Not surprisingly, 2008 will see new players from major Blu-ray supporters like Sony, Samsung, Panasonic and Pioneer. Philips and Sylvania are introducing their first Blu-ray players to the market, with entry-level price points around $400. Up at the high end, meanwhile, Marantz plans to introduce a $2,100 Blu-ray player, and Denon has just released two models priced from $999 to $1,999. Interestingly, Denon’s $999 DVD-2500BTCI is the first digital-only transport, sporting a single HDMI connector for video and audio output. Is this a glimpse at the future of A/V backsides? While LG and Samsung won’t likely be drawing up plans for new Blu-ray/HD DVD combo-players, you can still find the LG BH200 and Samsung Duo BP-UP5000 … for less than $600, I might add.

Other manufacturers continue to support Blu-ray, but have not officially announced products for the American market. Harman will reportedly release its DVC 600 Blu-ray player in Europe later this year, but there’s no word yet on a U.S. model. Mitsubishi recently announced two new Blu-ray recorders for the Japanese market, but the company’s U.S. line show came and went with no Blu-ray announcements. JVC showed a prototype of a Blu-ray player at CES, but no pricing or release date has been provided.

If you plan to celebrate the year of Blu-ray by actually purchasing a Blu-ray player, here’s a look at current and upcoming (or at least announced) players for 2008. If you’re wondering what the different profiles mean, stay tuned for my next post, where I delve more deeply into the subject.

Daewoo DBP-1000 Profile 2.0/BD-Live (price TBD, estimated 2008 release)
Daewoo DBP-2000 Profile 2.0/BD-Live (price TBD, estimated 2008 release)
Denon DVD-2500BTCI Profile 1.1 ($999, available now)
Denon DVD-3800BDCI Profile 1.1 ($1,999, available now)
Goldmund Edios 20 Profile 1.1 ($17,000)
LG BH200 Blu-ray/HD DVD, Profile 1.1 ($849.95, available now)
Marantz BD8002 Profile 1.1 ($2099.99, estimated second quarter 2008)
Panasonic DMP-BD30 Profile 1.1 ($499.95, available now)
Panasonic DMP-BD50 Profile 2.0/BD-Live (Price TBD, estimated May 2008)
Philips BDP7200 Profile 1.1 ($399, available now)
Pioneer Elite BDP-94HD Profile 1.0 ($999, available now)
Pioneer Elite BDP-95FD Profile 1.0 ($999, available now)
Pioneer Elite BDP-05FD Profile 1.1 (Price TBD, estimated 2008 release)
Samsung Duo BD-UP5000 Blu-ray/HD DVD, Profile 1.1 ($799.99, available now)
Samsung BD-P1400 Profile 1.0 ($499.99, available now)
Samsung BD-P1500 Profile 1.1/BD-Live-ready ($399, estimated June 2008)
Sharp BD-HP20U Profile 1.0 ($399.99, available now)
Sharp BD-HP50U Profile 1.1 ($699.99, estimated October 2008)
Sony BDP-S300 Profile 1.0 ($399.99, available now)
Sony BDP-S500 Profile 1.0 ($599.99, available now)
Sony BDP-S2000ES Profile 1.0 ($1299.99, available now)
Sony BDP-S350 Profile 1.1/BD-Live-ready ($400, estimated summer 2008)
Sony BDP-S550 Profile 2.0/BD-Live ($500, estimated fall 2008)
Sony PlayStation3 Profile 2.0/BD-Live ($399.99–$499.99, available now)
Sylvania NB500SL9 Profile 1.1 ($399.99, available now)