Out of the four new Blu-ray players announced this year by Sony, the BDP-S370, is the least expensive. (below $180.00) Costing less, doesn't always mean lesser value. You still get a nice set of features. Including access to BRAVIA?Internet Video, iPhone?iPod touch?compatibility, Gracenote?Metadata Service, Share Personal Entertainment and many more.
The BDP-S370 is coated with a glossy black finish and has a slim/sleek design. The control buttons are located on the front bottom where there is an indentation. The buttons are a mixture of touch sensitive controls and push buttons. Also, located on the front of the player, providing you easy access, is an USB port. The audio and Video outputs are found on the back of the Blu-ray player. And with it's Quick Start/Quick Load feature, you can start enjoying movies faster than ever before on a Blu-ray Player
Video Quality: Displays great picture quality when playing Blu-ray Disc, the BDP-S370 can be connected the following ways: HDMI, Component or Composite Video outputs. HDMI connection will give you Full 1080p Output. Further enhancing the video display are features such as 24p True Cinema?Technology, Deep Color and Precision Cinema HD Upscaling. Like almost all Blu-ray Players, the BDP-S370 will upscale standard resolution to 1080p image quality when playing a standard DVD.
Audio Quality: The BDP-S370 has internal audio decoding for Dolby TrueHD, Dolby TrueHD (bitstream), Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD (bitstream). It has a 192kHz/24bit Analog-to-Digital Converter and supports Digital Video Standards such as AVCH, MP3 and PCM. Audio connections for the BD-S370 are as follows: HDMI, Analog Audio Output : 2.0ch (L/R) and one Optical Audio Output. Unfortunately, there are no 7.1 audio outputs. Therefore a receiver with a HDMI input is require to decode the newest audio codes that are on the Blu-ray movie. All of these features and functions help provide you with very good audio quality.
This entry level Blu-ray Player has many other great features. One of which is BRAVIA?Internet Video. here you can access a wide range of movies, TV shows, videos and music from the internet and stream them directly onto your TV. Netflix, YouTube, Pandora, Slacker and much more are all included with the BRAVIA?Internet Video feature. The BD-S370 will upscale the streaming media to near High Definition 1080p quality.
To use BRAVIA?Internet Video, you have to establish an internet connection to the Blu-ray player. An Ethernet Port is located on the back of the Blu-ray Player, or you can connect to a wireless broadband network via a USB Wi-Fi adapter. This is not included with the Blu-ray Player and has to be purchased separately. Once connected to your Home Network, there is a feature called Share Personal Entertainment you can access. Where you can stream video files, music or photos between compatible devices. A compatible DLNA device such as your computer.
An interesting feature included with the BDP-S370 is the Gracenote Metadata Service. This will conveniently display information about the movies you are viewing. Another interesting feature that may appeal to some is the iPhone?iPod touch?compatibility. This turns your iPhone?or iPod touch?into a remote control. This free app lets you control the Blu-ray DVD Player, while also giving you details on actors, directors and more.
THE PROS: The Sony BDP-S370 has a good set of features including Wi-Fi Ready, Streaming services like Neflix and Amazon On Demand, SACD playback and DLNA. Great picture quality and internal audio decoding for Dolby TrueHD, Dolby TrueHD (bitstream), Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD (bitstream).
THE CONS: Does not have any analog 7.1 audio outputs. DLNA feature will not be available until July 2010. No Built-in WI-Fi, so a USB wireless adapter will be need if you want to connect to the internet wirelessly. No 3D technology. Sony's BD-S470, BD-S570 and BD-S770 will all eventually have 3D capability.
THE FINAL WORD: Overall,Sony's BDP-S370 is a good Blu-ray Player in this price range. Has great image and audio quality on Blu-ray Disc. While lacking in some of the features found in higher end Sony Players, the BDP-S370 is a very good entry level Blu-ray DVD Player. -- Price you should look for when purchasing -- Under $180.00
