Samsung BD-P2500 Supports BD Profile 2.0

Samsung's fifth-generation Blu-ray player joins the small crowd of players with BD Profile 2.0 capabilities for pulling content from the Internet.

Though Berlin’s IFA 2008 consumer electronics expo hasn’t yet officially begun, Samsung used the day preceding the event to get one of its tamer announcements, a fifth-generation Blu-ray player, out of the way. The BD-P2500 will keep a look much similar to its predecessor, the BD-P1500, but adds long-awaited Blu-ray Profile 2.0 compatibility and a handful of other features.

Profile 2.0 allows the the BD-P2500 to access BD Live features on next-gen discs, meaning it can pull relevant content from the Internet using a built-in Ethernet jack, and store it on an included 1GB of memory. This enables features like wallpaper and ringtone downloads, peer-to-peer interactions, live events and even games.

Other upgrades include a new Hollywood Quality Video (HQV) processor which aids in upconverting standard-def DVD discs, along with HDMI 1.3 output, xvYCC Deep Color support, and a 24fps film mode. It also handles Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, dts, and will handle dts-HD HR with a firmware upgrade in the fall.

The BD-P2500 will debut in October with a retail price of $500.