Prices on next-gen optical HD players continue to plummet today with Sony's announced price drop on their new BDP-S300 Blu-ray Disc player. At $499 list, it's now priced for $100 less than the Playstation 3 which currently reigns supreme as the cheapest (and noisiest) BD player on the market. In fact, the move might even cannibalize PS3 sales now that BD buffs have a cheaper source for HDMI 1.3 playback from a unit offering a traditional remote control and A/V stylings. It's still $100 $200 or so more than Toshiba's cheapest HD DVD player which recently shed a Benjamin in time for Father's Day. But hey Sony, Toshiba... it's not the price that's holding back interest. It's the uncertainty you've created by launching two essentially equal but incompatible formats onto the world of consumer electronics. If you don't get your houses in order soon, your problems won't be with each other. Rather, it'll be be those traditional and not-so-traditional CE players offering set top boxes with big disks and HD video on demand that form the roots of your demise.