Sony BDP-S370 Blu-Ray Player Review

Of the four new Blu-ray players announced this year by Sony, the BDP-S370 is the least expensive. (under $180.00) Cost less doesn’t always mean less value. You still get a nice set of features. Includes access to BRAVIA® Internet Video, iPhone®/iPod touch® compatibility, Gracenote™ metadata service, Share Personal Entertainment and much more.

The BDP-S370 is clad in a glossy black finish and has a slim, elegant design. The control buttons are located at the bottom front where there is a notch. The buttons are a mix of touch sensitive and push buttons. Also, located on the front of the player for easy access is a USB port. The audio and video outputs are located on the back of the Blu-ray player. And with its Quick Start/Quick Load feature, you can start enjoying movies faster than ever on a Blu-ray player.

video quality: Displaying great image quality when playing Blu-ray Disc, the BDP-S370 can be connected in the following ways: HDMI, Component or Composite Video outputs. The HDMI connection will give you full 1080p output. Further enhancing video viewing 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 192 kHz/24-bit analog-to-digital converter and supports digital video standards such as AVCH, MP3, and PCM. The audio connections for the BD-S370 are as follows: HDMI, analog audio output: 2.0 channel (L/R), and one optical audio output. Unfortunately, there are no 7.1 audio outputs. Therefore, a receiver with an HDMI input is required to decode the newer audio codes found in the Blu-ray movie. All of these features and functions help to provide you with very good audio quality.

This entry-level Blu-ray player has plenty of 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 to your TV. Netflix, YouTube, Pandora, Slacker and more are included with the BRAVIA® Internet Video feature. The BD-S370 will upscale streaming media to near 1080p HD quality.

To use BRAVIA® Internet Video, you must establish an Internet connection with 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 must be purchased separately. Once connected to your home network, there is a feature called Personal Entertainment Sharing that you can access. Where you can stream video, music or photo files between compatible devices. A DLNA compatible device, such as your computer.

One cool feature included with the BDP-S370 is the Gracenote metadata service. This will conveniently display information about the movies you are watching. Another cool feature that may appeal to some is iPhone®/iPod touch® compatibility. This turns your iPhone® or iPod touch® into a remote control. This free app lets you control your Blu-ray DVD player, while also giving you details about actors, directors, and more.

THE PROFESSIONALS: The Sony BDP-S370 has a good set of features including Wi-Fi Ready, streaming services like Netflix and Amazon On Demand, SACD and DLNA playback. Great picture quality and internal audio decoding for Dolby TrueHD, Dolby TrueHD (bitstream), Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD (bitstream).

THE CONS: It does not have any 7.1 analog audio output. The DLNA function will not be available until July 2010. There is no built-in Wi-Fi, so a USB wireless adapter will be needed if you want to connect to the Internet. Without 3D technology. Sony’s BD-S470, BD-S570 and BD-S770 will eventually have 3D capability.

THE FINAL WORD: Overall, Sony’s BDP-S370 is a good Blu-ray player in this price range. It has great image and audio quality on Blu-ray Disc. While it lacks some of the features found in higher-end Sony players, the BDP-S370 is a very good entry-level Blu-ray DVD player. — Price to look for when buying — Under $180.00