Sony's new Blu-ray players: still pricey
Tue Feb 26, 2008 12:55PM EST
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Barely a week after Toshiba put HD DVD out of its misery comes word of Sony's latest Blu-ray players, complete with the latest Blu-ray profile, Ethernet ports, and slimmer form factors. But if you thought Sony's prices might begin to drop, think again.
Announced today at a press event in Las Vegas (and duly reported by Engadget HD), both the BDP-S350 and the BDP-S550 come loaded with some impressive features. For starters, both are reputed to be quite a bit slimmer than their somewhat bulky predecessors, and each deck comes with an Ethernet port for firmware upgrades.
Even better, the two players will be upgradeable to Blu-ray Profile 2.0 (or "BD-Live"), which allows for downloadable, Net-enabled features and widgets for BD-Live Blu-ray movies. (Most Profile 1.1 players on the market, save for the Blu-ray-packing PlayStation 3, can't be upgraded to Profile 2.0.) The BDP-S550 will come with the added bonus of 1GB of persistent memory.
In the sound department, the BDP-S350 will arrive with on-board decoding for Dolby Digital Plus and TrueHD, along with bitstream output for TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio (meaning you'll need a DTS-HD-ready receiver to feast your ears on DTS-HD soundtracks). Meanwhile, the BDP-S550 adds the on-board DTS-HD Master Audio decoding lacking in the S350, along with 7.1 analog outputs.
All well and good, but are you ready for the sticker prices? Here you go: $400 for the BDP-S350, and $500 for the S550.
Now, I can forgive (sort of) the $500 price for the S550, given its advanced audio capabilities, but... $400 for the S350? Why not just buy a $400 PlayStation 3 (which comes with practically the same features, save for the bitstream audio output), and get some next-gen gaming in the bargain? Ugh. Looks like lofty Blu-ray prices are here to stay, at least for now.
Anyway, expect the BDP-S350 to arrive this summer, while the S550 is slated for the fall. [Photo credit: Engadget HD]
Related:
Sony announces BDP-S350, BDP-S550: first new Blu-ray players since the fall of HD DVD [Engadget HD]
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2 Posted by scottiecordes on Tue Feb 26, 2008 2:19PM EST Report Abuse
With all due respect... I wonder why people are quoting prices of 30 for a movie. You can easily get a BOGO or at least a buy two get one. Even at the 2 to 1, that brings it down to 20 for a movie. When I take my wife and daughter to the show (matinee even) it costs 24 bucks, sans popcorn and drinks. And they don't give me a copy of the movie to take home with me. And they refuse to pause the movie if someone needs a potty break. If you buy movies on sale from sites like Amazon, there is no way you are paying 30. It is not really uncommon to get down to a net price of 14-16 if you are dilligent in your research. Now...back on topic...the PS3 is still the best bargain around for a BluRay player! Sony equipment is always high. Wait until the knock off brands start to make BluRay players. That is when we will see price breaks. It sure wont be from Sony...it never is.
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3 Posted by fcaraco on Tue Feb 26, 2008 3:14PM EST Report Abuse
I have a PS3 and use it as my primary Blu-ray player for movies. I have a new Onkyo 7.1 capable receiver with all of the newest audio features too... Now I see that the PS3 can't output DTS Master audio... This is a downer although when I play a movie it sounds fantastic anyway... It still feels now like I am missing out on something great... Will PS3 have an upgrade to take care of this audio output issue or is it just matter or living with it (or buying a stand alone BD player instead??
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4 Posted by magpagbst on Tue Feb 26, 2008 3:37PM EST Report Abuse
. . . checked amazon . . . average sale price was $23-$27 . . . still too much to pay for something that is going to sit on my shelf over 99% of the time . . . especially if it is going to be stored next to a standard definition dvd of the same title!
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5 Posted by dryicezero on Tue Feb 26, 2008 3:44PM EST Report Abuse
The pricing is outrageously stupid. If it weren't for the fact that you can game with a PS3, I would not have a BD player until they were in the sub $100 range. Visit my tech blog at http://www.smbtechadvice.com
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1 Posted by matt_archbold2002 on Tue Feb 26, 2008 1:57PM EST Report Abuse
This is ridiculous. 400.00 for a stand alone player that has maybe 1 or 2 extra features on it compared to the PS3. I know this would happen. If HDDVD had won, their prices would of stayed at the level they were at (which was fair). But for Sony to charge 400.00 for a cheap player is stupid. They won't have my money any time soon. I'll gladly continue renting from the Xbox live marketplace unti they get their act together. I wont even go into the overpriced bluray discs. 30.00 for a movie, what a rip off.