• #bluray

    Sony's BDP-S350 Blu-ray Player Officially $300 and BD-Live Capable

    Not only did Sony's mainstream BDP-S350 Blu-ray player finally get its firmware update to be fully compatible with the net-interactive BD-Live (BD 2.0) content already hitting stores, but it also got that $100 price reduction we told you about. Even on the MSRP-only Sony Style site, it's $299.99, which means it could be found even cheaper at competitive retailers. When you bring it home, you still have to upgrade the firmware to make it fully BD 2.0 compatible, and you still have to stick a flash drive of your own into the back of it, but those are small obstacles for a Sony-branded Blu-ray player that's (FINALLY) cheaper than a damn PS3. [Sony]
  • #hometheater

    Pioneer Sneaks Out $2200 Elite BDP-09FD; First Blu-ray Player That Crushes the PS3

    Last May Pioneer told us that autumn would bring a "super duper" Blu-ray player—the most powerful Blu-ray player ever built. It makes up for the current crop, which are lower in price but are missing key features like BD-Live for internet-based content. Well, not a leaf has fallen off a tree, yet here it is already, the $2,200 Elite BDP-09FD. Feature-wise, the best Blu-ray player on the market has been the PS3—turns out, an extra $1,700 will buy you something that kills Sony's game console as far as Blu-ray and other media are concerned. More »
  • #bluray

    Panasonic's DMP-BD50 Their First BD-Live Blu-ray Player

    Today in NYC, Panasonic showed off its DMP-BD50, the company's first BD-Live Blu-ray 2.0 player—and the second in the market besides the PlayStation 3—setting the price at $700. It's an improvement over the DMP-BD30, which will stay on the market as a $500 step-down. In addition to BD-Live (and the requisite Ethernet port), it will decode all new DTS and Dolby Digital codecs internally, as well as bitstream them to a compatible receiver, if that's your preference. The player, initially announced at CES, will ship in "late spring," presumably the next 4-6 weeks, and will not need a firmware upgrade to be 2.0 compatible—a requirement of the $400 Sony BDP-S350 player due out around the same time. Fact sheet after the jump. More »
  • #sony

    BDP-S350 and S550: Sony's First Full 2.0 Spec Blu-ray Players

    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: More »