Sony BDP S500 - Expert Reviews

Review summary: The Sony BDP-S500 Blu-ray player is an excellent performer. Both standard definition and high definition material alike looks beautiful, providing scenes with sharpness and strong colour. Audio quality is also crisp, but does this player measure up to the

Pros: Picture quality; sound quality; styling

Cons: Price; front panel feels fragile; no included HDMI cable; no profile 1.1 or 2.0 support; did we mention price yet?

Verdict: There is no compelling reason to buy this player over a PlayStation 3: it's too expensive, doesn't support profile 1.1 or 2.0, and costs more than pretty much every Blu-ray player on the market. The picture and sound quality are, however, excellent, which

Review summary: Thanks to the PlayStation 3, the Blu-ray Disc Association is claiming minor and major victories in the HD format conflict, but while some software is shifting in significant numbers, organising a ticker-tape parade is premature

Pros: Excellent images, Solid build quality, High resolution audio

Cons: No SACD, No DTS-HD Master Audio, Not Profile 1.1

Verdict: A great quality player, but with Profile 1.1 only around the corner, it's hard to recommend wholeheartedly

Review summary: The automated loading tray means fingerprints should be kept to a minimum

Pros: Excellent images; Solid build quality; High resolution audio

Cons: Not Profile 1.1; No DTS-HD Master Audio; No SACD

Verdict: This will almost certainly come at some point, and I feel SACD is a natural partner for upmarket Blu-ray. Of course, if you can't wait you could always buy one of these bad boys and upgrade at a later date

Review summary: Top-of-the-range and exceptionally talented, but don't expect to ogle at those Blu-ray interactive features.

Verdict: The BDP-S500 is an exceptionally talented Blu-ray player, delivering the sort of gob-smacking picture and sound quality that movie buffs go nuts for. And barring the disappointing omission of DTS HD Master Audio support and SACD playback, the feature list