Pioneer brandishes new Blu-ray quartet

Swanky AV firm Pioneer has ripped the wraps off its upcoming range of Blu-ray players, revealing not one, two, three but FOUR new hi-def disc players due out before the end of 2008 - including one that’s fully compatible with BD-Live’s online bonus features.

The BDP-LX71 (a pretty high spec model which we already knew about) is due out in September, and will be swiftly followed in October by the very easy-on-the-eye BDP-LX08, a “designer” model with what looks like a full glass front panel; and the BDP-51FD, which seems like the entry-level model. All three players are BD Profile 1.1, meaning they’re kitted out with the skills to display BonusView picture-in-picture content.

The top of the range BDP-LX91, due in the winter, is Pioneer’s first BD Profile 2.0 player, allowing it to access the Internet to grab special bonus content. Other specs on this beast of a model are yet to be revealed, but we’re expecting it to be fully loaded for top drawer lossless surround sound and pin-sharp pictures, not to mention built like an M1 Abrams tank. There’s no word on a price for this or any of the other upcoming players, but given Pioneer’s track record we’d guess they’ll all be at the costlier end of the market.

Out from September | £TBC
Pioneer Europe (via Engadget)

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