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Technical Details
- Sony Internet TV: Get instant access to must-have entertainment, including thousands of hit movies, TV shows, music choices, online videos and games.
- Plus get new apps delivered to you automatically, so the selection is never outdated and you are always connected to the best entertainment
- Built-In Wi-Fi: Easily connect to the internet through the home's wireless broadband network
- Skype capability: Enjoy video conferencing from the living room using BDP-S780 and the Skype service.
- Download the free "Media Remote" app to the iPhone, iPad or compatible Android phone and turn it into a versatile remote
Product Details
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Product Description
The Sony BDP-S780 3D Blu-ray Disc Player lets you enjoy true HD 1080p quality movies and videos, as well as see your 2D films converted into 3D via the 3D Playback for full entertainment experience. With the disc player's integrated Wi-Fi, chat with friends and family via Skype. Build a customizes wireless music on your home as the disc player is compatible with the HomeShare technology. You can also stream movies, TV episodes, videos, music and live sports events from Netflix, YouTube, HuluPlus, Pandora, and more in the disc player.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
93 of 99 people found the following review helpful
I was a little apprehensive about buying this player because I had read some reviews that were critical of the setup and configuration for this device. While that did turn out to be the weakest part of the package, I decided to take a chance because I have always been partial to Sony products. I am sure glad I did. I was so impressed with this player that I decided to write a review.
First it is extremely compact. You can check the specs for the dimensions. It fit perfectly in the spot I had for it with plenty of room to spare. One nice design feature is that the vent holes are in the rear so I was not concerned about setting my cable box on top of it.
The setup presented a few challenges but if you are reasonably tech savvy you won't have any problems. If you aren't, then get a friend to help you. The interface is much better than I was led to believe. If you are familiar with the PS3 it uses the same award winning crossbar navigation. One review I read called it confusing but I am very pleased with it. Basically this little device does nearly everything a PS3 does except play games. (BTW, I bought this for a bedroom. I already have a PS3. If I was buying my first blu-ray player I would recommend buying a PS3 instead.)
Here are a few tips for setup. First, the main feature I wanted, Netflix support, did not appear on the menu initially. You have to drill down the menus to select something like "add bonus features." It also helps to have someone help you because I had to run back and forth to my computer and router to press buttons and enter configuration codes, etc. This would likely be the case with any similar device, however. I also recommend that the first thing you do once you get connected to the internet is to update the system software. (This is a nice feature because just like a PS3 or Xbox you can get updates to the system as improvements are made. Sony recommends checking for updates every 2 months.)
Another tip is that it supports an iPhone app called "Media Remote". That appears on the box but I did not see it in the manual. Just go to the App Store and search for "Media Remote" and you can get an app for no added cost that allows your iPhone (or Android based phone)to act as a remote from anywhere on your network. This is most useful for entering text using the iPhone's software keyboard.
Now why do I like it so much? Besides performing flawlessly, there are a lot of extras that aren't marketed much if any. First surprise - there was a 3D Blu-Ray Disc in the box! (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 3D.) I didn't see anything in the ads or on the box advertising this so this was an unexpected bonus. (I bought my player direct from Sony because I had a large number of points built up from my Sony credit card, so I don't know if players purchased from other sources include the disc but I guess that they would.)
It is probably in the specs but there are USB ports on both the front and the back. If you leave a flash drive in the rear port it acts like a disk drive for BD Live content, although so far I have not been that impressed with BD live. I don't know if it will help performance in other ways, but flash drives are cheap so I put a 4GB drive in the rear port.
Another pleasant surprise is that it plays Super Audio CDs. Although this is pretty much a dead format (as is just about everything with the great quality of internet streaming today) it is still nice to be able to play the few discs that I have.
I was also pleasantly surprised at the amount of free content available, such as movies from Crackle. It also supports YouTube, Skype, Facebook, Hulu and many others. Actually I think this would be a great device even if it didn't have the blu-ray disc player. It also supports a DLNA home network allowing you to stream content from a DLNA enabled comptuer. I was mostly interested in the wi-fi capabilities, but it also has an ethernet jack. (In addition to HDMI it has standard RCA type outputs as well as a coaxial and optical digital output.)
