Why are the new Blu-ray players being delayed?

[Jim L]

Sony is supposed to be the torch-bearer of Blu-ray, yet they have really dropped the ball in my opinion. Now we're hearing early December for release of their player. Pioneer maybe after January sometime. How about Sharp, LG, and Philips? No announcements, no explanations.

Originally the launch was supposed be this past summer. I was planning to buy the BDP-S1 in early August . . . September . . . then October . . . November . . . now December!

Right now their format launch and PR have scored a big fat "F". I wonder if they realize that the early adopters' perception of them or Blu-ray is in the toilet right now?

I'd be interested in hearing others' opinions on this and especially if anyone has any inside information as to "WHY".

Here are my theories:

1. Blue laser diodes are in short supply
2. They can't yet produce a bug-free player and they want to get it right
3. The Playstation 3 is Sony's big money-maker and everything else is secondary
4. The delays are caused by compatibility testing - BD-50, BD-Java, new HD sound formats and currently released titles
5. The problem is with Pioneer, who can't meet their production commitments
6. Some serious flaw has been found with the Blu-ray format and they're looking for workarounds

That last item is only conjecture. I really doubt there is any show-stopper at this point. BD-50 is successful, all studios (including SONY) have produced excellent quality discs using all the codecs. New features like BD-Java and HD audio formats should be hashed out at this point.