Exclusive Review: Sony BDP-S550 Blu Ray Player

December 6, 2008

The Sony BDP-S550 represents an upgrade to the popular entry level BDP-S350. Like Samsung's BD-2500's upgrade over BD-1500, this player adds few more features as well as audio processing from the entry level models at a nomial cost increase. The BDP-S550 includes out of the box support for most of high definition audio decoding as well as bitstream capability. Also, it includes ethernet and USB connectivity as well as internal storage capacity.

As with Samsung's upgrade, the Sony BDP-S550 looks remarkably similar to the BDP-S350 model. The tray dominate the middle of the player with LCD screen to the right of the tray. The basic play back function at the far right. The true 24 fps light is there when the play back is at true 24 frames. The back contains all the connectivities. These include the analog 7.1 channel output, HDMI, ethernet, usb port, and your s-video, and component outputs. Most people would probably only use the HDMI and the various audio outputs.

BDP-S550 adds profile 2.0 out of the box unlike the previous BDP-S350. It's not a huge deal since BDP-S350 can be upgraded to profile 2.0 via firmware upgrade. Most significantly, The BDP-S550 adds the onboard decoding capability of DTS-HD high resolution audio and DTS-HD Master audio. These can be handy if you don't have receiver capable of decoding these audio. Also, the 7.1 channel might be useful if you have that home theater set up. Another addition is the 1 GB worth of internal storage available which might come handy for various BD-LIVE features or just storing digital medias files.

The video quality is outstanding as usual. Most players will display great video quality. The pictures were vibrant and sharp. I didn't notice any artifacts or jagginess. The fast motion sequence were
flawless as well. The upconversion of regular DVDs were not as sharp as I'd like them to be. However, you can't expect too much in upconversion as it is just a bonus in my opinion. You buy the Blu-ray player to play Blu-ray movies. This does not mean it looks terrible. It just means your dvds are not going to be as good as the blu-ray movies. The plethora of audio output option is nice to have. I have the 7.1 channel set up and it sounds pretty good. I've ran it through receiver and directly from the unit itself. I did not notice any drop off in sound quality.This is a great player to go along with your high defintion television set. As of writting, you can purchase this player at sub $400.00 price mark in various retailers and internet retailers. This is solid performing unit at a competitive price.

Sony BDP-S550 1080p Blu-ray Player
List Price: ~~$399.99~~
Sale Price: $125.00
You save: $274.99 (69%)

Eligible for free shipping!
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Description

Amazon.com Product Description Bring home the future of Blu-ray Disc technology with BD-Live and the BDP-S550 Blu-ray Disc player. The S550 is the step-up model to Sony's BDP-S350. It adds a gigabyte of onboard memory, so you can enjoy expanded Blu-ray capabilities like BD-Live interactive features right out of the box, and dts-HD compatibility for studio-quality sound...

Features

Bonus View &amp;amp;amp; BD-Live (Profile 2.0) w/1GB flash memory for local storage
Full HD 1080/60p &amp;amp; 24p True Cinema Video Output
Dolby? True HD/DTS?-HD decoder built-in with 7.1ch out. Quick start up mode.
Dolby? TrueHD & DTS-HD bitstream out over HDMI? (V1.3)
x.v.Color? for AVC-HD

Rating:

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27 Responses to “Exclusive Review: Sony BDP-S550 Blu Ray Player”

Ray Hill says:

January 8, 2011 at 5:27 pm

Publishers do not mention that the player’s ethernet port does not connect to Netflix or YouTube, which I was told it did when it was purchased.

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videoguy says:

July 22, 2010 at 7:10 pm

The guy that wrote this review is a moron. IS it too much to hit the SPELLCHECK button when you’re done?

“…the basic play back function at the… you mean PLAYBACK function?
“…The back contains all the connectivities. … you mean CONNECTIONS?
“…These include the analog 7.1 channel output… and your s-video, and component outputs…” … and YOUR S-video? Ya got yer front and ya gotcher back… are you a yahoo?

… “Most people would probably only use the HDMI and the various audio outputs.” Probably only? Various audio outputs? Are you an idiot?

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BD-Live Ready / Full HD 1080p/24p and 60p AVC-HD w/x.v.Color Output / Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD / 1080p HD Upscaling / BRAVIA Sync / HDMI

Bring home the future of Blu-ray Disc technology with BD-Live and the BDP-S550 Blu-ray Disc player. The S550 is the step-up model to Sony's BDP-S350. It adds a gigabyte of onboard memory, so you can enjoy expanded Blu-ray capabilities like BD-Live interactive features right out of the box, and dts-HD compatibility for studio-quality sound.

