I keep looking at this new Blu-ray player from local budget consumer tech company Kogan and wondering to myself, “what’s the catch?” And so far, the only thing I can find from the spec sheet is that it only supports BD Profile 1.1 – which is a huge hiccup for me personally, but I think will be forgiveable given the player’s $349 pricepoint.
For your cash you get a Full HD Blu-ray player that purports to be region free, meaning you can play discs purchased from the US. That fact alone makes this stand out from the crowd of Blu-ray players on the market this Christmas. But on top of that, there’s DVD upscaling to 1080p, HDMI 1.3 connection, optical and coaxial audio out, decoding for both Dolby True-HD, and dts-HD, and it will play back AVI and MPEG files from a DVD as well. It’s also compatible with the 24Hz modes on Blu-ray for the true cinema feel.
There’s still a slight question mark over the quality of the remote and the user interface, but I’ve got a review unit landing sometime today, so expect a hands on tomorrow. If you can’t wait that long, the Kogan Blu-ray player is available to buy from Kogan’s website from tomorrow.
MELBOURNE, Thursday, 20th November 2008 – Kogan Technologies today launched Australia’s best value Blu-ray player, available direct from its website, www.kogan.com.au for AU$349.
The Kogan Blu-ray player outputs in Full HD 1080p through HDMI 1.3, upscales DVDs, can play Blu-ray movies from around the world, and supports a number of video formats including downloaded files such as AVI and MPEG.
Kogan Technologies founder, Ruslan Kogan, said the Blu-ray player is yet another example of the company’s commitment to provide the best consumer electronics at affordable price for all Australians.
“While some of the big name players will be raising prices as the impact of the Australian dollar hits them, Kogan is still in a strong position to sell the most affordable consumer electronics in Australia,” Mr. Kogan said.
“Blu-ray won the format war against Toshiba’s HD DVD, but the technology is still restricted to early adopters. Our affordable product helps drive mass adoption.
“We’ve hit the sweet spot with the Kogan Blu-ray player, by offering a perfect combination of quality, specifications, and price,” he said.
Mr Kogan said early success and recognition of the brand has enabled the company to expand its range beyond LCD TVs. Kogan now sells computer monitors, digital photo frames, GPS devices, and cameras.
“Our direct business model allows us to sell consumer electronic products for far cheaper than any other company. We cut out all the middle men and pass the savings onto customers.”
The Kogan Blu-ray player will begin shipping on 21st November, and is available to order from www.kogan.com.au.
The specifications of the Kogan Blu-ray player are:
Input/Output Sockets:
• 1080p HDMI V1.3 output
• Component video output (Y,Pb,Pr)
• Composite video output (RCA)
• S-video output
• Coaxial digital audio output
• Optical digital audio output
Features:
• Full High Definition 1080p resolution
• BD profile 1.1
• 24?60 frame visual support for true cinema
• Play DVDs with up-conversion to HD output resolution of 1080P?1080i?720P
• Playback compatible with Blu-ray (BD-ROM, BD-RE, BD-R) discs.
• Playback compatible with DVD Video and DVD-RW?-R (V mode and finalized only) discs.
• Playback compatible with SVCD/VCD/CD/AUDIO-CD.
• Supported movies file type: MPEG1, MPEG2, AVI
• Supported music file types: AC3, MP1, MP2, MP3, AAC
• Supported picture file types: JPEG, BMP, GIF
• Advanced Graphic User Interface
• Audio Decoding: Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True-HD, and dts-HD
• Audio Outputs: 5.1 Channel and Dolby Downmix Stereo
• Audio Output Max sampling rate:24bit/192KHz
• Firmware Upgradeable
Other Specifications:
• Power consumption: 45w
• Power Source: ~100-250V
• Max Resolution: 1920 x 1080pSupplied Accessories:
• Power cable, Remote control, User manual
Packaging:
• Unit Dimension (WxHxL) : 430 x 305 x 60 mm
• Box Unit Packing Dimension (WxHxL) : 490 x 120 x 370 mm
• Unit Packing Weight (N. W.) : 4.1kg
• Unit Packing Weight (G. W.) : 4.4kg
[Kogan]