A Blu-ray player [Sony BDP-S550] that will do EVERYTHING! (Verified) (2 Viewers)

[Chris Gerhard]

Oppo will make a Blu-ray player, there is nowhere else to go after the DV-983H just released. Whether or not it will play SACD and DVD-A is unclear but I expect it will. Denon will likely offer an expensive Blu-ray player with SACD and DVD-A support.

Chris

 

[Chris Gerhard]

Philips does not make a Blu-ray player that supports SACD, not yet at least. The Sony PS3 supporst SACD and the Panasonic DMP-BD10 supports DVD-A but no other Blu-ray players support either high resolution audio format. I don't think we will ever see a Blu-ray/HD DVD/SACD/DVD-A player. I do expect to see a couple of players that support everything except HD DVD.

Chris

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

I'm in the market for a Blue-ray and this may be it, but I have an older Mitsubishi CRT Rear Screen HD Television (1080i or 720p). It DOESN'T have HDMI input.

What kind of cable would I need to connect this player or another HDMI Blu-ray player to my set to optimize its performance?

Would it still upconvert standard DVDs?

At some point I will upgrade my HD TV, but I have loved it and it's still running bright and strong, and I do want a good Blu-ray player.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[PaulDA]

Component cable will deliver all the HD goodness Blu-ray can deliver to your TV BUT you will NOT get upconversion of SD DVD for about 98% of the cases.

 

[Nick Graham]

I'm still leaning toward the BD50. While I enjoy games for both it and my 360, I see myself eBaying the PS3 to help pay for it. I don't have any desire to upgrade my year-old Onkyo 604, and the 7.1 outputs on the Panny will give me the full 7.1 channels for the tracks that use it.

 

[Paul Hillenbrand]

Don't know how accurate the "Master List Of Blu-ray Players" is at (Idoblu.co.uk).:rolleyes

The list has the Panasonic DMP-BD50 with only 5.1 analog outs and both the Denon DVD3800BD & Pioneer BDP-05FD with no Ethernet port, making the two of them only profile 1.1 compliant!

The following model lists all capabilities:
Sony BDP-S550 = Cell processor = (Sigma SMP8634 RevC)

Update* Marantz BD8002 = Cell processor = (Panasonic UniPhier+Realta), Update: *(Profile 1.1 = No Ethernet)

Paul

 

[Robert Crawford]

Paul,
I'll be using the HDMI and not my analog for audio.





Crawdaddy

 

[PaulDA]

Analogue output is the critical feature for me--which is why the Sony and Panny (5.1 is all I need) are at the top of my list.

 

[Nick P]

If the 7.1 analog outputs are used from the BDP-S550 to my Denon 3802 would I get to take advantage of all the available audio options as opposed to using just the optical out?

 

[PaulDA]

If it works as advertised, then, yes. If your receiver has some fancy EQ function, you may not get to take advantage of that (very few receivers re-digitize the incoming analogue signal for further processing--mine does for bass management/time alignment, but not for anything else).

 

[Nick P]

Sounds good. This may be the player that gets me to make the leap into the world of Blu Ray.

 

[Michael Harris]

I've been using a Sony 7700 for years now and with this one coming out, looks like it will finally be retired. Finally it looks like I'll be ahead of the power curve rather than behind.

 

[Camper]

I keep wondering............

why did Panasonic take the kickoff run 99 1/2 yards and fumble the ball with the BD 50.

Why did they not include 7.1 out??
It's 2.0, it decodes everything, it streams everything but they leave out a 7.1 analog out for what reason? Because of this alone--I'm going to have to wait till 'Q3' to switch to Blu ray. And the Panasonic is $100 more msrp??

Didn't they know that lots of folks of quality, advanced receivers that they bought just before the new HD sound formats debuted?

 

[Robert George]

There are indeed many high quality receivers that are not HDMI 1.3. However, ANY receiver that is not HDMI 1.3, by definition, cannot be considered "advanced". Advanced audio formats are designed to be used with advanced audio components. There is some degree of backward compatibility, but full feature support requires newer designs.

That is just life in the world of technology.

 

[Camper]

^ So you choose to ignore the point of my post---
why Panasonic left out a 7.1 analog out from their upcoming 2.0 player---
to quibble over my use of the word 'advanced' when referring to my receiver???
Brilliantly pathetic.

I have a fairly new Denon receiver that performs flawlessly, that was engineered with new sound formats in mind when their built the 7.1 input in their machines and that was very expensive.

Sony went the extra distance to include a 7.1 output & Panasonic did not.
I wonder how many unit sales they have to lose because of lewaving out that feature before they consider it a mistake--especially since their MSRP is higher than the Sony model.

Thank god, I only bump into smarmy smart alecky people like this on the web rather than in real life. I guess being a 'know-it-all' doesn't play so well in person.

 

[PaulDA]

We're not all like that (to be fair, sometimes what one writes can come across differently than was originally intended--not a defence of a particular post, merely an observation). I don't personally need a 7.1 output now, but it is nice for those who can use it. And I agree that, on specs, the Sony offers a better deal. It is the front runner for my first "blu" player, at any rate.

 

[Camper]

^Yeah I know most folks here aren't like that. I didn't mean to imply they were.
But I thought it was clear the Panny player was the point of my post NOT what constituted an 'advanced' receiver. No one who purchases a piece of electronics in 2002 expects it to be state of the art in 2008.

Perhaps the fact that the Panny is coming out 3 or 4 months ahead of the Sony makes them think they'll get a lot of early sales. And who knows how many people are in my spot. I got a wife and 3 kids. Spending $450 on a new 2.0 Blu ray player is a big enough expense--I sure as hell ain't gonna spend another $1000 on a new denon receiver with DD TrueHD & DTS MA.
Especially if I can plug a Blu ray player right into the back of my current machine and get the new sound formats just as well!!!

Heck I might even buy the Panny if the price fell far-enough, fast-enough.
Not that many Blu ray discs have 6.1 or 7.1 soundtracks yet anyway.
But with the competition dead i doubt the prices will fall too far.
And I sure as hell ain't spending $300 on a cheap Funai or Hu-dey Blu ray player.

 

[Jeff Robertson]

The specs list a USB port for external storage also. This is a feature I was hoping my BDP-S500 had. Does anyone know if it will support NTFS formatted drives? I sure hope it does something better than FAT32.

 

[Robert G]

Does anyone know if this unit will provide any kind of bass management for the 7.1 analog outs. Thanks.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

Still no more specific dates than "fall"?