The Sony BDP-S590 3D Blu-ray Disc Player with Wi-Fi is a device that combines not only your basic 2D/3D blu-ray disc player into one device, but it is also WiFi-compatible with Standards 802.11 a/b/g/n. In other words, if you have any sort of high-definition video or audio device connected to your home network, the S590’s built-in WiFi connectivity will “announce itself” to your router and once they have finished their security negotiation (all WiFi devices must have as a minimum WPA/WPA2 or WEP encrypted security with regularly changed keys), everything is all set.
For example, Sony, this time around has decided not only must it admit that Apple products do exist (and vice versa), but it has also allowed Android-active devices to connect to your network through the S590. There’s a control app not only for iPods but also for iPhones and Android devices.
This means that not only can you simulcast, if you will allow an older phrase, your 2D and 3D movies and discs through your S590, if you have an iPhone with the Pandora app, you can stream Pandora audio through any portion or portions of your home system.
The key to this piece is Sony’s Multi-Room music sound streaming mode. It’s nice to be able to use your system-connected speakers in the basement with sound that is being streamed through your home system in the living room. It does make and keep things interesting at parties.
And, if you just want to use the standard blu-ray disc player of the S590 to send 1920 by 1080 (full high-definition) video to any part of your network, all you have do to is start the device you are playing and ensure that the S590 understands it. It will understand it since Sony was one of the original signers of the DLNA certification agreement. The DLNA certification means that any Digital Live Network Addressed device will automatically be recognized by any other DLNA device so there is no negotiation. Just wait until they sync up and you’re ready to go so that you can and will literally throw any sounds from a Sony (or Apple, to be fair) device through your home network to any other part.
If you have a PC connected somewhere in there you have even more expansion capability because the S590 comes with only two USB ports, however, if you have a PC included in your home entertainment system (or even a Playstation III, for that matter) you will pick up at least two or more USB ports through which you can connect either HDMI (high-def) cables or other devices, such as another HDTV receiver so you can share not only your video, but the audio capability of the S590.
Think about this. Yes, it will be expensive (more than likely because it is Sony and it’s a new device) but when you have installed it you can safely take out other spare sound devices that you may have wanted to replace or you can add something like a Playstation III to the mix, if you have just received one, and you can use it anywhere on your home network.
It is quite an advance and shows just how far device integration has come. Pretty soon, all you’ll have to do is unpack the box, drop the player into the middle of the console, add a couple of adapter wires (the speakers may or may not be built in) and you have a complete system. Yes, it has taken time to figure out how to do it, but they have done it so that now if you are into Twitting from your iPhone or even iPad, you can keep in contact with your social networking, including YouTube video clips through one device and you can stream them where you’d like.
Perhaps the nicest piece of this is the fact that if you just want to watch a 3D move on your HDTV in the game room while the rest of the system does other things the S590’s flexibility will oblige you, even allowing you to convert 2D to 3D video. It is quite an achievement but if you had to look for where it would originate you would have to expect Sony to do it and quite nicely in a device you can tuck anywhere as it’s only 2.9 by 19 by 11 and it only weighs about 4.4 pounds. There’s quite a lot of power packed into that nice-looking package as we have found out.