08.28.2008 — Samsung's new BD-P2500 Blu-ray player features out-of-the-box BD-Live (Profile 2.0) support and Silicon Optix' HQV video processing.

The BD-P2500 also supports BonusView (Profile 1.1), has 7.1-channel analog audio outputs and 1GB of built-in memory.

It offers full 1080p HD playback and upconverts DVDs.

This is Samsung's first BD-Live ready Blu-ray player. The company's BD-P1500 is BD-Live upgradeable via a firmware update.

Other features include:

• USB port for memory expansion and JPEG playback
• HDMI 1.3 output with xvYCC Deep Color support
• A 24fps film mode for smoother playback of films
• An Ethernet connection for firmware upgrades

The BD-P2500 supports these surround sound formats: Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and dts as an uncompressed PCM signal as a bitstream.

Samsung says dts-HD high resolution decoding will be available as a firmware upgrade in the fall. Samsung says there are three ways to get firmware upgrades: the Ethernet connection, USB port or on CD/DVD/BD disc.

The BD-P2500 will ship in October for $499.

Samsung, which launched its Blu-ray Resource Center in June, recently unveiled a HTiB with built-in Blu-ray.

The Entertainment Merchants Association says Blu-ray will outsell DVD in 2012.