Hands On With the First Blu-ray Disc Player

The debut of Samsung's BD-P1000 is the latest salvo in the DVD format wars. How will it tip the balance?

The next stage in the battle to be the high-definition successor to DVD has begun, with the debut of the first Blu-ray Disc player for the living room, Samsung's BD-P1000, as well as the first wave of Blu-ray movies, from Sony Pictures Entertainment and Lionsgate.

Rival format HD DVD has been enjoying a head start: Toshiba shipped its first players--the $499 HD-A1 and the $799 HD-XA1--in April, and RCA shipped its $499 model in June. In comparison, Blu-ray Disc has stumbled out the gate. The Samsung player endured one delay before shipping in late June. Players from Pioneer and Sony that were originally due out around the same time have slipped off schedule to September and October, respectively. And at $1000, the Samsung player carries a hefty premium over the Toshiba models.

Stylish Finishes

As the first devices out, the Toshiba players and the Samsung unit are the torchbearers for their respective formats. Even if you remove the Blu-ray-versus-HD DVD component from the equation, however, these players still differ, namely in their usability and how they handle disc playback.

The industrial ...

» Continue reading article @ PC World

Melissa J. Perenson