Warner's first TrueHD Blu-Ray title will be Letters from Iwo Jima, according to the cover from the Man Room:

Paramount goes AVC with Blu-Ray on Flags of Our Fathers. I called this a while ago

http://www.hometheaterspot.com/fusio.../post/new/#NEW

Since the Blu-Ray on 360 thread was closed, just thought I'd give a final thought on my thread. It appears even more likely that this "AP article" was made up. Over in the AVS Insiders forum, someone posed the question to Amir (who works on the Microsoft HD DVD team) and he denied that Microsoft was even thinking of making a Blu-Ray add-on.

The thread over at TeamXbox continues to rage on and I still think it may be a possibility someday in the future (and one that I would be interested in). But for now, I think it's a dead issue.

If MS is all about choice as they say, it would make sense to make an add-on for Blu-ray. To me, that would be a logical move for them to make when they tout choice in comparison to their competitors.

Pioneer Announces Second-Gen Blu-ray Player

http://hd.broadcastnewsroom.com/arti....jsp?id=137982

The BDP-94HD has a suggested price of $1000.

What is the point with this price? I would think everyone who wants a Blu-ray player will just buy the PS3 instead.

M$ has never, EVER been about choice. Were you tired when you wrote that?

I'd hate to reduce my photos to HD resolution just so that Pioneer player could stream them to the TV. That's what high-resolution monitors are for.

Sometimes it's hard to hint sarcasm on the internet. HAHA

Looks like Panasonic has announced their second gen player and a "bonus" offer:

(from Engadget):

Not too long after Pioneer went and introduced its second generation Blu-ray player, along comes Panasonic to follow suit, but unlike the BDP-LX70, we've got a pricetag as well as a few tempting reasons to pick this one up over the competition. The DMP-BD10A packs an audio upgrade that brings 7.1, Dolby True HD, and DTS-HD on board, and it incorporates Panasonic's EZ-Sync system for "one-touch operation" of your home theater. The overall design doesn't deviate too far from that seen in the first iteration, but you will find 1080p upconversion via HDMI, a 14-bit DA converter with 4x oversampling, support for BD-J, and compatibility between select HD camcorders via the AVCHD (H.264) codec. Notably, Panasonic is giving users two reasons to seriously considering its new offering, as the fairly reasonable $599.95 pricetag looks even better when you consider the five BD films (Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Transporter, Fantastic Four, and Crash) you'll be getting right in the box.

Any idea when this will be available for pre-order?

Wow. So, I guess I'll be buying that.

Does "DTS-HD on board" mean it supports DTS HD-MA? If so, that would be a first for either Blu-ray or HD-DVD.

Damn, time to sell my PS3. I wonder if the movies will be in cases or cardboard. If they were all in plastic cases I think it would seal the deal. The PS3 is nice, but that is a whole lot for $600 (relatively speaking compared to other BD players).

Good price on the Panny 2nd gen. I love the PS3, but I would still like to add a standalone unit. I may lean towards this one rather than the Sony that's coming out.

Since the final BD specs won't be finished until October, does that mean this player won't be able to fully utilize all of the next-gen interactive features?

Man, that is one heck of a deal on that Panny. I won't be giving up my PS3 anytime soon, but it's nice to see someone bringing the goods, hardware wise.

As I understand it, the DMP-BD10A is essentially identical to the existing DMP-BD10 with its latest firmware update. All they've done is officially drop the price.

If that's correct, the "DTS-HD" refers only to DTS-HD High Resolution, not the lossless DTS-HD Master Audio.

Id sell my PS3 in a heartbeat for a quality BD standalone around/under $500.

Yep, DTS-HD on my Panny BD10. I spent 2200+ for my Samsung BDP1000 and Panny BD10. It's awesome being an early adopter

Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

I read that the BD10 has six-channel analog audio out -- meaning I don't have to replace my HDMI-less receiver to take advantage of lossless audio -- and that, the price point, and the inclusion of at least a couple movies I would've bought anyway are really pushing me towards buying this.

Will it have 7.1 analog like the first gen?

If I didn't already own a PS3 I would jump on this, especially with the included discs.

Correct on the six-channel analog. And if the new model can output the same PQ as my BD10, for less than half the price, then it's a very good thing.

The Panasonic is reportedly one of the best of the 1st generation players, but even though it's been updated for TrueHD, it still isn't compatible with the more advanced BD-Java profiles. We'll have to wait for new players at the end of the year for that.

By more advanced profiles, do you mean the use of BD-J in a disc like Dragon's Lair, or do you mean BD-Live?

I mean whatever crazy features the Blu-ray studios are planning to roll out in the future, but haven't so far because players couldn't support them.

8 channel analog out, no?