(Another) Deal of the Week: I'm so Blu!

Earlier this year, we witnessed the stomping that Blu-Ray inflicted on HD-DVD in the HD format wars (sound like a really, really bad George Lucas movie huh?). At the time I thought (along with the NYTimes) that the future for Blu-Ray was bright but still recommeded holding off until prices of players were more reasonable.

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Well, this week according to 'The Cheapskate', ClubMac has a good deal on the Sony BDP-S300 Blu-Ray DVD Player for $194.99.

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Why is this only a good deal you ask? Well ok you didn't but I'll tell you anyway. Rick believes that 'player manufacturers need to stop overcharging for these units and drop them to $99. Otherwise, Blu-ray may not live to see the inevitable transition to Internet distribution of movies.'

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While I think Blu-Ray is visually frackin' amazing to look at, I ain't paying no $200 for a player. Perhaps a Playstation 3... But not just a DVD player. Not while I have a very good upscaling Samsung DVD Player sitting at home that cost me less than $40 bucks.

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But if you don't agree and have been waiting to jump on this kind of deal. You're free go ahead and be Blu... too.

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Sony BDP -S300 Tech Specs:

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General

• Width 16.9 in
• Depth 14.8 in
• Height 3.1 in
• Weight 9.9 lbs

Media Types

• BD-ROM
• DVD+R
• DVD-RW
• DVD+RW
• DVD-ROM
• DVD
• DVD-R

DVD

• Audio D/A Converter 24bit / 192kHz
• Built-in Audio Decoders Dolby Digital
• Media Load Type Tray

Picture Modes

• Letterbox
• Pan and scan,
• Widescreen

Cnet editors rated the Sony BDP-S300 a 3 out of 5.

The average user rated the player a 3 out of 5 (64 reviews).

The Good: Excellent picture quality on Blu-ray and DVD; DVD upconversion up to 1080p; HDMI output.

The Bad: Slow load times, particularly unbearable on newer BD Java discs like Pirates of the Caribbean; some minor video performance issues; no Ethernet port for firmware upgrades.

The Bottom Line: The BDP-S300 is a decent choice if you're limiting yourself to a relatively cheap, standard-design Blu-ray player, but everyone else should consider the competition.

~via The Cheapskate and Cnet