AV Zombie: Sony has announced that it will price its second generation Blu-ray player considerably lower than the original BDP-S1. Due this summer, the BDP-S300 (formerly known by its code-name Sapphire) will have a street price of 599 dollars (about 450 euro) and will be positioned against the entry-level HD DVD players from Toshiba.
Features include 1080p output and playback compatibility with AVCHD discs, BD-Java and DVD/DVD+R/+RW. Crucially, the deck will also spin CDs and play MP3 and JPEG files. The player can output multi-channel linear PCM digital audio output via HDMI, but from early reports does not appear to have Dolby True HD and DTS HD Audio decoding onboard.
Curiously, Sony has elected not to include internet connectivity on the player, meaning it will support BD Live interactive software if and when it becomes available.
There’s no news yet on a UK introduction.
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