Just got Braveheart and am also awaiting my pre-ordered Heat.

The one I'd really like is a quality transfer of Gladiator, something that was to the standard of the (2005 transfer) extended scenes all the way through.
Sadly the bulk of the current release is composed of the dire (2000 transfer) theatrical release & it's just not good enough.

Sh!t transfers are a real PITA with Blu-ray (and they were too with some HD DVDs too before anyone starts moaning).

I have become very picky about what I will buy because of them.

"the £15 monthly service"

That's not quite right.

It's free (excepting the live stuff so as not to screw with their multi-room pricing) for existing Sky subscribers.

In fact we're both right.

As an existing Sky subscriber the service is free except for the live stuff, they charge £15 for that so people do not get around their multi-room BS.

I'll occasionally look at the freebie stuff but as they already get almost £58 a month out of me they can go whistle if they imagine I am paying any more for my TV.

It's already disappointing that HD content isn't available right now (and I subscribe to that too - and expect it to be free for me when it comes).

"subscription-based service, which starts out at £15 per month"

It's a 100% free extra - if you already subscribe to Sky TV and are an XBL gold subscriber here in the UK.

Thoughts?

Ok, well being a Sony it'll have reasonable specs
(but nothing especially amazing and/or great)
and it'll be right at the top of the price-bracket for items with those specs when it streets.

It's a Sony, what do you expect?

IMHO the days of Sony representing excellent value for the spec/price are long gone.

"In talking with a Toshiba rep, it's clear that the company hasn't abandoned its ideas of internet distribution and other alternatives"

You say that as if you're surprised.

Everybody is looking into a range of distribution methods, not just Toshiba.
There's nothing weird about that.

The really interesting question (which we still await any answer for) is whether Toshiba are making their own Blu-ray models or rebadging somebody else's.

It seems to me this is all as much about satisfying the Toshiba HD TV customer with a Toshiba high def video player, when they ask what they have to offer in that line, rather than point them at a competitors offering.

Whether that actually really means very much in terms of them 'committing to Blu-ray' remains to be seen.

I really don't care about gimmicks like 3D.

Just give us the high quality transfers we were originally promised.

For instance, Gladiator is not my idea of best Blu-ray quality.

The extended scenes look great in Gladiator because they were remastered properly and much more recently.

The theatre cut scenes are from an older master which is why they are horrible.

This film ought to be boycotted and the studio pushed into remastering it properly.
We can wait.

If they are going to be pushed into giving us quality transfers we should not reward them for highly disappointing releases.
Braveheart shows how it should be done and an equally iconic film like Gladiator deserves to be released with the sort of care and quality the Blu-ray premium deserves.

Pingles

None of the name-brand CE manufacturers have abandoned their early players, nevermind current ones - and certainly not a brand like Panasonic.
Even LG recently stepped up to make their long discontinued BH200 tri-format player 'profile 2.0' compliant
(and amazingly this was even after offering a $75 rebate to owners when it looked like they were not going to bother!)

In fact I'd suggest you're far more likely to see more regular firmware updates related to video playback issues on a dedicated video player than the game console

(and that's before we go near the whole issue, regularl & repeated firmware updates are not IMHO 'a good thing' to be lumbering this video format with anyways, not if it is serious about going mainstream).

Nope.

I would prefer a proper (and at least 1/3rd cheaper) quality standalone every day of the week
(Amazon USA have the Panasonic 60 @ $200 right now).

PS3 loads faster? Pfffhhhh, a few seconds, so what?

Power reduction?
So what, again?
It's not the big deal some want to make it out to be.
It's still using 3x the watt rating of my standalone when playing blu-rays (75w v 25w) according to the recent engadget review.

It now being able to bitstream properly is a bonus (some here claim is worthless anyways) but whatever, I just do not want a game console as my Blu-ray player thanks.

Noisey?
Yes, they can be.
After all the original hype & comment when they first came out the truth is that when the fans start up they are intrusive & noisey.
Again, no thanks.