Sony's BDP-S1 Blu-ray player delayed again...again

The last time SonyStyle pushed back the anticipated ship date of the BDP-S1 standalone Blu-ray player, we jokingly suggested it might end up being pushed beyond the (at that point) already delayed-until-November PlayStation 3. Apparently the joke is on anyone still waiting for this box; while the $999 price hasn't changed, it is now expected to ship "on or about December 4, 2006". In light of the previous July, August, and October prognostications, the Playstation 3 shortage, battery fiasco, and even a just-announced delay of the LF-Box1 LocationFree TV streamer, Sony's manufacturing prowess seems to be slipping. Some customers who contacted Sony have reported that those who have already ordered the BDP-S1 might receive shipments before December, but these days you can't really take anything for granted.


[Via AVS Forum]

[Nate @ Oct 20th 2006 11:26AM]

Are there any Pro-Sony tech blogs out there? I'm really getting sick of this...

[Dave @ Oct 20th 2006 12:13PM]

Me too! Look at the source -> AVSForum! Where else!

[JinKazama @ Oct 20th 2006 11:33AM]

To me this is a blessing in disguise...who else besides your favorite rapper is going to drop $1,000 on a Blu-Ray player?

However, at least 5-10 million people are going to plunk down $500-$600 on a PS3. Save those blue lasers for them

[Rohit Kapur @ Oct 20th 2006 11:35AM]

I love Sony. I have NEVER seen finer work by someone digging their own grave. Props to Sony!

[Daniel @ Oct 20th 2006 11:38AM]

@Nate,

As much as Sony has delayed product after product, made ridiculous statements, and failed to keep promises, I for one am glad that someone is calling them out on all of their failings. How can anyone honestly trust this company anymore?

[Jeff @ Oct 20th 2006 11:40AM]

I just hope the 5-year in-home service plan I purchased on my 51" rear-projection HDTV last year will still be valid after Sony goes out of business...

[SKI @ Oct 20th 2006 11:42AM]

There are Nate, but they are posting a lot of bad news because there isn't a lot of good news at this point.

[tiuk @ Oct 20th 2006 11:43AM]

If asked to picture Sony's executive offices, does anyone else picture a bunch of guys in suits snorting crack and laughing about how much money they're losing?

[Adam Yellin @ Oct 20th 2006 11:45AM]

Will there be any advantage to having this unit as opposed to just buying the PS3? Are there any features/specs that are different?

[JohnAllison @ Oct 20th 2006 11:55AM]

This is just too much fun. Another Sony format that will crash and burn in the consumer market.

BetaMax,MiniDisc, and now BD.

[LittleJoe @ Oct 20th 2006 12:07PM]

You know these Sony Blu-Ray delays are killing me. I really dont care who wins the format-war based on technology. But darnit if Blu-Ray just isnt more fun to say. 2 syllables are better than 5.

[Michael @ Oct 20th 2006 12:09PM]

Everyone remembers failures, but not the successes. The irony is that, while Betamax failed, Betamax technology is still used today! In fact, camcorders have been using a derivative of Betamax, because the VHS equivalent was a piece of crap. But who really cares about that? Clearly nobody. It's getting to the point where nobody is saying anything constructive anymore ... grow up, get a job, live your life, and just get your facts straight... everything will be fine :)

[sycks @ Oct 20th 2006 12:52PM]

well said

[Rick Lyon @ Oct 20th 2006 12:11PM]

Does that 'looking for a job' commercial with the guy surrounded by chimps help anyone here form a visual? Wow.

[Jon @ Oct 20th 2006 12:17PM]

I will tell you what they do do great , They make Amazing HDTV's .. I have had the Brand new New Sony 60" SXRD XBR2 ... It has far and away blown my mind with the quailty of the picture , So anything else they do can fail for all i care .. just keep up the great SXRD tech ..

[Matt @ Oct 20th 2006 12:19PM]

Michael - I remember the successes: it's just that Sony has been way behind the curve for several years now. For a 480i or 480p tube television, trinitron still can't be beat and the DVD players that Sony was putting out in 1999 were fantastic compared to the rest of the market. But, let's face it, they blew it by not adopting DLP, their LCOS solution hit the market late and is still outrageously expensive, Sony doesn't manufacture a DVD player worth sh*t at this point (there is no Sony DVD player that can beat a $150 Oppo player), and Blu-ray delays are just killing the format. Never mind that they still haven't figured out how to make a decent MP3 player for the US market. I was a blu-ray super fan and HD-DVD hater for so long while my feelings were guided by pre-release hype, but in all honesty the delivery of blu-ray has been pathetic and the new Toshiba HD-DVD players set for release in December look to be killer. The new XBR LCDs look great, but are just too expensive compared to other viewing options. People have learned to look past Sony and start doing hard analysis of how their products stack up, rather than just trusting that if it had their name on it, it was a killer product (like I used to).

