Lots of news coming out of CEDIA. Sony announced two new Blu-ray players – the BDP-S500, which I’ve previously posted about, and the BDP-S2000ES. The latter is the first Blu-ray player in their ‘Elevated Standard’ (ES) line. The BDP-S500 slots in above their current BDP-S300, which has an MSRP of $499, with an MSRP of about $700. The BDP-S2000ES will MSRP for around $1,300 – pretty pricey, but it is one of their premium line products. Frankly, I’d rather see Sony cut the price on the BDP-S300 and/or offer a lower end player for around $300, or less. I expect them to have something in that range for the holidays, but we’ll see.
Blu-ray.com is also reporting that Sony announced a 200-disc Blu-ray Media Center, the HES-V1000. The unit has a 500GB hard drive to store digital media (video, music, and photos), as well as the 200 discs. All of this content is accessed via an XMB (Cross Media Bar) similar to the one on the PS3. It will be available in October for an MSRP of around $3,500.
For details on the BDP-S300 and BDP-S2000ES, see the press release below:
Sep 5, 2007 19:00 ET
Sony Bolsters Blu-Ray Disc Player Line With Two New Models
Adding ES and Step-up Models with Advanced Audio Codec Support
DENVER, Sept. 5 /PRNewswire/ — (Booth #600) — Sony introduced two additional Blu-ray Disc(TM) (BD) players today offering a full range of features.
Optimized for the home theater enthusiast, the new BDP-S2000ES model is the first Blu-ray Disc player in Sony’s “Elevated Standard” (ES) line. This model, as well as the new BDP-S500, which complements Sony’s current BDP-S300 BD player, features full high-definition 1080/60p and 24p True Cinema output. They support 7.1 channel linear PCM and Dolby(R) TrueHD, Dolby(R) Digital Plus, as well as dts-HD(TM) High Resolution Audio bitstream output via HDMI(TM) (ver1.3).
“Consumer support of Sony’s Blu-ray Disc products has been outstanding and the new models are targeted to satisfy the demand of those who crave an even greater level of entertainment and performance,” said Chris Fawcett, vice president of marketing for Sony Electronics’ Home Product Division. “From the enthusiast level of our ES line down to the entry-level models, our commitment to the finest quality video and sound delivered by the BD format has never been stronger.”
The BDP-S2000ES model features dual shield construction, which prevents dust from collecting on the BD drive, and a rigid drive bracket to minimize vibration. The player also sports a rigid beam chassis that reduces internal vibration, improving playback.
Similar to other Sony ES products, the unit’s aluminum insulator feet help isolate the player from external vibrations, while separate audio and video boards deliver better sound and picture quality. The unit also includes the IR-in feature for custom installation market.
The BDP-S2000ES and BDP-S500 units both offer 7.1 channel Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio bitstream output, which is optional specification of HDMI ver1.3. This makes them a perfect match for the recently announced STR-DA5300ES and STR-DA4300ES AV receivers, which also feature the ability to decode the advanced audio codecs. The new BD players also feature Dolby TrueHD, along with the Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio decoding function via HDMI, to offer a better sound experience with existing receivers.
The Blu-ray Disc players feature 1080/60p and 24p True Cinema output. They are compatible with most standard DVDs and feature 1080p upscaling through HDMI to capable HDTV sets, improving the picture performance of existing DVD libraries.
The new players support AVCHD discs encoded with x.v.Color(TM) (xvYCC) technology, an international standard for wide color space. The standard expands the current data range of video by about 1.8 times, allowing the players to output more natural and vivid colors similar to what the human eye can actually see. The players also feature compatibility with an array of video formats, including BD-R/RE (BDMV mode), DVD+R/+RW, DVD-R/-RW (Video Mode), CD, CD-R/RW (CD-DA format), MP3, and JPEG on DVD recordable media.
Both the BDP-S2000ES and BDP-S500 players incorporate BRAVIA(R) Theatre Sync(TM) through HDMI. This allows for integrated operation with a compatible BRAVIA flat-panel LCD HDTV sets and audio/video receivers. With the touch of a button, you can easily power on and synch the inputs of compatible Sony AV devices connected to the players via HDMI for hassle-free enjoyment of high-definition Blu-ray Discs.
The units offer optical and coaxial digital audio outputs, along with 5.1 channel decoding capability for backward compatibility with existing A/V receivers.
The new BDP-S2000ES and BDP-S500 players will be available this fall for about $1,300 and $700, respectively. They will be offered at Sony Style stores, online at sonystyle.com, at military base exchanges, and at authorized retailers nationwide.
Source: Sony Electronics, Inc.
CONTACT: Greg Belloni of Sony Electronics, Inc., +1-858-942-4460,
greg.belloni@am.sony.com; or Tania Scheer of PainePR, +1-949-809-6782,
tscheer@painepr.com, for Sony Electronics, Inc.
Web site: http://www.sony.com/news
NOTE TO EDITORS: News releases and digital images with captions are available to members of the news media at http://www.sony.com/news. Your readers can obtain more information online from Sony about Blu-ray Disc products, technology and related events at http://www.sony.com/bluray.
