Sony BDP-S480 information from Consumer Reports

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Sony BDP-S480

Price range:

$109.00 - $189.99

Summary: A 3D Blu-ray high-definition video disc player with 1080p upconversion for DVDs.

2 people have reviewed this model.

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Type: 3D Players

About - Sony BDP-S480
The Sony BDP-S480 is a 3D-capable high-definition Blu-ray disc player that can upconvert standard DVDs to quasi-1080p resolution. This model can access a lot of online content, including streaming movie services. It has an Ethernet jack for connecting to your home network or modem via a cable. It has 2 USB ports, which may allow you to plug in a thumb drive or memory card reader so you can play stored photos, videos, and music. Its DLNA certification enables you to view media stored on a compatible computer, phone, or other mobile device also connected to your home network.

About - Sony BDP-S480

The Sony BDP-S480 is a 3D-capable high-definition Blu-ray disc player that can upconvert standard DVDs to quasi-1080p resolution. This model can access a lot of online content, including streaming movie services. It has an Ethernet jack for connecting to your home network or modem via a cable. It has 2 USB ports, which may allow you to plug in a thumb drive or memory card reader so you can play stored photos, videos, and music. Its DLNA certification enables you to view media stored on a compatible computer, phone, or other mobile device also connected to your home network.

About This Brand
Sony is a top-tier consumer electronics manufacturer in many product categories and has a broad selection of Blu-ray products, including 3D-capable models. It was one of the first manufacturers to offer a Google TV-powered Blu-ray player with full Web browsing capability. Its PlayStation 3 game console, which includes an integrated Blu-ray disc drive, has recently been updated to play 3D Blu-ray content.

About This Brand

Sony is a top-tier consumer electronics manufacturer in many product categories and has a broad selection of Blu-ray products, including 3D-capable models. It was one of the first manufacturers to offer a Google TV-powered Blu-ray player with full Web browsing capability. Its PlayStation 3 game console, which includes an integrated Blu-ray disc drive, has recently been updated to play 3D Blu-ray content.

Features & Specs - Sony BDP-S480
Blu-ray load time range (sec.) Blu-ray load time range is the range in seconds that the model took to load different test Blu-ray discs, measured from the time of pressing the 'load' button to the time the first video information is displayed onscreen. Depending on disc, load time may vary from our result. Java-encoded Blu-ray discs may take longer. Blu-ray load time range (sec.)	18-30
DVD load time (sec.) DVD load time is the length of time in seconds that the model took to load our test DVD, measured from the time of pressing the 'load' button to the time the first video information is displayed onscreen. Depending on discs, load time may vary from our result. DVD load time (sec.)	16
DLNA compatible DLNA-enabled devices like Blu-ray players can receive digitally stored content like music, pictures, and videos over a home network connection--wireless or wired--from other compatible devices. The devices can include a computer, TV, DVR, set-top box, printer, and cell phone. For example, a computer running Windows 7 is already DLNA-enabled and will allow a DLNA-enabled Blu-ray player (with a built-in network connection) to "pull" digital photos and videos from the computer, with no additional software needed. DLNA stands for Digital Living Network Alliance, an industry group that developed the standard and certification process covering how those media devices interact. DLNA compatible	Yes
Memory card slot This lets you connect an SD, SDHC, SDXC cards for multimedia playback such as music and photos and for BD-Live data storage to download extras like games and movie trailers in some players. Memory card slot	No
Internal memory Internal memory lets you access BD-Live to download online content, such as new movie trailers and movie-based games, when used with Internet-enabled BD-Live Blu-ray discs. To use BD-Live, a broadband Internet connection is required, and at least 1GB of memory in the player. Models that lack internal memory require additional memory to use BD-Live, in the form of a memory card or USB flash drive. Internal memory	No
Coaxial digital-audio out Digital-audio outputs are important only if your home-theater system lacks HDMI connections. As an alternative, you can pipe the digital audio signals--both stereo and multichannel--from the Blu-ray or DVD player, or television set-top box into a digital receiver. Coaxial digital audio interconnect, also called SPDIF cable, sends digital audio signals over a coaxial cable. This coaxial cable is the same as a composite-video cable -- both use common RCA connectors. Digital-audio, via coax or optical, supports multichannel Dolby Digital and DTS audio, but not the more advanced formats available over HDMI. When choosing your Blu-ray or DVD player, consider the models that have the outputs to match the inputs on your digital receiver or external, digital decoder. Most Blu-ray and DVD players have digital audio outputs--coaxial, optical, or both. Coaxial digital-audio out	Yes
Optical digital-audio out Digital-audio outputs are important only if your home-theater system lacks HDMI connections. As an alternative, you can pipe the digital audio signals--both stereo and multichannel--from the Blu-ray or DVD player, or television set-top box into a digital receiver. Optical digital audio interconnects, also called Toslink cables, send digital audio signals as pulses of light over optical fiber rather than an electrical signal over coaxial cable. Digital-audio, via optical or coax, supports multichannel Dolby Digital and DTS audio, but not the more advanced formats available over HDMI. Most optical cables use the small, squarish Toslink connector, but there's also a smaller mini optical connector, which looks a lot like a standard 1/8-inch mini-plug. When choosing your Blu-ray or DVD player, consider the models that have the outputs to match the inputs on your digital receiver or external, digital decoder. Most Blu-ray and DVD players have digital audio outputs--coaxial, optical, or both. Optical digital-audio out	No
Component out Component-video is a high quality analog video connection that can be used to transmit standard definition (480i), progressive-scan (480p), and upconverted and high definition (720p, 1080i, and 1080p) video signals. Component-video connections use three separate jacks that separate the video signal into three parts: two for color and one for luminance (the black and white signal). These connections are found on most video components that provide 480p through 1080p video. Note that most Blu-ray and upconverting DVD players will only transmit upconverted (720p, 1080i, or 1080p) video via an HDMI connection and will not transmit it through a Component-video connection. Component out	Yes
Wi-Fi capability This feature allows your player to connect to the Internet or to a home network without the use of a wired Ethernet connection. This is convenient when your Internet connection isn't near your entertainment setup, which would otherwise require you to run a long cable from room to room. A growing number of Blu-ray players can use Wi-Fi to connect to other DLNA-compliant devices in the home, enabling you to access digital music, videos, and photos stored on a computer or networked storage device and play them on the TV. Some players have built-in Wi-Fi capability, while others come with a Wi-Fi dongle (external adapter) that you plug into the player's USB port. In both cases, we denote Wi-Fi as a standard feature. Still other players require you to purchase the Wi-Fi dongle separately; in that case we indicate that Wi-Fi is optional. Wi-Fi capability	Optional
Type of streaming services Type of streaming services lists streaming services such as Netflix, Vudu, YouTube, and Pandora Internet Radio that are available with latest firmware update at the time of testing. Internet connection is required and some services require subscription. Services may be added or removed with future firmware updates. Type of streaming services	Amazon VOD, CinemaNow, Netflix, VUDU, Hulu Plus, Qriocity VOD, YouTube, Slacker, Pandora
More features and specs

