Samsung's BD-P1000 Blu Ray player shipped to US

Samsung Electronics' Blue-ray optical disk player will be sold in the US for $999.99 starting June 25.

According to Samsung Electronics, it has shipped the industry's first Blue-ray optical disk player to the U.S. for sale starting June 25.

The BD-P1000, as the player is called, had been delayed because of incomplete testing. The product is aimed at customers interested in adding high-definition disks on their existing HDTVs.

The BD-P1000 plays Blu-ray software titles via a native 1,080p HDMI output for films digitally mastered in 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. It also upconverts conventional DVDs to 1,080p through the HDMI digital interface. As a result of which, DVD picture quality is more detailed when played by the disk player.

The BD-P1000 plays both standard DVDs and CDs, apart from existing DVD formats. There is a 10-in-2 multimemory card interface that supports all the major formats including Compact Flash, Secure Digital, XD Picture Card, and Memory Stick.

The BD-P1000 supports audio formats such as Dolby Digital & Dolby Digital Plus, DTS, MP3 and 192-KHz LPCM. The connectivity features include HDMI, Component, S-video, and composite outputs.

According to Samsung, the Blu-ray Disc spec is backed by Sony, Matsushita, Philips and Dell on the hardware side. Seven of the eight major movie studios, including Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and LionsGate Pictures support Blu-ray.

The BD-P1000 will be priced at $999.99.