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Toshiba's triptych of 3D goodies is complete with the BDX3100KB 3D Blu-ray player, which joins the WL68 3D range of TVs and Satellite A665 laptop in delivering content in the third dimension.

The 3D Blu-ray market may be a small one – currently there is just one disc on sale in the UK – but this is set to explode, with a mountain of 3D content set for cinemas and the newly crowned king of 3D, James Cameron, set to release Avatar in 3D form.

If you aren't lucky enough to own a PS3, which will get 3D Blu-ray capabilities through a firmware update, then your next port of call will be buying a standalone 3D Bu-ray player.

Toshiba's BDX3100KB is a fine-looking device which features more angles that a Lady Gaga haircut.

The from fascia of the machine is almost triangular, which makes it stand out from other players on the market.

Supplied on the front is an easy to access USB, which means you don't have to fiddle around the back when playing content from a USB drive.

And use this you will as Toshiba has kindly made the TV compatible with the DivX and MKV format. So any content crimped from the web should play like a dream on the machine.

Other than the USB slot, the front has a minimal feel. There are a couple of manual control buttons – power, eject, play and stop – and an LCD screen which offers up timecode information.

Playback of discs comes with the standardFull HD 1920x1080p 3D output and this is at 24fps, so your flicks should retain that cinematic feel.

When it comes to audio, you can play either Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio and if you want to you can hook up to 7.1 surround sound to the player.

If you have any home HD movies that you want to play on your TV, then you can do it through the BDX3100KB as it is able to crunch through AVCHD footage. It does seem that whatever codec you throw at it, the Blu-ray player will play it.

It's worth noting that the player is BD Live compatible, so any Profile 2.0 content you want to watch, you can do so. Not that we have found anything decent out there, but the option is open to you.

We have to admit it is not the slimmest 3D Blu-ray player out there but with dimensions of 430mm x 45mm x 225mm it is not the chunkiest either.

1080p upscaling rounds off what is a rather smart device from Toshiba and one which will handle itself against the rest of the 3D Blu-ray players on the market.

The Toshiba BDX3100KB Blu-ray 3D and its its 2D companion (the BDX1100KB) have a UK release date from October 2010 with pricing to be confirmed.

Sharp's first foray into 3D Blu-ray territory is a super stylish affair. While it was no secret that Sharp was preparing to enter the world of 3D, we're impressed with how it has managed to create a Blu-ray player that stands out from the crowd.

The Sharp BD-HP90S is part of the company's Aquos range and compliments the company's first 3D LCD TV – the Sharp Quattron 3D.

Sharp is going big on 3D and it may seem like it was one of the last companies to hit the 3D button, but the company was at pains to point out that it has been in the 3D business since 1992, when it created its first 3D panel in Oxford.

10 years down the line and Sharp also managed to add a 3D screen to a laptop – which was a world's first.

It will be interesting to see how its latest line-up stands up against the competition when it is released this October.

The BD-HP90S has a built-in wireless LAN function. Using this feature, viewers can establish a wireless connection via DLNA to other devices in the home network in order to transmit music, photos or videos from PC to TV.

You can play YouTube videos directly through the machine. The Internet connection also means you can enable automatic updates of the Blu-ray player software.

An On-Screen Control Panel function means the basic functions of the Sharp Blu-ray player can be controlled from an on-screen menu by a TV remote.

The BD-HP0S has a UK release date of November 2010 and is priced at £379.99.

Sharp has announced the arrival of its first 3D Blu-ray player, the BD-HP0S.

The player is a smart-looking machine, which brings wireless LAN functionality – we're suspecting for BD Live capabilities – and is a slimeline device which has been designed to stand vertical.

The 3D Blu-ray player compliments Sharp's first foray into 3D, with the Quattron 3D TV - both of which were announced at IFA 2010.

Best picture

Sharp is promising that the BD-HP0S delivers "the best picture quality in both 3D and 2D."

