Audio Video News

I just got back from Sony's press conference at CEDIA 2008, and I got the impression that they're rather enthusiastic about this new "Blu-ray" format. Some might say that Sony was gloating about Blu-ray overcoming HD-DVD as the major high-definition media format (see the photo below the jump), but I prefer to think of it simply as market analysis. The company showed off a wide variety of new home theater products, most of which revolved around Sony's recently victorious high-definition media.

The BDP-S550 stood out as Sony's newest affordable Blu-ray player. While its price and features pale compared to the other products announced, at $500 it's one of the cheapest items on Sony's line-up. The player supports both Blu-ray Profile 1.1 (Bonus View) and 2.0 (BD Live), and even comes with a 1 GB USB stick to provide memory for BD Live features. It also includes 7.1-channel analog audio output, always a good feature for home theater buffs without recievers. It's scheduled to ship in October.

Towering above the S550 in stature was the BDP-S5000ES. This high-end Blu-ray player is part of Sony's "ES" line of premium home theater equipment, and includes far more bells and whistles than the much more affordable S550. It features several video enhancement processors and options, including a 14-bit HD processor and Sony's Super Bit Mapping, and HD Reality Enhancer. At $2000, the S5000ES will cost four times as much as the S550 when it ships in November.

Sony also showed off two new home-theater-in-a-box systems, the BDP-IS1000 and the BDV-IT1000ES. Both are 5.1-channel surround sound systems with an included Blu-ray player/receiver, but the BDV-IT1000ES sits slightly above its little brother with S-AIR wireless support and "ES" branding. The IS1000 will retail for $1000 and the IT1000ES will go for about $2000. Both HTIBs will ship in October.

Two new recievers also carried Sony's "ES" logo on their cases. The STR-DA5400ES and STR-6400ES are built for multiple-room viewing. Both models include dual Faroudja processors, and can simultaneously upconvert 1080p video for the main room and 1080i video for another room. Besides the Faroudja upconverting, both recievers have all the usual accoutrements of Sony's ES recievers, with plenty of inputs, outputs, and wiring features like RS232 and ethernet ports for custom installations. The 6400ES distinguishes itself from the 5400ES with the inclusion of DLNA networking suppor tfor sharing media. The 6400ES ships this month and will retail for about $2000, and the 5400ES ships in October for about $500 less. - Will