Sony unveils new 4K upscaling Blu-ray player, the BDP-S6500

Sony already has a couple of cracking budget Blu-ray decks in its 2015 line-up: both the BDP-S4500 and BDP-S5500 have been handed glowing five-star reviews by our review team.

Well, now there's a new player in town in the shape of the BDP-S6500. It was originally unveiled at CES 2015 (and it looks similar to the 'S4500 and 'S5500), but it's only now that the player has been confirmed for the UK market.

We're still waiting for the first Ultra HD Blu-ray players to hit the market later this year - this Sony machine can only upscale to 4K resolution. So feed in a high-definition Blu-ray or a standard-def DVD or video stream, and the Sony will number-crunch the resolution to 3840 x 2160 pixels to match your 4K TV.

Ultra-HD Blu-ray set for September launch

3D fans can rejoice because the Sony can handle 3D Blu-ray discs, and also produce 3D images using 2D discs too.

In terms of smart functionality, there's streaming through BBC iPlayer, Netflix and Amazon Prime - Sony claims its special noise reduction technology can 'spring clean' streamed video for improved picture quality.

Connection to the web is done through a wired ethernet connection or by going wireless, using the player's built-in 'super wi-fi'. Sony claims this multi-antennae design "makes for a more stable, interference-free signal path for glitch-free streaming."

The Sony BDP-S6500 is on sale now for £149.

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Andy Madden

Andy is Deputy Editor of What Hi-Fi? and a consumer electronics journalist with nearly 20 years of experience writing news, reviews and features. Over the years he's also contributed to a number of other outlets, including The Sunday Times, the BBC, Stuff, and BA High Life Magazine. Premium wireless earbuds are his passion but he's also keen on car tech and in-car audio systems and can often be found cruising the countryside testing the latest set-ups. In his spare time Andy is a keen golfer and gamer.