 | Prepare for launch: Blu-ray players revealed |
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 David Rudden Assistant editor |
Updated May 3, 2006 With summer fast approaching, the opening shots in the next-gen HD-DVD-vs.-Blu-ray format war will finally be traded. HD-DVD has a head start with the currently available Toshiba HD-A1 and HD-XA1 sitting on store shelves for two months before Blu-ray's June debut. However, not too much differentiates most of the first stand-alone players. The first BD player scheduled for release, Samsung's launch-day $1,000 BD-P1000, stands apart with a memory-card reader (yawn), while neither the similarly priced Sony BDP-S1 nor the supposedly more expensive Panasonic DMP-BD10 have any major distinguishing features. The Pioneer BDP-HD1 should have some pretty impressive home-networking technology under its $1,800 hood when it comes out on launch day with the Samsung player. The one major question mark, though, is the PlayStation 3, due in November. It'll be able to play Blu-ray movies as well as PS3, PS2, and PS1 games, and if Sony wants it to survive in the marketplace, it'll be priced to compete with the $400 Xbox 360. More resources
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