The internet browser is rather weak and it doesn't support streaming video direct from web sites (at least the ones that I looked at), but that's not why I bought it. The performance with Netflix and the other video services I have tried is fantastic. (At first I thought you had to go to the Netflix website through the browser, but when that didn't work I realized that's when you had to jump through all the hoops to enable the bonus features.)
I already mentioned the Media Remote app for iPhone which works really great. It is also available for Android.
So in summary the instructions are not very clear but this is a great BD player and so much more with the built-in wi-fi. (I know I might sound like a Sony fan boy, and I have always been impressed with the engineering of their products. But given the fact that when I write this the Playstation Network has now been down 2.5 weeks, I have nothing nice to say about Sony when it comes to that issue! With PSN being currently down I was not able to try out Sony's Qriocity which this device of course supports.)
You will not be disappointed with this player!
First it is extremely compact. You can check the specs for the dimensions. It fit perfectly in the spot I had for it with plenty of room to spare. One nice design feature is that the vent holes are in the rear so I was not concerned about setting my cable box on top of it.
The setup presented a few challenges but if you are reasonably tech savvy you won't have any problems. If you aren't, then get a friend to help you. The interface is much better than I was led to believe. If you are familiar with the PS3 it uses the same award winning crossbar navigation. One review I read called it confusing but I am very pleased with it. Basically this little device does nearly everything a PS3 does except play games. (BTW, I bought this for a bedroom. I already have a PS3. If I was buying my first blu-ray player I would recommend buying a PS3 instead.)
Here are a few tips for setup. First, the main feature I wanted, Netflix support, did not appear on the menu initially. You have to drill down the menus to select something like "add bonus features." It also helps to have someone help you because I had to run back and forth to my computer and router to press buttons and enter configuration codes, etc. This would likely be the case with any similar device, however. I also recommend that the first thing you do once you get connected to the internet is to update the system software. (This is a nice feature because just like a PS3 or Xbox you can get updates to the system as improvements are made. Sony recommends checking for updates every 2 months.)
Another tip is that it supports an iPhone app called "Media Remote". That appears on the box but I did not see it in the manual. Just go to the App Store and search for "Media Remote" and you can get an app for no added cost that allows your iPhone (or Android based phone)to act as a remote from anywhere on your network. This is most useful for entering text using the iPhone's software keyboard.
Now why do I like it so much? Besides performing flawlessly, there are a lot of extras that aren't marketed much if any. First surprise - there was a 3D Blu-Ray Disc in the box! (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 3D.) I didn't see anything in the ads or on the box advertising this so this was an unexpected bonus. (I bought my player direct from Sony because I had a large number of points built up from my Sony credit card, so I don't know if players purchased from other sources include the disc but I guess that they would.)
It is probably in the specs but there are USB ports on both the front and the back. If you leave a flash drive in the rear port it acts like a disk drive for BD Live content, although so far I have not been that impressed with BD live. I don't know if it will help performance in other ways, but flash drives are cheap so I put a 4GB drive in the rear port.
Another pleasant surprise is that it plays Super Audio CDs. Although this is pretty much a dead format (as is just about everything with the great quality of internet streaming today) it is still nice to be able to play the few discs that I have.
I was also pleasantly surprised at the amount of free content available, such as movies from Crackle. It also supports YouTube, Skype, Facebook, Hulu and many others. Actually I think this would be a great device even if it didn't have the blu-ray disc player. It also supports a DLNA home network allowing you to stream content from a DLNA enabled comptuer. I was mostly interested in the wi-fi capabilities, but it also has an ethernet jack. (In addition to HDMI it has standard RCA type outputs as well as a coaxial and optical digital output.)
The internet browser is rather weak and it doesn't support streaming video direct from web sites (at least the ones that I looked at), but that's not why I bought it. The performance with Netflix and the other video services I have tried is fantastic. (At first I thought you had to go to the Netflix website through the browser, but when that didn't work I realized that's when you had to jump through all the hoops to enable the bonus features.)
