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Sony BDP-N460 : Review

Posted to Video Components 2009-12-08

The Sony BDP-N460 is a full-HD Blu-ray disc player from Sony with DVD upscaling to near HD quality. It features Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD Master Audio decoding with output to HDMI or analog 7.1 sound systems. The unit also features BD-Live capability, which lets you download and stream bonus content such as additional scenes, shorts and movie-based games.

Additional features include a Quick Start mode, which lets you use the player six seconds after it powers up, the Bonus View feature, which allows you to view picture-in-picture, and support for AVCHD-format discs. Other features include BRAVIA Sync, which allows you to control all of your Sony components using one remote and 24p True Cinema technology which allows you to watch films at their original 24fps frame rate.

Rating:

3.6 out of 5

Value

The BDP-N460 is feature packed and reasonably priced when compared to the competition, but prices need to come down more for Blu-ray to be a viable alternative. You can get a very capable DVD player for under $100, and other digital technology has decreased at a faster rate than Blu-ray. That being said, this is an excellent unit with outstanding image quality and a rich feature set. The DVD upscaling, BD Live capability and excellent audio support add a lot of value to this unit.

Performance

The BDP-N460 delivers excellent performance. The Blu-ray output is sharp and responsive, with faithful rendering of fast action scenes, and the DVD upscaling brings new life to all of your existing DVD movies. The BD Live feature functions seamlessly with your broadband connection and the BRAVIA sync feature makes this unit play nice with other Sony components. Digital sound support is excellent as well and the included remote control is intuitive and easy to see.

Summary

If you're in the market for a feature packed Blu-ray player, the BDP-N460 makes an excellent choice. The performance and features are above average in this price range, and although expensive, the extra features available from the Blu-ray format can justify the price. All in all a very good offering from Sony.

Pros

Full HD 1080p output
BD Live capability
BRAVIA sync capability
DVD upscaling

Cons

Still too pricey

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