Sony Electronics has revealed the first Elevated Standard (ES) Blu-ray player, the BDP-S2000ES, along side the recently announced BDP-S500. The ES model will feature dual shield construction, a rigid drive bracket, and a rigid beam chassis, all to give the best playback performance. Both players will support 1080p24/60, as well as bitstream output for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD High Resolution audio through HDMI v1.3 output. Both players will be available this fall; the S2000ES for $1,300 and S500 for $700.
Attention Sony ! Want to end this war now (and Win) ? Get a $199 player on the market. Forget about the $700 players - you are wasting valuable resources and time.
Why would Sony have to release a $199 player? I have to disagree since Blu-Ray is superior it should also be more expensive compared to HD-DUD. I think they should've announced a player for around $350. I think that would've helped push BD players more rapidly than having a fire sale like HD-DUD is having with their players. Sonys goal and the BDA is to be "profitable".
Wow, I just have to say go PS3. Is Sony trying to kill the same format which they support and helped create? Wow, from $500 to $700 and from $1000 to $1300.
The prices should be decreasing, instead of increasing. This is unfair to me, even though, I am a 100% Blu-Ray supporter (70+), this type of news puts fear in me. What if…?
If Toshiba can create a mediocre $300 1080i, instead of an advanced 1080p, HD-DVD player, then so should/can Sony. Not every one has a 1080p TV, I have 3, nor they can afford one. They should give people a break.
Look at PS3, it is worth $500, and it is almost like a full fledged BD player. Now if Sony can take out the gaming and PC features from it, and turn it into a BD player only, I bet it would worth about $200.
And now Sony invented the $3500 200 disk players… Yes, this is great; however, I prefer my disks to go back into their cases after I am done watching it. And no DTS HD MA support, what are you trying to do, piss FOX and Lionsgate off (these BD companies use DTS HD MA).
See, I did not care much about Paramount, however, I did join BD because I have a PS3 and I love FOX’s and Disney’s catalog. I really could care less about Sony’s catalog, and I also love Universal’s catalog, but 2 against 1, 2 is greater. I also love WB and I hope they go BD exclusive.
Sony is not the only BD player manufacturer, and is typically not known for being the low cost option. Relax people, there are a BUNCH of other BD player manufacturers out there,
I agree about them needing a high-end player. Sony already has a basic player in the 300, which will drop in price very soon. I am thinking it will be at the $399(or lower) price point, the 500 series at $699 and this new ES player over 1K. This is a great price ladder and is effective in selling the units. Let the Chinese make the $199 BD players, just like they will do for HD-DVD. Sony finally has an established BD stand-alone player line, which is the first step to finally ending the war, as other manufacturers will followsuit; Pioneer, Samsung, etc.
These are high quality audiophile players. You'll likely see the S300 down to $300-400 by Christmas, with Funai or another second-tier brand breaking the $200 barrier.
People who want quality will pay more for it. People who want cheap don't buy Sony, they buy Durabrand or Insignia (which are both made by companies like Funai).
Blu-ray's price point isn't what will make it rule the holidays. Top-tier titles like Die Hard, Spider-man, and Pirates of the Caribbean will.
any ES player is going to cost some coin $$$. my 999es dvd player was 1299. i have seen the s300 for $440 at sams club. just give people choices unlike hd dvd just toshiba.
Yes there are other BD developing companies, however, are not the prices supposed to go down over time, instead of increase. Nonetheless, I love Sony because of their top notch products, and I rather buy an expensive Sony product, than trust any other company’s. But still, prices are supposed to go down over time, not increase.
Now if they add full BD-J, BD-Live, and PIP, with DTS-HD MA, and dual HDMI (one for TV and the other for audio) support, then I might reconsider that price.
You'd think that for $1300 the ES series machine could at least include DTS-HD MA. Wow, that's a downer.
Well, it seems painfully obvious that Sony won't be the one talking the masses to the promised land this year. Not with their pricing structures. It'll have to be Samsung then.
My Panasonic Blu-ray player decodes DTS-HD but not DTS-HD MA. It takes a different Sigma chip to decode DTS-HD MA. DTS-HD is a much lower bitrate than DTS-HD MA.