But TechRadar will be the judge of that when it gets a hands-on with the device later today.

Sharp has announced that it will only be selling the BD-HPOS in Europe originally, but it sounds like this will be expanded into other territories in 2011.

For now, though, the UK has first dibs with the BD-HP0S given a UK release date of November 2010, where it will be priced at £379.99.

In TechRadar's weekly look at up-and-coming Blu-rays which every audiovisual head needs, we traipse through the dark and deadly territory of Se7en.

Back when Brad Pitt wasn't just known as Angelina Jolie's play thing, when Morgan Freeman didn't just play Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey was a relatively unknown actor who excelled at portraying mentalists, Se7en was a breath of putrid air for the movie industry.

Director David Fincher managed to pull off the ultimate whodunit detective story with one of the best twist endings ever seen.

And it gave us all a catchphrase for when we open our Christmas pressies. 'What's in the box,' indeed.

Disc-ussion

Se7en is finally making its way to Blu-ray and Home Cinema Choice – part of the TechRadar network – have managed to get their hands on the disc and are mightily impressed by what they have seen (and heard).

"Fans of Fincher's 1995 masterpiece are going to be blown away by Warner's Blu-ray release," said Anton van Beek, News Editor for HCC.

"Not only does this BD50 pack in pretty much all of the bonus materials from New Line's two-disc Platinum Edition US DVD release (including four commentaries, deleted scenes, extensive art and photo galleries, and even the featurettes looking at the video and audio remastering for that release), but Fincher himself has overseen a great brand-new transfer."

It's a sin

The transfer for the film has been completely re-done since the DVD version, with van Beek noting: "Unlike the oddly green-tinted remaster that appeared on DVD, the new VC-1 2.40:1 1080p encode has been completely overhauled to deliver an image that is much more in-keeping with the original CCE silver retention process that was used on the initial first-run prints during the film's cinema release.

"And if all of that ain't enough for you, then there's also a thunderous DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix to give your speaker system one hell of a workout."

To prove how good the transfer is, HCC has posted some high-res images of the film, taken straight from the Blu-ray. They are so good, you can pretty much read every word in John Doe's diaries.

Get your self over to hcc.techradar.com now to see for yourself.

The Blu-ray version of Se7en has a UK release date of 25 October and will be priced at £17.99.

Sharp has become the first manufacturer in the world to release a 100GB Blu-ray disc, which is part of the new BDXL format.

Using triple-layer technology, the disc can pack in a mighty 100GB of content, which is double the size of a normal Blu-ray.

The discs are a little pricey, at 5,000 yen a pop (£37) but they do mean that you will be able to store around 9 hours of HD content on a single disc.

Super Sharp shooter

Unfortunately the discs can't be used in normal Blu-ray players (well they might work but Sharp isn't guaranteeing it) so you will have to buy equipment supporting the BDXL format – which is mostly made by Sharp at the moment.

Although the 100GB disc will be the first BDXL disc on the market, it is soon to be followed by its even bigger brother – the quad-layer 128GB BDXL.

It sounds impressive but this will definitely be a format that's for the very early adopter.

There's no word if it will come to the UK, either, but if you are Japan-bound then expect to see the BDXL discs in the shops as of 30 July.

Steve Jobs has once again spoken candidly about his disdain for Blu-ray, explaining to a MacRumors reader in an email that the hi-def discs will be "beaten by internet downloadable formats".

Jobs, who seems to be responding to all emails at the moment including ones that begin with 'Dear respected one', showed he still has a bone to pick with Blu-ray, by refusing to believe the format was worthy of inclusion in Apple's latest Mac Mini range.

In the email, he noted: "Bluray [sic] is looking more and more like one of the high end audio formats that appeared as the successor to the CD – like it will be beaten by Internet downloadable formats."

Okay, so it's not quite as vitriolic as his 'bag of hurt' rant, but it seems he is still not convinced by Blu-ray.

