Samsung was the first to release a Blu-ray disc player in the US, and has said it will also be the first to release one in Europe and the UK. The BD-P1000 will hit Blighty at around the same time as the Panasonic DMP-BD10, which is two months before Toshiba's HD-E1 and HD-XE1 HD DVD players.
We saw the BD-P1000 while hanging out at Samsung's stand at IFA 2006 and were told it was compatible with the vast majority of digital disc formats. It can read BD-RE, BD-R, BD-ROM, DVD ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, CD ROM, CD-R and CD-RW. It can output Blu-ray movies in Full HD 1080p, and can upscale your standard DVD movies so they look more like hi-def content.
There's plenty of connectors too. You get HDMI, composite, component and S-Video, plus there's a 10-in-2 memory card interface and a fully animated menu system with pretty dolphins and stuff. Usefully, there's a universal remote control that lets you control your telly as well as the BD-P1000.
It all sounds sweet, but there are a couple of issues: firstly, there won't be any Blu-ray movies released in the UK until November at the earliest. Secondly, it'll cost an arm and a leg: £1,000 in the UK. That's annoying as it'll cost €1,000 (£675) on the continent and $1,000 (£525) in the US. Apparently, we have to pay more because of taxes -- not because we're stupid.
We'll have more on the BD-P1000 shortly. -RR
Update: A full review of the Samsung BD-P1000 is now live.
Discuss: Samsung BD-P1000: Blu-ray pack leader
Be respectful, keep it clean and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy, which we encourage you to read. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion.