By Matthew Henry

SYDNEY: Sony Australia will launch its first home Blu-ray player to media in two weeks time at a press event in Sydney, the company announced today.

The company today said it will hold a press conference to herald its debut in the home Blu-ray player market at Sydney’s Moore Park on Thursday 14 June.

Sony has not revealed details of pricing, availability or channel strategy at this stage.

Senior company executives will be present at the launch including Sony Corporation senior general manager – Blu-ray strategy group, Akira Shimazu, Sony Corporation deputy general manager – video business division, Masashi Mizuta, and Sony Australia managing director, Carl Rose.

According to the company, the launch will feature the latest Sony Pictures films and previews and Blu-ray versus DVD comparisons.

Sony’s debut player has been on display at the company’s national audio roadshow which has so far visited Perth and Sydney and will move to Brisbane and Melbourne in the coming weeks.

Sony has been a key promoter of the Blu-ray format and has so far launched the PlayStation 3 and a Vaio notebook PC supporting with the technology.

However, the brand is more than six months behind Samsung and Panasonic in launching a home player to market. But with sales relatively slow to date, Sony has not been significantly disadvantaged by waiting.

Pioneer is the most recent entrant into the fledgling Blu-ray category but will initially target audio specialists to appeal to the high-end early adopter market.