Sony has started to ship a Blu-ray disc player to CE retailers that comes with a list price of $500, which pushes down price points closer to competing HD DVD units from Toshiba and others. Until now, Blu-ray players had been running about $100-$200 more then most HD DVD devices. (Toshiba now has a HD DVD player with a suggested retail price of $300.)
The new unit, the BDP-S300, is being marketed as a way to "broaden the high-definition disc player market," according to Sony.
The BDP-S300 outputs 1920x1080p at 24 fps via an HDMI connection, and supports MPEG-2, MPEG-4-AVC and VC-1. Its audio signature is Dolby Digital Plus.
