This DVD player has been Fully modified to play Blu-Ray DVD movies from Regions A & B. This includes Modified to Play: Blu-Ray Region A: North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia Modified to Play: Blu-Ray Region B: Europe, Greenland, French territories, Middle East, Africa, Australia and New Zealand Modified to Play Region 1 movies: U.S., U.S. Territories, Canada Modified to Play Region 2 movies: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, European Union, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, France, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Iran (Islamic Republic of) Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia (the Former Yugoslav Republic), Malta, Moldova, Principality of Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia,South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Kingdom (Channel Islands) Vatican City State, Yemen, Yugoslavia

Bring home the future of Blu-ray Disc™ technology with BD-Live and the BDP-S550 Blu-ray Disc player. 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. This player also outputs a Full 1080/24p True Cinema picture, plus upscales your existing DVD collection to 1080p when using the HDMI™ connection. And Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD delivers studio master quality audio which is designed specifically for high definition entertainment. Make the most of all of these features with the icon-based Xcross Media Bar™, which provides simple navigation of the player's menu system.

Key Features:

• Full HD 1080 /24p Video Output⁴

• Upscales your DVDs to near Full HD 1080p resolution via HDMI™

• 7.1ch Analog Output

• Dolby® TrueHD/dts®-HD internal decoding

• Dolby® TrueHD/dts®-HD bitstream out via HDMI™

• Slim, elegant design with high-gloss finish

• Backlit remote

• Ethernet port for Internet connectivity²

• BD-Live w/ 1GB flash drive for local storage²

• Bonus View “picture-in-picture” feature

• 24p True Cinema capable⁴

• BRAVIA® Sync for Theatre (HDMI-CEC)⁵

• Precision Cinema HD Upscale

• xross media bar™ (XMB™) user interface
  USB port for BD-Live external memory

Features:

Full HD 1080p
Full HD 1080p video output¹ provides high-resolution HD image, so you can take full advantage of the superior detail of Blu-ray Disc™ video content.

DVD Upscaling
DVD Upscaling via HDMI™ gets the most out of your existing DVD collection by upscaling standard definition video to near HD 1080p resolution¹.

7.1 Channel Analog Output
7.1 channel analog output provides connectivity to older receivers, making the player compatible with your existing audio system with 7.1 analog inputs.

Dolby® TrueHD Internal Decoding
Dolby® TrueHD internal decoding and bitstream output via HDMI™ for the Dolby TrueHD and dts®-HD (Master Audio and High Resolution Audio) codes delivers studio quality audio designed specifically for high definition entertainment like Blu-ray Disc™ movies, with up to 7.1 channels of surround sound that is virtually indistinguishable from the original studio version.

Design
Slim chassis with a gloss black finish fits elegantly with your home theater system and décor, and the included backlit remote helps give you total control of the movie-watching experience.

Ethernet Port
Ethernet port provides connectivity to a home network with broadband connection so you can download network updates and bonus content².

BD-Live²
BD-Live² technology allows you to download and stream bonus content such as additional scenes, shorts, trailers, movie-based games, and more.

Bonus View
Bonus View feature provides “picture-in-picture” capability with select Blu-ray Disc™ titles.

24p True Cinema
24p True Cinema capable⁴ provides a direct connection to 24p video display devices so you can avoid conversions and enjoy films at their intended 24 fps (frames per second) cinematic picture quality.

BRAVIA® Sync for Theatre⁵
BRAVIA® Sync for Theatre⁵ technology utilizes the industry-standard HDMI™ CEC function to provide one button access and control of the appropriate inputs for your BRAVIA HDTV and HDMI-connected A/V components.

Precision Cinema
Precision Cinema HD Upscale circuitry uses high bandwidth digital-to-analog conversion and processing to detect image changes at the pixel level, rather than at the level of whole scan lines. Additionally, separate algorithms are used to process the moving and still parts of an image, resulting in sharper backgrounds with moving objects that are nearly free from motion artifacts.

BD/DVD/CD and AVCHD Playback
BD/DVD/CD and AVCHD playback plays your favorite Blu-ray Disc™ movies, DVDs, audio CDs, and AVCHD-format discs on your Sony Blu-ray Disc player³.

xvYCC Color
Support for the international xvYCC color standard produces images with 1.8x the color space of the traditional RGB color standard, resulting in images with more natural and vivid color reproduction⁶.

