Sony of Canada Ltd., Canada's leading electronic and computer products solutions provider for consumers and business, today announced that its BDP-S1 Blu-ray Disc(TM) player, the first of its ground-breaking and fully compatible family of full High-Definition (HD) 1080p Blu-ray Disc products, will be available in Canada this coming August.
Complementing the Blu-ray Disc-based home player will be VAIO(R) desktop and notebook personal computers, the BWU-100A after-market internal Blu-ray Disc computer drive, and Sony's AccuCORE(R) recordable BD-R (write-once) and BD-RE (rewritable) media technology. The media technology will be available later this Spring, while the internal computer drive and VAIO PC products will be available in August and later in the Fall of 2006, respectively.
With this announcement, Sony's full HD 1080p roadmap is complete and its leadership fully established, as the Blu-ray Disc-based player partnered with a Grand WEGA SXRD(TM) rear-projection LCD (liquid crystal display) will provide the ultimate in HD entertainment. Sony will further extend its full HD 1080p leadership this Fall with the introduction of additional maximum HD TV products.
Sony is confident that the technology-leading Blu-ray Disc format will quickly become the standard in HD video performance and flexibility, thus avoiding earlier protracted media standards conflicts. Packaged in a convenient five-inch optical disc, the format features 25 GB (gigabytes) single layer and 50 GB dual layer capacity, making it ideal for feature-length motion pictures with tons of extra feature material - all in full 1080p HD - along with the multimedia possibilities of Java-enabled interactivity.
"Blu-ray Disc technology has set the bar for the HD lifestyle that consumers have been waiting for," said Toshi Matsuo, General Manager, Home Network Products, Consumer Audio/Visual Information Technology Group, Sony of Canada Ltd. "And, Blu-ray Disc technology is the final piece needed to complete Sony's vision of an HD world.
"The majority of Hollywood movie studios and more than 150 consumer electronics, information technology, media and software companies - all of whom represent the lion's share of their industry sectors, are united solely behind the Blu-ray Disc format, ensuring it will quickly become the gold standard in HD entertainment."
The BDP-S1 Blu-ray Disc player is designed to deliver 1920 X 1080p resolution, the highest HD signal output currently available through an HDMI(TM) connection. The player supports various high-quality video codecs, including MPEG2, MPEG4-AVC and VC1. Analog component output for 1080i has been included so people who own HD-capable televisions without HDMI can enjoy the Blu-ray Disc experience.
The new Blu-ray Disc player is compatible with standard DVDs with the added feature of 1080p upscaling through HDMI, which gives new life to existing DVD libraries. Enhancing the Blu-ray Disc entertainment experience further, BD-Java interactivity has been incorporated, allowing for the design of advanced interactive features.
The new player offers uncompressed multi-channel linear PCM digital audio output via HDMI, delivering optimum surround sound to an HDMI-equipped receiver. The player also has optical digital audio out and 5.1 channel decoding capability for backward compatibility with existing receivers. In addition, the unit has a separate audio circuit board, finely tuned audio components, rigid beam chassis construction, drive brackets and off center insulator feet.
This robust BD-ROM/R/RE player supports DVD playback from DVD/DVD(+/-)R/(+/-)RW encoded discs, as well as MP3 audio files and JPEG images stored on DVD(+/-)R/(+/-)RW discs.
It will have a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of approximately $1,300.
Sony Pictures' Home Entertainment division recently announced it will be shipping eight movies on BD-ROM discs beginning in May with an additional eight titles being released in June, spanning from recent hits to classic favorites. In total there will be close to 100 titles made available by all of the Blu-ray Disc supporting studios by the end of this year.
About Sony of Canada Ltd.
Established in 1955, Sony of Canada Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation of Tokyo, Japan, a world leader in the manufacture and marketing of electronic and computer products for consumer, business, electronics publishing and multimedia applications on a global scale. With headquarters in Toronto, sales offices in Vancouver and Montreal and distribution centres in Coquitlam, British Columbia, and Whitby, Ontario, approximately 970 employees support 75 Sony stores and a network of more than 3,000 authorized dealers across Canada.
For further information: please visit us at www.sony.ca, www.thesonystore.ca, www.sonybiz.ca or www.sonystyle.ca, Sony's product information and e-commerce Web site, or contact: John B. Challinor II, APR, General Manager, Advertising & Corporate Communications, Sony of Canada Ltd., (416) 495-3740, john_challinor@sony.ca; Sarah Hatfield, Account Coordinator, Technology Practice, Silverhammer Public Relations, (416) 324-2024, Ext. 7, sarah_hatfield@silver-hammer.com