Marantz outs reference-standard Blu-ray player
updated 04:25 pm EST, Fri January 30, 2009
Marantz Blu-ray player
Home entertainment electronics maker Marantz has recently unveiled its first Blu-ray player, the BD8002, which is capable of 1080p video playback at 24 frames per second and will upconvert standard DVDs to near high-definition quality. What Marantz is touting as a reference-grade video player, the BD8002 sports a 12-bit/297MHz video chipset along with a 10-bit Silicon Optix Realta processor with HQV system for upconverting standard DVDs.
Video connections include a single HDMI 1.3a input, along with a composite, component and S-video inputs. Up to 7.1-channel audio decoding is supported in Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD and DTS-HD Master Audio formats.
The BD8002 will play back VCDs, SVCDs and discs with DivX, MP3 and WMA files in addition to Blu-ray discs. An SD card slot will let users view the above formats along with any JPEG photos. The BD8002 only supports Profile 1.1, however, and will therefore can't access the Internet to take advantage of the BD-Live features offered by Profile 2.0.
The Marantz BD8002 is available now for £1799 in the UK only, which equates to about $2,565. There is no indication of when or if Marantz will bring the flagship Blu-ray player to North America. [via Pocket-Lint]
