Sony BDP-S550 1080p Blu-ray Player

The future of Blu-ray technology is here with the BDP-S550 and BD-Live. The BDP-S550 comes equipped with a built in Ethernet port and 1GB of memory on board (There is a USB port for additional Memory if needed as well) to allow you to access specially created content on your BD-Live enabled Blu-ray Disc Movie from the comfort of your Home Theater. Whether you are viewing upcoming trailers, playing a game with your friends, or just downloading a new ring-tone to your phone, BD-Live takes the movie experience to a whole new level. You still get the amazing picture performance of Full 1080/24p output and incredible upscaling up to 1080p for your DVD collection via the HDMI connection. Plus, to add to the great Home Theater experience, you get full bitstream output or, if you choose, internal decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD (Master Audio and High Resolution). To further the connectivity to your existing system, the BDP-S550 has a full 7.1 analog output for older receivers. Making all these wonderful features easy to access is the new Xross Media Bar¿ menu system, which is an icon based menu system for simple navigation. BRAVIA sync is also included which allows for easy one-button operation when connected via HDMI to other compatible Sony TV and Audio products. The BDP-S550 brings the world of BD-Live and Blu-ray to life!



Technical Details :
* Bonus View & BD-Live (Profile 2.0) w/1GB flash memory for local storage.
* Full HD 1080/60p & 24p True Cinema Video Output.
* Dolby True HD/DTS-HD decoder built-in with 7.1ch out. Quick start up mode.
* Dolby TrueHD & DTS-HD bitstream out over HDMI (V1.3).
* x.v.Colors for AVC-HD.

KEY FEATURES :
- Slim chassis.
- True 1080p Output.
- 7.1 Channel Dolby Sound , Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD (Master Audio and High Resolution Audio).
- 1 Gb of onboard memory and a USB Port Allows More Storage for Access to More Special Features, Like Bonus View.
- Ethernet connection for BD-Live Compatibility and firmware updates.
- Higher Bit Rates mean less video compression.
- Emmy-Award Winning Xross Media Bar Interface.
- Bravia Sync for Easy Connectivity.

PROS:
1) BD-Live functionality works great.
2) Besides regular fast-forward, rewind, and chapter skip buttons, the S550 has advance or reverse buttons take you forward or back in 10-15 second increments.
3) The player will resume where you last stopped.
4) The display button puts on-screen the time elapsed or remaining in a movie.
5) The player allows you to change audio tracks on the fly with every Blu-ray disc.

CONS:
1) The S550 does not have frame-by-frame advance. Only pause and play.
2) No slow-motion.
3) No zoom feature.
4) The S550 does not display what chapter you are viewing.
5) The USB port cannot be used to play music or view pictures off a USB flash drive.
6) Fast-forward and rewind are quite sluggish.