BD-Live takes your movie experience to a whole new level. Download and stream bonus content such as additional scenes, shorts, trailers and movie-based games. Equipped with a built-in Ethernet port, the BDP-S550 makes it easy to access specially created BD-Live content and Bonus View features. A USB port that allows you to add more storage to access the growing number of special features that will be available given the immense storage capacity of Blu-ray discs themeselves. This player outputs a Full 1080/24p True Cinema picture and upscales your existing DVD collection to 1080p when using the HDMI connection. Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD delivers studio master quality audio which is designed specifically for high definition entertainment. Make the most of all of these features with the icon-based Xcross Media Bar, which provides simple navigation of the player's menu system.

Key Features

Slim chassis
True 1080p Output (Learn more)
7.1 Channel Dolby Sound , Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD (Master Audio and High Resolution Audio) (Learn more)
1 Gb of onboard memory and a USB Port Allows More Storage for Access to More Special Features, Like Bonus View (Learn More)
Ethernet connection for BD-Live Compatibility and firmware updates (Learn more)
Higher Bit Rates mean less video compression (Learn more)
Emmy-Award Winning Xross Media Bar Interface (Learn More)
Bravia Sync for Easy Connectivity (Learn More)

Learn More

More Picture

1080p compared to 480i See Everything Your HDTV Can Show You with Full HD.

6 Times the Picture Data on DVDs
See everything your HDTV can show you. Blu-ray Disc's Full HD 1080p resolution produces over 2 million pixels per frame to produce a razor-sharp picture with unmatched depth and clarity that takes full advantage of the capabilities of today's 1080p HDTVs. That's six times the picture data contained on DVDs, which are encoded at only 480p.

24p True Cinema Video Output
Most of all Hollywood movies are shot at 24 frames per second, and Blu-ray Disc movies are mastered at 24 frame per second, so it is only fitting that the Sony Blu-ray Disc Players can output your films at 1080/24p for a true film-like experience at home. Of course, Sony Blu-ray Disc Players can also output at 1080/60p for more traditional HDTV sets on the market. Either way Sony has you covered for the best picture possible in Full 1080p.

Backwards compatible and Upscaling
All existing Blu-ray Disc players will play your standard DVD collection without a problem. And with built-in 1080p video upscaling, they'll look even better.

More Bits

In the digital world, picture quality is not just about resolution, but also about bit rates. The higher the bit rate, the more data that is processed, typically resulting in higher video quality. DVDs have a maximum video bit rate of about 10 megabits per second (Mbps). In comparison, Blu-ray Disc is capable of video bitrates up to an incredible 40 Mbps. The bottom line, higher bit rates allow for the least amount of data compression for HD video that looks closest to the original video source.

More Sound

Dolby TrueHD internal decoding and bitstream output via HDMI for the Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD (Master Audio and High Resolution Audio) codes delivers studio quality audio designed specifically for high definition entertainment like Blu-ray Disc movies, with up to 7.1 channels of surround sound that is virtually indistinguishable from the original studio version. 7.1 channel analog output provides connectivity to older receivers, making the player compatible with your existing audio system with 7.1 analog inputs.

The BDP-S550 is compatible with Dolby TrueHD, Dolby’s next-generation lossless technology developed for high-definition disc-based media. Dolby TrueHD delivers tantalizing sound that is bit-for-bit identical to the studio master, unlocking the true high-definition entertainment experience on next-generation discs. When coupled with high-definition video, Dolby TrueHD offers an unprecedented home theater experience that lets you enjoy sound as stunning as the high-definition picture.

Delivers enthralling studio-master-quality sound that unlocks the true high-definition entertainment experience on next-generation discs.
Offers more discrete channels than ever before for impeccable surround sound.
Compatible with the A/V receivers and home-theaters-in-a-box (HTIBs) of today and tomorrow.
Dialogue normalization maintains the same volume level when you change to other Dolby Digital and Dolby TrueHD programming.
Dynamic range control (Night mode) enables you to customize audio playback to reduce peak volume levels (no loud surprises) while experiencing all the details in the soundtrack, enabling late-night viewing of high-energy surround sound without disturbing others.

Xross Media Bar

Xross (pronounced Cross) is Sony's Technical-Emmy award-winning graphic user interface for Sony WEGA and BRAVIA televisions and PS3 and PSX game systems. The interface features category icons spread horizontally across the screen that organize the viewing options (TV, Music, Internet, Tools, etc...). When a category icon is selected on the horizontal bar, a vertical bar appears showing the viewing options within that category. Using the directional pad on your remote, you can easily maneuver horizontally from category to category, then scroll vertically through individual viewing options to easily navigate through the wide range of programming available on today's televisions.

