February 14 - 3:00pm EST   Though generally unknown in North America, Sigmatek has announced its first-ever Blu-Ray player, the SBR-1000. It's primary feature is actually cost, as in its intended European market it will retail for under €250 ($364) -- more than €100 less than comparable players like Sony's BDP-300. This is mainly a result of a new laser invented by Sony and Nichia, making Blu-Ray players cheaper to produce. The player does sacrifice DTS-HD however, and use a coaxial audio output instead of optical. Regardless, it supports codecs such as standard DTS and Dolby TrueHD, and can play MP3s burned to disc. Video connections include an HDMI 1.3 output, and support native resolutions ... [full story]