I’ve tried to stay out of the hi-def format war between Blu-ray and HD DVD. If I had to pick a side it would actually be HD DVD. My reasoning behind this decision is quite simple; you can get HD DVD players a lot cheaper than you can get a Blu-ray player. Sure, the choices of the major movie studios should be taken into consideration, but I think the real deciding factor will be a player that the average Joe can buy without breaking the bank. While standalone HD DVD players broke the $200 price barrier in time for the holiday season, Sony has announced the release of their first player to do the same.

Unfortunately as you might have noticed from the picture, this isn’t a standalone unit. You’re going to need a full computer with a free SATA port to take advantage of this. The new drive will ship with a copy of CyberLink PowerDVD BD Edition, which you’ll need to watch your favorite Blu-ray titles.

Sure, you need to have an HTPC, or at least a computer that you can hook up to your TV to really take advantage of the drive, but it’s good to see that Sony has managed to break that all-important $200 mark. The drive is available for pre-order for $199, and should ship by the end of the month.

Source: Technabob