Samsung reveals specs for P1500 Blu-ray player

Samsung has exposed final details on the BD-P1500, a fourth-generation Blu-ray player first hinted at in January. The drive is 1080p-capable, and has an HDMI 1.3 output with CEC support, allowing control through home theater systems. Also present on the unit are an upconverter chip -- which scales to maximum resolutions -- and ports for USB and Ethernet cables, intended to simplify the installation of firmware upgrades. Compatible audio codecs include Dolby Digital, Digital Plus and TrueHD, but will exclude DTS-HD until "later" in 2008.

The P1500 is only loaded with BD Profile 1.1 firmware, but is said to be ready for BD Live, which will enable access to web content on matching movie discs. Samsung has also notably altered the initial specs of the 1500, so that it supports 1080p24 rendering as well as the standard 1080p60. The drive should be available in June at an undetermined price, though Samsung last estimated $399.