Lots of New Blu-ray Disc Players Hitting Stores Now

 

Well, as we go into the 4th quarter a lot of new Blu-ray players are hitting the streets in time for the holidays. 

Some of the players in stores now are:

• Sony BDP-S500 ($699) -- profile 1.0 -- a higher end sibling of the S300 with advanced bitstream audio output
• Sony BDP-S2000ES ($1299) -- profile 1.0 -- same specs as the S500 only with separate audio and video circuitry for the maximum in quality and a more substantial ES chasis
• Sony HES-V1000 ($3499) -- profile 1.0 -- the ultimate toy for the man/woman who has everything -- a 200-disc Home Media Server, that plays and records onto Blu-ray discs, DVDs, and CDs -- also has a large hard drive for recording/playback of various media types
• Pioneer Elite BDP-95HD ($999) -- profile 1.0 -- a minor refresh of Pioneer's BDP-94HD player, now with support for bitstream audio output

Some of the players due soon:

• Panasonic DMP-BD30 (rumored at $499) -- rumored profile 1.1 -- though its due out very soon, not much is known about the upcoming Panasonic player -- it looks like it may be the first profile 1.1 player to hit the market, however -- if so, this will be the standalone player to beat this season
• Sony PS3 40GB ($399) -- should be upgradeable to profile 1.1 -- Due on November 2, Sony's new scaled-back PS3 model may lack PS2 game compatibility, but the Blu-ray Disc playback is still second-to-none
• Sharp Aquos BD-HP20S (lexpected at $499) -- profile 1.0 -- Sharp may be late out of the gate with their first Blu-ray Disc player, but if the price comes in below expected it could be a serious competitor
• LG BH200 (expected at $999) -- profile 1.1 -- LG reaffirms their "neutral" stance with their second Blu-ray Disc/HD DVD combo player -- this model, however, features profile 1.1 compatibility as well as full HDi compatibility on HD DVD discs
• Samsung Duo BD-UP5000 ($1049) -- profile 1.1 -- Samsung will be challenging LG's dual format player with one of their own this Christmas -- given Samsung's experience in making Blu-ray players, this could turn out to be quite a player for those on the fence in the "format war"
• Denon DVD-3808DCI and DVD-2500BTCI ($1999 and unknown) -- profile 1.1 -- Though various reports indicate these may not make it onto store shelves in time for Christmas, Denon still says that they should be out in the nick of time -- both players are 1.1 compliant, with the 3808 model beinf a full featured player, and the 2500 model being a "transport" that lacks the ability to decode advanced audio formats, but can still pass them through its HDMI connection to a compatible receiver

For those interested in any of these players, more information on these and all other U.S. players can be found here.