Samsung announced today that the release of its fourth generation Blu-ray
player has been pushed back to June. Originally scheduled for May, the BD-P1500's launch has been delayed so that the player can be made
BD Live Ready.
As the first company to introduce a stand-alone Blu-ray player, Samsung reinforces its support of the
Blu-ray format with the next generation, full HD, BD-P1500. An ideal player for anyone who enjoys Blu-ray, DVDs or CDs in their home,
this groundbreaking model significantly improves the home viewing experience and accommodates each of these formats in one unit. Further,
the BD-P1500 can upconvert standard DVDs to 720p, 1080i and 1080p resolutions and offers Full HD video playback capabilities for a
crystal-clear picture.
Designed with fans of multimedia technology in mind, the BD-P1500 easily connects to other digital devices
through an HDMI 1.3 port with CEC for expanded color delivery and easy home theater control. The P1500 has BD Profile 1.1 Bonus View and
is BD Live Ready. With its built-in Ethernet connection and USB input users can quickly upgrade their BD-P1500 with the latest firmware
which ensures the player remains at the cutting edge of Blu-ray technology. By making these firmware upgrades simple and easy, Samsung
allows consumers to continually upgrade their BD-P1500 with the latest features.
At this point it is unclear what
BD-Live "Ready" means. While the BD-P1500 will most likely play BD-Live titles out of the box, this could also mean that it is capable of
doing so after a firmware update. No word yet on price. However, if Samsung sticks to their original price point, the BD-P1500 should
cost around $399. If you'd like to read more, Samsung's entire press release can be found here.