Sony outs BDP-S360 and BDP-S560 Blu-ray players

[bt12483]

LAS VEGAS, March 2, 2009 – Sony is adding four new Blu-ray Disc™ devices to its lineup today, including a stand-alone player with Wi-Fi® capability for easy BD-Live™ access and Blu-ray Disc home theater systems with S-AIR™ wireless audio.
The BDP-S360 and BDP-S560 stand-alone players and BDV-E300 and BDV-E500W BD home theater systems deliver full HD 1080/60p and 24p True Cinema™ output, decode the latest advanced audio codecs, and are BD-Live capable with your broadband internet connection and purchase of external memory.
"The demands of today's home theater go beyond pristine picture quality and our new Blu-ray Disc product line offers a breadth of technologies that deliver an amazing entertainment experience," said Chris Fawcett, vice president of marketing for Sony Electronics' Home Product Division. "Consumers don't want a living room cluttered with wires and the new Blu-ray Disc product lineup breaks down the wired barriers of the past."
Offering built-in Wi-Fi wireless network capabilities (802.11N/G/B/A), the BDP-S560 can easily connect to the Internet through your existing wireless home network to download and stream BD-Live content including additional scenes, short subjects, trailers, interactive games, and more. It also enables easy firmware updates to assist in keeping your player up-to-date with the latest Blu-ray Disc media and features.
While compatible with most wireless routers, the BDP-S560 also supports Wi-Fi Protected Setup™, for a quick and easy connection to enabled wireless routers. Additionally, the player is Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA®) ready, allowing it to connect to other DLNA compliant devices to share digital photos.
Since many consumers own extensive DVD movie libraries, the BDP-S360 and BDP-S560 incorporate Sony's Precision Cinema HD Upscale technology that converts standard-definition signals (480i) to near HD quality.
Additionally, the models add Sony's Precision Drive™ technology?, which helps to detect and correct wobbling discs from three directions, supporting stabilization of the playback of bent or scratched Blu-ray Discs and DVDs.
The BDP-S360 and BDP-S560 models support 7.1 channel Dolby® TrueHD and Dolby® Digital Plus, DTS®-HD High Resolution Audio, and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding as well as bit-stream output via HDMI.
Both players support Deep Color video output and AVCHD discs encoded with x.v.Color™ (xvYCC) technology. They 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 BD/DVD/CD recordable media.
The models also offer an external port for local storage so users can add their USB flash storage device. The BDP-S560 features a front USB port for viewing photos from your USB flash memory device or directly from a digital camera.
Shipping this summer, the BDP-S360 and BDP-S560 will retail for about $300 and $350, respectively.

http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/03/02...-new-bd-htibs/

[Favelle]

I heard about the BDP-S560 not too long ago. Essentially the 550 but with Wi-Fi. Too awesome. And an MSP of $350? Too good to be true. May in fact be my first Sony product since my Sony Walkman!

[hifiguymi]

The BDP-S560 drops the 7.1 analog outputs. It only has stereo analog outputs. That won't matter to too many people, but it was a way to bring down the cost compared to the BDP-S550.

[Rich86]

The BDP-S560 drops the 7.1 analog outputs. It only has stereo analog outputs. That won't matter to too many people, but it was a way to bring down the cost compared to the BDP-S550.

The photos I saw of the new models still indicated the 560 as being taller than the 360 - much like the 550 is taller than the 350 to make room for the 7.1 analog connections on the back. I sure am hoping this indicates those 7.1 analog outputs still exist on the new S560 . . .
I'm also interested in how much better these players upconvert SD-DVD vs. the previous models, as I think that is a worthwhile capability for folks who want the best possible presentation of their SD-DVDs on their high def TV's.
Update - well I just ran over to the Sony site - and it sure does look like Sony has dropped the 7.1 analog outputs from the model 560. Pity - that is a feature I am in need of (with my high quality/powered receiver without hdmi capabiltiy). So the only difference between the 360 and 560 is wifi & a USB jack in front?

