Gizmodo
PS3 aside, the Blu-ray players Sony sold up until now are worthy of only your garbage can. Now that HD DVD is dead like a doornail, the 800-lb. gorilla is getting serious. The $400 BDP-S350 will feature an Ethernet port, USB port for connecting external storage and "BonusView" picture-in-picture capability (from the leapfrogged profile 1.1). Even better, it will be "BD-Live ready," meaning an over-the-network software update will make the player compatible with net-friendly titles when they hit the market. Later on, the $500 BDP-S550 will arrive with nearly identical features. The differences:
While both support 1080/60p and 24p video and can decode Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus, the S550 can decode DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and Master Audio, and has 7.1-channel analog outputs (rather than, we presume, 5.1 on the S350). The S550 will also come with a 1GB "storage device"—what we're guessing is a flash-based Micro Vault—and will be BD-Live capable right out of the box.
The most important difference, besides that $100 and a little bit of girth, is that the S350 is slated for a summer release, while the S550 won't be here until fall. Screw that, we're not waiting.
We do, however, have some concerns. An inevitable software upgrade to the PS3 could make many of these features available for free, and even the analog-output issue may be able to be solved by an accessory, not that Sony Computer Entertainment would build it. Perhaps more frustrating, from the high-end home theater perspective, is that there is no replacement for the super deluxe but utterly impotent BDP-S2000es. Already ghettoized by Panasonic's far less expensive DMP-BD30, it will now be thrashed by its own supporting players.
Here's the press release:
SONY ADDS NEW BLU-RAY DISC PLAYERS WITH ADVANCED INTERACTIVITYNew Models Feature Ethernet Port for Interactive Functionality and Easy Firmware Updates
LAS VEGAS, Feb. 26, 2008 - Sony updated its Blu-ray Disc player line today with two new models that will be capable of accessing advanced interactive features such as BonusView and BD-Live.
The BDP-S350 and BDP-S550 models both support BonusView (Picture-in-Picture) featured on some of the new Blu-ray Disc theatrical releases. The BDP-S350 model is BD-Live ready featuring an Ethernet port for an easy firmware update and access to Internet-based interactive content features. The BSP-S550 is BonusView and BD-Live capable when it ships.
Both models also feature an external port for local storage, so users can add optional storage device. The BDP-S550 ships with a 1GB storage device.
"Building on the exceptional picture and sound quality of previous players, Sony's next-generation Blu-ray Disc models bring exciting interactive features to life and offer consumers a ground-breaking experience," said Chris Fawcett, vice president of marketing for Sony Electronics' Home Product Division. "These new devices bring home movie experience beyond the cinema and into a whole new realm of entertainment."
The players feature 1080/60p and 24p True Cinema output. They are compatible with most standard DVDs and feature 1080p upscaling through an HDMI connection to capable HDTV sets, improving the picture performance of existing DVD libraries.
The models offer 7.1 channel Dolby® TrueHD and Dolby® Digital Plus decoding and bit-stream output, as well as dts®-HD High Resolution Audio and Master Audio bit-stream output. The BDP-S550 adds dts-HD High Resolution Audio and dts-HD Master Audio decoding as well as 7.1 channel analog audio output.
The players support AVCHD discs encoded with x.v.Color™ (xvYCC) technology, an international standard for wide color space reproduction. The standard expands the current data range of video by about 1.8 times, allowing the players to output more natural and vivid colors similar to what the human eye can actually see. The players also feature compatibility with an array of video formats, including BD-R/RE (BDMV and BDAV modes), DVD+R/+RW, DVD-R/-RW, CD, CD-R/RW (CD-DA format), and JPEG on DVD//CD recordable media.
The new models feature a slim design with reduced depth and height compared to previous models matching Sony's new home-theater-in-a-box systems, the HT-SS2300 and HT-CT100 T-SS2300, also announced today. Optimized for Blu-ray Disc™, the new component systems feature three 1080p compatible HDMI™ inputs making them the perfect match for a Full high-definition home theater when connected to a new Sony BRAVIA® 1080p HDTV.
The new BDP-S350 ships this summer for about $400 and BDP-S550 will be available this fall for about $500. They will be offered at Sony Style stores, online at sonystyle.com, at military base exchanges, and at authorized retailers nationwide.
Comments
What's the storage used for?
@TailsNZ: Additional content downloaded from the net for BD-Live. Saving data for any BD-J games or interactive features on the disc. Etc.
@MegaZone: So essentially, features that maybe 0.0001% of the buying population would actually use.
@CubFan81:
HA, if that! I don't think I've ever even looked at the special features of any regular DVD
$400-$500 my ass... the bastards can keep it!
Well, at least there is finally a player that can sort of compete with the PS3. Of course, by summer we could see a $350 PS3.
I don't get it.... According to all the HDDVD fanboys, the prices were supposed to go up. Also, the main "advantage" over BD was the extra content. Now people scoff at the idea of Sony putting a built in drive for some extra content, because no one really looks at the extra content in movies?
How the world changes......
@izim1: You're damned if you do and damned if you don't.
With the PS3 more than likely to get any Blu-ray upgrades, I'm still confused why anyone would buy a $400+ Blu-ray only player (unless it's just a size issue). Geez, even if you don't use the PS3 for gaming, it still has a lot more features than these Blu-ray players.
@izim1: You're still writing? Dude go out and get a PS3 and work on your reading comprehension. I know you aren't wasting your time with videogames. So sad to see someone so old thinking they are hip.
@izim1: No, the main advantage was that you could get a player that worked with every HD-DVD ever for under $200.
