With the introduction of the Blu-ray discs, HD movies and video games are easier to play like never before. Most of the latest HD movies are available in the Blu-ray discs and to be short, these Blu-ray discs have replaced the DVDs in most of the areas. Hence, all the manufacturers of the electronic goods around the world have started to compete with each other by producing higher-end Blu-ray disc players. As a part of this, Sony has produced many good ones but its latest one, the BDPS760B, is a masterpiece. This time around, Sony has not concentrated on the looks and the design of the player, but it has its attention mainly on the performance.
Design and Display:
As already discussed, Sony did not focus much on its design. Even then, it is fine. It may not be a peach of a design and the players of other manufacturers like LG and Samsung have better designs. But at least, it has a shiny look. Its dimensions, (W x H x D) 430 x 70 x 246 mm seems to be a fairly medium in size. Also, it weighs only 3 kg, so not so heavily built either. It has come out only in greyish black outfit. The Display is digital type and is available on the front panel.
This BDPS760B Blu Ray Disc player has a fair number of outputs. They include the HDMI output, S-Video output, SCART connector, Component Video output, Composite video output, 7.1 channel analogue output, analogue stereo output, Optical and Coaxial digital audio output and so on.
Features:
Video features:
Sony has a variety of features that makes it a real contender against the others. As usual, it also spins DVDs and CDs along with the BD ROMs. The unique features are: It boasts a 1080p output via HDMI cables. This gives a very high definition pictures with optimum quality. Along with the Precision Cinema HD upscale and the DVD upscale features, you can upscale any kind of video or picture up to 1080p to enhance the picture quality. The Video converter is another feature that can be used to inter-convert the video formats. The 24p True Cinema feature makes you feel like you are watching in a theatre. Along with this, the HD Reality enhancer maximises the HD video output.
Audio features:
The Deck features a 7.1 channel analogue audio output for decoding high definition audio, such as DTS-HD and Dolby Digital True HD, to AV receivers that do not have a built-in decoding for HD. But this facility is very limited as admitted by Sony itself. The player has two USB ports, one on the front and the other on the back. The front one is for syncing to the USB flash drives for playing JPEG photos and music files. The one on the back is for the connection of an external hard disk in order to provide some extra memory to the player. There is an Ethernet jack, which is expected from any good Blu-ray player these days. These Ethernet jacks allow you to access the BD- Live functions that are featuring on the Bu-Ray’s online functions.
WiFi Connectivity in BDPS760B:
The most interesting feature of the BDPS760B Blu Ray DVD player is that of the Wi-Fi connectivity, that enables wireless connections between your player and any wireless connection. Via the Wi-Fi connection or the Ethernet facility, you can always access the JPEG pictures on your Computer or any Wi-Fi and Ethernet compatible device. This is a very useful and the most important feature of this player. There are some possibilities of routers that cause a few problems to you. These routers are solely responsible for the activities running behind the scenes without your consent. But they are not that frequent and especially when the player is fairly new. They occur very rarely and are also not unsolvable. It handles quite a number of file types although not as much as the other products in the market can do. Particularly, the players from Samsung and LG, the other two giants in the electronic arena, can efficiently handle more number of file types.
The Missing Extras:
It also does not support the access to YouTube like its predecessors from Sony. Also, there is no such application as Sony AppliCast in this model as some of the TVs manufactured by the company have featured it in the past. Also, unlike its precursors, the BDP-S760 has no internal memory at all. Even its immediate precursor had a memory of 1 GB. But this time around, Sony has not provided the customers with many of the facilities that they have enjoyed in the past. But, anyway, it has not completely disappointed them since it gave the option of attaching an external hard disk through the USB cables as discussed above. This may be a key factor for Sony as the other companies in the market are ahead of it when it comes to the extra features.
Performance:
This part of the player, the performance, has been the centre of all the talks. Sony was quoted that it has completely concentrated on the performance of its players and it has devoted towards giving the best picture quality ever. It has not let us down in this aspect and it kept its word. Sony has succeeded in producing stunning picture quality and truly high definition video quality. When it comes to video processing, Sony has somehow managed to produce the picture quality that we normally see in the players of Panasonic. Panasonic is pretty famous for its excellent output. The HD Reality Enhancer and the Super Bit Mapping are two of the best features produced by Sony and these two are instrumental in fancifying the picture quality.
