In a corner of my media cabinet sits a testament to a lifelong love of film: spines of Blu-rays and DVDs collected over two decades. They represent cinematic history, special editions, and moments I wanted to own in the highest physical quality possible. Yet, right next to them, my smart TV remote gets a daily workout navigating the endless seas of streaming content. This duality is a common challenge for many of us. How do you honor a cherished physical collection while embracing the convenience of the digital age without cluttering your setup with a half-dozen different boxes? The promise of an all-in-one device—a bridge between these two worlds—is incredibly alluring. This is the exact problem the Sony BDP-S3700 Wi-Fi Streaming Blu-Ray Player aims to solve. It offers to spin your treasured discs with pristine quality while also delivering your favorite streaming apps, all from one compact, affordable unit. But in a world of rapidly evolving apps and 4K dominance, can this 1080p workhorse still hold its own? We decided to find out.
- Bring the theater home: Get the best seat in the house while enjoying movies and content from the comfort of your family room
- Smart Functionality: With fast, stable built-in Wi-Fi, you can wirelessly access your favorite streaming apps and services including Netflix, YouTube &...
What to Consider Before Buying a Blu-ray Player
A Blu-ray player is more than just an item; it’s a key solution for unlocking the highest fidelity audio and video from your physical media collection. Unlike compressed streams, a Blu-ray disc delivers uncompromised 1080p or 4K picture quality and lossless audio formats like Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, providing a truly cinematic experience. In recent years, these devices have evolved into media hubs. The addition of Wi-Fi and streaming apps transforms them from simple disc spinners into smart devices capable of turning any television into a content portal. This dual functionality is their greatest benefit, offering a single, streamlined solution for both your physical discs and online subscriptions.
The ideal customer for this type of product is someone with a significant collection of DVDs and Blu-rays who wants to ensure the best possible playback on their 1080p television. It’s also perfect for those with an older, “dumb” TV who want to add basic streaming capabilities like Netflix and YouTube without buying a separate streaming stick. However, it might not be suitable for those who have already invested in a high-end 4K TV and want to take full advantage of Ultra HD Blu-rays and HDR content. Furthermore, if your primary goal is access to the latest and widest variety of streaming apps (like Disney+, HBO Max, or Hulu), a dedicated streaming device from Roku, Apple, or Google may be a more robust and future-proof choice.
Before investing, consider these crucial points in detail:
- Dimensions & Space: In a modern entertainment center, space is at a premium. The physical footprint of a player matters. You need to ensure it fits comfortably in your cabinet or on your shelf with adequate ventilation to prevent overheating. The Sony BDP-S3700 Wi-Fi Streaming Blu-Ray Player is remarkably compact at just over 9 inches wide and 1.5 inches tall, making it an excellent choice for tight spaces.
- Capacity/Performance: Performance isn’t just about disc loading speed. It’s about video and audio format support. For a 1080p player, strong DVD upscaling is critical to make your older discs look their best. For audio, support for formats like Dolby TrueHD ensures you’re getting the high-resolution sound the filmmakers intended. You must also evaluate its streaming performance, including Wi-Fi stability and the availability of the apps you actually use.
- Materials & Durability: Most modern players are constructed from lightweight plastic to keep costs down. While this is generally fine, it’s important to consider build quality. Does the disc tray feel flimsy? Are the ports secure? We also look at long-term durability, as some user reports for various models raise concerns about software updates or hardware failures over time.
- Ease of Use & Maintenance: A good media player should be intuitive. The user interface should be easy to navigate, and the remote control should be logically laid out and responsive. Long-term maintenance is minimal, but keeping the device’s firmware updated is crucial for security and performance, though as we’ll discuss, this can sometimes be a double-edged sword.
Keeping these factors in mind, the Sony BDP-S3700 Wi-Fi Streaming Blu-Ray Player stands out in several areas, particularly its compact size and strong core playback function. You can explore its detailed specifications here.
