Posted Fri Jul 6, 2007 at 11:00 AM PDT by
UPDATE (7/10/07): Alas, it turns out this announcement refers to a Japanese release of the BD-HP205 only. No word on when (if ever) this deck is headed to the US. (PC World has the full update)
Sharp Electronics has announced it will release its first Blu-ray disc player in time for the holiday season.
Dubbed the BD-HP205, thus far Sharp has released only preliminary specs for the deck, which is due by late fall.
Expect 1080p output capability at both 24fps and 60fps, plus in-board Dolby TrueHD decoding.
The player is also slated to fully support HDMI v1.3, and includes analog 5.1 outputs as well.
Sharp is also touting a new 'Quick Start' feature, which will load a disc mere seconds after being inserted into the tray. This is likely to be viewed as a welcome addition by early adopters, as currently load times on Blu-ray (and HD DVD) players tend to be frustratingly slow.
The manufacturer has not yet announced an exact street or pricing for the BD-HP205, but we'll keep you posted. Watch this space!
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