"Both feature BD-Live (and thus Ethernet) and USB (for external) storage, while the S550 has PiP (BonusView) and 1GB of onboard storage. "
You *need* 1Gb to support BD-Live (profile 2.0), so how can S350 support BD-Live if it doesn't have 1Gb storage. And how can the S550 support BonusView (profile 1.1) and the S350 not when profile 1.1 is mandatory?
To add to the confusion, the screen pics show a BD-Live logo on the S550 but not the S350. If I had to guess, I'd say the S550 has BD-Live and the S350 doesn't. Though if the S350 has ethernet maybe you can shove a USB stick or something into it to make it BD-Live enabled.
Gizmodo gets the story straight. Looks like they're both going to support BD-Live but the S350 will have to be updated through firmware. And the S550 supports some additional audio codecs.
It's a common misunderstanding that BD-Live requires 1GB storage. It only requires the CAPABILITY of accessing at least 1GB storage. So as long as the player has a USB-port that can be used to access external storage, the player is BD-Live compliant.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
DrXym @ Feb 26th 2008 4:14AM
The product descriptions don't make any sense:
"Both feature BD-Live (and thus Ethernet) and USB (for external) storage, while the S550 has PiP (BonusView) and 1GB of onboard storage. "
You *need* 1Gb to support BD-Live (profile 2.0), so how can S350 support BD-Live if it doesn't have 1Gb storage. And how can the S550 support BonusView (profile 1.1) and the S350 not when profile 1.1 is mandatory?
To add to the confusion, the screen pics show a BD-Live logo on the S550 but not the S350. If I had to guess, I'd say the S550 has BD-Live and the S350 doesn't. Though if the S350 has ethernet maybe you can shove a USB stick or something into it to make it BD-Live enabled.
DrXym @ Feb 26th 2008 4:17AM
Gizmodo gets the story straight. Looks like they're both going to support BD-Live but the S350 will have to be updated through firmware. And the S550 supports some additional audio codecs.
http://gizmodo.com/360642/bdp+s350-and-s550-sonys-first-full-20-spec-blu+ray-players
Trond M. @ Feb 26th 2008 9:17AM
It's a common misunderstanding that BD-Live requires 1GB storage. It only requires the CAPABILITY of accessing at least 1GB storage. So as long as the player has a USB-port that can be used to access external storage, the player is BD-Live compliant.
andy @ Feb 26th 2008 5:45PM
I must say, as an above average consumer, this is far less confusing.
I'm so glad the format war is over, and I can't wait to jump into blu ray.