I am kind of suprised to see the prices go back up. That is the price of improvement. I am sure if you give these players 2 months max the prices will be down at least $200. I am more than happy with my S300...but I love the technology. This is like Chevy with their Impala-Camero-Corvette. I will buy and HD DVD player when they can put out a player with all that awesomeness (and keep the media to one disc)
People need to remember that CEDIA is a show for custom installers. These are people that install home theatres costing 10's of thousands of dollars. This isn't your joe sixpack show. CES is the show for that. So most manufacturers are showing of their creme of the crop. Price is no object to most of these people.
WOW! ! that sounds AMAZINGLY COMPLEX! I don't think I understand a damn thing those players have- I just know I can't (and frankly- for over a grand) don't care to! Bring me a $200 player plese!
Just wanted to say that i just joined blu-ray.com today but i have been reading everyones posts for the last few months and i have to say that i find comfort and appreciation in all the post that i have read. Many of u have answered many of the questions i have wondered about and it seems like i will have a great time on this site now that i can post. I didnt know there was so many DTS and sony buffs out their that cared about HDMI 1.3 and other tech specs as i do. I LOVE it. But actually i do have this one concern that i want to address and todays new Sony ES player ( the sony gods gift to me) have caused me to make the move to post. I have waited a couple yrs now to have three things i ever needed..one was an XBR 1080p tv (which has finaly come out) a sony receiver that decodes DTS-HD MA and TRUE DOLBY ( which has finaly come out) and now as i saw the heading for the new sony ES player my heart stopped...BUT WTF NO master audio decoding capablity...for petes sake its their 5 player and the 1st ES blu player....i cant belive this..its truly an outrage for me. Just like many of you are boycotting paramount im not going to buy any blu-ray movies till sony gets its sh*t together...ok i mean the HDMI website says that passing linear PCM or internally decoding DTS-HD has no difference in sound quality but common we're paying all this and not getting the latest codec ...I mean at least pass the MA bitstream to the receiver if u dont want to decode but it still doesnt even have that for MA... this truly hurts... sony should be the FIRST to have there sh*t together...u feel me?
I love Sony for their quality. However, for that price it should feature BD-J, BD-Live, PIP, and DTS HD MA. At lest DTS HD MA, therefore I can say all the FOX movies which I have was worth the money.
tru blu - "I think you'll find that DTS-HD High Resolution will be the same as DTS-HD MA"
No, DTS-HD encompasses two different formats - DTS-HD HR and DTS-HD MA. This player can only output the lossy DTS-HD HR, not the lossless DTS-HD MA. As Fox uses DTS-HD MA on their discs, this is a disappointing lack of functionality for many people.
This also makes me wonder about other players that have announced support for DTS-HD, whether what they actually mean is support for DTS-HD HR only, rather than using the term correctly which would mean support for both DTS-HD HR and DTS-HD MA.
I think this is great news. Just because they release a high end BR standalone that has nothing to do with the need for a ultra low end (sub $200 model.)
This isn't a replacement for the current players. This is a high line, as of yet unreleased spot in the player lineup. The prices are not 'going up' for the same level of player.
Sony ES is going to be an expensive piece. It's their top of the line. Let the other companies like Classis and APEX make all the cheap players. This is nothing to be so concerned about. This is a HIGH-END product. It will be a much better player than the one you pay $200 for. So stop bitching about these really nice players and go buy whatever you can afford. If you can afford these awesome Denon and Sony pieces then do it. If you can't then get what you can and you'll still have a damn well superior picture to DVD.
If any of you complaining about the price of the ES player really pay any attention to higher end
product, you will see that the pricing usually stays around the same and fluctuates up and down.
The big difference is that the models hang around longer because of the overall quality. Sony still
sells an ES dvd player for $700CDN ... you can p/u your jaws now. As others have mentioned, 2nd
(and 3rd) teir companies will make the cheap models long before Sony will - heck DVD players from
them were in blister packs before Sony dropped below $200. The market is there for this level of
pricing, good businesses make products for multiple consumer groups.
Also, the 200 disc version is a COMPUTER product, not stictly a BD player.
@domerdel - the ES (Elevated Standard) line for Sony is just that, Elevated Standards. In english
this means higher quality build etc...
The trouble with all these products is that there is NO low end product for Christmas so far. Yet, hd-dvd has a player coming in for under 199.......BAD move Sony, get at least a $299 player out there from SOMEBODY!
Sony Electronics has revealed the first Elevated Standard (ES) Blu-ray player, the 
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