Are low-cost Blu-ray Disc players coming to Europe in the near future? They are if claims that local consumer electronics company Alba has ordered 4000 players a month from January are to be believed.

Chinese-language newspapers Commercial Times and Economic Daily News today quote the head of Chinese manufacturer Forworld Electronics as saying his firm will be supplying Alba with said number of Blu-ray Players early next year.

Alba releases kit over here under its own name, but also under the Goodmans, Grundig and Bush brands, all pitched between the budget end of the market and the mainstream. That suggests Alba's Blu-ray machine, under whichever brand it's released, is likely to be priced at a rather more affordable level than dedicated BD player have been to date.

Indeed, so far, the most affordable Blu-ray player has been Sony's PlayStation 3 rather than a standalone player.

By contrast, a fair few cut-price HD DVD players are on the market right now, most of them first-generation Toshiba machines like the HD-E1, which can be found online for around £190.

The Venturer SHD7000, launched in Europe last September as the first sub-£200 HD DVD player, hasn't yet materialised in the UK, though it is on sale in US Target stores for $249 (£120).