Just yesterday I posted a brief update on some various tidbits relating to Dune HD. After digging around, I was able to come up with a little more information that I thought would be worth posting about.
Dune Base 3D, TV303D, and Zappiti Player
- You can now pre order these models over at Duneplayer.com. The site lists the Zappiti player but I don’t think it is up yet on the site
- One thing you may wonder, what is the difference (aside from form factor) between the Base 3D and the TV303D? Well, from what I can tell it appears the one main difference is the TV303D will not support HD Audio. It is not clear however what that means, will it only support just downmix to stereo of HD Audio? My guess this would be the case. The price difference is $100 so it really comes down to how important HD Audio support is. I could see the Base 3D being the player in your main viewing / home theater area with the 303D being great for a bedroom or as a secondary player. Either way I should have a TV303D here soon to test
Dune Max 3D
- It will be based on an Intel chip, but the final chip that will be used will not be determined until they get closer to launch
- It is NOT an HTPC. XBMC is simply being used as purely the front end, there will be a separate playback engine that will handle playback of all file types (so disregard anything you know about how XBMC handles file playback)
- There will be an optical disc that will be Cinavia enforced. This will affect people who are looking to play back copied discs (physical).
- There will be a separate playback engine for files. The question is really how unencrypted rips (i.e. BR ISOs or BR folder rips) would be treated. Would they flow through the Blu Ray engine (which would mean Cinavia) or would they bypass this (either via the alternate file playback engine or simply bypass the Cinavia checks if unencrypted).
- Price expected to be in the $500-700 range and expected release of Late Q2 / early Q3
Article by Damian
Hi, my name is Damian, and I'm tech gadget addict! Although I always had some interest in technology, it wasn't until I got my EX470 and more importantly found Mediasmartserver.net, that my interest became an addiction. My goal, aside from world domination and to see the Mets/Broncos win another championship, is to set up the perfect digital home where all my media is available at the click of a button. When I am not writing for Mediasmartserver.net you can find me over at my blog at http://www.adigitalhomeblog.com or follow me on twitter
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Read this one too. 700 bones is a tough pill to swallow.
Figure it is about 3.5 adults (each adult has about 200 bones). Of course you could go the infant route (I think they have slightly more), but either way I agree with you. Keeping it where I only needed one human would be easier to manage …
I guess it really comes down to what bells & whistles are in it. There will be a BR Rom drive as well, so that brings the cost up (Maybe if successful they would consider making a cheaper version without the drive, smaller chassis, etc…)?
It is nice that at least with Dune you would now have some good options between the less expensive Sigma series and I guess you could consider the Intel a “premium” series
Hi there, I got the Dune 303D, DTS-HDMA & Dolby True HD lighted up on my onkyo 606. I m using docking bay connected to the USB port of the Dune 303D
Agreed, same h ere. I hope to have my TV303D review up next week