Sony to deliver cheaper Blu-ray player

BDP-S300 will have enhanced capabilities for lower price than earlier model

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 2/26/2007

FEB. 26 | By this summer, Sony will street a second and cheaper Blu-ray player than its fall 2006 debut model.

Expected to sell for about $600 at retail, Sony’s BDP-S300 model will be about two-thirds the price of the company’s first Blu-ray player, the $999-priced BDP-S1. Exact street dates have not been determined.

For the most part, the BDP-S300 is nearly equal to the BDP-S1. Both output 1080p high-definition video, the highest resolution available through an HDMI connection. Both also upconvert standard-definition DVDs to high-definition video.

One key difference is that the BDP-S300 allows for CD playback, an option that is absent in the BDP-S1. Additionally, the BDP-S300 supports BD-ROM and BD-Java playback.

However, the BDP-S300 won’t be able to showcase BD Live material through a broadband Internet connection. Blu-ray backers have long touted the ability to frequently refresh BD discs with Internet-delivered content as crucial to ultimately attracting mainstream consumers to the format.

Internet connectivity comes standard in all of Toshiba’s stand-alone HD DVD players. At this point, few stand-alone Blu-ray players contain that feature. Yet Sony’s PlayStation 3 does allow for BD Live content.

Still, Sony officials bet the value proposition of the BDP-S300, with its enhanced capabilities and more attractive price point compared to Sony’s earlier model, will expand high-def consumer adoption.

“We plan to continue leading the Blu-ray Disc charge with products for the home that exceed consumer expectations and fulfill Sony’s vision for [a high-def] world,” said Jeff Goldstein, VP of marketing for Sony Electronics Home Products Division.

Crave questions whether this new player has more value than the Blu-ray-enabled PlayStation 3.