Just days after debuting two new Blu-ray players at IFA, Sony has unveiled its first internet-streaming Blu-ray player at the CEDIA Expo in Atlanta. The BDP-N460 is a networked spinner able to stream free and PPV content from Netflix, YouTube and Slacker.
Other attractions include Sony’s 'Precision Cinema HD DVD upscaler plus the usual hi-rez audio decoding and bitstreaming, a Deep Color video output and x.v.Color tech. Beneath the hood is software designed by Linksys by Cisco. To aid network setup, the player will also work out of the box with Linksys by Cisco’s new Wireless-N Ethernet bridge. The BDP-N460 will go on sale in October.
Hello Yahoo, goodbye AppliCast
Sony has also introduced a US iteration of its ZX5 wireless 1080p LCD models, dubbed the Bravia XBR10 series, at the show. Like their Japanese counterparts, the 46- and 52in models come with a separate media box able to transmit Full HD to the screen.
The XBR10 TVs are fully DLNA compliant, allowing easy access to images, music and video stored on other DLNA-friendly devices, and claim a contrast ratio of over 1,000,000:1. The new models offer an Ethernet connection to access Sony’s online content portal and, for the first time, Yahoo’s Widget Engine platform. The appearance of Yahoo Widgets on these screens can only mean that Sony is retiring its paper-thin Applicast internet portal (currently found on UK Bravia screens) in favour of the more widely supported Yahoo platform.
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