Digital Home Thoughts: Harman International Unveils Its First Blu-Ray Disc Player With BD-Live Interactivity

"Harman Kardon, a division of Harman International Industries, Incorporated (www.harman.com), today announced the introduction of its first Blu-ray DiscTM media player, the Harman Kardon® BDP 1. The Harman Kardon brand, long respected in the sound industry, builds on its home theater heritage by offering the exciting new features of the next-generation of Blu-ray Disc media. By including BD-Live with the BDP 1 player, home-theater buffs who have vast Blu-Ray-disc movie collections have access to a new world of interactive content, including games, ringtones and other specialized Internet content. With its elegant design, the BDP 1 complements high-definition displays and audio/video receivers, while the unique Harman Kardon user interface simplifies setup and operation."

There aren't that many big-brand-name players making Blu-ray players, so it's nice to see another step into the field - although the name Harmon Kardon fills me with some anger given what I recently went through with my Harmon Kardon amplifier - more on that later. The direct-from-Harmon-Kardon price of $499 USD seems more than a little steep, especially since I didn't see anything in the specs that jumped out at be as being significantly different over other Blu-ray players on the market today.