BDPS500

Sony's BDP-S500 is the company's latest blu-ray dvd player to go on sale and it's aimed at enthusiasts. Better sound performance is going to be the top selling point for the BDP-S500 alongside the already superb video performance that is a given with blu-ray. In addition to the standard features you would expect, such as full 1080/24p playback, and normal DVD up-scaling, the BDP-S500 also includes the capability for uncompressed Linear PCM 7.1 surround sound, as well as the usual suspects, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD. Along with its support for BD JAVA (which allows access to the bonus material), the BDP-S500 is a top range and very well designed blu-ray dvd player.

Blu-ray playback on the BDPS500 is excellent. Support for 24p resolution means that with a compatible television set, you can watch films at their "native" 24fps (the frame rate used in cinemas). The video quality is everything you'd expect from Blu-ray. As with most HD player there is a slight lag when using functions such as fast forward or skipping chapters. Although no longer than a second or so with the BDP-S500, it can be annoying.

BDPS500

DVD up-scaling is a core feature of blu-ray dvd players, as well it should be, because it's this that enables existing DVD collections to carry on playing. The BDP-S500 is capable of up-scaling normal DVDs to up to 1080p , although the 24p frame rate is only available for Blu-ray discs. This provides quite a noticeable improvement, especially on large, high resolution screens, where the low resolution of a normal DVD can look blocky and pixelated. The up-scaling provides a much clearer, better defined, and sharper image, and definitely does justice to a normal DVD disc on an HD tv.

The audio performance of the BDPS500 is definitely one of its major attractions. All major HD audio formats are supported, along with up to 7.1 channels. Users with a system larger than 5.1 will need to buy a separate receiver though, as the BDP-S500 only includes analogue outputs for 5.1 systems. In general the player's audio performance is excellent, and only the most avid enthusiast might actually find the need for a dedicated receiver/amplifier.

BDPS500

Sony has spent a lot of time with the design of the BDPS500, keeping it in line with its target audience of enthusiasts. It's good to look at with a glass front panel and the buttons located on the top edge of the player, rather than at the front. The rear panel has the 5.1 analogue audio connections, in addition to the standard array of ports, including HDMI.

The BDP-S500 on-screen menu is nice and simple, and easy to access and navigate. A well designed remote control makes operating the S500 a breeze, and despite its high level of performance, there really aren't many options that will need tweaking, even occasionally. The entire interface is highly streamlined and efficient if not quite as quick as you might like.

Overall, though, the BDPS500 is a great top of the range blu-ray dvd player. Its extra audio capacities make it a great choice for those with the additional equipment to take full advantage of them. The rest of us might be just as well served with a lower down the range model though.

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