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Attention home-cinema enthusiasts: Sony’s new range of Blu-ray players is on the horizon, and the forecast is 3D with a chance of iPhone apps. The S380 (pictured above), S480, S580, E280, E380, E880 and E780W Blu-ray players turn your iPhone or Android smart phone into a remote control as you watch 3D Blu-ray movies such as Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.
The new players can tuck under one of Sony’s new Bravia TVs, now complete with Skype and iPhone and Android apps as well as all manner of Internet-connected options.
Sony’s Qriocity service offers on-demand music and video. You can also stream movies from LoveFilm, BBC TV programmes from iPlayer and news from Sky News. Web browser Opera sits alongside widgets giving direct access to sites such as eBay, Flickr, Twitter and Facebook, which you’ll be able to control from your iPhone or Android phone’s keyboard. The smart phone apps also let your control your Blu-ray player.
As for what to watch, you can only buy James Cameron’s 3D standard-bearer Avatar on Blu-ray with a Panasonic 3DTV — until February, at least — but you can whack in one of Sony’s own 3D platters, such as Cloudy. Or you could head to eBay, where enterprising Panasonic-buyers are trying to flog their Avatar 3D disc for over a hundred quid.
Here are some handy tables from Sony for an at-a-glance round-up of the Blu-ray player line-up. The S380 and S480 include two USB ports to play movies and music from hard drives, while the S580 boasts Wi-Fi.
Sony’s home-cinema systems include two HDMI connections to connect up your games console, whether it’s a Sony PlayStation or Microsoft Xbox. The E880 and E780 also come with your choice of speaker setup. Here are the deets:
