New Range of Sony Blu-ray Players
Sony announced at the 2009 CES that their new range of Blu-ray players wil have wireless capability, finally catching up with its own game console Sony PS3 in embracing wireless.
And true to its words the new Sony BDP-S560, scheduled for release in mid July 2009 comes with with built-in wireless functionality. The BDP-S560 includes 802.11N Wi-Fi, which means you’ll be able to access BD-Live features without dragging an Ethernet cord into your living room. Additionally, it also supports Wi-Fi protected set-up (WPS) for a quick and easy connection to WPS enabled wireless routers.
Sony BDP-S560 Blu-ray Player
The wireless connection can also be used for firmware updates and accessing photos on other DLNA-enabled devices. The press release doesn’t state whether music or movies can be streamed, but it could be limited to just photo streaming, like its DLNA televisions. Photos can also be accessed via a front-panel USB port.
In the audio department, the S560 supports Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD audio codecs for up to 7.1 channels of high-definition sound. It will not have analog audio output ability. The BDP-S560 will be priced at about $350.
Here’s a summary of the S560′s features:
- Full HD 1080p video output2
- DVD Upscaling via HDMI™2
- Built-in wireless functionality (802.11N/G/B/A)
- Photo streaming functionality
- Digital photo playback
- Dolby® TrueHD and dts-HD internal decoding and bitstream output via HDMI™
- BD-Live™1 Technology
- Quick start-up mode
- Xross Media Bar™ user interface
- Ethernet port
- Built-in USB port
- BRAVIA® Sync3 capability
- 24p True Cinema capable
- Bonus View feature
Sony also announced the step-down BDP-S360, which lacks Wi-Fi and the front-panel USB port. The S360 player supports both internal decoding and bitstream output1 of enhanced audio codecs, including Dolby® TrueHD and dts®-HD Master Audio. It also promises faster load times. The quick start-up mode takes approximately six seconds to play the disc from the time it is powered on. A vast improvement from previous generations of bluray players.
Sony BDP-S360 Blu-ray Player
Source: Sony USA