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Thursday, 15 June, 2006

Blu-ray player launched in US by Samsung

Samsung has announced that retailers will be selling its Blu-ray disc player in the US from 25th June for around $1,000.

The Blu-ray player, BD-P1000, will allow consumers to view high definition discs on their existing HDTVs, getting closer to a cinematic experience.

A Blu-ray disc is a next-generation optical disc format meant for high-density storage of high-definition video and data, offering close to five times the resolution of conventional DVDs.

Jim Sanduski, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Samsung’s Audio and Video Products Group, said; “The emergence of Blu-ray is an enormous boon for HDTV owners, video enthusiasts, and for those who actively seek the best picture and sound possible in their home theater.”

“Until now, there hasn’t been a pre-recorded media solution for consumers to take full advantage of the pristine picture their HDTVs are capable of producing. As the first company to deliver a Blu-ray player in the US market, Samsung has reinforced its commitment to provide our consumers with the most riveting and innovative home theater experience possible.”

The Samsung BD-P1000 plays Blu-ray discs at the highest resolution available via a native 1080p HDMI output for films digitally mastered in 1920 x 1080p. The BD-P1000 also up-converts conventional DVDs to 1080p through the HDMI digital interface. The BD-P1000 is backwards compatible and plays standard DVDs and CDs in addition to supporting all DVD formats including, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+RW, and DVD+R.

Connectivity includes HDMI, Component, S-video and composite outputs. Supported audio formats include: Dolby Digital & Dolby Digital Plus, DTS, MP3 and 192KHz LPCM.

The launch of the Samsung BD-P1000 coincides with a major influx of Blu-ray content. Seven of the eight major movie studios have already announced titles for Blu-ray, with the initial line-up of recent hits as well as classics, expected to grow to more than 200 titles by year end.