BD-Live

BD-Live is a Blu-ray feature that enables you to access special content via an internet-connected Blu-ray player. Because it's not coded into the disc, BD-Live content is always updated, always fresh. With BD-Live, your Blu-ray disc is different every time you view it.

Check out the latest previews, download special scenes, exclusive features and ringtones, and participate in online communities or games.

As BD-Live continues to grow and expand, even more features will become available, customizing features and content to your location or preferences.

More Space

Blu-ray Disc has 5x more storage capacity than DVD, which allows more content to fit on the disc. The extra storage capacity also means more room for special features like inline navigation, Bonus View, interactive games, deleted scenes, director commentary and more
Navigate to special features, other scenes, or settings without leaving the content you are watching.	Bonus View lets you watch special features and commentary inline without leaving the movie.

HDMI Features

x.v Color

RGB Color Range

xvYCC Color Range

Thanks to the adoption of a newly approved international color standard called xvYCC (an option in the HDMI v1.3 spec and which Sony participated in creating), the color space has been greatly expanded.

All Sony XBR HDTVs support the xvYCC color profile (Extended YCC Colorimetry for Video Applications), or "x.v. color" for short. Standard RGB color space allows the display of a portion of the colors that are viewable to the human eye. The next generation "xvYCC" color space actually offers an available range of colors that exceeds what human eyes can recognize.

Next-generation "xvYCC" color space supports 1.8 times as many colors as existing HDTV signals
Lets HDTVs display colors more accurately
Enables displays with more natural and vivid colors

Deep Color

So, where x.v. color expands the available range of colors your HDTV can display, Deep Color increases the number of colors your HDTV can display within that range, for smoother transitions from color to color.

Lets HDTVs and other displays go from millions of colors to billions of colors
Eliminates on-screen color banding, for smooth tonal transitions and subtle gradations between colors
Enables increased contrast ratio
Can represent many times more shades of gray between black and white

Connectivity

As a leader in products with HDMI connectivity, Sony has created BRAVIA Sync to gobeyond simple audio and video transmission. When combined with a select number of BRAVIA televisions and other Sony audio and video products, in addition to audio and video transmission, control functions will betransmitted via the HDMI cable. With "One Touch Play," operations that took several steps have been reduced to one. Press the PLAY button on the remote, watch the audio and/or the video component(s) turn on then the BRAVIA television turn on and switch to the correct video input–Simple–Easy–BRAVIA Sync.

Inputs and Outputs

Analog Audio Output(s) : 2 Channel: 1 (Rear)
Coaxial Audio Digital Output(s) : 1 (Rear)
Component Video (Y/Pb/Pr) Output(s) : (Y/Pb/Pr) OUtput(s): 1 (Rear)
Composite Video Output(s) : 1 (Rear)
Optical Audio Output(s) : 1 (Rear)
S-Video Output(s) : 1 (Rear)
Ether port for firmware updates
USB port for BD-Live External Memory

Specifications

Weights and Measurements

Dimensions (Approx.): 17 inches x 8 3/4 inches x 2 3/4 inches (430 x 220 x 70 mm)

Weight (Approx.): 7 lbs 4 oz (3.3Kg)

Audio Features

Dolby: Yes & Dolby TrueHD bitstream out over HDMI (V1.3)

Dolby Digital plus Decoding: Yes

Dolby TrueHD Decoding : Yes

dts Decoding: Yes

dts Output: Yes

dts-HD Decoding: Yes

LPCM: Yes (multi channel decoder): Yes (HDMI bitstream out)

Dolby True HD bitstream output: Yes

dts HD bitstream output: Yes

Capability

CD: Yes

DVD: Yes

Video Features

BD-R/RE Read Compatibility: Yes (BDMV & BDAV format)

BD-ROM: Yes

DVD+R Read Compatibility: Yes

DVD+RW Read Compatibility: Yes

DVD-R Read Compatibility: Yes (Video Mode and VR Mode)

DVD-RW Read Compatibility: Yes (Video Mode and VR Mode)

JPEG Playback: Yes

x.v.Color Technology: Yes

Bonus View & BD-Live (Profile 2.0) w/1GB flash memory for local storage
Full HD 1080/60p & 24p True Cinema Video Output
Dolby¿ True HD/DTS¿-HD decoder built-in with 7.1ch out. Quick start up mode.
Dolby¿ TrueHD & DTS-HD bitstream out over HDMI¿ (V1.3)
x.v.Color¿ for AVC-HD

Dimensions

Height: 2.37''
Length: 17''
Width: 8.75''
Weight: 6.37 lbs