leadpic_Sony%20AR18
June 30, 2006: Sony will introduce its first Blu-ray products into Australia next month (July).
Blu-ray, which was developed to enable recording, re-writing and playback of high definition (HD) video, as well as storing large amounts of data, offers the highest capacity of any optical consumer media format to date with up to 25GB for single-layer discs and 50GB for double layer. The format was developed by a consortium of companies, including Sony, Dell, Apple, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, TDK and Thomson. It is currently supported by major media organisations like Walt Disney Pictures and Television, Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount, Warner Brothers Entertainment, MGM, Lions Gate and Sony Pictures with more than 160 “partner” companies from the consumer electronics, IT, games, movie and music industries. Sony’s Blu-ray products are backwards compatible, and with the potential to allow playback of CDs and DVDs.
Among the first Blu-ray products to go on sale is the Vaio VGN-AR18GP (AR18), the world’s first Blu-ray Disc notebook computer. Designed as a complete package for High Definition (HD) video, the the AR18 can input, output and display content in 1080
resolution. It has a 17-inch WUXGA (1920 x 1200) widescreen display and uses Sony’s
Clear Bright, High Colour LCD Technology. The AR18 features the latest Intel Core
Duo T2600 technology (2.16GHz) processor and NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 GT graphics card with 256MB dedicated video memory for handling HD content and DVD playback. It sports a built-in MOTION EYE camera and a microphone suitable for IP communication plus a 160GB hard disk drive. An extensive suite of dedicated software applications allows users to edit HD footage and share it on high-capacity BD-R and BD-RE Blu-ray Discs (starting from 25GB). It is expected to retail for $5,499.
Sony has also released its first single-layer Blu-ray discs, which are available in two formats:
– 25GB Blu-ray Write-Once (BD-R) Disc in Jewel Case $34.95
– 25GB Blu-ray Re-writable Disc (BD-RE) in Jewel Case $42.95
The Blu-ray media range will be available through consumer electronic retailers nationally, from SonyCentral stores in major capital cities and online at www.sony.com.au.
|