[Mrfreezie @ Oct 20th 2006 12:20PM]

I really think that this is the end of Sony. A company can only screw up so much before they feel the effect.

[Dan @ Oct 20th 2006 1:27PM]

smarmy=good word.

[Korexz @ Oct 20th 2006 1:32PM]

Sony said that the PS3 is not about the movie playback feature, just gaming...

Just like the PSP. The UMD isn't for movies, its for games... and where is the PSP... oh yeah... WAY BEHIND the Nintendo DS.

Welcome back to the top Nintendo. "Wii" all missed you.

[The Jeremy @ Oct 20th 2006 1:41PM]

Does anyone know if this Sony Blu-Ray player will have the Sigma Designs decoder chip instead of that POS Broadcom chip present in the Samsung Blu-Ray player and the Toshiba HD DVD decks? If the Cell chip had a better production run - and wasn't being completely devoted to the PS3 - I'd say it was more than time for both Sony and Toshiba to start putting the Cell chips into both of their rival HD formats so they all could output 1080p reliably from the superior MPEG4 AVC H.264 codec instead of hamstringing themselves to both MPEG2 and VC-1 due to the lack of processing power found in that damn Broadcom chip.

And to any uneducated Sony h8ers, this is a pre-emptive reminder that both Sony and Toshiba co-developed the Cell processor along with IBM. Blu-Ray is also not a Sony specific format and it in fact has broader support amongst the consumer electronics manufacturers with the exception of Toshiba, who wishes to preserve all of their patents that they co-own with TimeWarner's Warner Home Video division regarding the DVD platform.

And even if Sony were in a death spiral, I'm quite certain that the Japanese government would quickly approve a deal for either NEC or Matsushita to acquire their troubled rival. Sony could also shed their 50% stake in SonyBMG Music for some quick cash, unload their stake in Sony Ericsson, and even sell off Sony Pictures all for the same reasoning.

Point is, Sony is far from dead regardless of how much they waste in a futile attempt to compete against the Apple iPod steamroller.

[John Stracke @ Oct 20th 2006 1:51PM]

"BetaMax,MiniDisc, and now BD." -- Don't forget Memory Stick, Digital 8 camcorder tape (a good idea, but nobody else adopted it), and ATRAC.

Sony seems to be addicted to the notion of format lock-in. Even Betamax would have won out if only they'd licensed it more reasonably. Their only win I can think of was the 3.5" floppy--lots of people in the mid-80s were coming out with smaller floppy formats, and Sony's was the only one that survived.

And, when they do adopt standard formats, they do so in really bone-dead ways. Can you say "Mavica"?

[AvidDude @ Oct 20th 2006 2:19PM]

"Sony said that the PS3 is not about the movie playback feature, just gaming... "

Yeah that's why they're shipping PS3 with a movie instead of a game. I've said it before and was called full of shit, so I'll say it again. This is not about the game console, never has been. Sony knows fanboys will line up in the rain for thier console already, it's all about Blu-Ray penetration and format dominance. They are determined to jam at least ONE of their half baked proprietary formats down consumers throats. Unfortunately Blu-Ray isn't going to be it, whether it's in their game console or not. PS3 might do alright, but Blu-Ray is going to die a horrilbe, spectacular death as another one of Sony's failed attempts to lock consumers into their products.

[tekdroid @ Oct 20th 2006 4:59PM]

i'd go on further to say that both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD will never achieve penetration like DVD; not even close. In short, both will fail. There will be many more options for high definition video and high-capacity PC storage back-up and neither format has the answers (but they do have the lock-in Digital Rights Restrictions).

[lol @ Oct 20th 2006 6:35PM]

Samsung Blueray Player is better.

and current price are $718.88.
Price is dropping gradually.


http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-BD-P1000-Blu-Ray-Disc-Player/dp/B000F99FDE/ref=sr_11_1/104-6697504-5261542?ie=UTF8

[Ed @ Oct 20th 2006 8:47PM]

And people are actually waiting for this shit? Blu Ray is dead people. I have not own any Sony product in like 8 years, this company is digging it's own grave with all the lies they always say. HD DVD is the way to go.

[C.A.M. @ Oct 20th 2006 10:45PM]

@Jeremy
Falling on deaf ears buddy. Don't you know it's cool to hate Sony? I agree with you non-the-less.