Sony BDP-S560 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player

List Price: $349.99

Price: $279.00 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details


Product Description

The Sony BDP-S560 Blu-ray Disc player delivers Full HD 1080/24p True Cinema video over HDMI and can upscale your standard DVDs to near HD quality . It also includes built-in wireless functionality (802.11N/G/B/A), allowing you to easily connect to the internet to download and stream BD-Live content such as additional scenes, shorts, trailers, movie-based games, and more. While compatible with most home wireless routers, the BDP-S560 Blu-ray Disc player also supports Wi-Fi protected set-up (WPS), for a quick and easy conection to WPS enabled wireless routers. The BDPS560 even supports Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD audio codecs for up to 7.1 channels of high-definition sound.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #422 in Consumer Electronics
  • Color: Black
  • Brand: Sony
  • Model: BDP-S560
  • Dimensions: 2.80″ h x 16.90″ w x 8.10″ l, 5.10 pounds

Features

  • Built-in Wi-Fi networking for accessing BD Live bonus materials as well as streaming photos from your PC
  • Full HD 1080p output for Blu-ray Discs and upconversion of standard DVD video to 1080p
  • 24p True Cinema capable lets you watch films at their intended 24 fps (frames per second); Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD
  • Outputs: 1 HDMI, 1 component, 1 S-Video, 1 composite, 1 analog audio (2-channel), 1 digital optical audio, 1 digital coaxial audio, 1 Ethernet
  • Includes remote control and composite AV cable; measures 16.9 x 8.1 x 2.8 inches (WxDxH)

Editorial Reviews

From the Manufacturer
(July 6, 2009)
Sony’s BDP-S560 Blu-ray Disc Player delivers full HD 1080/60p and 24p True Cinema output, decodes the latest advanced audio codecs, and is BD-Live capable with your broadband internet connection (and purchase of external memory). It supports Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD audio codecs for up to 7.1 channels of high-definition sound, and there’s even quick start-up mode, which begins operating your Blu-ray Disc player in approximately six seconds from the time it is powered on. And navigation of the player’s menus is a breeze thanks to the icon-based Xross Media Bar (XMB) menu system.

Offering built-in Wi-Fi wireless network capabilities (802.11a/b/g/n), the BDP-S560 can easily connect to the Internet through your existing wireless home network to download and stream BD-Live content including additional scenes, short subjects, trailers, interactive games, and more. It also enables easy firmware updates to assist in keeping your player up-to-date with the latest Blu-ray Disc media and features.

With built-in Wi-Fi functionality, you can connect to the internet to download and stream BD-Live content as well as wirelessly stream digital photos from your PC.

The Sony BDP-S560 incorporates Sony’s Precision Cinema HD Upscale technology that converts standard-definition signals (480i) to near HD quality.

The BDP-S560 also supports Wi-Fi protected set-up (WPS) for a quick and easy connection to WPS-enabled wireless routers.

Check out the latest previews, download special scenes and exclusive features, and participate in online communities or games with BD-Live.

Blu-ray Disc’s Full HD 1080p resolution produces over 2 million pixels per frame to produce a razor-sharp picture with unmatched depth and clarity.

Key Features

  • Full HD 1080p Output (Learn more) Built-in Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n) allows you to connect easily to the internet in order to download and stream BD-Live content such as additional scenes, shorts, trailers, movie-based games, and more. While compatible with most home wireless routers, the BDP-S560 Blu-ray Disc player also supports Wi-Fi protected set-up (WPS) for a quick and easy connection to WPS-enabled wireless routers.
  • Stream Your Photos Wirelessly: The BDP-S560 features photo streaming functionality, which allows you wirelessly to stream digital photos from your PC or another Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) enabled device to your Blu-ray Disc player, so you can easily view photos on your HDTV.
  • Digital Photo Playback feature lets you enjoy your digital photos on your HDTV by inserting USB flash memory loaded with photos into the players’ front USB port.
  • DVD Upscaling via HDMI technology: DVD Upscaling via HDMI makes your existing standard DVDs look better on your HDTV by bringing them to near HD quality.
  • Dolby TrueHD and dts HD- 7.1 Analog: In the past, most audio codecs used compression that actually removes some sound data to transmit audio from the disc to the audio circuitry. This means that what you hear is a subset of the original audio. However, newer formats allow the audio to be compressed, but not discarded, allowing the original audio to come through once it has been decoded. This player allows you to stream the audio out via HDMI to a capable receiver or through analog 7.1 outputs for maximum compatibility with high end receivers. (Learn more)
  • BD-Live Technology allows you to download and stream bonus content such as additional scenes, shorts, trailers, movie-based games, and more. And with Bonus View, you can enjoy “picture-in-picture” capability with select Blu-ray titles. External memory is required (sold separately).
  • Quick Start Mode: Quick Start Mode lets you begin operating your Sony Blu-ray Disc player approximately six seconds from the time it’s powered on.
  • Ethernet port lets you connect the BDP-S360 to your home’s existing broadband network to access bonus features on BD-Live enabled Blu-ray Disc movies.
  • Bonus View feature provides “picture-in-picture” capability with select Blu-ray Disc titles, which is useful for viewing director or actor commentary while the movie plays.
  • x.v.Color output plays AVCHD-format discs with support for the international xvYCC color standard, producing images with nearly twice as many viewable colors as the existing RGB color standard.
  • BRAVIA Sync technology lets you enjoy the convenience of one remote control to operate and control all your compatible home entertainment devices. It utilizes the HDMI CEC function to easily turn on and control your compatible HDMI-connected components without having to use multiple remote controls.
  • 24p True Cinema technology lets you watch films at their intended 24 fps (frames per second), the way movies are shot and mastered, so you can enjoy cinematic picture quality.
  • Precision Cinema HD Upscale circuitry delivers accurate and vivid images with clarity and detail faithful to the source — whether film or video (upscaled image quality will vary). This circuitry uses advanced conversion and processing to detect image changes at the pixel level, rather than at the level of whole scan lines. Separate algorithms are also used to process the moving and still parts of an image, resulting in sharp backgrounds with moving objects that are free from motion artifacts.
  • Emmy-Award Winning Xross Media Bar Interface: Sony’s exclusive xross media bar user interface makes it simple and intuitive to navigate television menus, controls, and user settings. (Learn more)
  • x.v.Color output plays AVCHD-format discs with support for the international xvYCC color standard, producing images with nearly twice as many viewable colors as the existing RGB color standard. (Learn more)
  • Dimensions: 16.9 x 8.1 x 2.8 inches (WxDxH)
  • Warranty: 1 year parts and labor

