Press Release

TORONTO -Sony's next-generation Blu-ray Disc™ player, model BDP-S350, will be available later this month at Sony Style retail locations across Canada, sonystyle.ca, and other authorized Sony retailers.

The BDP-S350 supports BonusView (picture-in-picture), which is featured on select new Blu-ray Disc home video releases, and is also BD-Live ready, with an Ethernet port for easy firmware updates and access to Internet-based interactive content features. A firmware update enabling BD-Live is planned later this year.

It also features quick start up mode improving the player's boot up time to approximately a few seconds and offers an external port for local storage for BD-Live, allowing users to add an optional flash storage device (sold separately).

"An advanced Blu-ray Disc player like the BDP-S350 is a must for every HDTV owner because it delivers the ultimate video and sound quality, while unlocking features you can't find on DVD, downloads or video on demand" said Abraham Cherian, product manager for Blu-ray, home audio and video, Sony of Canada Ltd. "The machine is also very user-friendly, providing a fast and easy setup, and delivers great playback with your existing DVD library."

Since many consumers own extensive DVD movie libraries, the BDP-S350 incorporates Sony's new Precision Cinema HD Upscale technology that converts standard-definition signals (480i) to 1080p and outputs a full HD equivalent resolution signal to 1080p TVs via HDMI. Additionally, the model also adds Sony's new Precision Drive HD, which helps to detect and correct wobbling discs from three directions, stabilizing playback of bent or scratched Blu-ray Discs and DVDs.

The model offers 7.1 channel Dolby® TrueHD and Dolby® Digital Plus decoding and bit-stream output, as well as DTS®-HD High Resolution Audio and Master Audio bit-stream output.

The BDP-S350 supports AVCHD discs encoded with x.v.Color™ (xvYCC) technology, an international standard for wide color space reproduction. The standard expands the current data range of video by about 1.8 times, allowing the players to output more natural and vivid colors similar to what the human eye actually sees in the natural world. The players also feature compatibility with an array of video formats, including BD-R/RE (BDMV and BDAV modes), DVD+R/+RW, DVD-R/-RW, CD, CD-R/RW (CD-DA format), and JPEG on DVD/CD recordable media.

The new BDP-S350 will be available for about $400 at Sony Style retail locations, online at sonystyle.ca, and at authorized retailers across Canada.

About Sony of Canada Ltd.
Established in 1955, Sony of Canada Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation, of Tokyo, Japan, a world leader in High Definition. Sony provides end-to-end solutions through products that include the market-leading Blu-ray Disc™ players, BRAVIA® televisions, Cyber-shot™ digital cameras, Handycam® Camcorders, VAIO® computers, broadcast cameras, IPELA security cameras and video conferencing and many more products that deliver the true entertainment experience.

Sony is one of the most comprehensive entertainment companies in the world with a portfolio that includes electronics, music, movies, games and online businesses.

With headquarters in Toronto, sales offices in Vancouver and Montreal and distribution centres in Coquitlam, British Columbia, and Whitby, Ontario, approximately 1,200 employees support a network of more than 500 authorized dealers and 80 Sony Style retail stores across Canada. Sony Canada is proud to support the communities in which it operates through corporate sponsorships of organizations that include the Make-A-Wish® Canada, the United Way of Canada and Earth Day Canada.

For more information, please contact:
Sony of Canada
Candice Hayman
Public Relations Specialist
(416) 718-5048
candice_hayman@sony.ca