January 9, 2008 7:10 AM PST

Sony bows $200 Blu-ray player

by Matthew Elliott

New low: a $200 Blu-ray drive.

(Credit: Sony Electronics Inc.)

Funai announced a standalone Blu-ray player that will dip below the $300 mark when it's released next quarter, but if you've got a PC that's up to the challenge, Sony's got an internal Serial ATA Blu-ray drive that will do the trick for even less. The BDU-X10S drive will cost $199.99 when Sony starts shipping it next month (preorder it here). This BD-ROM (that's read, not write) drive comes bundled with CyberLink PowerDVD BD Edition for playing Blu-ray discs in MPEG-2 or H.264 format. It'll also play DVDs and CDs and will work with XP and Vista PCs.

Matt Elliott, a CNET editor since 2000, heads up coverage of computer hardware, from desktops and laptops to their assorted components and peripherals. Prior to joining CNET, he worked for PC Magazine. When not writing about computers and wrestling with their shipping boxes, he likes shooting with his Nikon D50 camera. Matt is also skilled with a tape gun. E-mail Matt.

Topics:: ces - Computers and hardware

Tags:: CES 2008. Sony,; Blu-ray,; BDU-X10S

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by rockymtnbri January 9, 2008 9:38 AM PST: I plan to pick one of these up as soon as they're available!; Like this Reply to this comment

by sanenazok January 9, 2008 11:39 AM PST

I would think about this, but only if these had DVD writing (not bluRay, of course, just standard DVD)

Like this Reply to this comment


by Leria January 10, 2008 4:01 PM PST: I have to agree with the "Only if this has DVD writing thing!" though I would also say "Only if it has Blu-Ray writing as well! I want to be able to write to Blu-Ray disks with a player that is going to cost me $200 dollars, period and done with. Otherwise, it is too expensive for what you get.; Like this


by batman823 January 11, 2008 9:24 AM PST: Just leave the DVDRW drive that you have in your computer for writing discs, problem solved. I'd be more worried about the BluRay ripping and burning, if that's what you want to accomplish; Like this

by dirty55409 January 9, 2008 1:13 PM PST

I'll wait for the BD-R drive to drop in price... this drive/price is a good sign of things to come though.

Like this Reply to this comment


by hddvdfan January 9, 2008 2:21 PM PST: I think that LG has a better deal, it has a blue ray drive that can also read hd dvd discs, and in come with dvd writer and ligth script, so i think is better that sony, and sony alwasy give things that are the same that the others competitors but a higher price, and try to said that is better with awesone advertisements.; Like this


by lorax1284 January 9, 2008 6:03 PM PST: With Warner Home Video's recent announcement, It may be moot, but LG sells a dual format HD DVD / BD reader (not writer) that does write DVD-RW / DL etc. and comes with Cyberlink Power DVD. It's ~$250 right now... dual format drives may be a moot point now, but if HD-DVD does die, there may be some excellent deals on HDDVD movies, so having a drive that will play them may be handy.; Like this Reply to this comment


by wasabi1000 January 10, 2008 5:24 AM PST: oh snap!!; Like this Reply to this comment

by teachandfly January 10, 2008 7:07 AM PST

You know it?s funny this whole debate. I don?t know why we are even having a HD/BR war if they haven?t noticed the public doesn?t really want it. If I never own another DVD I will be happy, I want to be able to download my content. I can watch HD movies though my cable company, on demand or on X-Box live. I would rather download my next HD movie and keep it on a hard drive, then bring it up from my home network in any room of the house, then to be stuck with a player hooked up to one TV. If you have kids, you will find out that no disk is safe I have had to buy Cinderella 3 times because the disk gets ruined, for the love of it let me download it, put it on a hard drive, if my car could have a hard drive in it and just send it to it?s hard drive I could take all my movies with me in the car and never have to change them while driving would be great, oh yeah not to mention stoping the complaints that the movie isn?t working right. So why will I never run and get one of these players, I will wait to download it, so why continue the debate.