Connections

  • HDMI audio/video output: 1
  • Component video (Y/Pb/Pr) output: 1
  • S-video output: 1
  • Composite video output: 1
  • Optical digital audio output: 1
  • Coaxial digital audio output: 1
  • Analog audio output: 1 (2-channel)
  • Ethernet networking: 1

Video Specifications

  • AVC-HD: Yes (8cm/12cm; DVD+R/RW/-R/-RW)
  • BD-R/RE Read Compatibility: Yes (BDMV & BDAV)
  • BD-ROM: Bonus View (Profile1.1); BD-Live (Profile2.0); BD-ROM (SL/DL)
  • CD (CD-DA): Yes
  • CD-R/RW: Yes (CD-DA & Data)
  • DVD Playback: Yes
  • DVD+R Read Compatibility: Yes (DL) (+VR)
  • DVD+RW Read Compatibility: Yes (+VR) (8cm)
  • DVD-R Read Compatibility: Yes (DL) (VR) (VR with CPRM) (8cm)
  • DVD-RW Read Compatibility: Yes (VR) (VR with CPRM) (8cm)
  • JPEG Playback: Yes (BD-R/REDVD+RW/+R/-RW/-R/CD-R,RW)
  • Noise Reduction: Yes
  • PhotoTV HD: Yes
  • x.v.Color Technology: Yes

Audio Specifications

  • Dolby: Yes & Dolby TrueHD bitstream out over HDMI (V1.3)
  • Dolby Digital plus Decoding: Yes
  • Dolby True HD bitstream output: Yes
  • Dolby TrueHD Decoding: Yes
  • LPCM: Yes (multi channel decoder): Yes (HDMI bitstream out)
  • MP3 Playback: Yes (BD-R/RE/DVD+RW/+R/-RW/-R/CD-R,RW)5
  • dts Decoding: Yes
  • dts HD bitstream output: Yes
  • dts Output: Yes, & /DTS-HD bitstream out over HDMI (V1.3)

What’s in the Box?
Sony BDP-S560 BD player, remote control (with 2 AA batteries), composite video cable, AC cable, printed instruction manual

Learn More

More Picture

1080p compared to 480iSee Everything Your HDTV Can Show You with Full HD.

6 Times the Picture Data on DVDs
See everything your HDTV can show you. Blu-ray Disc’s Full HD 1080p resolution produces over 2 million pixels per frame to produce a razor-sharp picture with unmatched depth and clarity that takes full advantage of the capabilities of today’s 1080p HDTVs. That’s six times the picture data contained on DVDs, which are encoded at only 480p.

24p True Cinema Video Output
Most of all Hollywood movies are shot at 24 frames per second, and Blu-ray Disc movies are mastered at 24 frame per second, so it is only fitting that the Sony Blu-ray Disc Players can output your films at 1080/24p for a true film-like experience at home. Of course, Sony Blu-ray Disc Players can also output at 1080/60p for more traditional HDTV sets on the market. Either way Sony has you covered for the best picture possible in Full 1080p.

Backwards compatible and Upscaling
All existing Blu-ray Disc players will play your standard DVD collection without a problem. And with built-in 1080p video upscaling, they’ll look even better.


More Sound

Dolby TrueHD and DTSThis Sony BD player is compatible with Dolby TrueHD, Dolby’s next-generation lossless technology developed for high-definition disc-based media. Dolby TrueHD delivers tantalizing sound that is bit-for-bit identical to the studio master, unlocking the true high-definition entertainment experience on next-generation discs. When coupled with high-definition video, Dolby TrueHD offers an unprecedented home theater experience that lets you enjoy sound as stunning as the high-definition picture.


