But the announcement of these players in Australia wasn’t the most exciting piece of Blu-ray information gained from the event – that mantle went to the hint that the next generation of players would include wireless networking capabilities.

Discussing the BD-Live situation with a Blu-ray product manager, I asked why Sony had opted for wired ethernet connection when most homes don’t have an ethernet plug near the TV. The response was candid: the reason this generation only has a wired solution is to try and break that $500 price barrier to encourage widespread adoption of the technology, which they have now done with the S350.

I also asked why, in Sony’s mind, anyone would opt for a standalone Blu-ray player when the Playstation 3 is not only a higher specced machine (it’s all firmware upgradeable, remember?), but can play back games. Sony believe that aesthetics will play a big part in the move to standalone players, and believe we’ll follow the same pattern as DVD, where people used their PS2 for DVD playback until the price of standalone players reached a point where they were almost impulse purchases.

As far as BD-Live goes, Sony made a big show about the fact that it’s a “blank canvas”, which essentially means that they don’t know what they’ll do with it. Of the films on display to showcase the online technology, Starship Troopers 3 was a ridiculous attempt to insert a cardboard cutout of your face into the movie, while 21 allowed you to play blackjack online with other viewers. The best BD-Live implementation was on John Mayer’s latest Blu-ray concert, which allows viewers to download bonus tracks, something that’s actually somewhat useful and appealing.

And for anybody interested in the latest Sony Blu-ray players themselves, here’s the press release:

Sony adds new Blu-ray Disc players that maximise the power of HDTV
Two models bring new levels of interactivity to home entertainment
Sydney – 23-25 September, 2008 – Sony maximises the potential of your high definition
television and brings a new level of interactivity to home entertainment through its two Blu-ray Disc players launched today. The BDP-S350 and BDP-S550 are capable of accessing advanced interactive features such as Bonus View and BD-Live.

“It’s simple, without Blu-ray you’re just not getting the most out of your HDTV,” said Andrew Smith, Product Manager for Home Video at Sony Australia. “With over one in four Australians now having access to an HD LCD TV1, the best way to ensure you’re making the most of this investment is to connect it to a Blu-ray player. With Blu-ray content becoming more widely available through both retail and video rental stores, the exciting new interactive features these models offer take the movie experience beyond what cinemas can offer, delivering the next generation of home entertainment.”

Both models are capable of utilising BD-Live, a newly developed Blu-ray feature that lets you access the internet during a movie to download a variety of up-to-date content, such as refreshed previews and exclusive special features like ringtone/wallpaper downloads, peer to peer interactions, live events and gaming. This is achieved through an Ethernet port, which also enables easy firmware updates. A Bonus View feature provides “picture-in-picture” capability with select Blu-ray Disc titles – useful for viewing director or actor commentary while the movie plays.

A USB port lets you connect USB flash-based memory to store downloads from BD-Live. The BDP-S550 ships with a 1GB storage device. Sony’s Blu-ray players feature 1080/60p and 24p True Cinema output. They are compatible with most standard DVDs and feature 1080p upscaling through an HDMI connection to capable HDTV sets, improving the picture performance of existing DVD libraries.

These two models include the latest audio technology to ensure sound is just as powerful as the image quality. With 7.1 channel Dolby® TrueHD and Dolby® Digital Plus decoding, bit-stream output, plus dts®-HD High Resolution Audio and Master Audio bit-stream output, the BDP-S350 sounds incredible. The BDP-S550 adds dts-HD High Resolution Audio and dts-HD Master Audio decoding as well as 7.1 channel analogue audio output for an out-of-this world sound experience.

[UCHI on Giz]

The TV, which manages its ultra-slim body by outsourcing its TV components to a separate box, only needs a single power cable to power the screen. It connects to the other box – which includes all the same connections and controls you’d find on a Bravia TV – using a proprietary wireless technology from Sony. Apparently it doesn’t interfere with any of your other wireless techs (like your garage door or wireless headphones), and the box can be hidden away up to 15 metres away. The screen itself is stunning, showcasing Full HD images at 100Hz. I asked the rep from Sony when we can expect to see models with Sony’s new 200Hz technology, or direct wireless internet access, and I was told we can expect things like 200Hz to be introduced in the 2nd or 3rd generation of the ZX series, while the wireless internet functionality really depends on the state of broadband in Australia.

There’s no word on pricing, but it’s almost certainly going to be pricey. It’s expected to cost $US4500 when it launches in the US, and if that’s true it will likely approach $6K locally.

[UCHI on Giz]

The first Sony Ericsson phone to feature DLNA is the C905 Cybershot snapper, which comes with Wi-Fi, an 8.1-megapixel snapper (and typical camera functions like face detect, BestPic and a Xenon flash).

Connected to other DLNA devices on your network, you can use the C905 to access and view content stored on your PC, PS3 or other DLNA device. Or, you can access content (like photos) from your phone on your PS3, without having to plug it in.

The C905 is looking to land in Australia in October. And if you happen to be a Mac user and therefore aren’t impressed with the whole DLNA thing, then you’ll be happy to know that the C905 is also one of the first Sony Ericsson phones that is OS agnostic – so you’ll be able to sync your content between your phone and your MacBook.