While the Sony BDP-S3700 Wi-Fi Streaming Blu-Ray Player is an excellent choice for its target audience, it’s always wise to see how it stacks up against the competition. For a broader look at all the top models, we highly recommend checking out our complete, in-depth guide:
- Enjoy Blu-ray Disc movies in Full HD as well as DVD discs
- Compact Size: Space-saving design allows this Blu Ray DVD player for tv to fit neatly in narrow spaces and on thin racks. Dimensions: Approx. 9 5/8" W x 1...
- See the unrivalled visual clarity of 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
First Impressions and Key Features
Unboxing the Sony BDP-S3700 Wi-Fi Streaming Blu-Ray Player is a straightforward affair. The packaging is minimal and efficient, containing the player itself, a compact remote control (RMT VB201U), two AAA batteries, and the requisite paperwork. The first thing we noticed was its incredibly small and lightweight profile. Weighing under two pounds and measuring just 9.05 x 7.63 x 1.53 inches, it can be tucked away into almost any media setup without drawing attention to itself. The build is a glossy and matte black plastic, which is standard for this price point—functional, but not premium.
One immediate point of note, echoed by many users, is the absence of an HDMI cable in the box. While this is a common cost-saving measure for manufacturers, it’s a frustration for anyone who wants to set it up immediately without a trip to the store. Once we supplied our own cable, setup was a breeze. The player boots up quickly and guides you through language selection and, crucially, the Wi-Fi connection. The on-screen keyboard for entering passwords is a bit tedious with a standard remote, but that’s a universal complaint for devices of this type. The user interface is clean and tile-based, feeling familiar to anyone who has used a PlayStation 3 or a modern smart TV.
What We Like
- Excellent Full HD 1080p picture quality for Blu-ray playback
- Strong and reliable Wi-Fi connectivity with MIMO technology
- Extremely compact and lightweight design fits anywhere
- Front-facing USB port for easy playback of personal media files
- Simple setup process and intuitive user interface
Drawbacks
- Very limited and outdated selection of streaming apps (no Disney+, Hulu, etc.)
- Numerous user reports of software glitches, freezing, and long-term reliability issues
- No HDMI cable included in the box
A Deep Dive into the Sony BDP-S3700’s Performance
A spec sheet can only tell you so much. To truly understand a device, you have to live with it. We put the Sony BDP-S3700 Wi-Fi Streaming Blu-Ray Player through its paces for several weeks, using it as our primary device for both disc playback and streaming to see where it shines and where it stumbles. Our findings reveal a device with a strong, reliable core that is unfortunately held back by its aging smart platform.
Disc Playback and Picture Quality: Its True Calling
First and foremost, this is a Blu-ray player, and in that primary function, it excels. We started our testing with a reference-quality Blu-ray, and the results were impeccable. The player delivered a crisp, vibrant, and stable 1080p image to our display, with no noticeable artifacts or judder. Colors were accurate, and the level of detail was precisely what you’d expect from the Blu-ray format. It loaded the disc quickly and, most importantly, the drive mechanism was whisper-quiet during playback—a crucial factor for late-night viewing when you don’t want mechanical whirring to pull you out of the film.
Where the player truly impressed us was with its handling of standard-definition DVDs. Sony’s upscaling technology does an admirable job of converting the 480p source to a 1080p signal. While it can’t magically create detail that isn’t there, it produced a clean, stable image with surprisingly few of the jagged edges or blockiness that can plague lesser upscalers. Our collection of older DVDs looked better than they have in years. This performance is confirmed by a large number of users who state that if all you need is a great disc player, this unit is one of the best for the money. On this front, Sony’s heritage in video processing is clearly on display.
