Audio Video News

If you've been holding off on getting a Blu-ray Disc player until the prices go down, you might want to start shopping. JVC has just announced a new budget-priced BD player, and Toshiba's long-awaited player has been spotted at Best Buy with a price tag of $50 less than previously announced.

JVC's XV-BP11 is a bare-bones Blu-ray player with a $199 retail price. On one hand, it supports several different media codecs, including AVCHD and WMV videos. On the other hand, it only has Profile 1.1 (Bonus View). The player lacks an Internet connection, and as such it can't access BD-Live features. That's a pretty big feature to not include in a late 2009 Blu-ray Disc player. Still, if you don't want to go online with your discs, the XV-BP11 is available now for just two bills.

We've known about Toshiba's BDX2000 player for almost two months, but we didn't know until now that it would be available for less than $200. While the official retail price seems to still be $249, Engadget HD has found it on Best Buy shelves for just $199. The BDX2000 is Toshiba's first foray into Blu-ray after it conceded the format wars last year, and it features BD-Live support. It officially ships next month, but it's already been spotted in stores.

— Will Greenwald

[Source: Engadget HD]