The Sony BDP-S370 is the latest entry level Blu-ray player from the brand that first brought us the high definition format.
Such is the pace of Blu-ray player development that anyone who bought when the format was first released is unfortunately seeing their player becoming rapidly outdated in terms of features – as the Sony BDP-S370 shows – with some neat additions that weren’t even present on its flagship players a few years ago.
Now they have a solid base to work upon in the form of the BD-LIVE profile, manufacturers are able to refine the picture and sound quality to even higher levels, as well as making their players wireless ready to make it easy to enjoy the much touted BD-LIVE enhancements. And this is where the Sony BDP-S370 really differs from its predecessor the BDP-S360 – by making it wireless ready. Okay, you have to buy an additional dongle (the Sony UWA-BR100) to make it so, but at least you’re almost there, and you have the choice to upgrade if you wish without having to pay the cost upfront.
The BDP-S370 itself is designed using Sonys new ‘unique monolithic’ style to match their latest televisions and it is certainly an attractive look. Whilst the previous models were certainly not unattractive, the BDPS370 does look very purposeful, despite it’s small size. In fact this is where the player offered the biggest surprise to us – in terms of height, depth and weight it’s definitely on the slim side. In common with some other manufacturers, the player has opted for a simple slide out disc tray this time rather than the fold down front fascia of the previous models, but it still manages to look very sleek as a result – even with the USB socket spoiling the clean lines a little.
Probably the biggest enhancements though on the Sony BDP-S370 is the ability to be able to access online content. Some players have been able to access certain websites for a while now, and now the Sony does too with its BRAVIA Internet Video feature. This not only allows you to watch videos from YouTube and Daily Motion, but also extends this by easily allowing you to watch BBC content on the iPlayer. If you have a LoveFilm movie rental account you can access their app on the player and download and watch movies without even leaving your armchair (as long as you allow the device access through the LoveFilm website first), and if that wasn’t enough, you can also control it all by your iPhone!
This Blu-ray player has been replaced by the Sony BDP-S390.
What to consider before you buy the Sony BDPS370 Blu-ray Player
The connection options are well catered for with component, HDMI of course and optical, but anyone wanting the 7.1 outputs needs to look further up the range, and if you want a 3D ready player, consider the Sony-BDP-S470. If you want to go wireless, you will also need to factor the cost to buy the wireless adapter or go for the Sony BDP-S570 with built in Wi-Fi.
Why you should buy the Sony BDP-S370 Blu-ray Player
With its wealth of features, a super quick 3 second start up time, and very stylish looks, the 370 is a great little player. It also shows how far Blu-ray player features have moved on in just a few years with its new ability to access the wealth of online content available. Whilst the BDP-S370 is a similar price to the Panasonic DMP-BD45, the Sony makes the better buy. Highly recommended. Rating: /5
Sony BDP-S370 Compare Prices
Read the full technical specification on the Sony website.
Got this yesterday. The bits on it are good (iPlayer etc.), and the quality when I played a normal dvd was very good.
The set up was easy and even a heavy fingered silver surfer like me did it in 5 mins! The speed of operation is very fast – my old dvd player used to take ages to start up but this one this starts up in seconds, very impressed so far
Another award winner – the BDP-S370 has recently won ‘Product of the Year’ in the Blu-ray players under £150 category of the 2010 What Hi-Fi Sound and Vision awards.
Hi,
I was thinking about buying this blu-ray player, i was wanting a sony surround system to go with it, but i don’t know which one to get. Can you advise please
As mentioned on the Sony BDP-S570 comments, unless you want a full separates system, you might be better off going for something like the Sony BDV-E370 all in one Blu-ray home cinema system.