Although there were numerous product announcements during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), JVC's introduction of its first Blu-ray player seemed to be overwhelmed by throngs of other news releases.
JVC's first entry into the Blu-ray market, with the standalone XV-BP1, is a BD-Live compatible drive, using Dolby True HD, DTs and DTS HD formats, Dolby Digital Plus, AVCHD, JPEG, MP3, and WMA formats. The player also has an SD slot for a 1GB storage card necessary for BD-Live.
It can play the following formats: BD-ROM, BD-R/RE, BD/DVD Hybrid, DVD-Video, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, Audio CD and CD-R/RW.
JVC expects to ship the XV-BP1 in March for $299.
Even though the future of Blu-ray is still unknown, manufacturers that already are involved with the technology aren't about to suddenly stop supporting it. JVC hasn't released a standalone Blu-ray player yet, but hopes that consumer demand will increase in 2009, as users look forward to viewing Blu-ray and having the added bonus of BD-Live.