All about convenience

After the MacRumors' reader replied saying that this may be true for the long term but not medium term, Jobs came back with: "No, free, instant gratification and convenience (likely in that order) is what made the downloadable formats take off.

"And the downloadable movie business is rapidly moving to free (Hulu) or rentals (iTunes) so storing purchased movies or TV shows is not an issue.

"I think you may be wrong - we may see a fast broad move to streamed free and rental content at sufficient quality (at least 720p) to win almost everyone over."

Does Jobs know something we don't know? Has he really got an Blu-ray killer stuffed in his polo neck somewhere?

We're not convinced that iTunes rentals will kill off Blu-rays just yet.

Tesco is to launch a Digital Locker initiative which is set to take on iTunes in the UK.

Announced at the Futuresource Entertainment Summit in London, Home Cinema Choice – part of the TechRadar network – has exclusively revealed that the supermarket giant is to bring the digital service in the UK, which allows you to consume the media you buy on any device.

Play anywhere

Richard Bron, CEO of Blueprint Digital, who is working on the project with Tesco, said about the service: "The way it would work practically is that when you buy a disc in store or online, that title would be put up into your Digital Locker which would immediately be accessible from device registered to that locker."

It is this "buy the title not the format" mentality that he hopes consumers and industry alike will respond to.

The idea of a Digital Locker is not new. Disney is planning to do a similar thing but, in its own saccharine way, is calling it a Keychest.

The service would also urge more people to buy their music and movies from Tesco.

Although the logistics of the scheme are yet to be finalised, Bron did note that "devices would need to be registered, so that the device can be authenticated by a clearing house to prove that it is that person, and is content they own.

"The content could then be either streamed or downloaded to that device, whenever or wherever they are."

October launch?

The Digital Locker would be tied up to Tesco's Clubcard database and is looking to launch as early as October, with Bron explaining: "I think we will see over the 15 months thereafter, retailers working together to make life easier for consumers.

"Retailers realise that while they compete on price, it doesn't make sense for them to be selling titles digitally that don't work on devices that other retailers may sell."

As for the Locker having DRM, it seems that Tesco wants it to be open, with Bron suggesting: "There are lots of retailers selling discs. We don't want to have a situation where a customer can buy a disc at HMV, Play and Tesco and only be able to access that content centrally on one title."

Blu-ray sales in Europe are looking better than ever, with new figures suggesting that the format has almost doubled in popularity in a year.

In Q1 of 2010, Blu-ray sales managed to increase by 94 per cent year on year, with 8.4 million discs sold, according to new figures released by the Digital Entertainment Group Europe.

This meant that consumers spent a cool 151.4 million Euros on the format. This is similar to what happened in 2009, where sales of Blu-ray increased by 109 per cent.

Riding the wave of success

Blu-ray has still got a long way to go to match DVD sales, however. In the same timeframe 135 million DVDs were sold, which is a slight drop of 1.7 per cent.

Money wise this equates to a massive 1.3 billion Euros.

Overall this meant that combined disc units sold was up 3.8 per cent.

Speaking about the increase, Yves Caillaud, senior vice president of Warner Home Video said: "Blu-ray has continued to ride the wave of success at the start of 2010 and it is promising to see consumers respond well to the format.

"The industry is providing consumers with the most innovative and enjoyable home entertainment experiences, and we expect sales to increase as the penetration of HDTVs continues to accelerate."

This is all good news, but surely those betting big on Blu-ray will be a little concerned that the humble DVD is still outselling the format by 10 to one?

The entertainment industry will be hoping that another Avatar-like success will be just around the corner.

There's no doubting that Avatar has been a phenomenal success on Blu-ray, breaking every record in its path, but this success has meant it has earned itself the dubious title of 'the most pirated Blu-ray film ever'.

According to TorrentFreak, since Avatar's release BitTorrent sites have been awash with torrents for Avatar, with the film clocking 200,000 downloads in the first four days.

