There could be one more present to unwrap in your future: a free Playstation 3 Blu-ray player remote! Amazon.com will give you the remote at no charge after you purchase a featured Blu-ray title and PS3 game. You'll also have to enter the special code PS3BDREM at checkout.
It looks like you'll have to spend a good amount of holiday money though to score the remote. Although certain participating Blu-ray titles, such as Men in Black and 21 run a reasonable $15, most of the featured PS3 games are about $60 each.
Also, Amazon.com is running a number of 50% off Blu-ray title deals. Plus, you'll save $20 after purchasing together Lost season three and four on Blu-ray.

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During these final days before Christmas, Target is offering its Olevia-branded player for $149. Previously, it has been going for $199 at the chain.
The Olevia set-top's pricing is now in line with what many people might reasonably spend on gifts for Mom and/or Dad - it's that happy medium between shamefully feeling like a cheapskate and hyperventilating because you'll need to take out a loan to cover next month's rent.
Another thing about Mom and Dad - I doubt they'll miss this model's lack of Web interactivity. 
BD-Live is now available through all the current models of big-name maufacturers. But many, such as Sony and Samsung's players, are widely tagged at $250, and then the models start nearing that area wh...Read More

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LG has come up with a ridiculously cool design for a DVD player. You can check out the thing here at Boing Boing. 
But basically, it looks as if LG has engineered the player to float in the air. Seriously. 
I say LG and other manufacturers, need to do the same out of the box thinking for Blu-ray. Right now Blu-ray set-tops are sleek,  but do they really stand out and say 'Hey, consumer! We are superior to any other standard DVD player on the market!'? Not at first glance, anyway, because most Blu-ray players look like a general set-top box that is virtually indistinguishable from standard DVD models.
I'm not saying that everything should look as nuts as this LG model.  But I think manufacturers should try to add more creative flair t...Read More

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The DEG recently proudly showed off survey results indicating HD TV owners have singled out Blu-ray players as their most wanted home electronics gift item. They'd also much prefer a Blu-ray player to a standard DVD model, according to the survey conducted by Greenfield Online.
This is great news, but I'm wondering how much this really means to the format. It seems obvious that a HD TV owner would want a complementary Blu-ray player. But are people actually going to plunk down money on this as a gift? Kids can write all the letters to Santa Claus that they want, but we know that presents involve real money from family members.
I hope that  tons of Blu-ray players are gifted over the holidays. One worry I have is that hardware prices aren't as deal-like as they were on Black Friday. The big-branded Sony and Samsung models have inched back up to $250 at a ...Read More

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Shoppers will score the chain's Insignia Blu-ray for free, but after they agree to purchase ten $24.99-$29.99 Blu-ray titles and a $79.99 HDMI cable.
The retailer started advertising the deal in this week's newspaper circular.
Best Buy's in-house branded Blu-ray set-top does represent one of the more stripped down players on shelves. It offers picture-in-picture capabilities, but nothing in the way of Web interactivity, which can be found on current Sony, Samsung and Panasonic players. These three will run about $250 at many retailers, which equals the cost of 10 $25 Blu-ray Discs.
But I think many people might desire this Best Buy deal, because it represents a simple entry into the format. You get a decent player, plus a healthy library all at once. Many of the featured discs ...Read More

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It can only help Blu-ray if Playstation 3 gets bigger and better features. The console finally got its own virtual world, dubbed Home, which went live on Thursday.
Playstation was delayed the bow of this feature multiple times, so hopefully it will be well worth the wait.  If it's cool enough, Home may be another selling point for the console which would go towards boosting the Blu-ray hardware installation base.
Playstation describes Home as a cross between the leading virtual world service Second Life and hot social-networking site Facebook. In this CNN story, a Playstation insider says that people will be able to meet up, chat, play games together in a variety of interesting settings. 
People will be able to download it free of charge starting today.

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There's not just the big new Star Trek theatrical that's in the works. There's also the upcoming Blu-ray release of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, according to site Blu-ray.com.
It looks like it will be released near the same time the new theatrical Star Trek premieres on May 8, 2009.
As part of the Blu-ray Star Trek VI release, a Minnesota theater group will be starring in one of the exclusive bonus features: a production of Shakespeare's play Hamlet starring Klingon characters.
I think Paramount should be applauded for adding something extra to a Blu-ray catalog release. For the most part, we get excellent video and audio qualtiy on catalog releases in the format, but sometimes I don't think that's really enough to encourage people to replace their standard D...Read More

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USA Today features two Blu-ray stories today: one recommends the best Blu-ray catalog titles and another provides advice on how to buy a Blu-ray player. 
This much generally positive coverage of the format is in stark contrast to a lot of stories I have been seeing of late. Due to the crumbling economy, various reports proclaimed that people were unlikely to adopt Blu-ray because they wouldn't be able to afford it. For example, The New York Times, our sister publication ...Read More

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Heading into its fifth season, Lost could turn out to be the first major full series TV set released on Blu-ray. During a Tuesday Q&A roundtable, Lost creators Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindeloff predicted that upon the series completion in 2009-2010 there should be a full six-season Blu-ray release. However, Cuse and Lindeloff didn't think that the show's earlier first and second seasons would get individual Blu-ray releases. Lost first started getting Blu-ray versions day and date with standard-definition editions beginning in season three.
As Cuse put it, "If I were a betting man, I'd lay down a lot of money that you'll that you'll be able to buy a complete series set Blu-ray box set when all is said and done."
To date, no primetime series has been released in full form on Blu-ray. Likely because of the fo...Read More

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Warner Home Video has hinted today that Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan will be participating in an upcoming exclusive BD-Live experience. The studio is calling it a 'Live Community Screening,' and gives few details beyond the fact that Nolan is doing it at some point. But Warner is promising 'fan interaction' in a press release out today, which should generate definite swooning among Dark Knight's many fanboys/girls.
Universal's Hellboy II was the first Blu-ray title to deliver an exclusive real-time experience with a director. But Dark Knight seems to present an improvement upon that, with this expectation of a live video screening with director communication.  Hellboy II's BD-Live chat was done entirely in text, so director Guillermo del Toro wasn't able to elaborate...Read More

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Blu-ray hardware shortages should hit the European market at the worst time possible, this Christmas, according to Screen Digest research.
Screen Digest recently lowered its end of year Blu-ray forecasts because of this problem, in which the majority of the inexpensive players seem to be flowing to the U.S. and Japan markets. With the economic downtown a global phenomenon, U.K. consumers are most likely going to delay adoption since it will be hard to find these cheap entry level Blu-ray players.
As Screen Digest analyst Richard Cooper puts it, "A shortage of cheaper Blu-ray players means that he sub-$300 machines that are already appearing on U.S. shelves are unlikely to materialize in Europe this Christmas. Combined with the recession, this means the format is unlikely to move much beyond the early adopter market this year."
Still, th...Read More

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Here is a look at some leaked Wal-Mart Black Friday ad scans. As expected, the chain will be rolling out a $128 Magnavox Blu-ray player, marked off $70 from its current pricing.
Sorry for the little picture! But that's blog-life, yo :) But I think at this pricing, you now have a product that's truly competitive with other possible holiday gift items, such as navigational devices and iPods. You gotta get out there early though, as it looks like the deal is only valid between 5 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Also, take a look at these recently released Blu-r...Read More

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