Although currently the majority of households still watch DVDs, Blu-Ray discs are rapidly entering the consumer market. Recently we had an opportunity to test the Sony Blu-Ray player BDP-S560. This device can not only play Blu-Ray discs with Full HD (1080p) resolution movies and good old CD / DVD discs, but also download additional content from a BD-Live via Wi-Fi wireless Internet connection.

Sony BDP-S560 is equipped with the following connection options: HDMI, component video, composite video, S-Video, digital audio, coaxial digital audio and analog audio (two RCA ports). This device of course also has an Ethernet network plug and Wi-Fi wireless internet support, which makes it easy to access BD-Live system which offers additional functionality.

After we connected the Blu-Ray player to a Sony BRAVIA KDL-32E5520 32-inch Full HD LCD TV via HDMI connection, we could finally begin our test.

This Blu-Ray player uses Sony Xross Media Bar user menu that can be also found in other Sony devices (eg, Sony LCD TVs and PlayStation 3 game consoles). This menu is quite convenient, and its operating principle is simple – the menu is divided into several broad categories (video, internet, settings, etc..) and, once a user chooses a category, he is offered a set of options and/or functions, which are arranged in a vertical column below the category icon.

We had a number of different Blu-Ray discs, which were recorded at different times: the legendary film Men in Black, recordings of Destinys Child and AC/DC live performances, and Christopher Nolans movie Batman Begins.

While the disk loading process was not as fast as loading a DVD disc, it didnt take too much time (as it tends to happen with most of the Blu-Ray players).

We also noted that the player and TV both combined for great picture quality, because the video was very detailed had very low noise levels. The disc of the movie Batman Begins was an excellent example of the advantages of Blu-Ray high-definition movies because the image looked very realistic.

On the other hand, while watching the movie Men in Black, we sometimes had a feeling that the image is too realistic, because we were able to see all the mistakes of this movie, so the experience was just like watching a theater.

During the playback of Men In Black we noticed how the video processor of this device is vastly improving the picture quality, because the noise level of this film was relatively low, despite the fact that it was made on year 1997.

Sony BDP-S560 Blu-Ray player also plays the previous generation of video discs – DVD. So we also tested a DVD of The Day After Tomorrow on it and we were surprised how good the image quality was thanks to the Precision Cinema HD Upscale technology, which maximizes the quality of DVD discs so they could match the HD video quality. So surprisingly the manufacturers advertising slogans in which Sony claims that this technology significantly improves the image quality of DVD discs, turned out to be true, which of course is good news because home video enthusiasts video collections still consist mostly of DVD discs.

The sound quality of this device was also very good, which of course is not surprising, given past experience with Sony products as well as both the price and specifications of this Blu-Ray player.

Finally, we experimented with the Wi-Fi wireless internet support, and, although initially the test model was unable to join the Linksys WRT54GL wireless router, a moment later we successfully connected it to Wi-Fi and were able to access the additional features that BD-Live offers (movie trailers, additional video materials, etc.).

Regrettably, Sony BDP-S560 Blu-Ray player does not support the very popular DivX video format for playback. Another disadvantage is the DVD regional restrictions. But all in all this is a very solid effort from Sony.

Pros:

+ Fantastic image quality
+ Quality sound
+ Plays DVDs in nearly HD
+ Attractive design
+ Reads Blu-Ray discs very fast
+ Wi-Fi support

Cons:

- No DivX support
- Regional restrictions for DVDs

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