Sony BDP-S570 (photos)
The Sony BDP-S570 has all the features of other midrange Blu-ray players, plus future 3D support and best-in-class operational speed, but you'll have to wait to unlock all of its functionality.
Sony BDP-S570
When 3D was rolled out at CES 2010, it seemed clear that 3D playback on Blu-ray players would be limited to flagship models in the $400 range. That is, until Sony announced in February that all players from the BDP-S470 up would get a 3D upgrade in the summer; 3D was commoditized before it even got started.
The Sony BDP-S570 isn't the cheapest 3D Blu-ray player from Sony (that would be the $200 BDP-S470), but it's the only model in its price range to offer 3D compatibility. It has all the major features we expect on midrange Blu-ray players, including built-in Wi-Fi and a full suite of streaming media services (including Netflix, Amazon VOD, YouTube, and Slacker), plus some interesting extras like SACD playback and Gracenote support. It's also the fastest player we've ever tested, handily beating out the Oppo BDP-83 on nearly all our operational speed tests.
We had only two major gripes with the BDP-S570; too many of its features (DLNA, Pandora, Picasa, 3D) are "coming soon" via firmware upgrade, and its Netflix streaming video quality is subpar.
If Sony makes good on its firmware updates and addresses the Netflix quality issues, we think the BDP-S570 may end up being the best option in its price class, but Sony needs to wrap a few loose ends before we give it our full recommendation.