This is comparably low when you look at it in relation to DVD piracy, but this may well be down to the massive file sizes Blu-ray needs.

UK pirates

And who is to blame for this pirating? Well, it seems that the UK and Australia have been the most prolific. This is being put down to envy, in that the US got hold of Avatar on Blu-ray first, so us Brits decided to download the movie rather than wait for the official UK release date.

Twentieth Century Fox won't be too concerned about the piracy. Avatar has already sold more than twice the amount of Blu-rays that The Dark Knight did and it looks likely to be the disc to bring the Blu-ray format to the mainstream.

That said, Fox will no doubt be actively looking into ways to stop this sort of piracy from happening again. It does seem pretty straightforward, though – make the release date of a Blu-ray the same the world over.

Today marks the biggest day ever in the UK home entertainment calendar, as it sees the launch of Avatar on Blu-ray.

Retailers are crossing all their fingers and toes that the launch of Avatar's Blu-ray launch will catapult the format into the stratosphere, kick-starting a buying spree which won't stop until the 'next big' format hits the shops and then… well, the whole format fight starts all over again.

There's no doubt that Avatar will be a success in the home, considering it's already broken all records in the US, proving to be far more popular than the other Cameron who is a big supporter of all things blue.

And there is no denying that Avatar is a supernova of a film, something the box office will not likely see again for another 10 years. But its arrival on Blu-ray can only be seen as a cynical attempt to cash in on the film's unbridled success in the cinema.

Not that the likes of Tescos, Asda and HMV would tell you this. If press releases are to be believed, stores opened at midnight to cope with the Avatar madness, staff learned Na'vi to promote the movie and Asda cringingly told the press that it "expects customers will be literally turning blue to get their hands on a copy".

Ratio ga-ga

Retailers want Avatar to ape the success of The Matrix on DVD some 10 years ago – a moment that pushed DVD in the mainstream, where it remains today.

Cut beneath the hyperbole, though, and you will see that the launch of Avatar on Blu-ray is a vanilla one, in that there are no extras of note on the disc. All you get is the movie and it's the 2D version at that.

Watching Avatar in 2D is doing the film a massive disservice. There has been a lot of rumblings that films not shot specifically for 3D don't actually look that great in the third dimension – we're looking at you Alice In Wonderland and Clash of the Titans – but Avatar is meant to be seen in 3D, as it was built from the ground up to cater for the technology.

The problem is that the home is just not ready for 3D just yet. Yes, there's a smattering of 3D ready TVs and 3D Blu-ray players are also trickling out. But if Twentieth Century Fox waited for 3D in the home to be mainstream until it launched Avatar in this format then, well, we may never see the film come out in the UK at all.

Fox knows this and that is why we are seeing this release now, but the signs are all there that this is one film that just doesn't sit well in the home environment.

And it's not just the lack of 3D. Cameron in an interview last year announced his dislike (in a roundabout way) of the 1.78:1 aspect ratio for 2D movies.

Speaking at a preview snippet of Avatar at the Santa Monica Aero Theatre (and noted by SlashFilm) he said: "I'm actually going back on years of kind of eschewing the kind of 1.85 format, now saying 1.85 - or actually, it's 1.78:1 - actually works really well in 3D. But only in 3D."

A quick look at the release of Avatar in 2D shows that the movie is presented in 1.78:1 for the Blu-ray release.

Cameron cannot be a happy bunny.

Big ideas

James Cameron has said himself that Avatar belongs on the big screen, saying that when you watch the movie in the home but when you do you should: "Go big. Get the biggest set you can, and then sit as close as you can stand. That's my advice. Get the coffee table out of the way and slide the couch over, right in front of the TV."

The annoying thing is Cameron is an advocate for Blu-ray.

He's obviously eager to get the movie into homes in its 3D version but Fox has sniffed that there is money to be made and that's why we have this barebones release now.

