Earlier this year we reported on an announcement from Vizio that would see 1080p “wireless HD” integrated into its new range of LCDs, and we’ve now got some information on the set-top boxes that will offer a similar array of support. Three new Blu-ray players have been announced, with the VBR210 and VBR220 utilizing 802.11n single-band 2.4GHz wireless and the more powerful VBR231 upgrading this to dual-band for improved reliability, making it the first dual-band Blu-ray player.
The key support for the new hardware centers around VIZIO’s Internet Apps (VIA) platform, which provides a range of on-demand content including HD movies, TV shows, music, photos and social networking, streamed right to your TV.
Other online services like VUDU, Pandora and Netflix are supported and media content can be streamed around the home from a computer or media center hub with support for the latest standards including Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, and DTS HD audio formats.
“Customers want a simple high quality experience when they stream entertainment content to their home theater system.” said Laynie Newsome, VIZIO Chief Sales Officer and Co-founder. “VIZIO Internet Apps enables these freedoms by focusing on Wireless connectivity — our new High definition Wireless Internet Router and Dual Band High Definition Blu-ray players are the perfect complement, Consumers want to stream high definition videos and high quality audio from the Internet and VIZIO has designed a simple easy to use experience.”
Additionally a dual-band HD wireless router (the XWR100) promises improved performance for these tasks by prioritising traffic to VIA devices, improving buffer times and cutting down on delays.
The router will cost US$99.99 and is slated for release in Q3, the single-band players cost US$189.99 and are available now, with the dual-band VBR231 at US$199 arriving some time in July.
