Pioneer Blu-ray Player Still Not Ready for Primetime

In the second delay for its first-gen BDP-HD1 Blu-ray player, Pioneer has pushed back its launch date to late 2006 due to production issues.

Originally scheduled for release in September, then bumped to October, Pioneer has now confirmed a December arrival date for the BDP-HD1. The deck is priced at a cool $1,500.

Though Pioneer gave no specific reason for the delay, "We just want to make sure the player does what it's supposed to do," senior VP of product development Andy Parsons told Video Business.

Pioneers announcement is the second major player reshuffle for Blu-ray, as Sony said only two weeks ago that it would also delay the launch of its first-gen Blu-ray player to early December.