I already mentioned the Media Remote app for iPhone which works really great. It is also available for Android.
So in summary the instructions are not very clear but this is a great BD player and so much more with the built-in wi-fi. (I know I might sound like a Sony fan boy, and I have always been impressed with the engineering of their products. But given the fact that when I write this the Playstation Network has now been down 2.5 weeks, I have nothing nice to say about Sony when it comes to that issue! With PSN being currently down I was not able to try out Sony's Qriocity which this device of course supports.)
You will not be disappointed with this player!
51 of 56 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
I recently installed the new Sony BDP-S780 blu-ray player along side my old Sony BDP-S570 blu-ray player connecting both to my XBR-LX900 TV through a Denon 3311CI receiver. My initial non-scientific observations/opinions:
Pros: ( so far)
The S780 is very similar in appearance to the older Sony BDP-S570 ( A bit shorter from back to front)
Power-on/off seems to be faster than the S570
Disk load times seem to be the same as the S570
Bluray image seems to be slightly better. I was able to confirm better cadence test results on the S780 using the Spears & Munsil High-Def Benchmark Disk ( connected to my LX900 TV) : The S570 performed well on the 2-2 cadence test and failed all the rest of the cadence clips. The S780 performed well on all the cadence test clips.
S780 includes Vudu video streaming service which includes 1080P (HDX) and Dolby Digital "+" . It also lists Cinema Now is "coming soon". The other streaming video apps/services seem to be the same as S570 ( Hulu +, Netflix, Amazon etc.)
The Vudu user interface on the S780 is really very nice ( a big surprise). Vudu offers SD,HD and HDX ( 1080P) with Dolby Digital +. I am able to process the Vudu Dolby Digital + streaming sound signal on the S780 over the HDMI cable. ( I could not process Dolby Digital from Amazon on the HDMI or the Optical Cable with the S570)
There is no on-board memory on the S780--However I plugged in a 8GM USB drive which works perfectly. The S570 has 1GB of on-board memory.
The iPhone Media Remote 2.1.1 app works fine with both the S570 and the S780. In fact its much easier to use the iPhone Media Remote app keyboard when you need to type information on the Sony Blu-ray player. I found the remote on both the S570 and the S780 to be very similar and for me trying to type information on the remote is a real chore--the iPhone is much easier and efficient.
The S780 includes a web browser--this is a nice feature--albeit slower than a computer, it's still interesting and will hopefully continue to evolve with future updates
Skype on the S780 is a real treat--works very well and is a big hit in my house. We used a cheap Microsoft laptop webcam (LifeCam NX-3000) which worked fine. This will suffice until I am ready to spend another $150 on the Sony Skype camera (CMU-BR100). Note: I wasn't able to use my Logitech HD webcam--It doesn't appear to be compatible.
and as noted by Amazon.com customer reviewer Ralph Michalske, "The "display" button now gives you the data rate of your A/V Internet stream." This is VERY helpful when streaming video.
Cons: (so far)
**S780 USB input does not seem to recognize the iPhone 3GS or 4G at all. I get a "USB device not supported message." The S570 USB input DOES recognizes the iPhone but only processes iPhone pictures ( no iPhone video)
There are no photo apps on the S780 photo menu--I called Sony support and they confirmed there are no photo apps on the S780. The S570 lists several popular photo app services.
Pros: ( so far)
The S780 is very similar in appearance to the older Sony BDP-S570 ( A bit shorter from back to front)
Power-on/off seems to be faster than the S570
Disk load times seem to be the same as the S570
Bluray image seems to be slightly better. I was able to confirm better cadence test results on the S780 using the Spears & Munsil High-Def Benchmark Disk ( connected to my LX900 TV) : The S570 performed well on the 2-2 cadence test and failed all the rest of the cadence clips. The S780 performed well on all the cadence test clips.
