2011 Blu-ray Players - What New Features Can We Look Forward To

Blu-ray has steadily increased its sales every year for the past few years. It is estimated that 32.5 million players will be shipped out in 2011. While the inferior DVD format is number one right now, you can start to feel a change, as more and more people continue to discover the benefits of Blu-ray. The fact that blu-ray prices are dropping all the time doesn't hurt the cause either. Another factor that will surely boost Blu-ray to the forefront is the long-awaited release of the "Star Wars Saga". Scheduled to launch in September of this year it is expected to break all Blu-ray sales records and convert many to blu-ray.

But Blu-ray is not relying on classic films being released to drive up sales; it is charging ahead, bringing us new technology and features that will change how we view Home Entertainment forever. Technology such as 3D, Online Streaming Media, Portable Players, wireless HDMI, DLNA, PVR and much more. Many of the manufacturers like Philips and LG revealed their line-up of new Blu-ray Players at CES 2011. Giving us a glimpse of what we have to look forward to this year with Blu-ray.

LG - 3D, like last years models, is still the big trend in Blu-ray Players for 2011. LG's models BD690, BD670 and BD650 are 3D capable. Their other models are BD640, BD630 and its first ever portable Blu-ray, the BP650. This line-up gives consumers a wide variety of choices that should suit most people's budget and expectations. The flagship player, the BD690 will not only be 3D capable but comes equipped with a 250GB Hard Drive, built-in Wi-Fi, DLNA functionality and will be the first model to be Wi-Fi Certified for the company. The BD690 can even be joined with LG's Smart TV line-up so it can provide digital content and access to the LG app store.

The other models such as BD670 will be Full HD 1080p 3D capable with LG SmartTV, Built-In Wi-Fi, DLNA, and MusicID. (No internal memory). Next comes the BD650 which is Wi-Fi 'Ready' (LAN Adapter is required) and does not have the MusicID feature. The BD640 and BD630 are standard 2D Blu-ray Players. Both are identical expect the BD640 offers Wi-Fi support. Last of the new models is the BP650 which is a Portable player. Price list for the 2011 LG blu-ray players should be around $350.00 to $139.99.

Philips - The BDP7580 model form Philips is one of the more exciting players to be revealed at this years CES 2011. Mainly for the fact it offers us wireless HDMI. You can stream video from across your living room to a wall-mounted HDTV. It will also have 3D capability, NetTV, Blockbuster and Netflix access, as well as Philips MediaConnect. This allows us to stream from your PC to your HDTV through a Wi-Fi connection. As mentioned it will have NetTV, which is Philips' integrated Internet TV feature which gives us access to a built-in browser for surfing standard web sites. Sites such as Twitter, Facebook and even proving access to VUDU video streaming. Price for the BDP7580 is listed at $499.99.