Precision Drive System
Precision Drive system for BD allows you to play back some Blu-ray Disc™ media or DVDs that may have been damaged or warped -- with minimal degradation of picture quality².

Xross Media Bar™
xross media bar™ (XMB™) on-screen display is a fast, fun and easy way to access set-up menus, user controls, and more.

USB Port
USB Port lets you connect the included 1GB USB flash-based memory for BD-Live External Memory².

Specifications:

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

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 bitstream out over HDMI™ (V1.3)

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

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)

Capability

• CD: Yes

• DVD: Yes

Box Contents:

• Blu-ray Disc™ Player (BDP-S550)

• Remote (1)

• Size AA (R6) batteries (2)

• Video cord (phono plug x1)(1)

• Stereo audio cord (phono plug x2)(1)

• Power cord (1)

Approximate Dimensions:

• Width: 16.93"

• Height: 3.91"

• Depth: 8.75"

Approximate Weight:

• Unit: 6 lbs.

• Shipping: 13.32 lbs

Warranty Information:

 

• Manufacturer Warranty (authorized online retailer):
  1 Year Parts / 1 Year Labor

Features

Blu-ray Disc Overview: Blu-ray Disc (BD) is a new high-definition disc format designed to take advantage of today's high quality HDTVs. The resolution is up to 1920 x 1080 (1080p) and the data transfer rate is up to 54 mbps. Blu-ray Disc discs and players offer several advantages over the standard DVD format:

• Better picture quality: Blu-ray Disc is a true high-definition format offering video at 720p, 1080i, or 1080p resolution. While standard DVDs look very good on an HDTV, they don't provide a high-definition signal (not even when you use an up-converting DVD player). Blu-ray Disc delivers an extraordinarily sharp, clean, detailed picture, with deeper, richer colors.

• Better sound quality: In addition to the same multi-channel sound formats you're accustomed to with DVD (Dolby Digital and DTS), Blu-ray Disc offers Dolby Digital Plus and uncompressed 7.1 channel PCM.

• Much greater storage capacity: What makes Blu-ray Disc's superior picture and sound possible is the much higher storage capacity of Blu-ray Disc discs. A single-layer Blu-ray Disc can hold 25 gigabytes of data, over five times the amount a standard DVD can hold. Dual-layer Blu-ray Discs hold 50 gigabytes, which equates to nine hours of High Definition or 23 hours of Standard Definition video, plus high-resolution multi-channel audio and the added features and material that require multiple discs with standard DVD.

• Compatibility with your current disc collections: To ensure backward-compatibility with your existing library of discs, Blu-ray Disc players use a dual-laser mechanism: a blue laser for playing high-definition Blu-ray Discs, and a conventional red laser for playing DVDs and audio CDs.

Surround Sound Decoders: The BDP-S550 has built-in Dolby Digital and DTS surround processors. Multi-channel PCM Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD are output through the HDMI jack (when encoded on the Blu-ray Disc).

• Dolby Digital Plus: Dolby Digital Plus was developed as an extension to Dolby Digital. The audio coding technology supports 7.1 channel surround sound. Dolby Digital Plus also includes the standard Dolby Digital bit stream and is compatible with all current Dolby Digital processors using the optical or coaxial digital output.

• Dolby TrueHD: Dolby TrueHD is a lossless coding technology that supports up to 8 channels of multi-channel surround sound for the next generation optical discs. The reproduced sound is true to the original source bit-for-bit.

• DTS-HD High Resolution Audio: DTS-HD High Resolution Audio supports a maximum sampling frequency of 96 kHz, and 7.1 multi-channel surround. DTS-HD High Resolution Audio has a maximum transmission rate of 6 Mbps, with a lossy compression.

• DTS-HD Master Audio: DTS-HD Mater Audio has a maximum transmission rate of 24.5 Mbps and used lossless compression (Lossless), and DTS-HD Mater Audio corresponds to a maximum sampling frequency of 192 kHz, and maximum of 7.1ch.

x.v.Color: The BDP-S550 supports x.v.Color, meaning it's ready for x.v.Color discs when they become available in the future.

24p True Cinema: Movies are typically recorded on film with a frame rate of 24 frames per second. When a movie is transferred to Blu-ray Disc at 24 frames per second the BDP-S550 will output that signal to the TV (if the TV will accept the 1080p/24 format) with no need for conversion.

1080p Output: Through the HDMI output, BDP-S550 has a 1080p (1920 x 1080 pixel) output option, at either the 60 Hz video or 24 Hz film frame rates.

