Panasonic has announced the introduction of its next generation Blu-ray player, the $499 DMP-BD30. It is claimed to be the first Blu-ray player to support the Blu-ray Final Standard Profile (BD-ROM Profile 1.1). This will enable it to access and play streaming picture-in-picture special features in upcoming Blu-ray titles, as well as audio mixing enabling switching between main- and sub-windows.

New developments in video displays are cropping up almost faster than we can keep up with them. Many have been exclusive to flat panel LCD and plasma sets. The once-dominant rear projection models are now relegated to the low end of most manufacturers' lines. Yes, there are RPTVs with dynamic irises, LED backlighting, and creative color adjustments, but these refinements are usually reserved for the few high-end models still on the market.

Pioneer has long been a leader in plasma display technology. Over the past few generations its sets have arguably produced some of the best images in the flat panel business. Whether or not the potential competition from the (apparently) now stillborn SED technology, which promised astonishingly deep blacks, gave Pioneer an added incentive to achieve new and previously unattainable depths in that important aspect of display design we can't know for certain. But what we can know for certain is that Pioneer has set a new standard its new KURO sets.