.95 each with a handling and shipping fee of $6.95 per order. You can purchase one disc per title and a maximum of 25 titles.

Even better is you only need to send in the cover art so you still have your HD DVD discs to enjoy or more than likely unload on eBay. On the surface it seems like a great deal and for the more popular titles it is. However most of the 128 titles are now catalog titles of limited popularity.

We are happy to see the cost of Blu-ray media come down regardless of the reason or conditions in this case. All told I think the real winner will be eBay with endless listings for HD DVD cover art, HD DVD discs without cover art, and new sealed Warner Bros. Blu-Ray discs.

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