Sony announced a high definition photo player with a 80GB hard-drive dubbed HDPS-L1.

The Sony HDPS-L1 features a HD Component (720P) and Analog Component (Y/Cb/Cr) output, but no HDMI interface.
You can view your photo collection with background music and choose between 8 slideshow styles. The HDPS-L1 hard drive photo storage supports 7 types of flash media cards: Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo, CompactFlash, Microdrive, SD Card and xD Picture Card slots.

Roku already launched a HD photo player already back in 2003 called the PhotoBridge. The Roku PhotoBridge does not have a HD, but has a network interface. Somehow the Sony HDPS-L1 is just missing some critical features to make it really a worthy investment. Wi-Fi or at least a wired network interface is just necessary these days. Additionally not having a HDMI interface is another potential hassle to plug it in your home theater environment.

The HDPS-L1 photo storage device will be available in May for about $300.
More details in this Sony press-release.