Sony BDP-S790 Blu-ray Player Review

Blu-ray player reviews are a strange thing. It used to be that we tested all manner of video and audio quality characteristics using test discs and calibration gear. Well, some of us still do... When it's appropriate. Most of our readers already know who the big dogs are in that high-end market and if they want to pay $400 or more for a player, they're free to do so. But what about the rest of you - the rest of US? Well, the video quality is pretty much a done deal with HDMI. It's generally very good. That pretty much leaves features and aesthetics. Now, despite what I just said, I really do care about quality. But once we determine that the video and audio quality are excellent, as they are with this Sony BDP-S790, well, then I want to see what I get for my $230*.

And what do I get? 4K up conversion of video content... Yes, you've heard about it. 4K. The resolution that best approximates film grain and thus the "more or less" true digital equivalent of actual film. Why do I think that even just saying that is going to get me hate mail... In any case, this Sony is ready to upconvert your movies to 4K so you can play them on that 4K TV or projector you don't have and probably never will... It's a feature, much like 3D, that is currently highly touted, but not of much real use to the average consumer.

But the Sony does have a lot of really great features. With dual HDMI outs, you can send one output to your 3D TV and another to your legacy A/V receiver. Why is this important? Well, for one, if your AV receiver isn't current enough to pass 3D, the signal will never get to your television. With dual HDMI outs, Sony gives its legacy users a way to split the signal and send audio one way, and video another. You get the best possible performance regardless of your setup.

Network streaming content is also huge on this player. Video Unlimited, VUDU, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Pandora, Amazon Instant Video, Slacker and The Wiggles are available. Yes, the Wiggles - moving on... And if you can't go two hours without your social networking fix, Sony's BDP-S790 even has Facebook and Twitter integration.

The menu interface is the same one you'll find on the PS3, so it will be familiar to many. It gives you access to the above streaming content providers and also Sony's Entertainment Network, which has its own access to online content, apps, and video on demand. There's even a web browser for those masochistic users who love to torture themselves.

The system is actually pretty quick. And it should be, Sony added a dual core processor to this player. Menu navigation and even network browsing seemed snappy and responsive - everything we've come to NOT expect from a Blu-ray player. It was refreshing to say the least. We also LOVED how the player went to the main menu when you hit stop on the remote. I can't tell you how disappointing it is that every player doesn't work this way.

We were able to link up to our DLNA-compatible music sources and stream songs from our server, complete with meta data. In that way, the Sony really can serve as a sort of entertainment hub for your home.

That's not to say that Sony's flagship player isn't without its quirks. When it detected I hadn't yet configured my network, in typical Sony fashion, it didn't bother taking me to my network settings to remedy it. When we updated the player's firmware it just shut off when it was done and didn't reboot automatically and every time we stopped the player to go into the menu, it needed to download something from Gracenote (OK, not every time).

So what it all boils down to is this: the BDP-S790 is an excellent player. We understand why Sony dubs this product a "flagship" even though the seasoned Audioholic might disagree. It has nicely backlit capacitance touch controls on top that glow when you use them. It's fast, produces an excellent quality picture, is ready for the 4K format of the future, and will stream all of the current leading sources for media. For $230*, that's not a bad package. What you have to ask yourself is whether or not you need it. If you've already got a Sony TV with streaming media services, the answer is likely 'no'. You'd be over-buying. If, however, you've got legacy audio gear and want a player to serve as your entire entertainment hub, then this might indeed be just what you need.

Going back to a statement we made earlier in the review, our question this week is: Would you use Facebook while watching TV? Yes or No? Leave us a comment on our YouTube video and let us know. And subscribe to our channel so we can continue to bring you more reviews. For up to the minute updates, Follow Us on Twitter @AudioholicsLive and Like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/audioholics.

*Sony dropped the price by $20 since we shot this video.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.