While the HD Reality Enhancer really enhances and smoothens the tone of the image, and significantly reduce the noise effects to produce finer images, the Super Bit Mapping helps the player in adapting the image output to the eighth or tenth or twelfth bit depth of the screen and thereby helps in making the colours look much more natural, just like your TV can do. Also, the upscaling process can do a world of good to the image output quality. Many BD players cannot be as efficient as this one, when playing pictures and videos at 1080p.
Many manufacturers just hail the performance of their players, but in this case, Sony has done what it has said. It has promised the customers, excellent picture quality and has finally put it into action. So, there is no need for any kinds of worries with the playback and performance of your player, if yours is the BDP-S760. There is also no need to worry about the HD reality enhancer damaging the picture and thereby the disc. This was proved to be wrong. On the contrary, it immaculately balances the pictures and finally, the output is truly fascinating.
The Quick start up, Easy set up, Bravia Sync, Xross Media Bar, Photo TV HD, Local storage for BD, Child lock and parental control and a few other features that only increase the performance of the player.
Power Consumption:
This BDPS760B Multi Region Blu Ray player is one of the most power efficient and low power consuming BD players in the market. It requires the normal 220-240 V and during operation, it consumes 32 W of power. During the standby, it only consumes 0.19 W. Sony saves your money by featuring the Auto power off option that switches off the player after a standby period of 30 minutes.
Warranty:
Sony offers a warranty period of one year from the date of purchase, for parts and labour.
Verdict:
The Sony BD-S760 is a very impressive player; one the best performer in the market. Although its design and looks do not say much about it, and the features are not as many as the others’ in the market, its cost is a reasonable one and it is an excellent BD player at that cost. This is one of the most affordable BD players ever. Performance wise too, we have no complaints on this player, and so we have no hesitations in recommending the Sony BD-S760 Blu-ray player.
Sony BDPS760B – Technical Specification Table
| Manufacturer | Sony |
| Model Name | BDPS760B Blu-ray disc player |
| Form Factor | Tabletop |
| Dimensions (W x D x H) | 430 x 246 x 70 mm |
| Weight | 2.9 kg |
| Display | LED |
| Finishing | Black |
| User Interface | XrossMediaBar |
| Media Types supported | CD, DVD, CD-R, BD-RE, CD-RW, DVD+R, DVD-R, BD-ROM, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM, DVD-ROM |
| BD Profiles | Profile 2.0(BD-Live), Profile 1.1(Bonus View) |
| Video D/A Converter | 12bit/148.5MHz |
| Built-in Audio Decoders | Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD |
| Media Load Type | Tray |
| Upscaling | Yes ( up to 1080p) |
| Supported digital video standards | AVCHD |
| Supported digital audio standards | MP3, PCM |
| Parental Lock | Yes |
| Additional Features | JPEG Photo playback, x.v. Colour, Progressive Scanning, Precision Cinema, 24p True Cinema, Precision Drive HD, Deep Colour, Preset Picture Mode, HD Reality Enhancer, Super Bit Mapping, Firm Grain Reducer and Smoothing |
| Audio D/A Convertor | 192kHz / 24bit |
| Audio Features | 8ch Linear PCM bitstream out, Dolby TrueHD decoding,
Dolby TrueHD bitstream out, DTS-HD Master Audio decoding, DTS-HD Master Audio bitstream out, H/P Jack |
| Quick start-up | 6 seconds |
| Remote Control | Backlit Infrared technology |
| PC Sync | Yes |
| Bravia Sync | Yes |
| Network Ethernet | BD Live |
| PC interface | Mini USB |
| Upscaling | Yes (up to 1080p) |
| Parental Lock | Yes |
| Connectivity | Wireless Internet DLNA Client BD-Live enabled Frimware update via the Internet |
| Connector Type | 1X audio line-out( RCA phone X 2) – Rear, 1 X Component Video output ( RCA phone X 3) – Rear, 1 X Composite Video output ( RCA phone) – Rear, 1 x Digital Optical op 1 x Digital Coaxial op 1 X HDMI output (19 pin HDMI Type A) – Rear, 7.1ch Analogue Output Analogue Stereo Output USB Front port Headphone out |
| Power Device | Power supply |
| Power Consumption | 32 W (AC 220-240 V) |
| Package Details | Sony BDPS760B Profile 2.0 Blu-ray Player, Mains lead, Remote commander, R6 (size AA) batteries, Owners Manual and warranty information |
| Warranty | 1 year limited warranty |
