Sony Ships Next-Gen Blu-ray Player BDP-S350

(July 19, 2008 HDTV-News.org) Sony on Wednesday announced that you can now purchase its next-generation Blu-ray Disc player, the BDP-S350.

The BDP-S350 supports BonusView (picture-in-picture), a feature found in some new Blu-Ray Disc home video releases, and is also BD-live ready, containing access to the Internet for interactive content and an Ethernet port for firmware updates.

The player features Precision Cinema HD Upscale technology, which converts standard definition signals (480i) to 1080p and outputs a full HD equivalent resolution signal to 1080p TVs via HDMI. Along with this, the BDP-S350 incorporates Sony's new Precision Drive HD, which can find and correct wobbling discs from three different areas, allowing more stable play of scratched or bent Blu-Ray discs or DVDs.

"We leveraged our expertise in film production and digital technology to build a machine that movie fans would truly love," says Chris Fawcett, vice president of marketing for Sony Electronics' Home Products Division. "An advanced Blu-ray Disc player like the BDP-S350 is a must for every HDTV owner because it delivers the ultimate video and sound quality, while unlocking features you can't find on DVD, downloads or video on demand."

The BDP-S350 player is now available nationwide for $399.99 (MSRP) at Sony Style retail outlets, sonystyle.com, and at other retailers

Sony BDP-S350 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Player at Amazon.com
Sony BDP-S350 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Player at purecinema.com
Sony BDP-S350 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Player at J&R

Sony PlayStation 3 PS3 With Optional Remote

The high def format war is over. Those who want to watch high bit rate high definition movies will need a Blu-Ray player. We agree with Home Theater Magazine and many other well regarded reviewers that the 40GB Playstation 3 (PS3) with the optional remote control is one of today's best option. We're anxious to see the next generation of Blu-Ray players, but for now we like the low-cost, highly capable PS3.

Home Theater Magazine concludes:

"Overall the PS3 is a great Blu-Ray player and upconverting DVD player, does a solid job playing network content, and is actually a really good game platform as well, if anyone is still interested in that. For $399 it really makes a lot of sense because of the upgradability and future-proof nature of the architecture."

We agree. In the user forums the PS3 receives consistently high ratings as well. It seems as though just about everyone loves the PS3 as the Blu-Ray player of choice. Don't expect to find a big discount on this popular item, but the $399 list price is at the low end of Blu-Ray players, and the PS3 performs as well or better than higher priced players.

Panasonic DMP-BD30K 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Player

Our second choice is the very capable Panasonic DMP-BD30K $499 at Amazon 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Player This player is slightly more expensive than the PS3 (about $500 list), is user friendly, smooth and fast with top notch video processing. Blu-Ray disks are fantastically detailed and it's DVD upscaling capability is superb. In addition, the DMP-BD30's HDMI output is Deep Color compatible, with 4,096 steps of gradation for even smoother, finer-quality images so you can experience movies just the way they were meant to be experienced. The convenient SD card slot on the DMP-BD30 allows easy viewing of hi-def videos and photos on your HDTV. This player's beautiful images are complemented by exceptionally pure, accurate sound thanks to Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD. UniPhier's advanced processing capability decodes these audio signals with high precision and outputs them in bitstream form with no degradation. It also brings re-mastering to Blu-ray for the first time, which compensates for data lost during the compression process creating a fuller, richer sound. A worthy second choice.

Philips BDP7000/37 Blu-Ray Disc Player

Philips has announced the second generation in its line of Blu-ray players with the Philips BDP7200, sporting 1080p/24 and Deep Color support, and BonusView (aka Profile 1.1) picture-in-picture capability. The player can also upscale DVDs to 1080p, and control connected devices using the EasyLink HDMI Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) protocols. The BDP7200 distinguishes itself by delivering terrific image and audio quality at a comparatively low price. Support for BonusView, too, makes this model a great choice. Hard to find.