Samsung Pushes Back Blu-Ray Launch Apr 4, 2006

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Samsung rescheduled its initial U.S. Blu-Ray player launch from May 23, 2006 to June 25. It needs the extra time to complete compatibility testing with several Blu-Ray test discs that won't be available from product manufacturers and content providers until late April.

Samsung said hardware development for its BD-P1000 Blu-Ray player is complete and ready for mass production in Suwon, South Korea once the compatibility tests are passed.

"We still anticipate that the Samsung BD-P1000 will be the first Blu-Ray player to launch at a national level in the United Sates," said the statement issued by Samsung yesterday evening.

The company also confirmed that two features have been added to the BD-P1000 model without changing the expected U.S. $999 street price.

First, the BD-P1000 will have a native 1080p output via HDMI for Blu-Ray software titles that are digitally mastered in 1920 x 1080 resolution and up to 1080p upconversion of conventional DVDs through the HDMI digital interface.

In addition, Samsung upgraded the built-in 9-in-2 multi memory card interface to 11-in-2 by adding support for Mini-SD and Memory Stick Pro Duo formats. By including a memory card interface into a Blu-Ray player, the native high definition resolution contained in 3 megapixel or larger digital still pictures can be enjoyed on a high definition television.

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