Sony BDP-N460 Blu-ray Player Steams Netflix, YouTube & Slacker

Consolidation of functionality is where the money is these days and to
that end its hard to think anything other than that Sony's (almost) onto
a winner concerning their just unveiled BDP-N460 Blu-ray Player which,
thanks to boasting optional wireless network connectivity, not only
potentially serves as a full featured BD player but an entertainment hub
taking in the likes of Netflix (billed for later this fall), YouTube and
Slacker courtesy of Sony's Bravia Internet Video platform.
If you sensed a fly in the ointment, so to speak, top marks as whilst
the Sony BDP-N460 is billed as a networked BD player there's a catch
(and quite a catch at that). Instead of the player coming with built-in
Wi-Fi connectivity instead you'll need to fork out separately for a
Wi-Fi dongle that 'helps ease the connection between the
Ethernet-enabled player and a wireless router in either the 2.4GHz or
5GHz radio band for optimal streaming' and that'll set you back an
additional $100. So far, so very, very disappointing.

At this juncture you're probably already loosing interest and, frankly,
who can blame you. Sony have missed a trick here (hell, its not even a
trick) and we simply cannot fathom why Sony have decided, in their
infinite wisdom, that this is the way forward when, patently, offering
wireless connectivity via an optional upgrade instead of integrated
Wi-Fi for out of the box home network hook up is beyond us. Still,
that's the deal – take it or leave it.

In terms of other (any) key highlights the Sony BDP-N460 Blu-ray Player,
which is BD-Live friendly, from the Blue-ray angle naturally offers up
Full HD 1080/60p as well as 24p true cinema output whislt in terms of
audio you can factor in 7.1 channel Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus,
DTS-HD High Resolution Audio, DTS-HD Master Audio and 7.1 channel L-PCM
via HDMI (post encoding).

By way of a redeeming feature the Sony BDP-N460 , as well as supporting
BD-R/RE (BDMV and BDAV modes), AVCHD, DVD+R/+RW, DVD-R/-RW, CD, CD-R/RW
(CD-DA format), and JPEG on BD/DVD/CD recordable media also comes with
USB connectivity allowing you to hook up USB flash drive to view content
such as digital photos – but, in honesty, whether the above serves
to remedy the lack of Wi-Fi on a player touted as network friendly
remains wholly open to question.

The Sony BDP-N460 Blu-ray Player is set to release in October at which
juncture it'll set you back some $250 but, of course, if you want that
network connectivity remember that the Wi-Fi dongle will set you back an
additional $100.

We always have high expectations of Sony but there simply no way we can
dress this up – however much we'd like to. Disappointing.