Sony BDP-S770

LAS VEGAS--3D Blu-ray is one of the big stories at CES 2010, and it's no surprise that Sony is a major player in Blu-ray's next incarnation. Sony announced its first standalone 3D Blu-ray player, the BDP-S770, which also manages to integrate the best features of its current Blu-ray players.

Key features of the Sony BDP-S770:

• 3D Blu-ray player
• HDMI 1.4 output
• Access to the Bravia Internet Video platform, which includes Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand, YouTube, Pandora, Slacker, and NPR streaming capability
• Built-in Wi-Fi; Ethernet also available
• DLNA compliant; capable of sharing photos, music, and videos from a connected PC
• Front panel USB port
• SACD-compatible
• Onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio
• Available in the summer of 2010, no pricing announced

In 2009, Sony's BDP-S560 had Wi-Fi, but limited streaming media options; the BDP-N460 had tons of streaming media options, but only Ethernet connectivity. The Sony BDP-S770 has the best of both players, so you'll have easy access to some instant gratification media when you're tired of wearing 3D glasses.

As far as 3D Blu-ray goes, we haven't had enough hands-on testing with the new format to report whether it's worth the extra money. It's worth mentioning that 3D Blu-ray will likely require both a compatible HDTV and a new HDMI 1.4 cable, so the true cost of 3D will be relatively high if you've bought a new HDTV recently. There's also the issue of 3D Blu-ray media, which will probably be scarce for all of 2010.

Sony also announced two standard Blu-ray players, the BDP-S570 and BDP-S370.