S780 includes Vudu video streaming service which includes 1080P (HDX) and Dolby Digital "+" . It also lists Cinema Now is "coming soon". The other streaming video apps/services seem to be the same as S570 ( Hulu +, Netflix, Amazon etc.)
The Vudu user interface on the S780 is really very nice ( a big surprise). Vudu offers SD,HD and HDX ( 1080P) with Dolby Digital +. I am able to process the Vudu Dolby Digital + streaming sound signal on the S780 over the HDMI cable. ( I could not process Dolby Digital from Amazon on the HDMI or the Optical Cable with the S570)
There is no on-board memory on the S780--However I plugged in a 8GM USB drive which works perfectly. The S570 has 1GB of on-board memory.
The iPhone Media Remote 2.1.1 app works fine with both the S570 and the S780. In fact its much easier to use the iPhone Media Remote app keyboard when you need to type information on the Sony Blu-ray player. I found the remote on both the S570 and the S780 to be very similar and for me trying to type information on the remote is a real chore--the iPhone is much easier and efficient.
The S780 includes a web browser--this is a nice feature--albeit slower than a computer, it's still interesting and will hopefully continue to evolve with future updates
Skype on the S780 is a real treat--works very well and is a big hit in my house. We used a cheap Microsoft laptop webcam (LifeCam NX-3000) which worked fine. This will suffice until I am ready to spend another $150 on the Sony Skype camera (CMU-BR100). Note: I wasn't able to use my Logitech HD webcam--It doesn't appear to be compatible.
and as noted by Amazon.com customer reviewer Ralph Michalske, "The "display" button now gives you the data rate of your A/V Internet stream." This is VERY helpful when streaming video.
Cons: (so far)
**S780 USB input does not seem to recognize the iPhone 3GS or 4G at all. I get a "USB device not supported message." The S570 USB input DOES recognizes the iPhone but only processes iPhone pictures ( no iPhone video)
There are no photo apps on the S780 photo menu--I called Sony support and they confirmed there are no photo apps on the S780. The S570 lists several popular photo app services.
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
It took about an hour to set everything up and test all the functions. Overall, I am very satisfied with this player.
Some reviews about Sony Blu-ray players (not sure what model) that I had seen before I bought the unit said that there were problems with streaming HD Netflix movies. This was NOT true. I had no problems whatsoever with streaming HD Netflix movies. (Note: My Internet speed guaranteed by the provider is 12 mbps, I used a wired Internet connection to the Blu-ray player, and I have a 1.4 HDMI cable. I also have the setting for video quality on the Netflix site set to "Best". I think to successfully stream HD movies you probably have to set that to "best". And you need at least 10 mbps of Internet to be able to watch HD.)
Before I bought this, I had also seen reviews about Sony Blu-ray players (could have been other models) that said that the load time was slow. This was NOT true either. I don't notice any difference in time compared to a Sony DVD player.
Pros:
This product successfully achieves all the functions I expected it to fulfill. Namely: Playing Blu-ray discs, streaming Netflix movies (in HD and SD), and streaming Pandora radio. There is also a Netflix button on the remote control, which is nice, although it isn't hard to find Netflix in the menu list.
Cons & some notes to help you set up:
#1: They could have done a better job in the instruction manual to tell you how to set up the individual services, like Pandora, Netflix, etc. Basically the instruction manual just says to click on the icons on the screen and follow the instructions (for all services... there are no explanations for any individual services). But the instructions on the screen were either not correct, or they were missing steps, so it was not possible to set these services up based on the instructions that were on my screen.
For example, with Netflix, if you go into the Blu-ray Netflix menu, it says "type in this code at Netflix.com" and gives you a code. However, if you do what they tell you to do, at Netflix.com, it will say "this code has expired, get a new code." What I discovered after a little bit of Internet searching is that the code that the Blu-ray player gives you at that point, is not for Netflix. It is for the "Customer Central" part of Sonystyle.com. You have to go to Customer Central, create an account, and input that code for your Blu-ray player. Then, when you go back to your Blu-ray player, it will have a different code on the screen. It is this code, the second code after you register at Sonystyle.com, that you input in the Netflix activation screen. Then everything works fine after that. In the Sonystyle.com page, you can also see where to register for Pandora, which I did easily. There were a few more services listed on that page, but I don't think all the services that the Blu-ray player supports were listed there. So yeah. This was easily solved with a little research on my part, but basically there are no instructions anywhere in the manual or on the player that will enable you to set the services up without doing your own separate research about it online.
