CEDIA: Sharp Introduces BD-HP20U Blu-ray player

After months of rumors, Sharp has finally unveiled their first next-gen disc player for the US, the AQUOS BD-HP20U Blu-ray player.

Due in stores later this month at an MSRP of $549.99, the new player will be the first non-LCD product in Sharp's US line to carry the AQUOS moniker.

Key features include 1080p/24 fps video, onboard decoding for Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD, and a built-in HDMI 1.3 AV interface.

The company says that all of the key components of the player were built by Sharp itself, including the Blu-ray laser, the pick-up beam, and the driver unit.

Athough the player doesn't appear to offer bit-stream audio output, Sharp's press release boasts of a "Quick Start" feature, which promises load-times of less than 10-seconds.

Cosmetically, the player features a black piano finish, and a "slim-profile" design. Gizmodo posted a series of photos of the unit earlier today, and indeed this puppy looks to be thin.