Funai Corporation, Inc., the North American sales and marketing subsidiary of Funai Electric Co., Ltd., today announced the introduction of its first Blu-ray Disc player (NB500 series) for the North American market.
The Company will begin production in the first quarter of 2008, and plans to begin selling the player at retail stores in North America during the second quarter. The retail price is projected to be under $300. Demand for players that supports High Definition contents is increasing swiftly in the U.S. market thanks to the rapid spread of Full HD flat-panel televisions in addition to FCC mandate to switch from analog to digital formats. In the consumer products market in particular, movie and music contents are becoming more common in the Blu-ray Disc format, and shipments of specialized disc players and game machines compatible with Blu-ray Disc products are increasing. Within the healthy competitive environment in this next-generation DVD market, the Blu-ray Disc format is steadily enhancing its market position. The player supports Profile 1.1 (Final Standard Profile), the latest Blu-ray Disc format standard, and will allow consumers to fully enjoy the Blu-ray Disc HD experience. The product is expected to further stimulate the Blu-ray Disc market, and enable customers to appreciate movies and music with even higher resolutions and higher quality sound.
I know three people who plan on going Blu but they won't make the jump until we have a player around the $200 or less mark... This may be their calling card!! :-) I am positive they will want 5 free movies to go along with it, so I hope those are included via rebate. I hope this company does well with firmwaring?
Awww yeah, very good to see. There will be a ton of players this year, Lite-On and JVC are suppose to announce players as well for 2008 and should also be cheaper than the Sony and Panasonics.
Funai Press Release:
