Sony's BDP-S1 has landed, finally!

After just a few delays (cough, cough) it appears that Sony's first Blu-ray player -- the BDP-S1 -- has finally landed, and a few days early to boot. At last word the player was expected on or about Dec 4th 2006, but a few lucky Blu-ray fans picked one up from Best Buy today; no word on pre-orders from the Sony Style store as of yet. The early results are good and some have already started to enjoying that 1080@24P that we have all been waiting for. Sure 3:2 pulldown works great, but there is nothing like a native frame rate to bring out the best in film. Early indications seem to point to a lack of Dolby TrueHD or DTS HD decoding, but you can still enjoy uncompressed audio tracks via discrete analog cables or HDMI. As cool looking as this player is, a PS3 at Ebay prices may still be a better deal than a stand alone Blu-ray player.

[Matt @ Nov 28th 2006 11:22PM]

no food for a few months if you get that

[Brian Leone @ Nov 28th 2006 11:29PM]

I don't understand why anyone would buy this instead of just getting a PS3 (if we pretend they were available). I haven't seen the most recent price quote, but I'm certain it's more than the ps3. Is the playback better?

[Farris @ Nov 28th 2006 11:31PM]

Not to be nit-picky, but isn't this Sony's second Blu-Ray player? Technically the PS3 plays BRD's...

But geez, that's gonna be a burden on the wallet...

[Shmoe @ Nov 28th 2006 11:36PM]

I'll take an HD-DVD player for the Xbox 360 thank you, and save several hundred bucks.

[Adam Raschka @ Nov 28th 2006 11:37PM]

Umm.. Does everyone remember when DVD players had similar prices no more than eight years ago? Hopefully Blu Ray hits a huge price meltdown in a few years like DVD did.

[The Food @ Nov 28th 2006 11:39PM]

I saw these in Casino Royale.

[Brad Hodson @ Nov 29th 2006 12:07AM]

Yeah, I also noticed they had a whole row of these players in Casino Royale. Because it was a Sony picture, every gadget was Sony-made (laptops, phones, blu-ray players, etc...)

[BrianK @ Nov 28th 2006 11:41PM]

So do I need a TV that supports HDMI 1.3 to support 1080@24P. And is that 1080P or 1080i?

[myscrnnm @ Nov 28th 2006 11:42PM]

"Not to be nit-picky, but isn't this Sony's second Blu-Ray player? Technically the PS3 plays BRD's..."

Technically, it's not, because the PlayStation 3 is from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., while the BDP-S1 is from Sony Corporation. Also, the PlayStation 3 isn't really a dedicated Blu-ray disc player, cuz it's marketed as a computer entertainment platform.

[Farris @ Nov 29th 2006 12:47AM]

That's good point!

[Wilson Li @ Nov 29th 2006 12:29AM]

The only reason someone would buy this BD instead of a PS3 is that the BD player will upconvert your DVDs to 1080i. Unlike the PS3, if you load a regular DVD it will display 480 on your tv. PS3 does not have upconvert. But put aside this factor, as a BD player standalone, there's no difference between this and a PS3.

[Kendachi @ Nov 29th 2006 12:58AM]

The BDP, as many other dedicated dvd players do, will have better audio / video processors specifically for the task of video scaling and image sharpening. Like before, if all you wanted was a DVD player, sure, get a PS2, you'll save some money. but if you wanted a good DVD player, you bought a dedicated disc player. just because it's the same disc technology doesn't give the same results.

[Porsche 911 @ Nov 29th 2006 1:17AM]

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=BDPS1&Dept=tvvideo&CategoryName=hav_bluraydiscsub

"Product Description

The new BDP-S1 Blu-ray Disc home player from Sony offers a host of new high-definition entertainment possibilities. The BDP-S1 features 1920 x 1080p output, the highest HD signal output currently available through a HDMI� connection. If your HD-capable television does not have an HDMI connection, you can still get the Blu-ray experience - the 1080i analog output allows for HD-capable televisions without HDMI to enjoy Blu-ray Disc features. The BDP-S1 is also compatible with standard DVDs with the added feature of 1080p upscaling through HDMI, which gives new life to existing DVDs libraries3.

Feature List

Blu-ray Disc / DVD Playback2
Video Codec Format : MPEG2/MPEG4-AVC/VC-1
Full HD 1080p Video Output through HDMI connection1
DVD Upscaling to 1080p3
Picture Mode Settings
Uncompressed Multi Channel Linear PCM Output
Dolby� Digital Plus(Dolby� Digital audio stream only), Dolby� TrueHD (Dolby� Digital audio stream only) dts�-HD --- (dts audio stream only) Digital Out and decoding capability
Dolby� Digital and dts� 5.1channel Output
Multi Channel 192KHz/24bit Audio D/A Converters
Rigid Beam Construction
Separated Audio Circuit Board
Highly Tuned Audio Parts
Drive Bracket for stability of drive system
Individual Speaker Setting
Off Center Insulator Feet
Pop up Menu
Quick Set Up
FL Off/Dimmer Mode
Screen Saver
MP3 and JPEG Playback from DVD Media4
Parental Control
IR In
Multi Brand TV Control Remote
Sophisticated Box Design with blue glass front"

[Castle @ Nov 29th 2006 1:20AM]

>>Not to be nit-picky, but isn't this Sony's second Blu-Ray player? Technically the PS3 plays BRD's...

Well, if you really really want to be nit-picky Sony did release several BDZ-series Blu-ray players in Japan. Over THREE YEARS AGO.

http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=30969

http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/blu-ray/

[Tech^Cellfish @ Nov 29th 2006 10:21AM]

Yeah, I saw one of those demoed almost 2 years ago (here in Europe). So it's not the first, but but maybe the first to get on sale throughout the world.

[Ian @ Nov 29th 2006 1:51AM]

"Sure 3:2 pulldown works great, but there is nothing like a native frame rate to bring out the best in film."

LOL, just what do you think 3:2 pulldown (removal) DOES? It takes telecined 1080i and makes 24fps 1080p. And since film IS 24fps you get the native frame rate the film was shot at and at full 1080p resolution. Seriously do you think a BD title stores 60FPS 1080p? That would be retarded since the film soruce is only 24fps.

[Vanillacide @ Nov 29th 2006 6:17AM]

Blu-ray and HD DVD both encode movies at 1080p24 (i.e. 24fps).

Ian is right, 3:2 pulldown perfectly reconstructs 1080i60 film to 1080p24.

[Dave @ Nov 29th 2006 3:27AM]

The beast is out! :)

[a2 @ Nov 29th 2006 10:10AM]

Oh great, another blu-ray player to collect dust on the shelves.

I want an HD DVD player, but haven't been able to find one at Best Buy for months now.

[Ed @ Nov 29th 2006 9:40PM]

Try crutfield they have better customer service and prices. They have all 4 Toshiba HD DVD player. And if you want the Xbox 360 HD DVD player ($199.99) try Circuit City.com

[Storm9 @ Nov 29th 2006 10:57AM]

This Blueray Player is marketed to people who want the very best and top of the line product.

Its for people with $10,000+ Home Theater Setups. For people who want the very best in quality.

Not for folks like you, with your cheapo HDTV's from Westinghouse and Olivia.

You guys can go buy your Xbox 360 and HD-DVD add on which looks like a child's toy, not something that belongs on a high end home theater setup.
The Ps3 might look nice, but again the brand "Playstation" is not associated with the likes of B &W.

[eric @ Nov 29th 2006 11:46AM]

Ehhh.. I just picked up the HD-DVD add on for the 360 for $160 (w/ $40 coupon from Circuit City) and it looks spectacular! The upconverting of other movies looks good as well. A friend and I messed with Batman Begins, as he has the DVD and HD-DVD. We compared DVD upconverted on his player, and the HD-DVD on the 360, and obviously the 360 won. But even comparing 2 copies of Batman Begins regular DVD upconverted on both players, the 360 add on looked MUCH better.. This was even with the other upconverting player hooked up via HDMI and the 360 being on Component cables.. If you have a 360 and are interested in high def movies, run to the store to get this player!! Even comparing Batman Begins from HD Channels on TV (I think it was HBO) via FIOS tv, this looks much better. If you like watching HD Movies on TV, HD-DVD is still even better because the rate of compression is MUCH less, as well as a much better Codec is used for HD-DVD than Digital Cable and Bluray (most BR uses MPEG2 right now, supposedly will use better ones later...)..

Feel free to check my site out for unboxing shots, and if you have any questions about it, let me know.. I can't stop watching it!!!

http://www.audioeric.com

[Thinker @ Nov 29th 2006 12:52PM]

The PS3 will play Blu-ray at a native 1080p.

And the PS3 will upscale (i.e. Upconvert) DVDs to 1080p. See the Engadget interview of Sony�s SVP of Marketing:
http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/06/the-engadget-interview-peter-dille-sony-computer-entertainment/.

[Ed @ Nov 30th 2006 7:45AM]

Wrong. The Xbox does upscales but the PS3 doesn't.

[The Jeremy @ Nov 29th 2006 4:06PM]

Eric,

As far as I know, the current Warner Bros. releases for Blu-Ray offer the very same codec as on the HD DVD releases...VC-1...not MPEG2.

Keep the FUD(d) where it belongs...chasing after a wascally wabbit.

[Mark MacLeod @ Nov 29th 2006 6:32PM]

You'd get a headache watching a movie that was actually displayed at 24 fps. Even in the movie theater they "double shutter" it to 48 fps.