Sony fights back with new Blu-ray player

Philip Wong | Jun 04, 2007

Ain't it sweet to have healthy competition? Merely weeks after Toshiba fired its first HD-DVD salvo in Asia, Sony is now countering the threat with its second local Blu-ray release. Joining the S$799 (US$587.50) PlayStation 3 and S$1,999 (US$1,469.85) Samsung BD-P1000 is an enhanced version of its first-generation BDP-S1 standalone Blu-ray player.

Editors' note:

The Sony BDP-S1E has just been launched in Hong Kong at a recommended retail price of HK$7,980 (S$1,564). On a separate note, expect the US$599 BDP-S300 to hit Asia's shores some time in Q4 2007.

Easily the sexiest HD player among the next-generation DVD cohorts, the souped-up BDP-S1E now offers HDMI version 1.3 and wide color gamut support (xvYCC technology). The former outputs native Dolby Digital, Digital Plus and DTS-HD audio for outboard surround sound decoding, while delivering film-centric 24Hz 1080p video for enhanced visual performance.

Those on A/V receivers and processors without HDMI will also get to enjoy CD-quality Dolby and DTS sound. This is possible with the player's onboard decoder and analog multichannel audio outputs, a feature lacking in its own PS3 and lower-end models. Though pricing was not available at press time, expect the S1E to ship throughout Asia Pacific from July.

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