Sony BDP S550 Ethernet Options (1 Viewer)

I am in the process of setting up a home theater system connected to my home network when i noticed that my Sony BluRau has an ethernet port. I'm curious as to what this feature adds to the overall functionality of the device, my home theater, and my home network? For example, can I play a movie on the bluray and watch it on a PC on my network?, Can I use the bluray to add a movie to my Plex media center (with all due respect to copyright issues)? Not sure what to do with this feature.

rjpiekos said:

I am in the process of setting up a home theater system connected to my home network when i noticed that my Sony BluRau has an ethernet port. I'm curious as to what this feature adds to the overall functionality of the device, my home theater, and my home network? For example, can I play a movie on the bluray and watch it on a PC on my network?, Can I use the bluray to add a movie to my Plex media center (with all due respect to copyright issues)? Not sure what to do with this feature.

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I would assume that the ethernet port is simply to connect the unit to your home network to utilize streaming services offered through the blu-ray player....Netflix, Amazon, etc.

At Free:

thanks for responding. what would the point of utilizing streaming services through the BD if I plan on having a Roku box attached to the network as well? I guess what I was hoping to hear was I could use the BD to rip my movies so that I could add them to my Plex server and save me the cost of buying a BD component to put into my PC.

rjpiekos said:

At Free:

thanks for responding. what would the point of utilizing streaming services through the BD if I plan on having a Roku box attached to the network as well? I guess what I was hoping to hear was I could use the BD to rip my movies so that I could add them to my Plex server and save me the cost of buying a BD component to put into my PC.

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Unfortunately the BD player is not designed to do this.


The ethernet cable is there because that particular BD model doesn't support wi-fi. The Sony BDP S550 was one of the first Sony players to come out that supported BD Live, which was a feature built into certain Blu-ray discs allowing you to connect to the internet while watching the disc for additional bonus features and interactive content. (For example, when "The Dark Knight" came out on Blu-ray, there was a special Q&A event where if you put your disc into the player at a specified time, director Christopher Nolan watched the movie and offered live text commentary.) This feature was not heavily utilized in general and is no longer heavily promoted.

rjpiekos said:

what would the point of utilizing streaming services through the BD if I plan on having a Roku box attached to the network as well?

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What's the point of having a Roku box if you have an ethernet-enabled Blu-ray player that can stream as well?


What's the point of having a Roku box if my "smart" TV can stream content as well?


What's the point of having a Roku box if I already have an AppleTV for streaming?


What's the point of having a Roku box when I already have an Amazon FireTV for streaming?


What's the point of having a Roku box when I already have a Google ChromeCast and a bitching laptop for streaming?


What's the point of having a Roku box when I have my PS4 that does everything imaginable already?

chill out Jason

rjpiekos said:

At Free:
thanks for responding. what would the point of utilizing streaming services through the BD if I plan on having a Roku box attached to the network as well? I guess what I was hoping to hear was I could use the BD to rip my movies so that I could add them to my Plex server and save me the cost of buying a BD component to put into my PC.

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You're correct but most "smart" TVs and BD players come equipped with a suite of streaming services and other apps preloaded. And many have both WiFi (yours doesn't I believe) and Ethernet connections for these services. Also, you need internet connectivity to the unit for firmware updates unless you want to download them manually, burn a disc and then install them manually.