We all got a good whiff of
Blu-ray Profile 2 with
BD-Live at CES, so the only thing to check out with Sony's new
BDP-S350 and BDP-S550 was their size and shape -- we're pleased to say these babies seem significantly smaller than most Blu-ray players out there, and won't look as out of place. Unfortunately, the demos were cooked and they were actually using a PS3 playing a DVD to show off BD-Live "running" from an S550, which was kind of cheap to say the least. Still, if ever there were stand-alone Blu-ray players to get excited about -- and a time to get excited about them -- this is it.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
johansoncm @ Feb 26th 2008 1:52PM
Summer is not even here yet but Fall can't come soon enough.
mattclarkie @ Feb 26th 2008 2:07PM
Yes, if my TV ever arrives I will be sticking one of these under it. If they are both Profile 2 then I'll get the one that launches first.
jcurran01 @ Feb 26th 2008 2:18PM
Where can I find info as to why the profile 2 is better than 1?
And isnt it true the PS3 can update to Profile 2? So why not just use that as your BD player?
Heath Stahl @ Feb 26th 2008 2:27PM
Check here for info on Profile 2. Basically its just a mandatory Internet connection for web content (also larger local storage). And yes the PS3 will be updated to Profile 2 as per what Sony has said in the past.
As for why to use anything other then the PS3 as a Blu-ray that's just personal choice. I own one but I don't really care for its aesthetics TBH. For some people what it looks like in their HT stack might be very important. Or they just want a player and not a game system that can play Blu-ray. To each their own.
Heath Stahl @ Feb 26th 2008 2:29PM
Bah, forgot to actually provide the link. Here you go: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray#Player_profiles
DrXym @ Feb 26th 2008 2:54PM
Profile 2.0 offers internet connectivity and storage for downloaded content. Both have hardware requirements that the PS3 supports so it seems likely that it will get profile 2.0 in time. The PS3 is an excellent player but we're starting to see standalones that are just as good.
Supposedly 2.0 is not mandatory so you're likely to see a mix of 1.1 and 2.0 players around for a while yet.
Phour ZwanZig @ Feb 26th 2008 10:40PM
Well of course DrXym
"Supposedly 2.0 is not mandatory so you're likely to see a mix of 1.1 and 2.0 players around for a while yet."
This is Sony's way of keeping the Real BluRay players Price up, while keeping the PS3 as the cheapest BluRay player. Sony is playin games in the console war and is how they won the HDM war..
Kyle @ Feb 26th 2008 2:43PM
Is it just me or does Sony's new player look like a Panasonic DMP-BD30
zargon @ Feb 26th 2008 2:50PM
Maybe Sony wanted a player that was worth owning...
Boscorooty @ Feb 26th 2008 2:51PM
BAH. Home Theater PC is the way to go. ready now and always upgradable Plus, since I smell
niche-ware on Blu-Ray like stink at the dump, it's got other uses as well.
R
conor @ Feb 27th 2008 4:29PM
alienware hanger 18 fully loaded for me:) 2 terabyte hard drive and bd burner:) :)
Boscorooty @ Feb 26th 2008 4:03PM
Hangar 18 eh? Sweet. Built mine myself. Abit mobo, Intel Quad, 4GB Ram, 2TB Hard Drive, LG BD burner, all crammed into a 1934 art deco Delco tombstone radio so it doesn't "ugly up" the living room... :)
R
misterhearn @ Feb 26th 2008 3:37PM
Well, looks like a PS3 for me so far, I refuse to pay more for something that the now defunct HD DVD player already did for much cheaper. At least the PS3 plays games. 400.00-500.00 for a standalone NTY
Mr. E @ Feb 26th 2008 6:13PM
I know, in a way it's a real shame that Toshiba was selling their hardware way under cost, since it screwed up everyone's expectations. Now it's just that much more painful when you see Blu-ray hardware that's selling for normal early adopter prices. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if Blu-ray had died at the time HD DVD did. I'd bet a million doll hairs that Toshiba would have immediately raised their player prices so the hardware was selling for a profit instead of a loss.
In any case, I'm sure there will be a good number of BD-live players well under the PS3's price during the holiday sales period at the latest, if you can wait that long. On the other hand, I can also wholeheartedly recommend the PS3 without reservations if you want to go that route. I love mine.
pquistgard @ Feb 26th 2008 3:46PM
It looks nice and slim. Now Sony, can you do that to the price too? Please?
Ryan @ Feb 27th 2008 8:58AM
How about starting them at $300....I would pick one up then. Nice looking player though...my A2 is going to be sooooo mad.
1stGreg @ Feb 26th 2008 6:46PM
If you guys think that $399 MSRP (hence probably found at $349 retail or less pretty rapidly), barely more than a year after that technology was first introduced, is expensive for a brand player ... I don't know what to say ...
Mmmh... wait for Xmas 08? :)
Jeff N. @ Feb 26th 2008 6:53PM
$399 is not expensive for a 2.0 profile Blu-ray player. The public got spoiled by Toshiba selling HD-DVD players for a loss. Toshiba was losing money hand over fist by doing that.
jmorgan @ Feb 26th 2008 7:29PM
=== If you guys think that $399 MSRP
=== barely more than a year after that
=== technology was first introduced
=== is expensive for a brand player
You could buy Blu-ray players and discs in June 06. It's now almost March 08. Therefore, Blu-ray has been on sale for almost two years now.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray#Launch_and_Sales_developments
shawnmos @ Feb 26th 2008 6:53PM
These look nice. I'll get one when they drop to $200. In the meantime I'll stick with my profile 1.0 player.
jmorgan @ Feb 26th 2008 7:45PM
Agreed, $199 is the magic price point where the average guy on the street will buy a player.
The current $400 is way too expensive considering that BD has been out almost two years, not to mention that BD discs are still like $35 each at retail.
Sony is going to mine the deeper pockets of the early adopter crowd for a while yet before dropping the player & disc prices to a level the rest of us can afford.
HDpurist @ Feb 27th 2008 12:08AM
Definitely considering the S500, although, hopefully Pioneer brings us similar products with a lower prices.
1stGreg @ Feb 27th 2008 12:13AM
Jmorgan:
"You could buy Blu-ray players and discs in June 06. It's now almost March 08. Therefore, Blu-ray has been on sale for almost two years now."
-almost- March 08, and -almost - 2 years eh ? :)
If we play that game I could say "about a year and a half aggo" then :)
It took -3- years for the DVD players, initially beyond the $1000 range, to reach the $100ish/unit range for cheapo brands (from 1997 to 2000).
Anything else ? :)
ccweems @ Feb 27th 2008 6:51AM
What is all this noise about Sony Bluray? I thought all HDM posts were but shallow excuses to insult HD-DVD owners and part of Engadget's evil plan to kill the format? Bring on the taunters!
market for BD-Live, interactivity, special audio codecs = video collector
video collector = purchase market, not rental or video download
purchase market = committed consumers who will spend big $$$ over time
$$$ + video collector = market who sees player as insignificant cost in comparison with collection and expect to buy multiple players on the path to complete functionality.
All of his bitching about "not till profile 2.0 is less than $200" comes from the same folk who say "I would date supermodels if I had a nicer car".
Michael @ Mar 12th 2008 10:47PM
No Blu Ray for me until they fix all of the incompatibility problems and settle on what the format actually is.