Precision Cinema HD Upscaling: Precision Cinema HD Upscale circuitry uses high bandwidth digital-to-analog conversion and processing to detect image changes at the pixel level, rather than at the level of whole scan lines. Additionally, separate algorithms are used to process the moving and still parts of an image, resulting in sharper backgrounds with moving objects that are nearly free from motion artifacts. The BDP-S550 Blu-ray disc player is capable of upscaling your standard 480i DVD disc to 1080p via HDMI.

HDMI Control ('Bravia' Theatre Sync): Sony components compatible with the HDMI Control function can be controlled via the HDMI connection. This includes convenient features like One-Touch Play and System Power-Off.

Disc Compatibility: The BDP-S550 is compatible with many disc types:

• BD-ROM: pre-recorded Blu-ray Discs (including DL)

• BD-RE/BD-R: recordable Blu-ray Discs (including DL)

• DVD-Video: pre-recorded DVD

• DVD-R: record once DVD

• DVD-RW: rewritable DVD

• DVD+R: record once DVD (including DL)

• DVD+RW: rewritable DVD

• CD: pre-recorded CD

• CD-R: record once CD-DA (music CD format only)

• CD-RW: rewritable CD CD-DA (music CD format only)

Precision Drive System: Precision Drive system for BD allows you to play back some Blu-ray Disc media or DVDs that may have been damaged or warped with minimal degradation of picture quality.

Future Compatibility: As Blu-Ray technology continues to evolve, new disc types with enhanced functionality will become available. In order for you to enjoy this new functionality, you will likely be required to update the firmware in your player. These firmware updates will become available for downloading from the Internet.

Copy Protection: Blu-ray Disc uses the Advanced Access Content System (AACS) to prevent unauthorized recording of copyrighted material.

Blu-ray Disc Java (BD-J): The BD-ROM format supports Java for interactive functions. BD-J offers content providers almost unlimited functionality when creating interactive BD-ROM titles. Note: In order to enjoy these interactive features, you may need to update your player with the latest firmware.

AVCHD: AVCHD (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264) is a high definition digital video camera format used to record in high definition or standard definition on DVD, using an efficient data compression coding technology. The  format is designed to compress video and audio (Dolby Digital or Linear PCM) data, enabling a high definition video signal shot on a digital video camera recorder to be recorded on DVD discs, in the same way as it would be for a standard definition signal.

JPEG Playback: This unit will play JPEG still picture files recorded onto the following discs BD-RE, BD-R, DVD+RW, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD-R, CD-R, and CD-RW. Still images on your disc can be viewed in a Slide-Show as well as rotated 90-degrees left or right.

Movie Files: The BDP-S550 can play MPEG2 movie files recorded on DVD-R/RW discs (Video and VR mode) and  DVD+R/RW discs (VR mode only). Movie title information is displayed on screen. You can search for a title directly using the on screen keyboard or sort titles alphabetically or by date.

Resume Play: Resume play allows you to resume playback of a disc from the point where you last stopped. The stopping point is cleared when the Stop button is pressed more than once, the disc tray is opened, the player is turned off, or any of the settings on the player are changed.

BD-Live: BD-Live technology allows you to download and stream bonus content such as additional scenes, shorts, trailers, movie-based games, and more from a broadband internet and home network connections (fees may apply). The BDP-S550 features an Ethernet port to connect to your home network and features a USB type-A port, as well as comes with a 1GB MicroVault Tiny Flash Drive to download these bonus features.

Bonus View: Bonus View feature provides "picture-in-picture" capability with select Blu-ray Disc titles.

Video Settings: The Sony BDP-S550 features the following video settings.

• TV Type: You can select a 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratio for the unit's video output to match your connected Television's screen aspect ratio.

• Screen Format: You can select the display configuration for a 4:3 screen picture on a 16:9 wide screen television. You can select from the following.

  • Original: select this when connect to a TV with a wide mode function; displays a 4:3 screen picture in 16:9 aspect ratio even on a wide-screen TV

  • Fixed Aspect Ratio: changes the picture size to fit the screen size with the original picture aspect ratio

• DVD Aspect Ratio: You can select the display configuration for playback of 16:9 screen pictures on a 4:3 screen TV. You can select from Letter Box or Pan & Scan.

Picture Settings: The BDP-S550 offers the following picture adjustments.

• Picture Quality: You can choose from three picture quality settings.

