Pansonic has released some details about their forthcoming Profile 1.1 Blu Ray player, the Panasonic DMP-BD30.

The Panasonic DMP-BD30 will be the second player available that supports Blu Ray Profile 1.1, following in the footsteps of the LG BH200. Among the features the $499.95 DMP-BD30 will sport is inclusion of an SD card slot that will allow users to playback AVCHD high definition content from their SD cards, in addition to functioning as an image viewer. HDMI 1.3b and 1080p24 compatible, the DMP-BD30 features the secondary video decoder mandatory in Profile 1.1 players, so DMP-BD30 users will be able to enjoy interactive content that requires PIP.

 It sounds like a lot of player for the price, and is a step in the right direction for Blu Ray. With $200 players on the other side of the fence, the Blu Ray camp is going to have to get these prices down if they are serious about adoption.