The Sony BDP-S560 Review Thread

[markel253]

For the last few years I have been using a Samsung BDP1400. It worked fine, but was a profile 1 player, so no BD Live material.

Since my router is so far from where my main Blu Ray player is, I really didn't want to upgrade to a Profile 2 player until there was one with WiFi.

Well, when I spotted the Sony BDP-S560 I decided it was time. I checked it out at Amazon.com and it was $219. A visit to Best Buy on Black Friday showed that they were in stock, but selling for $299, so I decided to go with Amazon. When I went online to order it, it was $199, so I was happy. (It has since gone back to over $200)

It arrived a day earlier than originally projected, and in a moment or two, was installed. The first thing I noticed was what I didn't notice. You do not see the disk tray, since it is covered with a front panel, giving the Sony BDP-S560 a very sleek look. When you press the button to open the tray, the front panel opens revealing the tray which itself now opens. When closed, the front panel moves back into position.

I turned it on and was guided through the initial set-up. Including the WiFi set-up, within 5 minutes the unit was up and running and connected.

A word on the Wifi on this unit. I was happy to see that it has 802.11 a/b/g/n connectivity. I have a (finally approved) Wireless N Dual Band router, so I was happy to see the newest standard included. When I got to the set-up I was further surprised that it recognized BOTH the 2.4 and 5.6 GHz bands and was able to connect it using the 5.6 GHz 802.11N band!

In order to take advantage of the BD-Live capabilities, you will need to insert a USB memory device (at least 1Mb) into the USB port on the back. There is also a USB port on the front to which you can connect a USB storage device to play MP3's or JPG's.

The WiFi can also be used to update the unit's firmware, and once the set-up was complete it informed me that a new firmware was available and did I want to install it now? I said yes and very quickly I was running with the most recent version. You can also set the device to inform you whenever a new firmware is available.

I'll be honest and let you know that I am not a audio-videophile so I won't talk to the issues of picture or audio features and quality, but for me everything is quite good, and the BD-Live features work as advertised. I am happy with it.

Now I have seen others complain about the remote and its lack of an open/close button. Is this really a big deal? Are your arms long enough so that you can remove the disk from across the room? And if you can, can't you just push the unobtrusive button on the front of the unit?

So if you are like me and have been waiting for a WiFi blu-ray player ... consider the Sony BDP-S560.

[eiker_ir]

i've had it for 2 months and love it.

[markel253]

A note regarding loading speed.

During set-up, there is a setting which allows for fast loading of disks. This setting does use more power and the fan runs, but it is said to get things started faster. (You are supposed to be up and running in 6 seconds.)

Since I have not selected this option I can't say how well it works, after all the unit will still have to load the Java programs, so I am not sure how much loading time would be saved.

Has anyone used this setting? If so, what is your experience with it?

[GOAT]

SWEET I just bought this for $160 SHIPPED BRAND NEW on ebay thanks to the bing.com cash back... cant wait to stream some netflix... thanks for the positive thoughts on it!

[BluBrown]

Just picked one of these up on black friday and love it so far....much better than my BDP-S350

[markel253]

Originally Posted by GOAT

SWEET I just bought this for $160 SHIPPED BRAND NEW on ebay thanks to the bing.com cash back... cant wait to stream some netflix... thanks for the positive thoughts on it!

Sorry to disappoint, but there is no video streaming on this unit.

[ifireun]

Picked one up this weekend and I am very pleased with it. It has been listed at $349 to $399 CDN in stores such as Best Buy, Future Shop etc. However, the unit is now selling in the online Sony Style store and in participating Sony Style store locations, at $299 CDN, while supplies last, until 24 December. They probably did this to slow people from driving over the border and getting units in the US. Considering the exchange rate, taxes and duty, the $299 CDN price is attractive. My Sony store manager said that they are not making any money on the unit at this price.

A footnote: Unfortunately the Sony remote for this unit does not have an Eject button. However I have a Logitech Harmony remote and I found a workaround to this problem by downloading/setting up the Sony BDP-550 remote commands (they're practically the same) and I now have a functioning Eject button.

[peterng]

This one replaced the previous model S550, Sony cuts corner and did not include the 7.1 analog outputs for the S560 . The S550 is a better player in my opinion, I picked up a brand new NIB from Sears for $89, not too long ago ...

[ifireun]

Originally Posted by peterng

This one replaced the previous model S550, Sony cuts corner and did not include the 7.1 analog outputs for the S560 . The S550 is a better player in my opinion, I picked up a brand new NIB from Sears for $89, not too long ago ...

The S550 is no longer available at major retailers in Canada, including Sears. The outputs are not an issue if you're connecting to a newer AVR via HDMI.

Late note: Best Buy Canada just dropped the price on the BDP-S560 to $279 for the holiday sales rush...

[okx1]

does anyone know if there is a firmware update in the makes from sony, to allow this unit to stream? ex: netflix,pandora etc

[markel253]

Originally Posted by okx1

does anyone know if there is a firmware update in the makes from sony, to allow this unit to stream? ex: netflix,pandora etc

None have been announced - but I have heard that Sony has not ruled it out - which is a far cry from saying that it might happen.

[Dark Steel]

Just picked one up from Amazon for $200 and a Sony KDL-32XBR9 tv for my mom for Christmas. I think you can just use the tv remote to control both pieces of equipment. I hope she likes her new gear.