Like this Reply to this comment


by woodygg January 11, 2008 7:44 AM PST: you may feel that way, but a lot of people want to own the movie (i'm not one of them... but you'd be amazed) - especially that others might feel differently than you apparantly.; Like this


by batman823 January 11, 2008 9:28 AM PST: Why don't you try this. DON'T change the movies while driving if that's not what you want to do. Just pay attention to the road instead of trying to kill your kids, or somebody else for that matter.<br /><br />But I completely see your point and agree about the silly format war.; Like this


by Soupcc January 11, 2008 11:04 AM PST: Well I get so sick of people talking about they want their content downloadable. How many HD movies do you think you are going to get on a Hard Drive. I have a collection of over 400 standard DVD and I don't think I can get that collection on a Hard Drive or many Hard Drives. Now if you talking about HD, the avg. person may have a 200 GB hard drive. HD movies may be 30-50 GB for one movie. Do the math.; Like this


by KTate70 January 10, 2008 8:18 AM PST: Ahh... The English language and all its quirks! (Remember: They're over there with their friends.); Like this Reply to this comment

by graviz January 10, 2008 10:05 AM PST

As of right now most consumers who are buying Blu Ray & HD Dvd are people who realy care about home theater. This really goes without saying. Most people who are audiofiles or videofiles will not use a computer for their dvd playing needs (and yes I understand a reciever has a computer in it....I just thought I would eliminate that point). Unless you have a media center pc or a homemade one it "typically" won't have the proper connections for hooking it up to a new tv and surround sound system. I've invested in a HD dvd player for my XBOX 360 and it works great (only $150). I personally think my HD dvd collection will end up like my SACD & Dvd audio collection, yet I don't think Blu Ray will win either. I think people who think downloading movies will win is a joke. It may be a good solution for renting, however owning most people want something they can hold. If I was a betting man, and I am, I would put money on the flash memory format they are developing.

Like this Reply to this comment


by rdgadz January 11, 2008 10:11 AM PST: ... oh and CDs for music are totally winning over iTunes/Rhapsody/Zune/etc...<br /><br />that should be a perfect example of where video is headed; Like this

by jomoelle January 10, 2008 10:37 AM PST

Ok i have a question for all off u electronic buffs out there but im not sure if youll ko the answer. I am using a HP A1630N pretty decient computer i upgraded to a Nvidia 8600GT and I was wondering when I one of these babies will I be very disapointed with the quaility if I run DVI-HDMI to my 40" sony LCD or should I invest in a new video card with HDMI-Out?

Like this Reply to this comment


by graviz January 10, 2008 10:50 AM PST: You won't notice a significant difference between DVI-HDMI and straight HDMI out. Digital is digital for the most part. I don't know that paticular model # however the only thing that could really hurt the playback quality is the ram & cpu speed (playback lag).; Like this


by Iceman35 January 11, 2008 4:41 AM PST: Yes by all means.; Like this


by j_a_s_p_e_r January 11, 2008 1:09 PM PST: DVI has an equivalent image signal to HDMI. HDMI adds audio and encryption. The problem is some movies will only play over HDMI (copy protection); Like this

by layclerk January 10, 2008 10:47 AM PST

HAHA. I'm glad to know I'm not the only spelling maven on this site. Don't you just love it when people reply sarcastically? It only shows how wrong they know they are. Nothing has changed from when I was in school, and all the morons and dumb jocks resented me for my superior command of the language.

Like this Reply to this comment


by Hiwayman January 11, 2008 8:59 AM PST: While spelling seems to be an increasing challenge to most Americans these days, why don't we keep the self-congratulating nonsense to sites that specialize in priggish behavior, and keep the comments on this site focused on the relative merits of technology? I'm sorry you had a rough time in high school. Get over it. Now, back to our Blu-Ray v. HD discussion.....; Like this


by PHXHoward January 10, 2008 11:50 AM PST: DVI -> HDMI is the same as HDMI except that you don't get the audio on the same cable. Your PC probably has an optical out on it already. Make sure that your video card has HDCP on the DVI port or you will be limited.; Like this Reply to this comment


by epitone January 10, 2008 12:15 PM PST: That's great, but shouldn't Sony try to fix their $300 BD player before they cut even more corners to release a cheaper one? From everything I hear, the S300 is riddled with problems (incompatibility, freezing, slow load times, etc.)... as are pretty much all the other affordable standalone BD players. Except the PS3, of course, which I happily picked up the other day.; Like this Reply to this comment


by TrueLeo January 10, 2008 12:47 PM PST: well, i have to say, if you arent technology savy to handle complicated drives, just like a huge percentage of the people in world, and very price oriented, again a huge percentage (even bigger). i applaud this product, i think its cheap and simple enough for people who are not tech savy to say "this plays blu-rays disc from your computer". instead of other players that may say "this is a BR/HD-rom, that reads and writes. also it has powerDVD, formatted for 98, 2000, XP, vista, and 40 different OS. and its makes coffee in the mornings, and tucks you in at night, AND has power windows." alot of people i work with wouldnt know what 90% of this stuff means. lol all im saying is its fairly simple and cheap. very good buy for the average consumer and a good price for a Blu-ray player.; Like this Reply to this comment

by TrueLeo January 10, 2008 12:49 PM PST

and id like to add people that arent into game systems too. to pick up and PS3(which i do own), nor a X-box, to go into high-def.

