Sony BDP-S470 review

3D Blu-ray, DivX HD and BBC iPlayer for a notch over £100; Sony presents the moon on a stick

Sony BDP-S470
The Sony BDP-S470 offers incredible features for the price

TechRadar Verdict

Superb pictures and features for a bargain price

Pros

  • +

    Compact design

  • +

    Plays 3D Blu-ray discs

  • +

    2D & 3D Picture quality

  • +

    BBC iPlayer & Lovefilm

  • +

    Price

Cons

  • -

    No built-in Wi-Fi

  • -

    Poor networking

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Whether or not 3D as a format has a future, and especially a present, in your home is up to you. The so-called hunger among consumers for 3D certainly isn't obvious to us, though Sony – one of the third dimension's biggest promoters – is seeking to get 3D compatibility into your lounge whether you like it or not with the well specified, yet incredibly affordable BDP-S470.

Compact and with a slim design, it's a wonder that Sony has shoved so many ins and outs on this Blu-ray's back. HDMI starts, of course, though component video, USB and wired Ethernet LAN port are other key features, though it's worth noting that both optical and coaxial digital audio are present in place of analogue audio outputs.

In terms of pure home cinema, that omission precludes lossless Dolby True HD/DTS HD Master Audio soundtracks, though that won't concern most people just after a cheap-as-chips Blu-ray player.

More mid-market misery is ahead; the S470 doesn't have built-in Wi-Fi, so access to two important features – DLNA networking and Sony's Bravia Internet Video streaming service – must be done either wired or through a separate USB dongle from Sony that, at £70, adds a hefty chunk onto the S470's price.

The disc tray itself is a thing of wonder. Not only can it spin a CD, DVD, Blu-ray disc – both 2D and 3D – but it can even play high resolution from a Super Audio CD (if you still have any in your music collection). Another huge plus is that the S470 takes single figure seconds to eject its tray and load a disc – what a change from the first-gen players.

Jamie Carter

Jamie is a freelance tech, travel and space journalist based in the UK. He’s been writing regularly for Techradar since it was launched in 2008 and also writes regularly for Forbes, The Telegraph, the South China Morning Post, Sky & Telescope and the Sky At Night magazine as well as other Future titles T3, Digital Camera World, All About Space and Space.com. He also edits two of his own websites, TravGear.com and WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com that reflect his obsession with travel gear and solar eclipse travel. He is the author of A Stargazing Program For Beginners (Springer, 2015),