If you really want to see Avatar in the home, then our advice is to wait till November when a special edition DVD and Blu-ray 3D release will arrive in the shops - a version that shows off the true potential of Blu-ray and isn't a cynical money spinner.

Unless you are "literally turning blue" to see the film, then we suggest you go and see a doctor.

Blu-ray may have not had the dominance in the home entertainment market the world was expecting, but it does look as if the HD discs are starting to gain in popularity.

New stats from the BVA (the British Video Association, not the British Veterinary Association as that would be silly) have revealed that BD sales this year have completely out classed what went on in 2009.

So far, in 2010, there have been 2.7 million Blu-ray discs sold – a whopping 50 per cent increase from the same period last year.

This means that there have been 15.6 million discs sold since the formats launch.

Hoo-ray for Blu-ray

The BVA is obviously very excited by this, with marketing manager Hannah Conduct noting: "While it is fantastic to see such strong growth in market volumes in the run up to Easter, the performance of Blu-ray is especially impressive."

"Growing sales show that the benefits of the format – higher picture quality, superior sound, and an ever-expanding range of titles – are better understood than ever before. The strong sales reflect consumer confidence in Blu-ray."

The price of Blu-ray discs is still at a premium but those savvy enough to look for a bargain can certainly find cheaper discs around. It's definitely not on a par price-wise with DVDs but if consumers keep splurging on Blu-rays the way they seem to be at the moment, then prices will soon slide.

Couple this with the soon to be released 3D Blu-ray format and things are looking very rosy indeed.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has announced the release date of its first 3D Blu-ray movie Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, the first studio to do so.

Surprisingly, the release is happening in Germany first and not the US, with the disc penned in for 1 June release.

There will also be a 2D version available for those who have not yet jumped on the 3D bandwagon.

June release

The release marks the first time a 3D Blu-ray disc will be commercially available. Samsung did pip Sony to the post by bundling Monsters Vs Aliens with its 3D TV range but this disc is so far only exclusively available to Samsung owners.

The 3D Blu-ray release date is threadbare for this year, with only a trickle of titles available to those with 3D sets.

But the release of Meatballs is a significant one for Sony as it comes at around the same time that the company's free 3D firmware update is to be piped into PlayStation 3s all over the world and the latest Sony Blu-ray players.

Price isn't right

The 3D Blu-ray version of Meatballs – or to give it its sexy German name Wolkig Mit Aussicht Auf Flesiscbaellchen – has also been priced and will be a full €9 more expensive than its 2D counterpart, at €28.99.

Considering there hasn't been a significant drop in prices for normal Blu-ray discs, expect this price premium to come to the UK, too.

Nobody said that this 3D malarkey was going to be cheap.

At the UK launch of Panasonic's VT20 plasma 3D TV series, TechRadar was also given the opportunity to see the company's Freeview HD / Blu-ray recorders in action – the DMR-BW880 and the DMR-BW870.

With Freeview only officially launching this week, it meant that we were among the first to see what restrictions are being put into place by the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 to make sure their HD content isn't pirated.

This is a real concern for broadcasters as, with devices like Panasonic's recorder, it is easy to rip the HD content from the Freeview signal and burn it to disc.

Panasonic wants you to use its machines for personal archiving purposes – as you would a DVD recorder – but it does seem that some restrictions have been put into place to stop you from making multiple copies.

From the demo given, it was shown that all of the HD broadcasters for Freeview HD will be using a Copy Once system when it comes to burning Blu-ray discs, but not for all of their content.

Interestingly, the BBC is being the most lenient with its protection, with a Panasonic spokesperson explaining that the broadcaster is only going to use the Copy Once option for its premium programmes like Doctor Who, which will eventually come out on Blu-ray.

As a system it is not perfect – say the copying fails halfway through, what happens then? – but at least it shows that there won't be complete restriction for copying shows to Blu-ray.

No restrictions will be put into place for standard-def content, so this really is a quality issue.

