Philips BDP7500 Blu-ray Out in UK

The new BDP7500 occupies the upper end of Philips Blu-ray range and to emphasize this, the design has been changed from the dark, slab-like design of their cheaper models, to a super-space age metallic silver casing with a dark touch enabled front panel.  The drive is now centrally situated and a cool blue light effect adds some colour.  Think of it as a slimmed down version of the range-topping BDP9500 and you'll be on the right track.

The BDP7500 is a Profile 2.0 machine and has 1GB of internal memory for quick BD-Live access, plus a USB port handily mounted on the front of the player too.  Blu-rays will be played back at 1080p and 24fps, with Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support, while DVD's will benefit from upscaling to 1080p too.  Interestingly, the BDP7500 supports the 21:9 image ratio pioneered by Philips, plus there are 7.1 analogue audio outputs on the rear of the machine.  Finally, an Ethernet port takes care of its data needs.

The Philips BDP7500 has just gone on sale in the UK and retails at a cost of £249.  A US launch seems likely too, with online sources quoting a $405 price tag, however we would be very surprised to see it costing anywhere near that much - it is, after all, a simple pound to dollar conversion - and expect to see it at least $100 less than that.