Sony announces cheaper Blu-ray player ~ $599...due this summer...

Seattle Post-Intelligencer ^ | Monday, February 26, 2007 · Last updated 10:55 a.m. PT | PETER SVENSSON AP TECHNOLOGY WRITER

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

NEW YORK -- Sony Corp. said Monday it is bringing out a cheaper player for Blu-ray discs early this summer, a crucial step in its battle to make the high-definition format the replacement for DVDs.

The BDP-S300 will cost $599, yet will have the same capabilities as the $999 BDP-S1 Sony is currently selling, said Randy Waynick, senior vice president of the home products division of Sony Electronics.

Sony and Samsung Corp., which also makes a Blu-ray player, have been undersold by Toshiba Corp.'s players for the rival HD DVD format. Toshiba has a model on the market for $499.

However, sales of players for either format have been tepid, as consumers have stood back, waiting for the market to settle on one of the discs.

Most people buying high-definition discs are apparently doing so to play them on PlayStation 3 game consoles. There are two versions of the console, for $499 and $599, and Sony sold 1.8 million units last year.

"Eighty percent of people who buy a PS3 also buy Blu-ray movies to go with it," Waynick told reporters at a meeting here.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

fyi

[aft_lizard]

THis is why I am waiting, heck by this time during christmas we might see players in the 300 dollar range.

[mewzilla]

Oh, cheez whiz. I didn't even know there was such a thing as blu-ray. Is this like the whole cassette tape and 8-tracks, VHS and Beta thingie?

[MadIvan]

This is like the Betamax versus VHS fight all over again - time to just wait.

Regards, Ivan

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Still too expensive when a DVD player will do.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

The Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD is being compared to VHS vs. Betamax.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Looks that way to me too...

[mewzilla]

Thanks. Aaaaaargh. Reminds me of that quote from John Hurt's cameo in Spaceballs...."Oh, no, not again!"

[mainepatsfan]

Agreed.

[Shimmer128]

Oh good, cheap, i'll buy two. (not)

:D

[agent_delta]

Pang

[Dixie Yooper]

As the once proud owner of a Beta VCR, I will wait until one them is officially pronounced dead before I buy either one.

[Freeport]

Nope. Current CD / DVD systems use Red or Infra-red lasers to make / read tracks. Blue-ray makes use of a new (A few years old now) blue-purple laser and new media.

What's the big deal... It's the lasers operating frequency, laser dot size on the media, and storage media. But the bigger deal of the three is the frequency.

Since blue lights frequency is about 50% higher than red lights, the amount of data you can store in the same space is about double. Add that to the other two changes and where a DVD can store about 4.7 GB of information, the Blu-ray can store, for starters, about 25 GB (The technology can supposedly go up into the 40+ GB area).

Here's a reasonable explanation:
http://www.cd-writer.com/blu_ray_faq.html

[goldstategop]

Save $370 and get the Opp HD-981 upconverting DVD player. It will display standard DVDs in 1080p format and play a lot of other video formats as well. But if you want to spend the extra money on Blu-Ray, go right ahead. Sony is betting you don't know a superior upconverting DVD player already exists.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[Vigilanteman]

If you haven't seen Sony's Blu-ray up close, you owe it to yourself to go to a Sony Store in your area (or even a Best Buy type outlet which stocks Blu-ray) and compare it to the HD format (which Sony also supports).

The detail and quality are a slam-dunk in favor of the Blu-ray format. Of course, if you are going to be watching talking heads like Helen Thomas, I'd stick with a 1958 9" black and white.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

ROFL!

[rattrap]

Why don't you just send me $600 instead of throwing it away.

[agent_delta]

What did you do with last month's check?

toetappy

[rattrap]

booze and hookers