New Sony Blu-ray players: Better than PS3?

[admin]

Sony has announced two new Blu-ray players scheduled to be released in the second half of the year: the entry-level BDP-S350 and the step-up BDP-S550.

http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9877956-7.html

The S350 is Profile 1.1. and can be upgraded to BD-Live capable through firmware (but might not be full Profile 2.0, as it may lack the required 1 GB persistent storage). The S550 has the 1 GB persistent storage, so it should be Profile 2.0 compliant. The S550 is especially attractive because it has analogue 7.1 output (for those without the latest receivers) and supports full on-board decoding for DTS-HD (both HR and MA formats). The only comparable player is still the PS3, but it lacks full DTS-HD decoding and does not support HD audio format bitstreaming (so even if you have a HD audio decoding receiver, the PS3 cannot send the signal to the receiver for decoding).

[BR7]

but it lacks full DTS-HD decoding and does not support HD audio format bitstreaming

I read a Sony insider thread that a firmware is coming to allow the PS3 to decode this

[admin]

If full 7.1 decoding for DTS-HD can be added to the PS3 (I don't see any reason why it cannot, all it takes is a bit of work), then it just confirms the PS3 as the Blu-ray player of choice for the moment, especially if Profile 2.0/BD-Live is required. The bitstreaming won't be possible on current PS3s due to limitation of the HDMI chip used, but the rumour is a future PS3 SKU might be able to do it.

The debate of whether decoding or bitstreaming is better will continue. I think the difference is in how the receivers handle PCM 5/7.1 input, rather than any actual differences between the decoders of the player and the receiver (if it's all decoded and sent digitally, there should be no difference, right?).