Interestingly, as the DMR-BW870 and DMR-BW880 have the ability to stream video to other DLNA devices, it won't allow this to happen unless you use an encrypted signal.

The BBC is still wrangling with Ofcom over copy protection, so this may change in the future. But, for now, you will be able to archive Freeview HD content without fear that you are breaking the law.

Blu-ray players have made it into the UK's inflation shopping basket, the hypothetical collection of goods which highlight consumer spending habits.

The hi-def disc spinners have been included in the mix of what we are spending our hard-earned on as they "capture price changes in this new expanding technology."

We're guessing that the changes mean that the price of players is rapidly coming down, so everyday consumers are now starting to purchase players and not just early adopters.

Ch-ch-changes

Other bits of technology which have been added to the 'shopping basket' are computer games' accessories, something the report call a "relatively new market".

Hair straighteners and tongs are also included – interestingly these goods replace the hair dryer.

Other than a hairdryer, the only other piece of technology which has dropped out of the basket is a disposable camera. This is "due to decreasing expenditure as digital compact cameras and mobile phone photography become increasingly popular".

Other goods to drop out include pitta bread (in its place is the far more exotic garlic bread), fizzy drinks for fruit drinks and, wait for it, liquid soap is now preferred to individual bars of toilet soap.

We're hoping that broadband implants and the iPhone HD make it into 2011's list.

The Samsung BD-C6900 is the beating heart of Samsung's 3D ecosystem. First unveiled at CES 2010, the Blu-ray player is a sleek-looking machine that's been given a slightly see-through chassis.

You get a feeling that Samsung has made it transparent so that consumers can peer into the system and see the next-gen technology that is on-board.

As you would expect from a Blu-ray player of this calibre, the C6900 has a number of innovative features.

These include Profile 2.0 connect, Internet@TV connection, DLNA connectivity and 1GB of local storage.

The 3D aspect of the Blu-ry player means it will be able to spin upcoming 3D Blu-ray movies. The first of which, Monsters Vs Aliens, will be bundled with the player.

Annoyingly, however, active shutter glasses will not be included in the package which means you will have to use the ones bundled with the company's first 3D TV – the U7000 series - or whichever company's TV you decide to go with.

This is no shock, considering that the company wants to create a home eco system for its 3D technology. But considering that only two pairs of specs will come with the TVs, you would hope for a few more when you purchase the C6900 as well.

Other features on the player include ultra fast play mode, 7.1 channel audio output (analogue) and USB ports.

Being that the C6900 is a 3D Blu-ray player, there HDMI port is HDMI 1.4.

Price-wise, Samsung has not confirmed but it looks like the BD-C6900 will retail for £349. Couple this with some glasses at up to £100 a pop and the setup is getting a little pricey.

Then again those early adopters who are going to get into 3D straight away will be used to paying a premium for new technology.

The Samsung BD-C6900 3D Blu-ray player has a UK release date of March.

Monsters Vs Aliens was outed as the world's first 3D Blu-ray disc at CES 2010 and now it has an official European release date.

The 3D Blu-ray is only available when you purchase a new Samsung TV or Blu-ray player and will have a UK release date of March 2010.

At Samsung's European press conference in Vienna, with TechRadar in attendance, the company announced that it is going head-first into 3D, being the first to market a 3D ecosystem which includes its U7000 televisions and its 3D blu-ray player, the BDP6900.

Not a novelty or niche

"3D is not a niche or novelty product for Samsung, that is why we have 20 3D TVs at launch and why we are first to market," said Samsung's Michael Zoller about Samsung's 3D plans.

Some were predicting/hoping that Avatar would be the first 3D Blu-ray, aping its success at the cinema for the home market.

While Monsters Vs Aliens doesn't have the draw of Avatar, it is great to see 3D Blu-rays coming to homes so soon, even if the technology to watch them is very much in its infancy,

Samsung's U7000, U8000 and U9000 series of 3D TVs use active-shutter technology. Samsung is also offering 3D in plasma form, with its PDP7000 range.

