Sony has announced the latest addition to its Blu-ray Disc range, describing it as one of the most powerful and intelligent consumer audio and video devices the company has ever developed. 

The BDP-S1E is Sony's first European Blu-ray Disc player, and supports 24p True Cinema.

Cine cameras actually film at 24 frames per second but televisions operate at a higher frame rate, so conversion has traditionally been necessary, resulting in a four per cent discrepancy from the original.

The film on TV actually runs four per cent faster than the original, so the soundtrack rises by four per cent in pitch.

However, when the BDP-S1E is connected to a TV with 24p capabilities, playback occurs at the original 24 frames per second.

The player provides 1920 x 1080p HD video for Blu-ray Disc titles and upscales the image to 1080p when playing normal DVDs.

The BDP-S1E will be available throughout Europe from summer 2007, but consumers may want to put off buying the new player until November following the Blu-ray Disc Association's announcement that players released after 31 October will have significantly improved functionality. 

This is because the Blu-ray Disc Association has mandated that all hardware released after that date must fully support Blu-ray Java interactive technology, which enables features such as picture-in-picture video.

Most of today's players support Blu-ray Java interactive technology to varying degrees, but hardly any can support it fully even with firmware upgrades.