[MG15]

Update - well I just ran over to the Sony site - and it sure does look like Sony has dropped the 7.1 analog outputs from the model 560. Pity - that is a feature I am in need of (with my high quality/powered receiver without hdmi capabiltiy). So the only difference between the 360 and 560 is wifi & a USB jack in front?

I think it's worth an extra $50 over the 360 if you need wifi, but that doesn't make sense to just drop the 7.1 analog outputs. I realize they are trying to cut the prices, but taking out the 7.1 lessens their market on this. I wonder if the 550 sold a lot less even though it had the 7.1 outputs and decoded dts-hd?

[Saturius]

Does anyone know if either of these will feature frame advance and a zoom function?

[MG15]

Does anyone know if either of these will feature frame advance and a zoom function?

Good question. I've looked around and haven't seen anything about them being able or not being able to. Guess we'll find out at some point.

[hifiguymi]

The analog section of the Sony was not all that great so them losing it on the BDP-S560 isn't that big of a deal in my opinion. With the couple I installed that used the 7.1 analog out, the only one that was close to correct was with a Denon receiver that has a +10dB on the LFE input. Without that the bass is anemic at best when system balance is kept in place.

[crazzeto]

It'd be nice if they'd add support for some streaming services like others have been doing... But nice value none-the-less...

[MG15]

It'd be nice if they'd add support for some streaming services like others have been doing... But nice value none-the-less...

Well it is Sony and price vs value has never been a strong area for them. They do make quality products though.

[crazzeto]

Problem is so do other CE's, who are offering stronger price/value in their products

[MG15]

I realize that, but there are a lot of people who are very brand loyal. So much so, that they will skip out on other features to buy "their" brand. Me, frankly, I could give a rat's ass for all the streaming these new players are doing, so I don't even take that kind of stuff into consideration. To me the most important aspect is the quality at a good price. If I get extra features with the player, great. If I don't, it's no big loss.

[Maxx_75]

I dont game a whole lot so I dont have any game preferences to speak of. I have all 3 systems but dont have time to play them much.

That being said when it comes to home electronics I am a Sony fanboy. Most of the time I will buy a Sony product even if there is another that is cheaper or has a better feature. The main reason for this is I have faith in its quality. I cant think of a single Sony product that I have or have had that has ever broke.

Also all of my remotes work with all of my stuff in any room without messing with codes etc.

[MG15]

Also all of my remotes work with all of my stuff in any room without messing with codes etc.

That's what universal remotes are for.

Other than all of the PlayStations, the 350 was the first Sony product I've bought and so far it's been great. With that though, I think Sony needs to rethink some of it's strategy. The only reason I bought the 350 over the Panasonic BD35, was because of the Sears deal on Black Friday. I think the 35 had more to offer at about the same price normally. I wasn't to worried about it since I pretty much knew from the moment I was going to get one it was going to end up in the bedroom.

And now something similar is going to happen with these. I think Sony is really dropping the ball with the 560 not having 7.1 analog out. The Panasonic 80 will have the 7.1 analog out. Both Panasonics will have a USB port and SD card slot which you most likely play AVCHD files right off of.

One of these players isn't going to sell. There isn't enough difference between the two and for only $50 more you get wifi and a USB to view photos off of. Sony could make it so you could view videos, but with their track record I don't see that happening. There will always be the Sony loyalists who will go for one of these before anything else, but that's the only people I see buying one of these unless the prices drop quick.

After having the 350 and my Viao laptop for a while now, I definitely see the quality in Sony products. I don't think it's enough though. Panasonic is on the same level and about the same prices, but just the little bit extra you get from them I feel is worth it and I think a lot of people will too. Look how well the 35 and 55 sold.

[MG15]

http://www.avforums.com/forums/blu-r...yers-09-a.html

Take it for what it's worth, but this guy is saying the S760 will have 7.1 analog out. Now this confuses me even more why sony is putting out two players so similar.