(Singapore, 17 October 2008) – Accorded the No.1 Brand for Blu-ray Disc™ Players in Asia for 2007 , Sony Singapore breaks new ground with two Blu-ray disc players, BDP-S350  and BDP-S550, adding to its suite of Full HD gadgets. On top of the ability to support Full HD resolution content, the latest Blu-ray disc players from Sony display interactive features such as BD Live and easy access to the latest updates on Blu-ray. With its slim and classic frame design, the competitively priced players make for a perfect fit in the functional and space-efficient living rooms of today’s consumers.

“Sony takes pride in providing the latest technological innovations to enhance consumers’ lifestyles,” says Mr. Takeo Kobayashi, Managing Director, Sony Singapore. “The new Blu-ray disc players with next-generation interactive features such as BD Live will take movie experience to the next level.”
Both new Blu-ray disc players support Bonus View “picture-in-picture” capability  enabling the viewing of director or actor commentary while the movie is being screened. In addition, both models feature BD Live, a newly developed Blu-ray feature which allows consumers to access and download a variety of up-to-date contents, via their internet-connected capability, such as refreshed previews, exclusive special features and movie-based games.

Meeting the fast-paced lifestyles of today’s consumers, the Blu-ray disc players feature Quick Start-up mode, so consumers can enjoy their start up in less than six seconds from the time the player is powered on. Emphasising high image performance, both players also showcase an output of Full HD 1080p resolution and 24P True Cinema technology at 24 frames per second motion quality.

Enabled by BRAVIA Sync technology, consumers can enjoy fuss-free Blu-ray entertainment by connecting the BDP-S350 or BDP-S550 to a BRAVIA-Sync compatible HDTV. Access and control of content is a breeze with the Xross media barTM (XMBTM), as the on-screen display complete with cool icons provides a fast way to access set-up menus and user controls. For that extra storage capacity, both players are enclosed with an external port for local storage so users can add optional flash-based memory. In this respect, the BDP-S550 is bundled with a 1GB storage drive for users’ convenience. Built with feature expansion in mind, both players are further equipped with an Ethernet port.

Additionally, both players allow for better picture contrast by featuring Precise Cinema HD Upscale that uses high bandwidth digital-to-analog conversion and processing, detecting image changes at the pixel level. The players also support AVCHD discs encoded with x.v.ColourTM technology. An international standard for wide colour space reproduction, it expands the current video data range by about 1.8 times, allowing the projection of more vibrant true-to-life colours.

DVD fans are not neglected as the Blu-ray disc players feature DVD Upscaling of up to 1080p via HDMI allows consumers to get the most out of existing DVD collection by upscaling standard definition video to near HD quality. As a plus, both models are powered by a Precision Drive HD system that enables stable playback of bent or scratched Blu-ray Disc media or DVDs with minimal degradation in picture quality.

Designed to reproduce accurate audio quality for high definition entertainment, both players feature 7.1 channel Dolby® TrueHD and Dolby® Digital Plus decoding and bit-stream output. Injecting further surround sound prowess, the BDP-S550 features DTS®-HD High Resolution Audio and DTS®-HD Master Audio decoding, with 7.1 channel analog output that allows compatibility with existing audio system 7.1 analog inputs.

Not only does the new BDP-S350 model deliver enhanced performance, it is easier on the environment.  The new BDP-S350 model reduced the overall unit size by 55 percent, reduced packing material by 52 percent and reduced the unit’s total weight by 38 percent.  The compact size of the finished package allows Sony to reduce the C02 emissions related to shipping by approximately 43 percent.

In addition, the BDP-S350 unit features 21 percent less power consumption in playback mode and 43 percent reduced power consumption in stand-by mode.  It also features lead-free solder, all-paper packing and the user guide is printed on 70 percent recycled paper with Volatile Organic Compound-free vegetable oil based ink.

Taking care of consumers’ wallets, the new Blu-ray disc players BDP-S350 and BDP-S550 are affordably priced at S$699.00 and S$999.00 respectively. They will be available in Singapore from October 2008.