[wicked]

I have been using this model since November. Great BD Player.

[Rinzler]

Had this baby, my first BD player as I committed to go Blu for this years flicks (Star Trek, Up, TF2, etc.) since September. I picked this one because I have no ethernet in my home, except for my router, so I needed wireless and cheap, found this cheaply on Amazon, and it arrived right on Oct. 20th with free shipping, conveniently the day TF2 came out, so earlier that day I hope for it to come and it came in that night, updated it, no updates since and no problems, has played everything up to my newest BD, This Is It.

[Wingman1977]

I'm seriously considering this one. I already have a ps3 but I don't want to wear out the BD drive on it. So I want to keep the ps3 just for games and the BDP-S560 for movies. B&H has it for $219.95. I might jump on it this coming Tues.

EDIT: Nevermind, I'll wait for the BDP-S570

[TelkEvolon]

My PS3 recently broke, I have a big stack of Blu Rays that I havn't watched. I can live with not playing the games for a month or two, but no Blu watching? That's madness!

So I went out to be a reasonably priced Blu Ray Player, I was set on getting a "Sonic", which is JBhifi's own brand of player, it was only $187AUD, that would still leave me enough to pick up some more Blu's while I was out, so I talked to the guy in the store and he said to not get it as it is rubbish, it won't play any newer Blu Ray discs, but it is fine if you just want a pricey DVD player.

He then lead me to this, not in line price-wise, the Sony BDP-S560, it was playing on a display TV and looked great and was only $267AUD, so I decided that I would get it and that way, not putting so much pressure on the PS3. The guy said he would knock the price down a bit for me, to $240AUD, so I was sold and with the money left over, I was able to get Wall-E and Tallidaga Nights, I was now able to get watching all those other ones I have. Seems like a great player, really like the disk tray design.

[Tourmeister]

I just bought one of these a few weeks ago off Amazon. Easy to setup and get the wireless working. Firmware update completed with no problems. However...

I cannot get the coaxial or optical audio outputs to work at all. I do not have an HDMI TV or received, so I really need the coaxial or optical so I can get surround to work. In the Audio Settings, I have set Audio Priority to Coaxial/Optical. No go. I know the cable is good and my receiver works with it because my Toshiba DVD player optical out works perfect. The receiver is a SONY STR-DE935. Any ideas before I send this thing back?

Also, the only thing I seem to be able to do via wireless is display photos from my PC. Is there anyway to listen to music or watch videos that are on my PC? Not really interested in any of the BD live stuff.

If I could just get the sound issue resolved, the networking stuff is not really very important to me.

[Rinzler]

Originally Posted by Tourmeister

I just bought one of these a few weeks ago off Amazon. Easy to setup and get the wireless working. Firmware update completed with no problems. However...

I cannot get the coaxial or optical audio outputs to work at all. I do not have an HDMI TV or received, so I really need the coaxial or optical so I can get surround to work. In the Audio Settings, I have set Audio Priority to Coaxial/Optical. No go. I know the cable is good and my receiver works with it because my Toshiba DVD player optical out works perfect. The receiver is a SONY STR-DE935. Any ideas before I send this thing back?

Also, the only thing I seem to be able to do via wireless is display photos from my PC. Is there anyway to listen to music or watch videos that are on my PC? Not really interested in any of the BD live stuff.

If I could just get the sound issue resolved, the networking stuff is not really very important to me.

Did it ever work out for you? I lost optical audio for a bit and just plugged it into the DVD recorder and used composite for audio from this (crappy system, makes little difference outside TrueHD which my receiver can decode).

Anyways, what brings me to the thread is the update I got a couple days ago, it's been quite a while since the last update. I don't know why we need an external hard drive for BD-Live, though.

Here's the info, let me know what you all think of it

From Sony's website

File Description UPDATE
Blu-ray Disc™ Player Firmware Upgrade Release Date 6/21/2012 Version 014 File Size 48.10 MB

This utility upgrades the Blu-ray Disc player firmware to version 014 and provides the following benefits:

Improvements over firmware version 011:

Improves disc playability

Benefits provided by previous upgrades and included in version 014

Improves BD-ROM playability

Improves compatibility to enhance interactivity with some BD-ROMs

Adds support for using an external USB hard drive for BD-Live functions

Note: Sony recommends using the Western Digital My Passport™ Essential™ 320GB portable hard drive (model WDME3200) for BD-Live functions.

Use of this hard drive with the Blu-ray Disc player is intended only for BD-Live functions.

Sony cannot guarantee that other external USB hard drives will support the BD-Live functions.

BD-Live Notes
BD-Live allows you to enjoy additional content and services while playing a BD-Live capable disc.
For optimal performance, we recommend that you use a Broadband Internet connection to access BD-Live content and services.
BD-Live content and services require an external USB storage device for local storage.

[Kaleu]

I own this player since about 2 years now, and I never had any problems with it until a couple of weeks ago. It does not seem to load Universal discs anymore, even though it did so before. At first it helped to take out the external memory stick during the loading process, but even that does not work anymore. The player does recognize the name of the movie, though; it just never manages to move beyond the short Universal loading logo.

All updates have been downloaded, so the player is up to date.

Does anyone know how to solve this?