Pioneer beat 'em to the punch, and has subsequently managed to be rebadged by most everyone else, but now Philips is on the scene at Computex with a PC Blu-ray burner that boasts support for 50GB discs — once they're available. The drive still doesn't have anything as silly as a model number (though we're thinking it's the SPD7000 that they've been talking about for a while), but it does include CD burning support along with the DVD and Blu-ray burning, which is something Pioneer omitted from their BRD-101A. Philips can burn a 25GB disc in around 70 minutes at its 2x speed, and will support t…

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Not a ton of new specs to behold on this new Blu-ray player, but Philips's BDP7100 does everything it should (1080p output, HDMI CEC, 24p, True HD, and DTS HD support). No word if it's got HDMI v1.3 or Blu-ray 1.1, and Philips also neglected to mention the price and availability of this new Blu-ray player of theirs, but we still dutifully thank them for their morsels of information and sheepishly ask for a second helping of porridge, kind sirs. One more image after the break….

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You didn't think Acer's recent deal with the Blu-ray camp was an exclusive arrangement did you? No sir-e, not if this product sheet is to be believed. Though the details are hard to make out, those Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD logos make it pretty clear that the Aspire line-up of multimedia desktops are about to go both ways. The desktop will feature what Acer calls “Blu-ray Universal” which reads Blu-ray and HD DVD discs while burning DVDs and CDs. Sounds like an LG Super Multi Blue player to us. It's all said to be going down on October 1st, in Australia anyway. Do your best to make out the full …

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Like buses, you wait years for a combo HD player then two come along at once

South Korean gadget legend Samsung has unveiled its first Blu-ray/HD DVD combo player to the US public, the same week its country-sharing nemesis, LG, released a similar player. It can be pre-ordered on Amazon.com right this very second, for a tiny $800 (£400)The BD-UP5000 does everything a good Blu-ray player and a decent HD DVD player should.It supports the interactive features of both formats, Blu-ray’s BD Java and HD DVD’s HDi. It spits out hi-def video at resolutions up to 1080p at 24 and 60fps and it upscales to 1080p, we’re told.Other tricks up the BD-UP5000’…

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While the PS3's away, we will play Xbox 360. And in just a few weeks we'll be spinning HD DVD discs as well

This was meant to be the spoiler to the PS3 launch, except that Sony managed to do that all by itself. Instead, Microsoft will go into Christmas with its Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on a full four months before the Blu-Ray spinning PlayStation reaches these shores.So far, we have official word only of the Japanese launch. Lucky gamers there will get their hands on the player on 17th November. The ¥19,800 (£135) RRRP, complete with wireless remote, seems to confirm UK details leaked earlier this month by Gamesindustry.biz. It's predicted to have a £200 price tag, which includes two HD DV…

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Gadget of the Day: Blu-Ray movies
After months of talk and a whole lotta hot air, seven Blu-Ray movies went on sale in the US today. Here's how to get ‘em

Gadget of the Day: Blu-Ray moviesAfter months of talk and a whole lotta hot air, seven Blu-Ray movies went on sale in the US today. Here's how to get ‘em…

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Somebody, somewhere has to get their hyperbole under control when calling this Sharp's “first” Blu-ray player. Fact is, we've already seen the Sharp BD-MPC70, BD-HD1000, BD-MPC10, BD-HP1 (hint: BD = Blu-ray Disc) devices. Now if what they mean is that it only plays Blu-ray discs (no recorder, no receiver, etc), well, why even bother? Regardless, their new BD-HP20S is expected to ship in the fall and features HDMI 1.3 output in support of Dolby TrueHD's raw bitstream form. It will also feature a “Quick Start” option which plays newly inserted discs in just seconds. As a stand-alone player, we …

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