BD-P1000 will ship in early Spring; will become first player in U.S. stores LAS VEGAS — January 5, 2006 — Samsung Electronics formally kicks off the era of Blu-ray today, as it demonstrates its BD-P1000 Blu-ray disc (BD) player here at CES. The new device will let consumers take full advantage of high-definition displays, playing content at native 720p or 1080i video resolutions. The player will ship in early Spring and shortly thereafter will become the first BD player from any manufacturer to be sold in the U.S. It is expected to retail for approximately $1,000.

The BD player includes a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) output, an industry-supported, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface on a single cable, allowing users to easily connect the Blu-ray player to their existing home televisions. It will also decode standard multi-channel audio.

"Samsung’s Blu-ray player will be the first available to consumers, and we will continue to innovate with our introduction of a Blu-ray recorder later this year," said President Geesung Choi of Samsung Electronics’ Digital Media Business. "With today’s announcement and those to come, Samsung is demonstrating its leadership in driving the next generation optical format."

Samsung developed all components of the BD-P1000 internally. Samsung’s unique technology – one pickup with two lenses – allows it to also play standard DVDs and CDs in addition to Blu-ray discs while allowing for more cost-effective production. The supported DVD formats include DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+RW, and DVD+R. Additional features of the BD-P1000 include memory card reader, full audio format support, pop-up and always-on menu options; a full color high-definition animated button; and improved bitmap and text subtitles.

The increased storage capacity of Blu-ray discs allows the Samsung BD player to offer an astounding 25 GB of content on a single-sided disc (50 GB per dual layer) - nearly six times the capacity of traditional DVDs and enough space for two hours of high-definition movies or recorded content (see chart below).

DVD vs. BD

	DVD	BD
Capacity	Single Layer : 4.7 GB Dual Layer : 8.5GB	Single Layer : 25 GB Dual Layer :50GB
Compression	MPEG2	MPEG2/VC-1/H.264
Data Transfer Rate	10.08 Mbps	36 Mbps
Avg. Transfer Rate	3.5 Mbps	30 Mbps
Recording Time	SD 2Hours(4.7GB)	HD 2Hours(25GB)
Max. Resolution	SD (720 x 480)	HD (1920 x 1080)
Output	480p, 480i	720p, 1080i