LATEST ADDITIONS

Panasonic recently announced the upcoming release of its new DMP-BD50 Blu-ray player, which I got to see in person on May 9 at the Panasonic Hollywood Labs right next to Universal Studios in Los Angeles. The BD50 follows the <A href="http://ultimateavmag.com/hddiscplayers/1107panabd30/">DMP-BD30</A>, which was the first standalone BD player to conform to Final Standard Profile 1.1 (aka BonusView). As you might expect, the new player is fully equipped for BD-Live (Profile 2.0), which lets it access the supplementary Internet content and online interactive features that are planned for future Blu-ray releases by connecting the player to a broadband access point such as a home-network router.

Bouncing back from the news that Pioneer is exiting the plasma-panel manufacturing business&mdash;Matsushita, Panasonic's parent company, will provide the panels for future Pioneer plasma TVs&mdash;the company debuted a new line of upscale, eye-popping products at a press event held May 7 at New York City’s appropriately upscale Gramercy Park Hotel.