Like this Reply to this comment


by batman823 January 11, 2008 9:36 AM PST: This is great for those people you mention. I think it's especially great for those who have noticed the VGA output the video card has. Most of the higher-end Vcards have two of them. Or you can easily and inexpensively add another video card so you can play HD movies on the big TV, run your cable through the PC that way too(with media center), use your computers XP or VISTA on the other moniter and not lose any functionality, etc....; Like this


by lspaiser January 10, 2008 3:48 PM PST: Don't know what all this excitement is over BD players is. I recently bought a Samsung 1400 for $280 at Costco. Plays BDs fine, although response to control commands is a bit slow. So what! (See my comments on this product).; Like this Reply to this comment


by robertsantos January 10, 2008 9:06 PM PST: BFD! Why wait?<br /><br />LITE-ON Black 12X DVD-ROM 32X CD-ROM SATA Blu-ray DVD-ROM Drive Model DH-4O1S-11 - OEM <br />Free Philips 20X burner w/ combo purchase, ends 1/15<br />$189.99<br />Free 3 Business Day Shipping <br /><br /><a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106227" target="_newWindow">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106227</a>; Like this Reply to this comment

by make_or_break January 11, 2008 7:01 AM PST

Morons = spelling and grammer Nazis who ONLY see fit to comment on those aspects of a posted comment. If that's all you can add to the discussion, then I rather put up with the ramblin', bumblin', mistake-laden postings...at least they UNDERSTAND the topic at hand, even if their thoughts are as clear as mud. <br /><br />As for said topic at hand...finally affordable devices that DOESN'T lock up a gaming console into a either-or scenario (kids wanna play games...parents want to watch a movie, or vice-versa). OTOH, it's not a stand-alone unit like Toshiba builds that plugs into a home entertainment system [i]without[/i] the extraneous need for a computer (commenting specifically on the Sony ROM drive). As for the Funai device...it's headed in the right direction...but whoTF is Funai, other than a manufacturer of bottom-feeder electronics that only discount general merchandise stores carry? Where's Pioneer? Where's Panasonic?<br /><br />In the end, I like several others here still question whether or not it's all moot. Disc delivery is going the way of the dodo bird. It's too wasteful of resources, even when it's mail ordered (somebody will have to pay for the fuel to get it into your device, not to mention all the manufacturing and distribution costs involved), and doesn't have the appeal for the 'gotta-have-it-yesterday' mentality. And like too many other consumers, I still think standard DVD upscaled is "good enough" (even if the actual content isn't), if this whole principle of disc delivery is bought into. As soon as HD-DVD discs begin disappearing from retailers, will Blu-ray studios really reduce their wares to compete with the older format, or will they continue to position themselves as a 'premier' branding of the same content?<br /><br />Personally I'd rather count on the download alternative, particularly since I've waited this long already. But it's at least still good that prices on the drives are FINALLY below $200. Of course if [i]Sony[/i] does it, then others will be even cheaper still.

Like this Reply to this comment


by megustansalchichas January 11, 2008 11:16 AM PST: huh huh huuh, you said 'grammer'; Like this


by Riverledge January 11, 2008 7:42 PM PST: WHO IS FUNAI? Actually a highly regarded Japanese brand name; but rarely seen in the USA. They also seem to sponsor Boston Red Sox pitcher DICE-K,<br />for some reason, in their Japanese commercials, from what I hear.<br /><br />I'd scoop up a SONY PLAYSTATION 3, if I were you.<br /><br />Best wishes, River.; Like this


by daviddyer January 11, 2008 12:15 PM PST: This screams Bluray Xbox360 add-on to me. It's the same price as the HDDVD add-on when it first came out.; Like this Reply to this comment


by alaskancrab January 11, 2008 2:09 PM PST: My only concern about this product is that a lot of people will probably buy this item thinking their "new" computer will be able to handle the load. But if you take a peak at c-net's/gamespot CES coverage you'll see NVIDIA only really qualifies the Geforce 8600GT and above as realistically capable of handling a 1080p signal. I own an 8800 GTS and my machine just barely gets by, and god forbid the machine tries to do something that requires further resources other than decompressing the stream. As Nvidia puts it "None of the PC's in 2007 were made or advertised as High Def".; Like this Reply to this comment


by JoeZ14 January 11, 2008 2:54 PM PST: i never had a problem with dvds, and i dont think i will. this bluray vs hddvd thing , i cant say i care about lol; Like this Reply to this comment

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