Xross Media Bar

Xross television interfaceXross (pronounced Cross) is Sony’s Technical-Emmy award-winning graphic user interface for Sony WEGA and BRAVIA televisions and PS3 and PSX game systems. The interface features category icons spread horizontally across the screen that organize the viewing options (TV, Music, Internet, Tools, etc…). When a category icon is selected on the horizontal bar, a vertical bar appears showing the viewing options within that category. Using the directional pad on your remote, you can easily maneuver horizontally from category to category, then scroll vertically through individual viewing options to easily navigate through the wide range of programming available on today’s televisions.


x.v Color

Standard RGB Color Profile

RGB Color Range
 xvycc Color

xvYCC Color Range
 Thanks to the adoption of a newly approved international color standard called xvYCC (an option in the HDMI v1.3 spec and which Sony participated in creating), the color space has been greatly expanded.

All Sony XBR HDTVs support the xvYCC color profile (Extended YCC Colorimetry for Video Applications), or “x.v. color” for short. Standard RGB color space allows the display of a portion of the colors that are viewable to the human eye. The next generation “xvYCC” color space actually offers  an available range of colors that exceeds what human eyes can recognize.

  • Next-generation “xvYCC” color space supports 1.8 times as many colors as existing HDTV signals
  • Lets HDTVs display colors more accurately
  • Enables displays with more natural and vivid colors


Customer Reviews

Wireless in a Sony Blu-ray player but mediocre remote4
The Sony BDP-S560 is a capable Blu-ray player.

This is basically an updated 360 with wireless connectivity for BD Live functions. Sony finally got it right by building wireless connectivity into the player itself. Previously, you needed to have a PS3 or buy a wireless add-on to have this feature. My viewing room is too far away from a wired connection, so wireless was the only way to go. The 560 loads quickly and has most of the standard features you would expect from Sony.

Setup was very fast and simple including the wireless feature. You just needed to search for your network and then manually input your password–that was it!

The only negative feature I could find was in the 560’s remote. Sony took a step backward by offering less features than its predecessor, the BDP-S550. The last remote offered a lighted display. In addition, you had an open/close button which this new player does not offer. Buttons are not clustered logically around the center button . Even the BDP-S350, the former lower end player offered a better remote. Of course for $63 you can buy the 550’s remote from Sony and use it with the 560.

The Sony BDP-S560 is a good player with the added wireless feature. It could have been an even better player with a decent remote.

Wi Fi Helps Significantly, but the little things bring it down….3
Pros: Small footprint. Fast START-UP time (more on this later). Built in Wi-Fi. Low price.

Cons: Remote buttons not logically laid out, easy to press other buttons by mistake. No remote backlighting! No eject button!!! Load time versus play time confusion.

Summary: My player finally arrived yesterday and was a replacement for my original Sony BDP-S1 (Profile 1.0) which I paid $999 for at Best Buy in Dec. 2006. I was one of the early Blu ray pioneers!

Setup was a snap. I was on my home network within minutes. The WiFi makes all the difference in the world and was checking out some BD Live stuff later that day. Network updates will be a snap. The advertised 6 second START-UP time is correct, it does start quickly as long as you leave the device enabled for fast start up which you do during the initial setup process. This does makes it less energy efficient, just how the “instant on” feature of TV’s work. Be advised that the fast start-up means just that. It powers on and is ready to load the disc in 6 seconds, however, if you have a disc with lots of JAVA features (as most are these days), you still have to wait for the JAVA features to load which averaged anywhere from 20 seconds to almost a minute. I was sort of disappointed in this as I understood it to mean that after popping in a disc I could begin watching it in 6 seconds! Not! I think they are playing with words on the advertised load time. You still have to wait for JAVA enabled discs to load but believe me, compared to what I was used to with my previous profile 1.0 player, it is a Godsend. I will say though that when a Blu ray player does finally comes out that can both start-up and load a JAVA enabled Blu ray disc in under 10 seconds, I will buy it hands down. Other than that, the other gripe I have is the crummy remote. Very cheaply made, too small, no back-light and button layout is terrible. I found myself fumbling around pushing the wrong buttons and there seems to be have been no thought to how the buttons are laid out. I am going to shop around for another remote for this player, perhaps there is one out there. These 2 faults keep the player from getting 4 or 5 stars IMHO.

Wifi works on a MAC!4
Easy set up but as usual us Mac users get the short end of the stick. It was tedious to set up the internet connection via my Airport Extreme network and the keystroke entry is terrible. The Nintendo Wii was FAR easier to set up. However it seems to connect to my WifI Network using WPA2 encryption etc. Bear in mind for an inexperienced user of networks this might be somewhat complicated. I had to use the Wireless and Manual set up pathway. The instructions provided are not very useful in this regard (for Mac users at least)
Otherwise good picture and sound so far.
I am waiting to try out the BD live feature.
My old Pioneer Elite AV receiver uses Dolby 5.1 surround and this works well.
Nice esthetics on outside, quite light compared to the BDP S550 which I have as well.
It would be better if it had Netflix or Apple TV compatibility but I have other devices (Roku) that can do these functions.