Review There’s a renaissance in audiophile grade Blu-ray players happening at the moment. Arcam’s exotic BDP100 got the ball rolling, and now the Oppo BDP-95EU, Marantz UD7006 and this here Cambridge audio Azur 751BD are hot on its heels. I must confess to being excited. While I like cheap-as-chips electronics as much as the next guy, nothing stokes my system-lust quite as much as a black tie disc spinner.
Tipping the scales at 5kg, the 751BD appears hewn from solid metal. A good sign as rigidity usually begets fidelity. Equally reassuring is the provision of two HDMI outputs. Owners of non-3D compatible AV receivers can use the second output to decode DTS HD MA and Dolby TrueHD lossless audio, while 3D video squirts out of the first to a compatible display. Read the rest of this entry »
Review It’s been hailed as the greatest anime ever. While I think you have to go some before you can top Pokémon 4Ever, (no seriously, I prefer My Neighbour Totoro) there’s no denying Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira is a milestone of a movie.
Akira: worth another spin in this UK Blu-ray remaster release
Back in 1989, its international release found a new audience for Japanese animation. Western audiences were wowed by its visceral, ambitious vision and graphic nature. The film has occupied a unique pop culture niche ever since. Read the rest of this entry »
Review When it comes to raw performance in the mainstream Blu-ray market, Panasonic is a force to be reckoned with. The brand has consistently pushed the envelope in terms of picture quality. However, during 2010 it fell behind some of its high street rivals when it came to features and functionality. It’s a situation Panasonic has clearly set out to address with the DMP-BDT310, that now tops its Blu-ray player range.
Panasonic’s DMP-BDT310 packs 3D playback support and conversion modes
The DMP-BDT310 is remarkably thin and shallow. It stands a mere 35mm tall and only reaches back 185mm. Outputs comprise phono AV, optical digital audio and two HDMIs. The latter are significant as they allow the BDT310 to deliver high-res audio even if your AV amplifier does not support 3D via HDMI 1.4. You simply route the prime HDMI output to your 3D TV and connect the AV Out Sub terminal to your legacy AV receiver, allowing it to decode a feed of the lossless soundtrack. Read the rest of this entry »
If you’re an Arcam aficionado, there must have been times when you thought the arrival of a Blu-ray Disc player would never come. The brand’s original strategy, to support both HD DVD and BD with a universal player, was shunted off the road when the HD format war came to an abrupt end.
A second, BD-only project met a similar fate when Arcam’s chosen chip supplier proved unable to deliver.
Years in the making: Arcam’s FMJ BDP100 Blu-ray player is here at last
Third time lucky then? It seems so. The wait is finally over with the arrival of the FMJ – Arcam says “Faithful Musical Joy”; I say “Full Metal Jacket” – BDP100.
Unlike the majority of mass-market BD players, the BDP100 is painstakingly built. It’s heavy -6.2kg, no less – and has an extremely rigid chassis. Back panel outputs comprise HDMI; component- and composite-video; Stereo analogue audio; and optical and coaxial digital audio. Read the rest of this entry »
The arrival of Tron: Legacy on 3D Blu-ray this week will comes as a blessed relief if you’ve been struggling to find content to play on your new 3D hardware. A year after the launch of 3D Blu-ray, there’s still little more than a trickle of 3D animation aimed at younger film fans available. Finally, here’s a movie you might actually want to watch with your mates.
Bridges the age gap?
The original Tron, released in 1982, may not have been a big financial hit for Disney, but it rightly foresaw the net (aka the Grid) as a virtual community, and a generally bad-tempered one at that. It also pioneered the use of computer graphics and bequeathed an iconography which still resonates with tech-heads today. Read the rest of this entry »
