Sony's BDV-HZ970W is a 3D Blu-ray HTIB
Sony announced the BDV-HZ970W home theater system at CES 2010, which includes an integrated 3D Blu-ray player and streaming media services such as Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand, and Pandora.
LAS VEGAS--We knew 3D was coming, but we didn't expect it to be integrated into a home-theater-in-a-box (HTIB) system this quickly. Sony announced the BDV-HZ970W, a home theater system that features an integrated 3D Blu-ray player and a 5.1 speaker system with wireless rear speakers.
Key features of the Sony BDV-HZ970W:
- Integrated Blu-ray 3D player
- 5.1 speaker system with wireless rear speakers
- Multiroom functionality utilizing Sony's proprietary S-Air wireless audio products
- HDMI 1.4 output
- Access to the Bravia Internet Video platform, which includes Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand, YouTube, Pandora, Slacker, and NPR streaming capability
- Wi-Fi capable with included USB dongle; Ethernet also available
- DLNA compliant; capable of sharing photos, music and videos from a connected PC
- Front panel USB port
- SACD-compatible
- Onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio
- No release date or pricing announced
The BDV-HZ970W reminds us a lot of the Sony BDV-E500W we reviewed in 2009, which was a solid Blu-ray home theater system, but we felt it didn't offer enough to justify its high price. The new BDV-HZ970W certainly adds to some punch to the features column with 3D Blu-ray compatibility and support for Sony's Bravia Internet Video platform. If the BDV-HZ970W is reasonably-priced, it could be a good option for upscale home-theater-in-a-box system buyers.
Sony also announced two non-3D Blu-ray HTIBs, the BDV-E770W and BDV-E570.