Additional Information (The information below has been supplied by an external source.)

General Information
Manufacturer	Sony Corporation
Manufacturer Website Address	www.sony.com
Product Model	BDP-S480
Product Name	BDP-S480 3D Blu-ray Disc Player
Product Type	Blu-ray Disc Player

User Reviews - Sony BDP-S480

Consumer Reports User Reviews

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from

Sparta, NJ

(7 of 7 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Works Great

11/8/2011

Pros

Backwards Compatible

DVD Upconversion

Easy Set-Up

Excellent Image Quality

Good Connections

Good Soundtrack Support

Cons

Best Uses

DLP TV

Home

Streaming

Comment:

I selected the Sony BDP-S480 Blu-ray player for the following reasons: - High Consumer ratings. - Interface smoothly with my Sony TV - 3d capability for potential future upgrade - Capable of Streaming directly from the Internet. - USB interface - May be controlled from my I Pod Since I already have an Ethernet connection available, I did not need more expensive BDP-S580 wireless version. After a simple installation involving plugging in the Ethernet, HDMI cable and power, I was pleasantly surprised how the Sony TV automatically recognized the player on initial power up. I immediately started exploring the online content. My only complaint is that they could have made searching the online content a little more easier. I find that I prefer using the IPod remote App for entering text, such as for searching Youtube. The IPod App also has a nice feature that provides additional information about the Blu-ray video you are watching. Most online videos came in with minimal delays and little interruption, despite my sub-optimal connection speed. Hopefully Sony will continue to improve this in the future. I would also like to see a way to bookmark where you are in an online video, so that it is easier to return later. I tried setting up my Windows Media Player as a DLNA server so that the BDP-S480 could download pictures, movies and music over my LAN. It worked, but I discovered that this operation took way to much resources from my old Windows XP computer. And most important I tried playing a blue-ray movie. After waiting the typical delay to initially read the disk, I was blown away by the improved picture quality. I am very happy with this Blu-ray player.

How long have you owned it:

A month or less

Bottom Line

Yes, I would recommend this to a friend.

Paul

from

Torrance, CA

(3 of 11 customers found this review helpful)

3.0

Streaming media: no closed captioning

7/27/2011

Pros

Easy Set-Up

Excellent Image Quality

Cons

No streaming media CC

Best Uses

LCD TV

Comment:

This is a good product, and I bought it to get the wireless media streaming (i.e., Netflix, etc.). The media streaming content does not have closed captioning like my cable TV does. I can rent a disk and see the closed captioning, but streaming media lacks this feature. I returned the player for a refund.

How long have you owned it:

A month or less

Bottom Line

No, I would not recommend this to a friend.

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