Tom Norton

Panasonic certainly thinks so. While there is currently no standard for home 3D, a consortium of companies is working on one, and according to Panasonic reps a decision is expected before the January CES. That means we could see product and software within a year. The companies are pushing for a standard that will produce full 1080p resolution to both eyes using sequential frames and active shutter glasses--though I would expect to see some scalability based on price. But you will need a new TV and 3D Blu-ray player to take full advantage of it (HDMI 1.4 will be required).

Cambridge Audio has introduced its own truly universal, Profile 2.0 Blu-ray player, the Azur 650R, at $779. It not only plays Blu-rays, DVDs, and CDs, but multichannel SACD and DVD-Audio as well--either through its analog outputs or as a bitstream over HDMI. According to the Cambridge rep, it will also decode SACD and DVD-Audio to multichanel PCM for output over HDMI

JVC now has a two new Blu-ray players, but with a twist. The RS-HD 1250 ($1995) and RS-HD 1500 ($2550) not only play Blu-ray discs, but record them as well. Before you get all excited about this, you should know that the two cannot record HD either off the air or from copy-protected Blu-ray discs. Marketed by JVC's pro division, primarily with pro applications in mind, they can, however, copy HD video onto disc from HD camcorders, both pro and consumer. The material is first copied to an internal hard drive, then from there to to Blu-ray. The more expensive model differs in that it can record material from Final Cut Pro, has a larger hard drive 500GB vs 1250GB), and offers an RS-232 connection. Both machines have USB and IEEE-1394 ports.

AudioQuest showed a desert menu of HDMI cables, though we don't know how gemstones fit into the mix. Now you can have a chocolate mid-brightness region on your HDTV.