Pioneer BDP-HD1 Blu-ray Player Pushed to December

The launch of Pioneer's BDP-HD1 stand-alone Blu-ray player has been delayed because of quality control issues, says a Pioneer spokesperson.

The BDP-HD1, originally expected to ship in October, will now be available in December. The player has not passed the company's quality control requirements, and it will be available when it does.

"All of the player's specifications had not been finalized in time to meet Pioneer's quality control requirements," the Pioneer spokesperson writes in an email to ElectronicHouse.com.

"The BDP-HD1 needs to pass our testing to ensure it fulfills the high performance expectations associated with Pioneer Elite."

This isn't the first delay for the unit. It was initially scheduled for release in May, but "development delays" postponed the roll-out.

The current delay is not because of a technical issue, according to the spokesperson.

The BDP-HD1 is priced at $1,500.

Last week, Sony's BDP-S1 Blu-ray player was delayed because of a software issue.

For more information on Blu-ray and HD DVD, visit our High-Def DVD special report. -- Jason Unger