Given the commotion of the past week -- what with Warner effectively signing HD DVD's death warrant and all -- it's probably time to consider buying a Blu-ray player. Sony has perhaps the largest selection of players, and the BDPS500B is its new "high end" model.
Design
Not content with the current fad of piano black fascias, Sony has gone one better and released one which could only called "piano blue". The front panel is controlled by a button on top of the player, and it slides down to reveal transport buttons and the disk tray. It's all fairly dignified, even if it does ape the construction of the Panasonic DMP-BD10.
Build quality is fairly sturdy as you'd expect, and for the audiophiles amongst you the audio terminals are gold plated for better electrical transfer. As you'd expect these incorporate component, HDMI, composite, 5.1 analogue, and a stereo out.
The remote is also one of the better ones we've seen from the company -- it's solid, logically laid out, and stylish with the direction pad mimicking the player's fascia.
Features
The S500 is part of a new generation of players featuring a native HD audio output -- which can be decoded by a compatible receiver. Though it lacks full DTS compatibility (the best it can muster is DTS-HD High Resolution and not Master Audio) it will output Dolby TrueHD. If you have a device such as the Onkyo TX-SR605 or Sony's own DA5300ES then you can potentially experience sound which betters that of your local cinema.
One feature that perplexed us by its absence was the lack of SACD playback. Sure, for 95 per cent of people this isn't an essential option, but for Sony to jettison the format it created -- on its premium player -- is a concern. Has Sony given up on SACD? Perhaps it wants to concentrate on a Blu-ray Disc Audio format?
Performance
Though seemingly less important due to the rise of the iPod, the ability for a disk-player to be a creditable CD spinner is still an important consideration. We put Nick Cave's gorgeously produced Red Right Hand through its paces and found the Sony had a good ear for the Seeds' gothic pop. Stereo focus was excellent, and all but the bass was meticulously controlled -- the low end did show a propensity to be a little bloomy.
But what this Blu-ray player does best should be play Blu-rays right? We took advantage of the S500's ability to output a Dolby True HD stream, and when we plonked Spiderman 3 on the tray we found the audio to be revelatory. Feeding the native signal straight into the Yamaha RX-V3800 receiver we were greeted with one of the most seamless surround experiences we'd ever had. When Spidey swung across the New York skyscape the effects moved smoothly between the front and rear speakers with a tight focus. Switching to the onboard decoder wasn't as effective, but it was still able to generate a genuinely exciting cinema experience.
It was disappointing to note, then, that the player's Blu-ray performance wasn't even a match for the PlayStation 3's. While the machine did a creditable job of replaying DVDs and removing noise from our King Kong test disk, it also did this at the expense of some detail.
But it was in the replay of HD disks where the problems started. Though colour saturation and black levels were excellent for a player at this price, there was a distinct tendency for noise. Mission Impossible III has some fairly grainy sequences, and the "exploding bridge" scene is one of the most testing for any player. Unfortunately, the Sony was unable to distinguish between digital noise and film grain, which made for a relatively chaotic picture.
With the price of the Toshiba HD-XE1 seemingly stuck at AU$1399, the Sony BDPS500B is now one of the cheapest premium HD players available. It boasts a sturdy build and features you won't see on other players. Sound is fantastic, and DVDs are great, but it's a pity Blu-ray performance isn't up to snuff. We'd opt for the PlayStation 3 instead.
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pogmothon
08/07/2008, 05:12 PM
rating
4/10
Yes, too slow to load. To slow to do anything. And recently, mine started to freeze in the middle of a movie (both Blu-Ray and normal DVD). Only cure is to disconnect power to unfreeze it.
Pros: It's fine as a player of Blu-Ray, DVD and CDs. No experience with any other model, so can't compare.
Cons: 1) TOO SLOW
2) TOO SLOW
3) WAY TOO SLOW
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hideous
20/02/2008, 12:43 AM
rating
7/10
nice build and looks good
with the death knells of HD-Dvd I hope Sony and Pioneer can spend less on advertisng and more on bringing costs down
Pros: good upscaling
brilliant pictures
Cons: Slow to start
slow to load
onto its 3rd firmware upgrade
- what bright spark through of a java menu system ? At least I can get a coffee and cake, or have a shower while the bloody thing loads a disk.
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Miklos Somogyi
18/01/2008, 12:11 AM
rating
6/10
When I could not open the tray for a long time and switched-off the blu-ray, the tray opened. I was thinking of giving back the
unit and buy a DVD player.
Then I experimented another afternoon and finally found a formula that works
every time.
the problem is that many operations take an awful lot of time and you don't know whether to wait or try something else because this key is not working.
Then you press something that negates a process ...
I switch on the tv, switch on blu and MUST WAIT until `no disc' appears
on the front of blu.
Then you can open the tray. This wait takes 60 seconds.
After closing the tray YOU MUST NOT
do a thing until the DVD menu gets loaded
onto the screen (30 seconds).
Then you can play.
I wonder whay prevented this .... interface designer to put up a `wait please' sign or something like this.
Such warnings could have saved me and lots of oters a lot of time and anger.
I would like to suggest to you that when you review hardware, please review the user interface and the manual as well. And not from the viewpoint of a
young expert, but his Mum.
More people in the Mum&Dad category buy TVs etc than young geeks and are
unable to use the documentations that were not written for them.
Pros: Nice picture and sound
Cons: Silly user interface, worse documentation,
overcomplicated and slow hardware
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Miklos Somogyi
14/01/2008, 11:52 PM
rating
6/10
We bought one to complement the 40"
1080p XBR tv set. We could not get a
pre-recorded blu-ray disc yet, but DVDs
are upscaled beautifully.
However, after a fe days experimenting it still takes some 10 mins every time to get it going.
The tray can not be opened manually (or at least it takes so long that I can't wait for it). Then the `display' key is not working, you try this and that,
you get a menu but neither the `ok' key nor the `play' key starts playing.
After a while it plays, but you can't
find the proper sequence.
63 pages of El-Geeko manual to be read many times, and still no cigar.
Pros: Excellent picture and sound quality
Cons: Slow to open the tray, slow to put-up
info on the screen, lack of proper documentation
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