SONY DELAYS ITS BLUE RAY PLAYER TO OCTOBER

From Tom's Hardware
Los Angeles (CA) - Without any announcements or warnings in advance, the
release date posted on the Sony Style Web site for its upcoming BDP-S1
Blu-ray Disc player was updated last Wednesday to read, "On or about October
25, 2006." The previous date had read August 15, after having been delayed
from a late July date just two weeks ago.

Checking to see whether the delay was official and across-the-board,
DVDFile.com's Dan Ramer learned on Friday from a Sony spokesperson that the
release of BDP-S1 was being delayed, for what the company reportedly
described as software-related issues. Pressing the spokesperson further to
see whether the delay would enable Sony to integrate the newly finalized
HDMI 1.3 digital video interface standard, the spokesperson would only say
that the delay was necessary due to software related issues other than HDMI,
but would not specify the nature of those issues.

The indication, strange as it may seem, is that Sony's premiere Blu-ray Disc
player may not contain the latest available technology, although its
PlayStation 3 console will support HDMI 1.3, according to information
released last week. Panasonic's premiere date for its first Blu-ray player
remains set at September.