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3D Blu-ray Player Commonly Asked Questions -- andrew's Blog
February 12, 2010 10:41 AM (Friday) Author: andrew
Just when you thought it was safe to buy a Blu-ray player along comes 3D. So now what do you do, wait for a 3D Blu-ray player? Here are some answers to that and other commonly asked questions about 3D Blu-ray players.
What Makes a Blu-ray Player 3D Compatible?
Two important features will make Blu-ray players able to play 3D movies. HDMI 1.4 is the latest cabling standard that supports a high bit rate necessary to send the extra data the TV needs to display two different images to each eye for the 3D effect. The other
feature is the new standard that the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) has adopted for 3D movies. In some cases support for the new standard will only require a firmware upgrade but older players may not have the processing power required to decode the new 3D video.
Will a 3D Blu-ray Player Make My TV Display 3D?
The good news is you'll still be able to watch 2D Blu-ray movies on your TV with a 3D player but the 3D Blu-ray player is only one piece of the puzzle. The bad news is that you're going to have to buy a new 3DTV like the new Sony LX900 to go with your new 3D Blu-ray player.
What if I Don't Want to Wait?
The fact is, you can get a decent Blu-ray player today that supports BD-Live and streaming services right now for around $200. It's unlikely that you'll be able to upgrade a Blu-ray player you buy today to 3D because of HDMI 1.4 and insufficient processing power. However, since you're going to need to buy a new TV to go with the 3D Blu-ray player, you might as well get the 2D Blu-ray player today and when you're ready to take the 3D plunge you can always give the 2D player to your kids. Otherwise, you're just going to have to wait until this summer. The movies won't be available until then anyway.
Are there any 3D Blu-ray Players Available Today?
To the best of our knowledge no 3D Blu-ray players are available today. The earliest we expect to start seeing products is April and that may not include the US market which could start seeing products this summer.
What about the Sony PlayStation 3 as a 3D Blu-ray Player?
The Sony PS3 has always been a very good alternative to a standalone Blu-ray player. The Slim costs a little more than a good standalone player and you get a world class game console in the bargain. Partly due to the built-in graphics processing power, a firmware upgrade (due this summer) may be all you need to upgrade your PS3 to 3D. Unfortunately you won't be able to upgrade the HDMI port to 1.4 so that may become an issue.
What Players Have Been Announced?
Many new players were announces at CES 2010 here's a sample of them:
Panasonic announced several 3D Blu-ray players at CES 2010 including the DMP-BDT350 which is expected to ship later this year. One key feature on this player is dual HDMI output; one to go to an HDMI 1.4 connection on your new 3DTV another to your old receiver for the audio.
Samsung announced the Samsung BD-C6900 which also includes WiFi and streaming services including Netflix and Pandora. It's expected to cost around $400.
Sony should have many 3D Blu-ray players to choose from in addition to 3DTV sets. One Blu-ray player announced at CES is the Sony BDP-S770 which has HDMI 1.4, WiFi, and streaming services. It's supposed to be available this summer.
Are there any 3D Blu-ray Movies Available Now?
3D Blu-ray movies supporting the new BDA 3D standard should be available later this year from studios like Walt Disney and Sony Pictures. Disney recently indicated that we may see a 3D Blu-ray version of its forthcoming Alice in Wonderland 3D movie as soon as 13 weeks after release in the theaters on March 5th.
Will a New 3D Blu-ray Player Work with My Old Receiver?
Unfortunately your old receiver won't support 3D at least full 1080p 3D that will require an HDMI 1.4 port. If you try and send an HDMI 1.4 signal through an HDMI 1.3 port, the 3D information will be stripped off before it gets passed on to the TV. For that reason some manufacturers like Panasonic are offering dual HDMI ports on some of their new 3D Blu-ray players where one signal goes to the receiver for the audio and the other to your new 3DTV.
3D Blu-ray Player Commonly Asked Questions -- andrew's Blog
February 12, 2010 10:41 AM (Friday) Author: andrew
Just when you thought it was safe to buy a Blu-ray player along comes 3D. So now what do you do, wait for a 3D Blu-ray player? Here are some answers to that and other commonly asked questions about 3D Blu-ray players.
What Makes a Blu-ray Player 3D Compatible?
Two important features will make Blu-ray players able to play 3D movies. HDMI 1.4 is the latest cabling standard that supports a high bit rate necessary to send the extra data the TV needs to display two different images to each eye for the 3D effect. The other
feature is the new standard that the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) has adopted for 3D movies. In some cases support for the new standard will only require a firmware upgrade but older players may not have the processing power required to decode the new 3D video.
Will a 3D Blu-ray Player Make My TV Display 3D?
The good news is you'll still be able to watch 2D Blu-ray movies on your TV with a 3D player but the 3D Blu-ray player is only one piece of the puzzle. The bad news is that you're going to have to buy a new 3DTV like the new Sony LX900 to go with your new 3D Blu-ray player.
What if I Don't Want to Wait?
The fact is, you can get a decent Blu-ray player today that supports BD-Live and streaming services right now for around $200. It's unlikely that you'll be able to upgrade a Blu-ray player you buy today to 3D because of HDMI 1.4 and insufficient processing power. However, since you're going to need to buy a new TV to go with the 3D Blu-ray player, you might as well get the 2D Blu-ray player today and when you're ready to take the 3D plunge you can always give the 2D player to your kids. Otherwise, you're just going to have to wait until this summer. The movies won't be available until then anyway.
Are there any 3D Blu-ray Players Available Today?
To the best of our knowledge no 3D Blu-ray players are available today. The earliest we expect to start seeing products is April and that may not include the US market which could start seeing products this summer.
What about the Sony PlayStation 3 as a 3D Blu-ray Player?
The Sony PS3 has always been a very good alternative to a standalone Blu-ray player. The Slim costs a little more than a good standalone player and you get a world class game console in the bargain. Partly due to the built-in graphics processing power, a firmware upgrade (due this summer) may be all you need to upgrade your PS3 to 3D. Unfortunately you won't be able to upgrade the HDMI port to 1.4 so that may become an issue.
What Players Have Been Announced?
Many new players were announces at CES 2010 here's a sample of them:
Panasonic announced several 3D Blu-ray players at CES 2010 including the DMP-BDT350 which is expected to ship later this year. One key feature on this player is dual HDMI output; one to go to an HDMI 1.4 connection on your new 3DTV another to your old receiver for the audio.
Samsung announced the Samsung BD-C6900 which also includes WiFi and streaming services including Netflix and Pandora. It's expected to cost around $400.
Sony should have many 3D Blu-ray players to choose from in addition to 3DTV sets. One Blu-ray player announced at CES is the Sony BDP-S770 which has HDMI 1.4, WiFi, and streaming services. It's supposed to be available this summer.
Are there any 3D Blu-ray Movies Available Now?
3D Blu-ray movies supporting the new BDA 3D standard should be available later this year from studios like Walt Disney and Sony Pictures. Disney recently indicated that we may see a 3D Blu-ray version of its forthcoming Alice in Wonderland 3D movie as soon as 13 weeks after release in the theaters on March 5th.
Will a New 3D Blu-ray Player Work with My Old Receiver?
Unfortunately your old receiver won't support 3D at least full 1080p 3D that will require an HDMI 1.4 port. If you try and send an HDMI 1.4 signal through an HDMI 1.3 port, the 3D information will be stripped off before it gets passed on to the TV. For that reason some manufacturers like Panasonic are offering dual HDMI ports on some of their new 3D Blu-ray players where one signal goes to the receiver for the audio and the other to your new 3DTV.
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