Blu-ray Players

Sony BDP-N460 Networked Blu-ray Player

Introduction

“Convergence” is a buzz-word in the consumer electronics industry that we have heard a lot about over the last two years. The idea is that eventually, all our media and information needs will be handled by just one super-appliance in the home. Sony's PS3 was possibly the first significant step toward an off-the-shelf convergence device. Home Theater Personal Computers (HTPCs) are custom built boxes that also approach the convergence ideal.

Sony's most recent addition to their Blu-ray player lineup, the BDP-N460 is labeled by Sony as a “Networked” Blu-ray player. Well, most Blu-ray players are networked, to take advantage of the medium's “BD-Live” on-line content feature, so how is the N460 any different? Is it another stab at a convergence device by Sony? Or is the moniker just a marketing gimmick? In addition, how does it stack up as a regular Blu-ray movie player? Read on!

The N460 is the middle of Sony's three current mass-market single disc players (i.e. not including their ES products) and as such, it is priced in the middle range of most players you'll find in a big-box store at $199.95 SRP. For this you get Blu-ray and DVD (up-converted) play back, AVCHD, CD-Audio, MP3, JPEG, as well as Netflix, Slacker Internet Radio, YouTube, Amazon Video on Demand, and a slew of other Internet-based video channels.

Accessories

Connectors

HDMI