The Streaming Experience: Strong Signal, Limited Destinations
The “Wi-Fi Streaming” part of the product’s name is a major selling point, and the hardware behind it is surprisingly robust. The player features built-in 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi with MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output) technology, which uses multiple antennas to create a stronger, more reliable connection. In our testing, this proved to be more than just marketing jargon. The player connected to our network quickly and held a stable signal, even when positioned further from the router than other devices. This was a sentiment shared by one user who specifically bought the player for an outdoor theater setup, noting it connected flawlessly from approximately 50 feet away. For streaming Netflix and YouTube, we experienced no buffering or resolution drops once a video started playing.
However, a strong connection is useless if it can’t take you where you want to go. This is the Sony BDP-S3700 Wi-Fi Streaming Blu-Ray Player‘s Achilles’ heel. The app selection is frozen in time. While it has mainstays like Netflix and YouTube, it lacks a vast number of modern, essential services. There is no Disney+, no Hulu, no HBO Max, and as one frustrated user pointed out, no Prime Video. Sony has discontinued the VEWD TV Store (formerly Opera TV), meaning you cannot add new apps. You are permanently stuck with the pre-installed selection. This makes the player a poor choice as a primary streaming device in today’s fragmented media landscape. It can make a “dumb” TV smarter, but it can only teach it a few old tricks.
Connectivity, UI, and Long-Term Reliability Concerns
Beyond the disc tray and Wi-Fi, the player offers a standard but useful set of connections. The single HDMI output is all most will need, supplemented by a coaxial digital audio out for connecting to older AV receivers. The front-mounted USB port is a standout feature, allowing for easy playback of music, photos, and video files from a thumb drive. It supports common formats like AVI and MP4, and its inclusion is a major win for anyone with a library of digital home movies or downloaded content.
The user interface (UI) is simple and functional, but it feels dated. Navigation can sometimes feel sluggish, with a noticeable delay between a remote button press and the on-screen response, a frustration highlighted by several users. This leads to the most significant issue we encountered, which is heavily supported by a chorus of user feedback: software instability and questionable long-term reliability. We experienced several instances where the player would freeze, requiring us to unplug it to reset it. Many users report far more serious issues, such as the player constantly forgetting Wi-Fi and app login credentials, a problem that renders the streaming function infuriatingly tedious. Most troubling are the numerous reports of units failing completely, often getting stuck on the Blu-ray splash screen after a firmware update. One user chronicled a saga of three separate units failing in the same way within months. This pattern suggests potential software or hardware flaws that can emerge over time, turning an initially good experience sour and raising serious questions about the product’s longevity.
What Other Users Are Saying
A deep dive into user feedback reveals a starkly divided opinion that aligns perfectly with our findings. The Sony BDP-S3700 Wi-Fi Streaming Blu-Ray Player is either loved for what it does well or disliked for what it fails to do or how it fails over time.
On the positive side, many users are perfectly content. One happy customer stated, “Couldn’t be happier, it does exactly what it is supposed to do; play Blu-Ray DVDs. I’m not concerned with the apps or its online capabilities because I have a smart TV.” Another who purchased it for an outdoor projector praised its “long-range (read: sensitive) Wi-Fi,” confirming our own experience with its excellent connectivity. These users see the device as a high-quality disc player first and foremost, with any streaming capabilities being a minor bonus.
Conversely, the negative feedback is consistent and concerning. The primary complaints revolve around the flawed “smart” features and reliability. One user bluntly warned, “It’s an ok buy if you just need a dvd/blu-ray player. The streaming functions are terrible if they work at all.” Another detailed the constant frustration of the device forgetting all login information, saying it happens “just about every other day.” The most alarming trend, however, is the number of reports about total device failure. One user lamented that after just over two years of infrequent use, the player “would not power on,” while another experienced three units in a row get stuck on the splash screen after software updates, calling it “by the far the worst product I have every purchased.” This recurring theme of software-induced failure is a major red flag for potential buyers.
How Does the Sony BDP-S3700 Compare to Other Options?
The home video market isn’t what it used to be, but there are still distinct tiers of players designed for different users. The Sony BDP-S3700 Wi-Fi Streaming Blu-Ray Player sits in a crowded space, and it’s essential to see how it measures up against its siblings and competitors.
