| | | | 
- Full HD 1080/60p & 24p True Cinema Video Output
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD bitsteam out over HDMI
- DVD Upscaling to 1080p via HDMI™
- Bravia Theater Sync™ (HDMI-CEC)
- Motorized Sliding Front Door
|  | | | |
| | | | 
Product Description:
Enter the next level of high definition with the restyled BDP-S500 Blu-ray Disc Player. Now featuring DTS HD audio for ultra-realistic sound effects and supreme clarity, this player is a treat for the eyes and ears. The pristine images from 1080p Blu-ray Disc movies and DVD upscaling has to be seen to be believed. Amazing 24p True Cinema output and cinema-tuned picture presets allow you to see movies exactly how the director intended. And with BRAVIA Theatre Sync, now you can control your compatible BRAVIA TV and AV systems from just one remote. | | | | |
Average Rating : 
Rating :  - Expensive, but good player overall
I have had this player for about a week now. I was vacillating between the S500 and the S350, but after reading countless reviews, I decided to go with the newest model hoping that Sony was able to work out all the kinks and bugs that came with the previous units. I have tested this player with a few movies (Spiderman 3, Full Metal Jacket, and the Planet Earth series), and fortunately, I have not run into any of the problems that other users have encountered (i.e. movies not playing, freezing, etc.) I really like the new feature of the sliding front door. I have yet to experience a complete Blu-Ray experience since I do not have the best home theatre setup (I have a 5.1 Dolby Digital as opposed to a 7.1), but the sound is great regardless. The upscaling feature is pretty darn good, in my opinion, though I wasn't completely blown away. It's about as close to 1080p as you can get.
I did upgrade the firmware, but not because I was having problems. Sony recommended you upgrade if your player's firmware was older than a certain version.
The warm up and load time is still slow, but as other reviewers have mentioned, the technology is still new. Though compared to the S300 model, there is a significant improvement. Really, unless you are super impatient, I don't think it should prevent you from buying this model. I did have a scare a few days ago when my current disc would not eject. None of the suggestions on the troubleshooting page worked, and I was very upset to hear that after only 3 days, I would have to send my player to Sony to service it! Luckily, I fiddled around with the DVD, and think that maybe it was the movie itself that was causing the player to act up.
All in all, I am pretty satisfied with this product. It is nowhere near perfect. It is expensive and still very big compared to regular DVD players.
Read more ... | |
