Sony BDP-S580 user reviews

2.5 stars

"Quick Player with some flaws..." on May 28, 2011 by Jon Shimamoto

Pros: This player loads Blu-rays and DVDs quickly... Blu-Ray playback is excellent

Cons: Interface a bit clunky but easy to use... Wireless capability very weak... Only has one antenna (the previous model had two) so reception is mediocre. DVD playback is average.

Summary: I have the BDP-S570 and the BDP-S580... If you are looking for wireless capability, get the 570... the reception on the 580 is very bad with its single antenna. With the player 35 ft away from my router, I can get 4-50% signal strength, with the 570, 70-90% in the same location. One nice feature is a signal strength indicator. Also, the 580 has more internet services available over the 570.

Blu-Ray playback is very good, with no noticeable issues. DVD playback is another story. The picture is not as sharp as my Pioneer BDP-05FD. Also, panning images on the Sony judders while it is smoother on the Pioneer. The Sony has more issues with video compared to film sources with noticeable stair stepping and aliasing with DVDs.

Performance (speed) is excellent. The remote responds quickly and has decent range. However, the Sony has a very narrow angle so you may need to be directly in front of the player. Load times are above average.

HDMI has some issues with my Onkyo receiver (it could be a receiver problem, Onkyo receivers have known HDMI issues) where it occasionally drops the connection with DVD playback (happened twice) for a second or so...

I do not use the internet features too much... I tried Crackle (free movies with commercials) and had no problems, but the quality is average (looks like a bit below DVD quality with higher compression). With the poor wireless capability, i was not able to stream any HD sources without pauses. I now have the unit in another room. The signal strength there is only 5%... it is next to a PS3 and it's signal strength is 50-60%. A laptop in the same room has a strength of 4-5 bars out of 5 bars so you can see the wireless in the 580 is really bad.

Updated on May 28, 2011

correction... the 580 has a signal strength of 40-50% when 35 ft away from the router... Also can confirm that the wireless 802.11N only operates at the 2.4GHz band, it does not work at 5GHz. The sensitivity does not change when changing between 802.11N or G signals... The routers i have tested with the Sonys are a Cisco E4200 and a Netgear AVR3700...

0.5 stars

"Poor Netflix streaming" on January 1, 2012 by Cottiesaul1234

Pros: Decent bluray

Cons: Netflix streaming is choppy.

Summary: Only bought the device for Netflix. Signal strength is strong but inconsistent to poor streaming. Always rebuffering or shutting off during movies and tv shows. Do not recommend this device.

2.0 stars

"Nice BD playerwith terrible wi-fi networking" on May 7, 2011 by bengrimm99

Pros: User Interface is easy to understand and setup of the unit took less than 30min

Cons: Steps for registration of the unit and various online applications not at all explained. Once you're finally connected to the Sony Bravia content network, good luck returning...the network settings constantly need refreshed and even that doesn't help some

Summary: I tried with 2 consecutive S580's and got varying degrees in signal strength (from the same location a 30% difference)...when I could get the machine to connect to online content, it was great, but getting to that content through the reputedly cheap internal wi-fi card and Sony's BRAVIA network are major hurdles. I'll be returning this one for money back.

3.5 stars

"Great Value Overall" on March 23, 2011 by jdfilburn

Pros: Setup took less than 30min - most of which I spent installing upgraded cables
DVDs look great on this device
Blu-ray picture excellent
Wi-fi included: no "adapter" required
Menu system simple to navigate
Network connectivity for viewing content on PC, net

Cons: (-0.5 stars) Wi-fi signal might be 802.11n, but it is in the 2.4GHz band. I would prefer 5Gz.
(-1.0 stars) Playing flash content over the web (outside of YouTube) was an expectation I had when I chose this model. The "error" message states that the Adob

Summary: I'm normally not the type to buy a model that hasn't been extensively reviewed and tested by experts and consumers, but I made this exception when my old DVD player died recently. This seemed to have the feature set, reliability, and brand strength at a price I was willing to pay. As my first (and only) blu-ray player, it has exceeded my expectations. I will leave it to others to discuss nuances like color depth, contrast, data transfer tests, audio purity, and the like. Suffice it to say that I am very satisfied with the setup and operation of this product, and would be more so if I could view content on sites that aren't present on the unit's "app" list. If that is incorporated into a firmware upgrade, I'll give this unit the 4.5 stars it probably deserves.

Updated on Mar 23, 2011

(continuation of sentence from Cons section): The "error" message states that the Adobe Flash player needs to be updated, but that apparently entails a firmware upgrade - leaving me at the mercy of the manufacturer. This largely leaves me enjoying only the content Sony has provided in the included apps.

Updated on Mar 23, 2011

(continuation of sentence from Pros section): Network connectivity for viewing content on PC, networked hard drives, etc..
Android app is so-so. It's essentially a blank screen that allows you to use your finger to navigate the menu, which I find no faster or easier than using the directional arrows on the remote. One advantage is that if you need to enter text - like search terms within the apps or website addresses, you can use your Android device's qwerty keypad. That is a LOT more tolerable than the blu-ray player's input method, which resembles older style alphanumeric number pads (2abc, 3def, etc.)