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Panasonic Intros 4K Blu-ray Players

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Panasonic sets to take advantage of the growing 4K market with the CES 2017 launch of a trio of UHD Blu-ray players-- the DMP-UB400, UB310 and UB300.

Panasonic UB300All models feature dual HDMI outputs, 4K Netflix streaming support and compatibility with high-resolution audio formats such as WAV, FLAC, ALAC and DSD (5.6MHz/2.8MHz). The UB400 also includes vacuum tube listening modes with 96kHz/192kHz upsampling. All players feature wifi connectivity except for the UB300.

Powering the players is the HCX (Hollywood Cinema Experience) processor, a 4K image engine developed by Panasonic Hollywood Labs. It upsamples native 4K/24p 4:2:0 Blu-ray discs to 4:4:4 4K/60p with 4:2:2 colour upsampling. Panasonic says colour accuracy remains high during upsampling, since it uses a "multi-tap process" to compare a number of pixels in additional to those in the upper and lower positions, creating optimal pixels.

Meanwhile a 4K Direct Chroma upscaling process produces 4K-quality images from 2K content, while a new viewing mode promises to "faithfully reproduce dark and bright areas regardless of viewing environment."

The above mentioned Panasonic players should hit the market on Q2 2017.

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