Sony announced two new BD-Live (Profile v2.0) ready Blu-ray players, priced at $400 and $500. The BDP-S350, which will ship sometime in the summer for $400, will feature 1080p24/60 output via HDMI, one Ethernet port and decoding of 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD.

The high-end BDP-S550, which will ship this fall, will cost $500 and will feature in addition to the slightly cheaper S350 1GB of persistent storage and decoding of DTS-HD High Resolution and DTS-HD Master Audio, as well as 7.1 analog outs. Both models have an external port for adding local storage and will support Bonus View for viewing picture-in-picture content.

Both models were showcased yesterday in Las Vegas, and they were previously showed as prototypes at the International Consumer Electronics Show in January, but at that time no timeline or model numbers were disclosed.

"Building on the exceptional picture and sound quality of previous players, Sony's next-generation Blu-ray Disc models bring exciting interactive features to life and offer consumers a ground-breaking experience," said Chris Fawcett, VP of marketing for Sony Electronics' Home Product Division.

"These new devices bring home movie experience beyond the cinema and into a whole new realm of entertainment," he says.

The question here is why in the world would anybody buy the BDP-S350, which has the same features as the Blu-ray-packing PlayStation 3? The only thing lacking in the PS3 is a bitstream audio output, but you can compromise if you think you get a powerful gaming console for free. It looks like just weeks after it won the high-definition format war, Sony is out to rip off customers.