Las Vegas (NV) - Sony and Toshiba have begun unveiling their product strategies for the introduction of the first HD video generation. Toshiba will be first to market, but Sony appears to have a more comprehensive lineup: Today, the company announced a Blu-ray writer for the PC, a 1080p-capable player for the family room and pricing for Blu-ray recordable discs.
Just a few hours after Warner Hove Video (WHV) had announced its first batch of HD DVCD videos as well as pricing for the movies, Sony fired its next shot in what is expected to become a fierce battle for leadership in the high definition video market. Among the announcements are three new products to be released in the second half of this year: A Blu-ray player will be arriving in July, a Blu-ray equipped Vaio PC and after market writer for the PC later this year.
The BDP-S1 will support most popular video codecs, including MPEG2, MPEG4-AVC and VC1, according to Sony. Analog component output for 1080i has been included for consumers who own HD-capable televisions without HDMI interface. The device will also be offering 1080p upscaling through HDMI, Sony said. While specifications of Samsung's first Blu-ray player, which is expected to debut on 23 May, are unknown so far, the BDP-S1 is believed to be the first Blu-ray player to bring "interactivity" to the TV screen. The player will include a BD-Java and apparently a dedicated Java processor to enable "interactive" applications and video games - which at CES have been promised to rival the quality of console games. The BDP-S1 will be compatible with DVD/DVD+/-R/ +/-RW encoded discs and will sell for about $1000 when released.
The after market BWU-100A will be recording on BD-R (write-once) and BD-RE (rewriteable) 25 GB and 50 GB discs at 2x speed, which means that a 25 GB discs can be filled in about 30 minutes. The drive will also support recording of standard single layer 4.7 GB DVD+/-R / +/-RW, double/dual Layer 8.5 GB DVD+/-R, DVD-RAM and CD-R/-RW media, Sony said. The drive comes in a standard half-height computer bay form factor with a parallel ATAPI interface. Sony promised to include "comprehensive" authoring software for capturing, editing, and burning high-definition personal content. However, the highest resolution supported will be limited to 1080i.
For the first time, Sony also announced pricing of recordable Blu-ray media. As with every new media generation, manufacturers will be charging a premium for the new technology and pricing for Blu-ray media apparently will be about $1 for every GB. According to Sony, 25 GB BD-R and BD-RE discs will be available in April for about $20 and $25 each, respectively. The 50 GB BD-R and BD-RE dual-layer discs will come in "subsequent" months for about $48 and $60.
Related stories:
Warner prices first HD DVD titles at $29
Sony to introduce Blu-ray in May
Toshiba to launch HD DVD players this month
