Blu-ray News

Best Buy Co. Inc stores this month discounted a house brand Blu-ray player to under $100 in a new high-definition hardware sale.
This week, the Insignia Blu-ray Disc Player to $99.99 after $50 instant savings.
In addition, it discounted all regular priced Blu-ray discs by 30 percent this week.
Meanwhile, retailer Amazon.com this month began holding a new [...]

Earlier this week we reported that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made comments that implied that the company would be bringing Blu-ray accessories to the Xbox 360.

At the time, the notoriously tongue-tied Ballmer had said: "Well I don't know if we need to put Blu-ray in there -- you'll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories."

The company has since released a statement denying the rumor and adding that Ballmer was speaking instead of PC accessories.

"During an interview yesterday, Steve Ballmer was asked about Blu-Ray and the Xbox 360. I wanted to clear something up. Steve was referring to Blu-Ray accessories for the PC. As we have said in the past, we have no plans to introduce a Blu-Ray drive for the Xbox 360. In fact, the future of home entertainment starts very soon when Xbox 360 becomes the first and only console to offer instant-on 1080p streaming HD movies. With a library of thousands of TV shows and movies to choose from, Xbox 360 owners can instantly watch the movies th ...

Microsoft Corp. this week reiterated it had no plans to release Blu-ray product for the Xbox 360 console.
Rumors of company plans to release Blu-ray peripherals were sparked in an interview with CEO Steve Ballmer in which he said consumers would be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories.
Director of programming for Xbox Live Larry Hryb [...]

Best Buy and Netflix announced this week that the new Insignia Advanced Series Blu-ray Player NS-WBRDVD and the Insignia Connected Blu-ray Player NS-BRDVD3 (photo) are streaming Netflix movie rentals.

Both new Insignia Blu-ray player are Internet ready,...

Ballmer got it wrong

Kids, Steve Ballmer is lying to you. Yesterday we brought you the news, straight out of the man's mouth, that the Xbox 360 would be getting Blu-ray accessories. Today, Microsoft's PR team has swung into action to try and say they don't exist without explicitly saying "Ballmer was talking out of his arse".
Instead, a Microsoft spokesperson said: "Steve was referring to Blu-ray accessories for the PC.?As we have said in the past, we have no plans to introduce a Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360. In fact, the future of home entertainment starts this fall when Xbox 360 becomes the first and only console to offer instant-on 1080p streaming HD movies".
Given that Ballmer was responding to a question about the Xbox and said "You'll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories", we doubt that accessories for the PC had anything to do with what he was saying. More likely Microsoft is trying to firefight some of the damage that Ballmer caused with the casual ...

A recent Gizmodo sit down with Steve Ballmer led with a headline exclaiming a Blu-ray add-on for Xbox was coming. See, when Ballmer was asked about making the Xbox a home theater companion of choice and where Blu-ray might fit in, the Windows 7 wild man said, "Well I don't know if we need to put Blu-ray in there -- you'll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories." He then added that on-demand is the future of movies, not physical media. Now our bud Major Nelson, Director of Programming for Xbox Live, has stepped up to lay the conflation to rest. The Major says that Ballmer was referring to Blu-ray accessories for the PC and reiterated Microsoft's focus of bringing instant-on 1080p streaming movies to the Xbox 360. So... that should end speculation of Blu-ray on Xbox right? Not if history serves, nope.Filed under: Gaming, HDTV, Home EntertainmentMicrosoft: 'We have no plans for Blu-Ray on Xbox 360' originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:49:00 EST. Please see our ter ...

Today has seen several reports that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has confirmed a Blu-ray drive accessory for the Xbox 360. The purported revelation came from a Gizmodo interview, during which Ballmer said that 360 owners wanting a Blu-ray player could purchase "Blu-ray drives as accessories." Clearing the air, Microsoft's Larry Hryb (a.k.a. Major Nelson) has gone on the record saying that the company has "no plans" for a 360 Blu-ray drive, adding that Ballmer was actually referring to Blu-ray drives for PCs. Hryb reiterates -- as did Ballmer -- that the main push for the Xbox 360 will be streaming media, noting specifically that the upcoming Dashboard update will bring instant 1080p streaming, a feature of the Zune Video Marketplace. Now, say it with us (one more time): Blu-ray isn't coming to the Xbox 360.PSA: Microsoft not planning Blu-ray drive for 360 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink& ...

Despite what Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer may have implied, the company has "no plans" to bring Blu-ray playing accessories to the Xbox 360, according to a statement from the company.
Larry "Major...