#2: It seemed like you could successfully run a Youtube search, but you cannot search for movies on Netflix successfully through the Blu-ray interface. There is a way to search Netflix, but when I did that (with 1 word only), the search results generated 2 random movies that had the keyword I typed in their title, but not the famous movies that I was intending for it to show (Netflix definitely has them). I tried a different keyword with similar results... the search returned some animated movies that were on the theme of what I was looking for, but not the famous movies I was intending for it to show. Not sure why this happened, why it would generate some results but not the intended results. So basically you need to use a computer to manage your instant queue. And if the movie you want to watch is in your instant queue, it is easy for you to get to it on your Blu-ray player.
Some reviews about Sony Blu-ray players (not sure what model) that I had seen before I bought the unit said that there were problems with streaming HD Netflix movies. This was NOT true. I had no problems whatsoever with streaming HD Netflix movies. (Note: My Internet speed guaranteed by the provider is 12 mbps, I used a wired Internet connection to the Blu-ray player, and I have a 1.4 HDMI cable. I also have the setting for video quality on the Netflix site set to "Best". I think to successfully stream HD movies you probably have to set that to "best". And you need at least 10 mbps of Internet to be able to watch HD.)
Before I bought this, I had also seen reviews about Sony Blu-ray players (could have been other models) that said that the load time was slow. This was NOT true either. I don't notice any difference in time compared to a Sony DVD player.
Pros:
This product successfully achieves all the functions I expected it to fulfill. Namely: Playing Blu-ray discs, streaming Netflix movies (in HD and SD), and streaming Pandora radio. There is also a Netflix button on the remote control, which is nice, although it isn't hard to find Netflix in the menu list.
Cons & some notes to help you set up:
#1: They could have done a better job in the instruction manual to tell you how to set up the individual services, like Pandora, Netflix, etc. Basically the instruction manual just says to click on the icons on the screen and follow the instructions (for all services... there are no explanations for any individual services). But the instructions on the screen were either not correct, or they were missing steps, so it was not possible to set these services up based on the instructions that were on my screen.
For example, with Netflix, if you go into the Blu-ray Netflix menu, it says "type in this code at Netflix.com" and gives you a code. However, if you do what they tell you to do, at Netflix.com, it will say "this code has expired, get a new code." What I discovered after a little bit of Internet searching is that the code that the Blu-ray player gives you at that point, is not for Netflix. It is for the "Customer Central" part of Sonystyle.com. You have to go to Customer Central, create an account, and input that code for your Blu-ray player. Then, when you go back to your Blu-ray player, it will have a different code on the screen. It is this code, the second code after you register at Sonystyle.com, that you input in the Netflix activation screen. Then everything works fine after that. In the Sonystyle.com page, you can also see where to register for Pandora, which I did easily. There were a few more services listed on that page, but I don't think all the services that the Blu-ray player supports were listed there. So yeah. This was easily solved with a little research on my part, but basically there are no instructions anywhere in the manual or on the player that will enable you to set the services up without doing your own separate research about it online.
#2: It seemed like you could successfully run a Youtube search, but you cannot search for movies on Netflix successfully through the Blu-ray interface. There is a way to search Netflix, but when I did that (with 1 word only), the search results generated 2 random movies that had the keyword I typed in their title, but not the famous movies that I was intending for it to show (Netflix definitely has them). I tried a different keyword with similar results... the search returned some animated movies that were on the theme of what I was looking for, but not the famous movies I was intending for it to show. Not sure why this happened, why it would generate some results but not the intended results. So basically you need to use a computer to manage your instant queue. And if the movie you want to watch is in your instant queue, it is easy for you to get to it on your Blu-ray player.
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