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Target will sell standalone Blu-ray player, but not HD-DVD
Beginning in October, savvy Target shoppers looking to jump onto the Blu-ray bandwagon can join the party with a standalone Blu-ray player. The Sony BDP-S300 Blu-ray player will be offered in addition to the PS3, providing consumers with a decision for their Blu-Ray movie watching. With another "tug" in the HD tug-of-war, Blu-ray gets a bonus as being alone on the shelving space for standalone players. Target has yet to announce plans to begin offering HD-DVD standalone players (not counting the already offered Xbox 360 add-on drive). As far as retail space for HD discs, Target has still confirmed they will continue to sell both Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs, alongside the standard DVD movies.[Via Engadget]
Sony Blu-ray player drops to $500, now cheaper than PS3
The Sony BDP-S300 Blu-ray player has been dropped $100 in price to $499, putting it below the price of the PlayStation 3.Sony, who once touted the PS3 as the cheapest Blu-ray player on the market, has appeared to have crossed off its own talking point. But if priced the same, the BDP-S300 would be a tough sale against the game console, whose only apparent benefit is quieter hardware. We don't want to suggest the PS3, now with only one model in North America, may drop below the $600 threshold, but the Blu-ray player's reduced price may indicate that the manufacturing costs for Blu-ray components have lowered, making the console less of a loss leader for Sony.The High Definition disc format is still competing against the Toshiba-backed HD-DVD for market share. The cheapest standalone HD-DVD player still costs $100 ($200 this Father's Day) less than the BDP-S300.[Via Engadget; thanks, Jonah]
