Sony Announces First 3D Ready Blu-Ray Players

[Greg Tito]

Sony Announces First 3D Ready Blu-Ray Players

Thanks to James Cameron, 3D is here to stay as Sony plans to introduce the first 3D-ready Blu-Ray player this March.

The new Blu-Ray player, model #BDP-S470, is fairly high-tech device. It will show movies at HD 1080p, of course, but will also connect to the web through Wi-fi and display multimedia presentations via USB. You can also download an app for your iPhone or iTouch for the device to act as remote control for the BDP-S470. will be able to stream movies from the web via services like Netflix and Youtube. Oh, and it will show images with extra depth without any help, but glasses are needed for true 3D movies, including graphical menus and subtitles. The BDP-S470 is due out "next month," and will retail for around $200. There will also be upgrades to the home theater systems and a beefier standalone player with noise cancelling tech, the BDP-S570. The only problem is that all of these players won't be truly 3D capable until a firmware update is pushed out this Summer.

"Consumer excitement for 3D is unbelievably high and Sony is poised to deliver the best possible in-home experience," said Chris Fawcett from Sony in a statement. "Involved in every facet of the 3D chain from professional equipment to content production and hardware, Sony is the one company that can lean on its broad expertise to deliver 3D to the home that truly captures consumer imagination."

I'm kind of "Meh" on the topic of 3D but it appears it is the direction that the rest of the world is going. Sony mentioned at this year's Consumer Electronics Show that the PlayStation 3 would get an update to allow 3D but there's no indication if the console will be involved in the firmware update this summer.

To be honest, I'm more interested in a barely-noticed feature at the end of Sony's statement:

The [new] models also offer improved start up and disc loading performance. When the quick start feature is turned on, the start-up time is quicker and disc loading is faster than previous models. The stand-alone Blu-ray Disc players can start-up from power off in about three seconds.

Thank the maker! I hate waiting 20+ seconds for my Blu-Ray player to power up.

Permalink

 

[Eagle Est1986]

Hmmm... I wonder if a simple firmware update will update my PS3 to a similar level? I'm also kinda surprised at the relatively low price, apparently 3D technology is a lot easier to produce than high definition.

 

[tk1989]

Thank the maker! I hate waiting 20+ seconds for my Blu-Ray player to power up.

what kind of Bluray player do you own?!

I always see that message at the start of Movies saying something along the lines of "Please wait while the Bluray loads. This could take a couple of minutes depending on your player", and whilst i have a PS3 and see little delay i cant imagine having to wait 2-3 minutes for a movie to start up like that....

 

[mattttherman3]

Now I wonder how much this will cost, over a thousand dollars? Very likely.

 

[Jared]

Now I wonder how much this will cost, over a thousand dollars? Very likely.

Not gonna be cheap, we can beat on that much

 

[sooperman]

Now I wonder how much this will cost, over a thousand dollars? Very likely.

Not gonna be cheap, we can beat on that much

"and will retail for around $200."

My guess, around $200.

OT: That's cool, but you still need glasses for true 3D. The technology is neat, but we still have ways to go untill you can simply display in full 3D the way Sony is aim for here.

The glasses are cheap, yeah, but you still have to wear them.

 

[Irridium]

Now I wonder how much this will cost, over a thousand dollars? Very likely.

Not gonna be cheap, we can beat on that much

I swear this whole 3-D thing is just a giant prank on early adopters.

Seriously, no one with common sense would shell out about a thousand dollars for a new 3-D TV, a few hundred more for a 3-D blu-ray player, and about $100 for one of those stupid ass glasses, just to watch stuff in 3-D?

Granted common sense is sorely missing from this world, so who knows...

Hell, I only just got my first HD-TV about a week ago, and I still have trouble figuring out why it was so popular.

 

[Nimbus]

Now I wonder how much this will cost, over a thousand dollars? Very likely.

Now I wonder how much this will cost, over a thousand dollars? Very likely.

Not gonna be cheap, we can beat on that much

Uh, read the article. It says $200.

 

[Julianking93]

Well that sucks.

I fucking hate 3D

 

[esperandote]

this+finger tracking=minority report

 

[Simalacrum]

Thank the maker!

I like the subtle Dragon Age: Origins reference there

OT: cool, but I doubt I shall be delving into 3D just yet. Its an untested technology, and I'm the type to wait till prices come down when it comes to new tech.

Besides, I'm one of the rare people from the VHS/Betamax era who still think "why would you want to watch something over and over again?"

 

[kibayasu]

Won't you need a 3D capable TV too?

 

[pneuma08]

I'm kind of "Meh" on the topic of 3D but it appears it is the direction that the rest of the world is going.

If by "rest of the world" you mean "high tech corporations' marketing departments, hoping to entice early adopters" then, yes, I agree with you. I always try to take these "tech trends" with a grain of salt, because you only really get to see the marketing side of things. I wonder how many people own an HDTV, let alone a Blu-Ray player...

(And there's some overlap too, from people who own a PS3 but not an HDTV, a Blu-Ray without the capability of HD. Hrm.)