  • Brighter Room: use when the room is brighter than normal

  • Theater Room: use when the room is dark

  • Standard: use in a typical room

  • Memory: allows you to manually adjust contrast, brightness, chroma, hue, sharpness, and gamma

• Noise Reduction: This function reduces the noise in the picture.

• FNR: This feature can be activated to reduce random noise appearing in the picture.

• BNR: This function can be activated to reduce the mosaic-like block noise in the picture.

• MNR: This feature can be activated to reduce minor noise around the picture outlines (mosquito noise).

Audio Settings: The BDP-S550 allows you to adjust the following audio settings.

• AV SYNC: This feature adjusts the gap between picture and sound by delaying the sound output in relation to the picture output from 0 to 120 milliseconds.

• Audio Filter: You can select between two audio filters for analog audio signals.

  • Sharp: provides a wide frequency range and spatial feeling

  • Slow: provides smooth and warm sound

• Audio DRC: The player offers four dynamic range compression levels - Auto, Standard, TV Mode, and Wide Range.

Speaker Settings: The BDP-S550 offers the following speaker settings when you have connected the Blu-ray player to your receiver via the unit's multi-channel analog outputs.

• Speaker Size: Front (large or small), Center (large, small, or none), Surround (large, small, or none), Surround Back (large, small, none) Subwoofer (yes, no)

• Speaker Distance: The distance of each speaker and the subwoofer can be adjusted from 0 to 50 feet to match the physical distance of the speakers and subwoofer from the listening position.

• Level: Each speaker's and subwoofer's level can be adjusted from -12 to 0 dB in 0.5 dB increments.

Parental Control: The Sony BDP-S550 offers three Parental Control settings protected by a custom user 4-digit password.

• BD Parental Control: Playback of some BD-ROMs can be limited according to the age of the users. Scenes may be blocked or replaced with different scenes.

• DVD Parental Control: Playback of some DVD Videos can be limited according to the age of the users. Scenes may be blocked or replaced with different scenes.

• Parental Control Region Code: Playback of some BD-ROMs or DVD Videos can be limited according to the geographic area. Scenes may be blocked or replaced with different scenes.

Quick Start: This feature shortens the startup time from standby mode. You can operate the player quickly after turning it on.

Dimmer: You can adjust the lighting of the unit's front panel display from Bright, Dark or Off.

Cooling Fan: A fan on the back of the BDP-S550 keeps the unit cool.

Remote Control

Multi-brand Remote: The supplied remote is pre-programmed to operate this unit and a number of functions on multiple brand TVs. Once programmed, the remote controls the TV's power on/off, input select, volume up/down, channel up/down, and mute.

Input and Output Notes

HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface): The BDP-S550's HDMI output simplifies A/V connections by carrying video and digital audio in one cable. This unit features HDCP copyright protection technology, and must be connected to an HDCP-compliant device. If your TV has a DVI input instead of an HDMI input, you can connect this unit to your TV using an HDMI-to-DVI adapter. You will also need to connect audio cables to the player because DVI is a video only cable. The HDMI resolution can be fixed at 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, or 1080p, or set to Auto, which selects the highest resolution accepted by your television. The video format can be set to component or RGB.

Component Video: The component video resolution can be set to 480i, 480p, 720p, or 1080i. If the HDMI output is set to 1080p, the component video output is fixed at 480i. When a DVD is played, the maximum component video output resolution is 480p.

Composite Video and S-Video: The composite and S-video outputs are always live and fixed at 480i. They can output video when playing a Blu-ray Disc.

Digital Audio Output: The Audio menu allows you to select the digital audio format that is passed through the optical and coaxial outputs. Settings allow you to transfer Dolby Digital or DTS sound tracks, or down-mix surround bitstreams to 2-channel PCM audio.

Analog Audio: There is a pair of stereo RCA outputs plus 7.1 channel outputs for utilizing the built-in surround decoders.

USB Extension Port: The BDP-S550 features a rear panel USB Type-A port which allows you to enjoy additional content (such as BonusView) on certain Blue-ray Disc titles. Some BD-ROMs have bonus content and other data which can be downloaded to an inserted USB Flash Drive (sold separately).

Note: The BDP-S550 includes a 1GB Sony MicroVault Tiny Flash Drive and does not guarantee compatibility with all other manufacture's USB flash drives.

LAN (100) Port: You can connect the player's LAN (100) terminal of the player to your Internet source using a network cable (Ethernet cable sold separately) to update the unit's software using the network.