James Cameron has revealed that Avatar won't be getting a 3D Blu-ray release until November, confirming that the film will not be among the first movies released on the 3D home format.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Cameron announced that Avatar will get a special edition DVD and Blu-ray 3D release in the winter, but a standard non-3D version will hit shops – in the US at least – 22 April.

Fox-trot

It's a touch annoying that Fox has decided to do the dreadful double-dip on the film. This used to happen to DVDs every few years – special edition, extended edition, definitive edition, milking-the-cash-cow edition – but now it seems that distributors are happy to bring out various versions of a movie in the same year.

The last major release to get this sort of treatment was Watchmen.

A November release for the 3D version means that a number of 3D Blu-rays will be on the shelves first – including Monsters Vs Aliens and Cloudy, With A Chance Of Meatballs.

Panasonic, who helped Cameron with the equipment to film Avatar, recently showed off its Panasonic Viera TX-P50VT20 3D TV, which will be one of the first to hit the UK.

Panasonic has announced the arrival of its Full HD 3D Blu-ray player for Europe – the DMP-BDT300.

First shown off a CES 2010 (under the guise of the BDT350) the Blu-ray player is all prepared for whatever 3D content you wish to throw at it, with Panasonic promising it will bring "an unparalleled 3D experience with realistic and immersive sensation".

To make sure it gets the best out of your 3D discs, the player is powered by a UniPhier LSI chip which allows output of Full HD images in 1920x1080 resolutions in the frame-sequential method. This is what is needed for active shutter glasses to view 3D.

Connectivity

Alongside 3D capabilities, the DMP-BDT300 can upscale your normal DVDs and there's a multitude of technologies inside to combat jitter and the like.

The BDT300 has a 0.5 second boot-up time and there's also connectivity to the Viera Cast and DLNA compatibility.

Connections include two HDMI ports (1.4) and integrated SD card slot and USB ports. Audio comes in the form of a 7.1 channel analogue out.

There's no DMP-BDT300 UK release date or price just yet, but we're spending time with Panasonic in Munich this week so expect details shortly.

Panasonic's full-scale assault on the 3D Blu-ray market looks to be in full swing, with four new 3D Full HD compatible Blu-ray players announced.

The imaginatively titled MP-BDT900-K, DMR-BWT3000, DMR-BWT2000 and DMR-BWT1000 were spotted at the Tokyo International Forum and come packed with features.

The most interesting feature being that the T3000, T2000 and T1000 all moonlight as Blu-ray recorders and house a meaty amount of disk-space: 2TB, 1TB and 750GB respectively.

Blu-ray burning

The machines have Viera-link on-board, two HDMI ports (the T1000 has one) and there's even a component output on the T900.

The recorders will be able to burn BD-R discs at 6x speed, while BD-RE discs will be burned in real-time.

As these are Tokyo bound, there is no word on them reaching the UK. But the technology inside does give a glimpse as what we should expect to see when Panasonic release a 3D-ready Blu-ray player later this year.

Blu-rays and DVDs could well be set for a price hike after it was announced that the cost of procurement prices for polycarbonate is set to rise.

Polycarbonate is found everything from water bottles to sunglasses, but it is a key ingredient in creating Blu-rays, CDs and DVDs.

According to Digitimes, if prices for the material increase throughout the first quarter of the year then manufacturers will have to up their quotes.

High price

There is a silver lining in that to counteract the price hike that is inevitably to come from Taiwanese manufacturers, retailers in the Taiwan market have increased the amount of discs they have been purchasing – meaning that if there is a price increase we shouldn't see it in the shops for some time to come.

Blu-ray prices have stayed consistently high since the format's launch, so any price hike at this stage would be a major blow. Especially considering disc-based media is already fighting off the internet and the rise of the digital copy.