Great BLURAY player with gorgeous audio & video!

My first reaction on seeing this player was the size of the packing box itself! It was really small. I was used to seeing much larger shipping boxes with massive players in them taking up a lot more space! So number one on what SONY has done was to reduce the footprint of this 550 player. It takes up a lot less room than most other BLU RAY players I have seen, including SONY's. As a matter of fact, now may be a good time to drop a list of the specs, so you can see for yourself what this player measures up to, and has to offer. Folks usually ask for it anyway reading my reviews, so for all of you, here it is:

Product Specifications
Weights and Measurements

* Dimensions (Approx.) : 17 x 8 3/4 x 2 3/4" (430 x 220 x 70 mm)

* Weight (Approx.) : 7 lbs 4 oz (3.3Kg)

Audio Features

* Dolby® : Yes & Dolby® TrueHD bitstream out over HDMI™ (V1.3)

* Dolby® Digital plus Decoding : Yes

* Dolby® TrueHD Decoding : Yes

* dts® Decoding : Yes

* dts® Output : Yes

* dts®-HD Decoding : Yes

* LPCM : Yes (multi channel decoder): Yes (HDMI™ bitstream out)

* Dolby® True HD bitstream output : Yes

* dts® HD bitstream output : Yes

Capability

* CD : Yes

* DVD : Yes

Video Features

* BD-R/RE Read Compatibility : Yes (BDMV & BDAV format)

* BD-ROM : Yes

* DVD+R Read Compatibility : Yes

* DVD+RW Read Compatibility : Yes

* DVD-R Read Compatibility : Yes (Video Mode and VR Mode)

* DVD-RW Read Compatibility : Yes (Video Mode and VR Mode)

* JPEG Playback : Yes

* x.v.Color™ Technology : Yes

Inputs and Outputs

* Analog Audio Output(s) : 2 Channel: 1 (Rear); 7.1 Channel 1 ( Rear)

* Coaxial Audio Digital Output(s) : 1 (Rear)

* Component Video (Y/Pb/Pr) Output(s) : (Y/Pb/Pr) OUtput(s): 1 (Rear)

* Composite Video Output(s) : 1 (Rear)

* HDMI™ Connection Output(s) : Yes

* Optical Audio Output(s) : 1 (Rear)

• S-Video Output(s) : 1 (Rear)

There you have it, the nuts & bolts of the unit. As far as what I think of it, how it works and what it looks like; well read on!

As I said, SONY has reduced the size of its BLU RAY players physically. No more large clunker sitting in your wall unit any more. It is still a basic DVD style player with a motorized drawer as in any DVD player. One difference when loading a disc however is the player’s reaction time. You still don’t load a disc and see it 5 seconds later. It does take longer to read the disc, buffer what it has to and set the machine in the correct play mode for both audio and video. I found on a disc, “Iron Man”, from pressing play and waiting to see the main menu, it took roughly 10 seconds. Not a big deal surely, but again, something you should be aware of. By the way, when it sees a DVD it will go into play automatically. Some folks may like this while others may not.

The 7.1 audio channels of sound are decoded only through an HDMI connector. Most of the new audio and video features are fed only through an HDMI cable which is fairly common in a fully digital setup. Without HDMI you will be short-changing yourself to a degree. Sure, you can hook up this player without HDMI, but to get all the codecs and full spectrum of the features, you need HDMI.

One feature this 550 has which is unique is what SONY calls BD-Live. BD-Live takes your movie experience to a whole new level. Download and stream bonus content such as additional scenes, shorts, trailers and movie-based games. Equipped with a built-in Ethernet port and 1GB of memory, it's easy to access specially created BD-Live content. The player comes with a very small plastic envelope containing a 1GB memory stick, so be careful going through the packaging when opening it. It’s very easy to discard it by accident. This is what stores the additional content that you download through the built-in Ethernet port. The new disc of “Sleeping Beauty” has the feature, and as of writing this, I’m not aware of any others as yet. Will this help you or make a difference in your movie viewing? It all depends of how the studios utilize this feature and what the content is they feed. If worthwhile, it most likely will be used. My first question was can it be saved and what do you do with it? Guess it is a wait and see.

Some other features important this player has are:

Upscales standard DVD’s

Full 1080P output

Dolby True HD internal coding, built-in

PIP ability with certain BLU RAY movies

24P Cinema Connection-Direct connection o flat screen TV’s that feature 24FPS picture conversion.

XvYCC Color-Shows colors more vividly with support for this international standard.

USB Port-To connect the 1GB memory stick

Okay nice features, but how does it look and sound? In one word, spectacular! Depending on your television of course and your source material, the discs I have seen are nothing but outstanding. Colors are sharp, vivid and make watching a regular DVD look like “old hat”!

As far as audio quality, great! With a good subwoofer and a decent sound system, the audio is clean, sharp and cuts right through. All in all an excellent buy at a good price!
=====================================Additional Information:
In case there are folks such as myself who do not have a newer TV with an HDMI connector, i wanted to impart some information.
Since I wrote this original review I changed the hook-up I had with this Blu-ray player and my Onkyo TX-NR906 receiver. Since I do not have HDMI on my TV, I took all the Multi-Channel audio outputs, and went from them to the accompanying inputs on the receiver. As an example, the player has Subwoofer Output, Front Channel Output, Rear Surround, etc. While it utilizes quite a few RCA to RCA audio cables, the sound is fantastic! While not quite total 7.1 channel, it comes very close. A digital output is always better. If you are going to use these outputs, MAKE SURE your receiver has enough ins and outs, and that you have plenty of selectable inputs as well. Don't underbuy a receiver to save money later. If you want to take the Multi-Channel outputs from this player, get a receiver that will handle it, and more!
Just a piece of advice from someone who learned the hard way!!========================================UPDATED/LATEST INFORMATION:
Got a new Samsung big screen set, (67"), and this set does indeed have HDMI inputs. Changed the set-up on the Blu-Ray player to all HDMI. It works great, and the audio and video signals are excellent, BUT, there is always a delay when switching sources like Cable to DVD. Takes about 10 seconds for the corresponding HDMI signals to handshake and switch to the source. This unfortunately is due to the HDMI system and its little quirks. It is annoying at times, but tolerable. Guess you can get used to almost anything.
One additional note for folks who do NOT have ethernet access where their Blu-ray players are located. SONY has a new model called BDP-S560 being released around May. It will have a built in Wi-Fi system, so if you have a wireless router, you should be able to beam your signal without wires, right to the player! Just wanted to inform you in case it makes a difference to anyone considering purchasing this unit & concerned about connectivity!