Sony's new Blu-ray players add features, cut prices

The most expensive new Blu-ray deck from Sony is actually $50 cheaper than last year's "bargain" model, and (finally) adds Wi-Fi into the mix. But if you were thinking that Sony might jump on the Netflix-streaming bandwagon, well ... think again.

Unveiled yesterday in Las Vegas, Sony's new stand-alone Blu-ray line includes a pair of decks: the $299 BDP-S360 (a follow-up to 2008's $399 BDP-S350) and the $349 BDP-S560, which now comes with built-in Wi-Fi for wireless access to Net-connected BD-Live special features.

Both players, which are slated for release this summer, come with impressive audio support, including on-board decoding of "lossless" Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks. Last year, only the $499 BDP-S550 supported on-board DTS-HD MA decoding.

All well and good—and indeed, getting a pair of stand-alone Blu-ray decks from Sony for less than $400 is a welcome change.

That said, Sony's new players lack a key feature: Netflix video streaming, or any other type of video streaming (such as movie rentals over the PlayStation video store) for that matter.

Meanwhile, check out the Samsung P2500 Blu-ray player, which comes with BD-Live support and Netflix streaming (although no DTS-HD MA decoding or Wi-Fi; check out my review); it's selling online for anywhere between $300 and $350. 

In any case, look for even cheaper Blu-ray prices—from major manufacturers—as the year grinds on. Stay tuned.