Yes, Sony's BDP-S1 is delayed; Blu-ray isn't
By Matt Burns 
posted June 14th 2006 9:29AM
posted June 14th 2006 9:29AM
Breaking news: Sony is delaying the launch of their Blu-ray player, the BDP-S1.
That headline has been all over the Internet the last few days. Besides not being "Breaking News" at all (we posted on this in April), people forget that this does not delay the entire Blu-ray launch. Oh no, Samsung is guaranteeing that they will ship their Blu-ray player (BD-P1000) on June 25. In fact, some lucky people already have their players. There is more then one or two manufacturers making these player and just because three major players (Sony, Panasonic and Pioneer) are delayed does not mean the entire Blu-ray thing is put off. It is a shame though that the Sony will not be available at the launch of their format but they are releasing a bunch of titles.
Blu-ray is almost here - get those credit cards ready!
Would the delay have anything to do with the new HDMI standard discussed yesterday? Why would anyone want to purchase a Blu-ray player now if it doesn't support HDMI 1.3? But then again, chances are that no one has a tv or a receiver that would support HDMI 1.3 anyway so it is a moot point.
Nah HDMI 1.3 isn't something you'd delay your product launch over. I think it'll be in 2nd gen stuff. We still need AV Receives to support Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD within the Receiver to take advantage of that particular feature of HDMI 1.3.
I think 1.3 can transport SACD as well.
Sony is delaying their Blu-ray player so it can ensure the PS3 has enough BD componentry for its November launch.