Die in a fire sony, die in a fire.
@CubFan81: I don't have the link for you but I recall that the downloadable content for Transformers was actually well received on HD DVD. In part probably because early adopters are generally more tech savvy, but even still, micro-transactions are really hot right now (wii, 360, iTunes).
If these new players can output the next gen audio codecs over HDMI (1.3, bitstream), then these are the players I've been waiting for.
7.1 analog = a mess of wires.
I'd much rather have 1 hdmi cable going into my receiver which will decode the bitstream.
/ex-HDDVD fanboy
Hey an ethernet port! Good job Sony. Now you just need to let every early adopter whom you have screwed over with 1.x Blu-ray profiles upgrade to this unit for cheap.
Loosers.
That's why the PS3 Trojan horse is so sweet for Sony. First the gamers bought it. They couldn't help but buy movies once they had the Blu-ray player even if it was just to try it. Now that Sony won the war, the movie lovers will buy the PS3 to use as their HD player. But once they buy the PS3 they will undoubtedly buy games to play even if it's only just to try it. Once they do, they will be hooked and continue to buy games.
It's the perfect plan! Self reinforcing!
PS3, total world domination!
hmmmm maybe i should look into the ps3.....
Either they make a 200 dollar Blu ray player or none at all because you can't price stand alone Blu ray players at the same price as a PS3.
@izim1: Seings as most people bought a HD-DVD player for $100 to $150, $400-$500 is a big step up in price.
I still think the PS3 is a poor player and will assume these things are much better so people will want to upgrade to a real stand alone player anyways. Later this year apparently.
@vertibraker: i would. but i doubt i'd ever be able to be as good as you. i'm just amazed at how you can actually see the difference between 1080i and 1080p. and the 1080i of the HDDVD wins, no-less..... what are the odds?.....
@fastm3driver: $100-150? only if they bought it after HDDVD was dead.. and at that point you can really compare the prices. in the middle of "the war" the prices of HDDVD were in the $200-300 range compared to the $400-500 BD range...
BTW i just bought a toshiba A30 for $80 and 2 free movies.... i needed a DVD player and i just went ahead and got the last "clearance" HDDVD player in the store...
@izim1: Why do you keep writing? Just because you can't afford 1080p players and televisions, you think no one else can. Buy a damn blu-ray player already!!! You'll sound more credible when you have one
i picked up the xbox360 hddvd add-on awhile back for <$150. in hindsight i would have preferred saving my money, but nonetheless, i was able to enjoy consistent hddvd movies from netfilx for the last several months.
i am optimistic that microsoft will have a similar solution out for blue-ray - hopefully within a month or two - and for a more economical price point than $400+ dollars.
i have zero interest in ps3 since i already have x360.
die, sony, die.
Wake me when they decide to make a sub $200 machine with the same specs. See you next year.
@vertibraker:
yeah. because some random "troll" on the web knows what i have, much less, what i can and cant afford. only complete TOOLs come on these articles and brag about what they have. no one cares. except other tools and trolls that call themselves "vertibraker"...
Hey... let's make it BLUE so that it doesn't match ANY other components anyone might have.... and then let's put a gigantic logo on the front! That will sell like hotcakes boys!
@izim1: You make soooo much sense. Your poor kid. Having to grow up with your genes. That is so so sad.
Within a month Microsoft will announce a BluRay add on drive for the xbox 360 for around 200 bucks. I'll probably initially buy that and then later get a stand alone player when they come down in price. I prefer to use a real player for watching movies and not a gaming system. The remotes are clunkier. It's just a preference.
oh.. forgot the news link:
[www.smarthouse.com.au]
@vertibraker: you're so lucky i've nothing better to do with my time while at work..... that and the fact that i find "trolls" on the net so pathetic that i just have to humor them :)
of course, microsoft may just decide to skip the whole format war all-together and focus strictly on improving HD-downloadables over the existing LIVE network.
hmm.
@rawlus: microsoft has nothing to do with the ISPs network infrastructure. people that can get FIOS are by FAR only a handful and broadband is STILL by FAR the minority. microsoft knows this. unless they plan on
"donating" a crap-load of money to the ISP providers, focusing on HD-downloads, shouldnt even be close to being something they can waist ALL their FOCUS on.......
never meant to imply M$ had anything to do with ISP's. broadband is a requirement for xbox live IIRC, and they have IIRC, over 8 million active subscribers on that platform - so that would seem to be a pretty captive audience open to downloadable content no? itunes has been pretty successful, one would only think that the non-format HD-download model will mature over the coming years to represent a significant percentage of the way in which users receive HD-content right?
i won't dispute that the tech isn't quite there now, that d/l's take too long to be widely adopted and that the "hd-quality" of said downloads don't approach the quality of the same content on portable media - but it'll come in time no doubt.
I'd buy the S350 over the PS3. I'd hate to buy a PS3 as a standalone player (it's way too big for a stand alone), so far the S350 looks like a good competitor. The S550 has bells and whistles I'll probably never use as well so I'd be saving $100.
@izim1: Awww the pathetic hypocrite resorts to childish name calling. I was wondering why your mind is so slow. That minimum wage job of yours must really help.
I want them to make a red blu-ray player just to rub salt in the wound.
@vertibraker: yeah, working at "mooby's" isnt the most glamorous job in the world but hey, we cant all be wealthy brain surgeons such as yourself. with the ability to "CLEARLY" see the difference between HDDVD and BD...........
To paraphrase an old Apple line about Windows 95: Blu-ray 2008 is HD DVD 2006
@kcmurphy88: and HD DVD 2006 is dead in 2008
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