Sony intros next-gen Blu-ray players
Latest BD interactivity features added
Sony last night introduced its latest standalone Blu-ray Disc players, both incorporating the latest Blu-ray interactivity features.
Sony's BDP-S350: BD Live coming via firmware update
The BDP-S350 and BDP-S550 both support what Blu-ray calls Bonus View, but is perhaps better known as picture-in-picture. It'll allow disc makers to add visual commentary tracks to movies in place of the old commentary voice-overs of the DVD era.
The S550 will also feature BD Live, the format's online content linkage technology, out of the box. The S350 won't but that's only because the firmware won't be ready when the machine goes on sale in the States this coming summer.
Sony said the S350 will get BD Live through an internet-delivered update in the autumn, round about the time the S500 goes on sale.
Sony's BDP-S550: Bonus View friendly
To complement BD Live, both machines have a USB port to allow owners to add USB Flash storage devices to hold downloaded files. The S550 will come with a 1GB stick in the box.
Both players feature 1080/60p and 24p cinema-rate output, Sony said, and will upscale DVDs to 1080p too. They have HDMI output and support for 7.1-channel Dolby TrueHD and Digital Plus sound, as well as dts-HD and Master Audio bitstream output. The BDP-S550 adds dts-HD and dts-HD Master Audio decoding, and 7.1-channel analog audio output.
The BDP-S350 will retail for around $400 (£204/€270), BDP-S550 (£254/€337) for about $500. There's no word yet on European availability, but given the US release schedule, we'll undoubtedly get clarification of that by next September's IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin.
COMMENTS
Spot on, comment
"I also suspect that PIB was making reference to W95 with their tongue wedged in their cheek to prove the point about the moral high ground HD-DVD owners are taking"
Exactly... and why am I not surprised that some people need to have it spelt out for them.
"I still can't help but think it's all sour grapes. "What can I find negative to pick on?" syndrome."
Great point, which hits the nail firmly on the head.
But what if
... HD-DVD had won? My Tosh HD-DVD player has an ethernet port. Would you all have been happy to have HAD to have hooked that up? Scott I still can't help but think it's all sour grapes. "What can I find negative to pick on?" syndrome. I understand it I guess, but that is what early adopting is about. Wasting money sometimes! But at least these players have the means to avoid firmware obsolesence. 1st generation DVD players didn't and boy did people get stung with new DVD disk encoding. Or are you not old enough to know about what happened there?
No, BR profiles aren't ideal, but I suspect that Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer and all the other player manufacturers won't want to be putting massive amounts of players out all the time with incomplete firmware to have to patch them virtually immediately. I suspect the profile issue will be addressed quite quickly and things to standardise. If only for the sake of sales.
I also suspect that PIB was making reference to W95 with their tongue wedged in their cheek to prove the point about the moral high ground HD-DVD owners are taking (remember I'm a HD-DVD owner), about updates. MS invented the ship it and patch it ethos!
The points were totally missed that Richard and PIB were making.
@PIB
Hmmm.... evidently Paris is somewhat brighter than you also.
Windows 95 is err, quite old.... go buy yourself a copy of Sunshine on Blu Ray (apologies that the film is dross) and then go and play it on your Sony Blu Ray player and try and access the extra features, be prepared to be in for the long haul though, as this player that is just over a year old cannot play a disc that is just over 6 months old to it's full capacity.
A 10 year old OS not being able to handle the very latest, bloated version of Office is somewhat different and not altogether that surprising really.
Now go and buy any HD DVD player and any HD disc and revel in the fact that it plays, sure you might want to make sure it has the latest firmware, but that's easily done - adding a fricking ethernet port to a Sony BR player is a little bit more tricky for your average consumer!
Profiles on BR is one of the reasons i'm gutted it won, i'm happy with my HD player and will retain and buy bargain discs as people panic sell, until such a time when a complete player comes out, this looks to be soon with the Panasonic BD50, however it's a shame it won't be anywhere near the money i paid for my EP35 :(
The neverending story.
"Not buying" and "This is why Toshiba should've won the format war ".
When are you lot going to get over the loss?
Like most people care what you think now anyway. We'll wave at you as we zip past you. on he Technology Highway.
<yawn>
@Anonymous Coward #2
"...and freakin' stick to it. Just cause you "won" the HD war, Sony, doesn't mean you won't royally piss off your user base with these constant revisions and goal-post moves."
Yeah like this is totally unheard of isn't it?
Imagine if a company like HD DVD supporter M$ kept bringing out new versions of Windows... We'd all be lost then, wouldn't we? That reminds me, I must buy a copy of M$ Office 2007 for my zippy Windows 95 computer....
(Paris because she's cleverer than you lot.)
