The reality of Blu-ray being the video medium of the future is starting to sink in now that the wave of fall product announcements is cresting. Samsung's latest player, the fifth-gen BD-P2500, is pretty much the company's most advanced to date: Besides being fully compatible with discs that include BonusView, which enables picture-in-picture elements like video commentaries, and BD Live, which connects to the Internet to enhance interactive features, the player also includes HQV (Hollywood Quality Video) processing. HQV upconverts standard-def video (like your old DVDs) so it looks as good as it can get without actually going back and shooting it in HD.

While we welcome newer, better gear of all kinds, we'd love it if Samsung could do just a little better on the price, which is $500. It's a bit high, though recent rumors of Sony making drastic price drops to its Blu-ray line would undoubtedly get Samsung to rethink its pricing if they come to pass. We'll keep an eye on the price tags when the Samsung BD-P2500 becomes available in October.

Via Samsung