1. Sony UBP-X700 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray Player
- Bring the theater home: Get the best seat in the house while enjoying your favorite content from the comfort of your family room
- Smart Functionality: With fast, stable built-in Wi-Fi, you can wirelessly access your favorite streaming apps and services including Netflix, YouTube,...
The Sony UBP-X700 is the logical next step up for anyone with a 4K television. It offers full 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray playback, bringing a massive resolution increase over the BDP-S3700’s 1080p output. Crucially, it also supports High Dynamic Range (HDR), including Dolby Vision, which provides vastly superior color, contrast, and brightness. While its smart platform is still Sony’s, it’s generally more stable and offers access to 4K streaming from services like Netflix. If you own a 4K TV or plan to upgrade soon, the UBP-X700 is a much better investment for future-proofing your home theater and getting the absolute most out of your display.
2. Sony UBP-X800M2 4K UHD Blu-Ray Player
- Bring the theater home: See the unrivaled visual clarity and detail of 4K UHD Blu-ray while watching your favorite content from the comfort of home
- Smart Functionality: With fast, stable built-in Wi-Fi, you can wirelessly access your favorite streaming apps and services including Netflix, YouTube,...
The Sony UBP-X800M2 is aimed squarely at the serious home theater enthusiast. While it also provides stunning 4K HDR playback, its main advantages lie in its premium build quality and superior audio capabilities. It supports Hi-Res Audio, SACD playback, and features a more robust, anti-vibration chassis designed to minimize interference and deliver the purest possible signal. This player is for the audiophile who wants their music and movie soundtracks to sound as good as their video looks. For the average user with a soundbar or basic surround system, the X800M2 is likely overkill, but for those with high-end audio gear, it’s a worthy centerpiece.
3. Sony S1700 Blu Ray DVD Player
- NTSC⇔PAL Conversion - Watch any DVD/BD on any TV with HDMI connection
- BD Zone A/B/C DVD Region 012345678 PAL/NTSC,
The Sony S1700 represents the opposite end of the spectrum. It’s a “back to basics” player that strips away all smart features and Wi-Fi connectivity. It does one job: play Blu-rays and DVDs. To access any online features, you must connect it directly to your router via an Ethernet cable. This makes it the perfect choice for someone who already owns a smart TV or a dedicated streaming device (like a Roku or Fire TV Stick) and simply needs a reliable, no-frills machine to play their disc collection. By eliminating the Wi-Fi and complex smart interface, it also sidesteps the very software issues that plague the BDP-S3700, potentially making it a more reliable long-term option.
The Final Word: Who Should Buy the Sony BDP-S3700?
After extensive testing and analysis, the Sony BDP-S3700 Wi-Fi Streaming Blu-Ray Player reveals itself to be a product of two conflicting identities. On one hand, it is an excellent, compact, and affordable 1080p disc player. It produces a beautiful picture from Blu-rays, does a fantastic job upscaling DVDs, and features a powerful Wi-Fi antenna and a convenient front USB port. If your primary goal is to play physical media on a 1080p TV, it performs admirably.
On the other hand, its identity as a “streaming” player is deeply flawed. The app selection is critically outdated, and the software is prone to glitches, lag, and, according to a significant number of users, catastrophic long-term failure. Therefore, we can only recommend this player to a very specific user: someone with a non-smart 1080p TV who needs a great disc player and will only ever use Netflix, YouTube, or the USB port. For everyone else, a better solution exists. If you need a robust streaming experience, pair the simpler, non-Wi-Fi Sony S1700 with a modern streaming stick. If you have a 4K TV, invest in a 4K player like the UBP-X700. The BDP-S3700 tries to be a bridge between two worlds but ultimately feels stranded in the past.
If you’ve decided the Sony BDP-S3700 Wi-Fi Streaming Blu-Ray Player is the right fit for your specific needs, you can check its current price and purchase it here.
Last update on 2025-10-12 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API