Samsung announces 1080i Blu-ray player for April

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Posted by	Dan Bell
Posted on	06/01/06 14:21
Number of views	620

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Samsung announces 1080i Blu-ray player for April

We did post a press release yesterday on this, but now we have an semi-official launch date. Most of the manufacturers are thinking of putting their Blu-ray players on the market around mid 2006. However, Samsung announced at the CES yesterday, that they have a player that they will provide in April. However, it will not support 1080p, only 720p and 1080i. Actually, it really isn't the end of the world as very few of us out there have a 1080p home theater display and 1080i is much more affordable and therefore common. They figure it will set you back about one thousand dollars. If you think that is a little high, take look at Pioneers 1080p offering, coming 3 months later.

The BD-P1000 player will cost US$1,000 and will be able to output high-definition video on an HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) at 720p and 1080i (720 lines progressive scanning and 1,080 lines interlaced scanning) resolutions. That's the same as the Toshiba players and means that both first-generation high-definition optical disc players won't be able to output a signal at 1080p, which is considered the best of several high-definition picture standards.

Samsung didn't implement 1080p support in the interest of speeding up development.

'It allows us to get to market quicker, and so as we look at future models we'll look at 1080p output," said Jim Sanduski, senior vice president of marketing for Samsung Electronics America Inc.'s digital and audio products group, speaking to reporters at CES.

For the full 1080p picture, consumers will have to wait until the middle of the year for Pioneer Corp. to launch a Blu-ray Disc player. It will cost US$1,800, the company said Wednesday.

The BD-1000 features an HDMI output and features backwards compatibility with standard DVD formats (DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD RW, and DVD+R). Unfortunately, the release date of the player may be a bit premature as the Blu-ray spec is still in need of an interface, so you can navigate the content for the players when it becomes available. Blu-ray decided to develop a Java based system, but we have yet to see this become finalized. This could delay the launch of the Samsung player, the java system is predicted to be ready in "late March" and as a matter of fact, this is why Samsung decided on the April date for the BD-P1000. In the meantime, start saving your pennies.

Source: Mac World

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Posted by ORYST on Friday 06 January 2006 15:23

you know they really think that when we walk down the street money is just falling out of our pockets,,what about the average guy like me who has an average home theater system,no plasma,no lcd,but a nice 32inch regular tv,this is just prime for me,i need to take action,im going to hire howard stern as my lawyer,

Posted by psychoace on Friday 06 January 2006 16:30

it's easy it's called WAIT!!!!. This is not a product for the average poor joe. It's for the rich kids who have a few grand to spend on a hdtv theater system. It's not for the guy with a 32in standard def tv. Why do people think this is supposed to be a sub 100 dollar item? It's brand new and it needs a lot of cpu power to run. If 1,000 dollars is to much then don't buy it now and just wait. That is what they expect you to do anyhow. They expect a small group of people to buy now so the price goes down in a year or two so you can buy it for 100-150 bucks in 2-3 years which gives the product longevity and not just a fly by night fad.

Posted by erzug on Friday 06 January 2006 17:07

I agree. How many people remember the first VHS recorder sold by RCA in the mid 70's for a cost of $850. Never have I seen electronics' prices increase over time.

Posted by DukeNukem on Friday 06 January 2006 18:11

I won't buy any player or projector/TV that doesn't support 1080p. Period. And I'll wait a bit for the price to come down. Initial prices are for rich gadget-heads anyway.

Posted by Discman on Friday 06 January 2006 18:26

All the other BD Players support 1080P, Samsung need to think twice!

Posted by shimman on Friday 06 January 2006 20:39

while there are 1080p players out there they are about twice as expensive as samsung.

1st gen players might not support the full feature sets of bd; there are very little 1080p supported tv set in us. save money

if you cannot wait to get bd player, get this, then upgrade your equipment later with the saving which would be enough to get 3rd gen player

Posted by Elder Young on Friday 06 January 2006 22:57

I completely agree that the lack of 1080p is pretty stupid. If Samsung wants to show off how awesome (according to it) Blu-Ray is, it should release a reference level player with 1080p, as well, in order to draw more attention to the brand. Even though I'm angry at Sony for their CD DRM and the DRM on Blu-Ray, the type of product launch I'm thinking of is Sony's first retail SACD player that cost $5,000 and weighed a ton, although I don't remember if Sony released a cheaper version at the same time, or a few months later.

Posted by Smokin Joe (guest) on Saturday 07 July 2007 23:37

I own a samsung that doesn't have 1080p and I wish I had known before, I wouldnt have wasted my money. I recently purchased some nice doodads, along with an xbox 360 HD cord, now I can't even watch the friggin movies I bought in HD (Planet Earth being the biggest fun point for me).

I wish I had known, instead of wasting my money on HD formats I dont see anyone f'in using.

joe

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