Sony has announced that they will release a new ES-line Blu-ray Disc player promising the ultimate high definition experience to consumers. The Sony BDP-S5000ES will be BD-Live enabled and feature numerous Sony technologies in order to ensure it provides the best audio and video processing of Blu-ray discs.
On the video side, it will feature an HD Reality Enhancer which continually analyzes the video stream to sharpen edges and reduce film grain. It also increases the 8-bit video depth to 14-bit for better color representation. Additional, the player will feature Sony's Super Bit Mapping which smooths color tones to provide the best video possible over an HDMI connection.
For audio, it will feature decoding and bit streaming of all audio formats. The player will have a high-stability Precision Drive HD transport mechanism in the center position, an ultra-rigid frame and beam chassis to reduce vibration and a low-leakage R-Core transformer - all ensuring the best audio performance. To further increase performance, the audio board has been separated from the video board to remove any electronic noise from transferring to the 7.1 analog outs.
As a BD-Live player, it will come with a Ethernet connection and 1GB flash drive. And like the Sony BDP-S350 and upcoming BDP-S550, it will feature the PlayStation 3's XMB menu system.
No pricing or release date has been announced at this time.
Cool but we'll see with price. In the world of bringing Blu-ray to every home, manufacturers release only these "elite" brands that usually cost 3x the cost of a PS3.
Ladies and gentlemen: we have a winner! This looks exciting & for those of us (a) who have no interest in gaming (b) have no interest in buying an HDMI-equipped receiver and need the best SQ from the analogue outs for all audio formats and (c) simply want to get the best player possible preferably with battleship build something like this or the big Pioneer also recently announced look ideal.
They just announced a new ES SACD player too:
http://www.sonyinsider.com/2008/08/27/sony-unexpectedly-releases-super-audio-cd-reciever-scd-xa5400es/
SCD-XA5400ES
According to Sony Japan’s press release, the DSD multi-level filter, D/A converter system, and Super Audio D/A converter technology are the best Sony has produced to date. A twin R-core transformer and D/A system that is independent of the general processing chipset allow a truly clean signal output that should offer nearly zero distortion.
I kind of have to question how much better the picture quality is going to be over say the S550. If it
were say 10% better (yes, I know that could be hard to quantify), then would everyone shed their
current players and upgrade?
So on the other hand are we saying that currently blu-rayPQ is good, but could be so much better? A
bit like the new improved washing powder etc etc..
Sounds Interesting, worth giving a look at, but i'm still waiting for a wireless stand alone, i'm not about to run 100 feet of ethernet cable through my house.
@oetty & @bhampton:
I think dobyblue just answered your question: Because Sony releases a seperate SACD player, this BD-one will most probably not include it.
Unfortunately it sports only 1 HDMI-out, so if you want to hook up your AVR and display/projector directly to your BD-player using HDMI, without splitters/switchers or having to link your display through an other component (AVR), your best option is going to be the Pioneer with 2 HDMI outputs: one for Audio-out and one for Video-out.
"...it will feature an HD Reality Enhancer which continually analyzes the video stream to sharpen
edges and reduce film grain..."
I'm surprised I haven't heard any alarm bells going off. If this "feature" is defeatable, this player
might be the one to beat (with the possible exception of the new Pioneer).
7.1 analog out?!!! This is a possible buy (for me) - even if I have to save to get it or build a few machines. I love my HTPC but I've always wanted a good standalone too. This will more than likely replace my Sony ES CD player - just wish it had 2 HDMI outputs and wood grain panels like the old school ES gear!!! Good job Sony...ES!
This is th one that i've been waiting for....it should be in-line with the other ES player at 1300 so break the piggy bank and cash in the spare change.......ES here i come
"Sharpen edges and reduce film grain? Sounds like it adds EE and DNR. Why would I want that?"
Exactly, the Pioneer claims it can take the source disk and display it as it exists on the disk (when sent to the right TV). I would perfer that, don't touch my HD image please. Upscale my SD-DVD, fine.
Sounds expensive, i guess they're going to leave the cheap players for Sylvania and the like for now (theshoppingchannel in canada recently aired the sylvania player for $299)
Can't say I'm convinced removal of film grain or any of the other video technologies won't lose
information in the recording, but I'm pleased to see analogue decoding of all audio formats -
democracy in audio, thanks Sony.
Sony has announced that they will release a new ES-line Blu-ray Disc player promising the ultimate high definition experience to consumers. The 
