HD DVD player comes to CompUSA

I-O Data Device USA Inc. this week announced retail availability of its AVeL LinkPlayer2, a high-definition DVD player and networked digital media player. On Aug. 1, the player will be sold at CompUSA stores nationwide for $249 (customers can also receive a mail-in coupon for one HDNet video title with qualifying purchase of the player).

The LinkPlayer2 includes 1080i/780p HD video playback (1,920 by 1,080 resolution), and supports a multitude of media file formats, including MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG2-TS, MPEG-4, DivX, XviD, and Windows Media Video 9. For audio files, the system supports MP3, AAC, Windows Media Audio, PCM, and Ogg Vorbis. For photos, the system can display JPEG, BMP, GIF and PNG images. The player also reads media from CDs, DVDs, USB memory sticks, USB hard drives, digital cameras, memory card readers, iPods, MP3 players and Windows, Macintosh and Linux PCs.

The company also announced support for Sling Media's Slingbox – when the LinkPlayer2 is connected to a Slingbox, customers can view and control all of the home entertainment content connected to the LinkPlayer2. Requirements for the Slingbox support include a computer with Windows XP or 2000, SlingPlayer version 1.2 or later, and a 256Kbps upstream speed.

• home entertainment
• Ogg Vorbis