[UCHI on Giz]

We’ve seen Sony’s Sountina speaker on Giz before, but yesterday at their UCHI event, Sony were showcasing the speaker for the first time in Australia. For those whose memories are lacking, the Sountina is a vertical speaker that uses some weird kind of tech to both do away with the need for stereo speakers, as well as maintain a consistent volume in 360 degrees no matter how close you are to the speaker.

As you can see from the video above, it’s a funky looking device. The whole volume thing is actually really disconcerting – while it may seem a little bit louder closer to the actual speaker, you can walk about 5 metres way and it still sounds like it’s the same volume. And even when you’re standing right next to it, you can still hold a conversation without raising your voice or gesturing like a monkey.

Sound quality was pretty good in the mid to high range, but the bottom end was distorting like it was in pain. It may have been something to do with the fact that the speaker’s base was just sitting on concrete, but the sound was still shaking around all over the place in the low end.Apparently, we are going to see the Sountina in Australia, which is a bit of a surprise. It isn’t going to be for most consumers though – it will be more targeted towards social locations like cafes, hotels and restaurants. Considering it has a $US10,000 price tag overseas, there won’t be too many regular blokes who will be willing to fork over the coin when it launches early next year.

[UCHI on Giz]

Thanks to everyone who entered. The three of you who actually took up the multimedia part of the challenge are set to check out the latest Sony tech with a guest each, while two lucky commenters will be grabbing a friend or loved one for a night out as well.

And the winners are:First off, on the multimedia side, is Nick Eagles (whose home theatre setup you can see above). Monster, Nick. Monster.

Next Up is Dave Beeston, who gave us our one video entry. Bonus points for the Falcon and Lego references Dave.

Third in the multimedia stakes is Gaspone Bruno, who celebrated his 21st birthday with a Sony Ericsson cake. Commitment – you have it in spades.

And finally, our two commenters: Congratulations to Namarrgon and Kevin.

I’ll be sending out an email to the winners very shortly. To all other entrants who missed out this time – keep checking back – we have some very exciting comps coming your way soon.

[Uchi on Giz]

Hit the link to see how to enter, but seeing as how I’m judging this, I’m still giving mega-mega bonus points for multimedia entries sent through to uchi@gizmodo.com.au. If you can’t be bothered (which, let’s face it, is most of you), just tell us why you should win in 25 words or less after the link.

[UCHI comp on Giz]

With just 10 days left until the much anticipated (and very exclusive) Sony UCHI party, we still have 5 double passes to the event up for grabs.

Since we’re such generous people here at Giz, and our previous calls for creativity have gone unanswered, we’re going to open up this comp.

To enter, simply tell us via the comments, in 25 words or less, why you should be the one schmoozing it with Sony and Australia’s tech media at the UCHI showcase on Thursday September 25th.

So get cracking. Entries close tomorrow, September 16th, at 5pm.

[Uchi on Giz]

To win, all you need to do is show us your gadgets. The most creative entries will make the finals, where other Giz readers will get to vote on the best five. To submit your entry, email it (or a link) to uchi@gizmodo.com.au. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity – you’ll be members of an elite group to attend the festivities. Don’t miss out because you’re lazy.

[Uchi on Giz]

That’s right. Sony are offering five Gizmodo readers the chance to win a double pass to the (very) exclusive UCHI party night on Thursday September 25. You can’t get these tickets anywhere else – you can’t even buy them (although I am open to bribery*).

There’ll be food, drinks and a live performance by a Sony BMG artist – I know who it is, but I can’t tell you. However, I can guarantee that it’s not John Mayer.

Unfortunately though, it’s only open to Sydney residents (or people prepared to travel to Sydney for one night’s entertainment during the middle of the week.

How to enter:To enter, we want you to get creative. We want you to show us your tech-filled home. Show us your favourite gadgets, your DIY jobs, your unreal Lego collections, your amazing Home theatre setup, your wicked gaming rig, your mobile phone collection dating back to the dark ages, your antique mini-disc player that you bought hours before the first iPod was released… whatever your favourite and most exciting piece of kit is, show us.

But more than that, we want it to be multimedia. Create a video and upload it to Youtube. Create a photo collage. Write a song (but include some pics as well – we want to see what you’ve got). Do whatever you want, so long as it’s engaging. Then send the link / images / mp3 file / whatever to uchi@gizmodo.com.au.

Entries close on September 15 at 9am. Why? Well, that’s so you guys can vote on the winners. I’ll pick the 10 finalists, and you guys get to vote on the top five. Winners will be announced on September 19.

Any queries, post in comments. Otherwise, get cracking!

*I probably shouldn’t say that. I’m not really open to bribery.

Sony promises that UCHI will be a “visionary display of tech-fused design combined with spectacular architecture”, which sounds like it could be a pretty unique way of checking out their latest range of upcoming products.

The event’s going to be hosted by Sony Australia MD Carl Rose and begins on September 23.

For those of you who remember last year’s Experience More event, you’ll know that Sony generally put on a good spread of gadgets this time of the year, so we’ll be expecting some great things.

But even more importantly, stay tuned for your chance to win exclusive tickets to experience UCHI for yourself, with the chance to party with some of Sony BMG’s hottest new artists.