Great thread. I agree that to get BR playback you will need BR decoding in the player and the new players do not do that. What is concerning is that BR was originally set for "early" 2009 and now its set for "late" 2009. That can easily slide to "early" 2010. And the most concerning is the "rivaling Blu Ray" language. I take this as marketing speak for "we think its good enough for now". I don't care how good your processing is- you can't create more resolution. I am sure to the average viewer on a 50" plasma at 10' distance they will have more difficulty discerning the difference between the two, but true HD is not just resolution, its also color depth and fidelity and DVD is a fine format but its not even close to HD.
While I understand there have got to be nods to business realities, and I still have the highest regard for Kaleidescape, I am a little disappointed by this. Its also a shame the players do not support 24/48/72 hz playback. If you are using a good external scaler, it might be nice to get high res menu graphics but beyond that you would likely be still better off using your scaler.
Btw- I should add that I think the Mini player is a great idea!
While I understand there have got to be nods to business realities, and I still have the highest regard for Kaleidescape, I am a little disappointed by this. Its also a shame the players do not support 24/48/72 hz playback. If you are using a good external scaler, it might be nice to get high res menu graphics but beyond that you would likely be still better off using your scaler.
Btw- I should add that I think the Mini player is a great idea!