Sony's First Blu-ray Player: Finally Shipping?

After months of fits, starts and delayed release dates, Sony's first-generation Blu-ray player is finally set to ship to consumers -- at least that's according to the company's consumer website.

Perhaps second only to Sony's own PlayStation 3 in terms of hype and anticipation among Blu-ray early adopters, the $1,000 BDP-S1 was originally expected to hit stores simultaneously with the studio's initial Blu-ray launch titles. Needlesstosay that never happened, and a raft of rumored technical issues delayed the player throughout the summer and fall.

But hungry consumers who had pre-ordered the deck and suffered through months of "Player Not Yet Shipped" messages were finally greeted by the following email from the SonyStyle website yesterday, according to several readers who passed along the news:

"We are excited to announce that BDP-S1 Blu-ray Disc players will soon be shipping. We know that you have been waiting patiently for this product and strongly believe that the Blu-ray experience will be worth the wait."

Unfortunately, the message also included details on two future firmware upgrades required to play BD-R/RE format Blu-ray discs, as well as access interactive content on BD-Java-encoded titles. But while it is never a good sign when a new player already needs enhancements, we're sure Blu-ray fans aren't complaining after such a long wait.

We'll keep you posted with BDP-S1 user reports as the player finally hits the market in the coming days.