Sony LCD HDTVs with Built-in Blu-ray

The format war long over, Sony now wants to expand the presence of Blu-ray. The Sony boss says it’s time to start stuffing Blu-ray players into more products, including HDTVs. The story-between-the-lines is we’re probably about to see Blu-ray players at the bottom-end of the price spectrum.

Remember grandma’s old TV/VCR combo? She told you it was the darndest thing to be able to just hit record on the TV while baking cookies. Now Sony wants to bring that same easy-of-use to digital-age grandmother’s everywhere.

Blu-ray players have already found their way into laptops, home computer systems and of course the PS3. Where else can Sony stuff a Blu-ray player? That’s the question Sony President Ryoji Chubachi asked spectators at a conference in Taipei.

Chubachi said Sony will begin production of a wide range of new product lines at a variety of price ranges. The company’s intention is to develop the global market share of Blu-ray by the end of 2008.

According to Chubachi, part of the company’s plan to extend the reach of its disc format will involve building a Blu-ray player/burner directly into HDTVs. That’s an interesting twist on the traditional TV/DVD combo.

Playback devices built directly into TVs doesn’t usually instill much confidence in the quality of either device. Most TVs with built-in DVD players or VCRs have been the bottom-end of their respective markets. But an HDTV with a Blu-ray burner sounds interesting.

Now that Sony is getting ready to bring Blu-ray into a wider range of consumer markets – it probably means that even cheaper Blu-ray players than we’re seeing today are just around the corner.