Sony BDP-S350 Blu-ray Player

JimJasper · 06-28-2008, 09:19 PM

To be released "Summer" of 2008. Eager.

From Sony's website, I've emailed some specifically Sony "Blu-ray" reps about release dates about two weeks ago, and they haven't emailed me back yet. I went to Sony's contact customer support section, chose sales, and did an online chat with one of their sale's reps, but he didn't know the release date either.

Anyway, the reason for this post is if anyone finds any early reviews or release dates please post links.

Also, I found this chart of high def DVD players, refer to it frequently, & thought some of you guys would like it as well:
Master List Of Blu-ray Players

Jim

Bryan X · 08-09-2008, 06:30 PM

I bought the s350 today. It's my first Blu-ray player. I haven't had a chance to watch anything on it yet. I only picked up two discs-- POTC- AWE and Flatliners. I would have gotten more, but the discs at Best Buy are way overpriced.

I have a Toshiba A3 HD-DVD player too and I'm anxious to compare it and the S350 regarding SD upconversion.

Patrick_S · 08-12-2008, 08:47 PM

Bryan, So what are your thoughts on this player?

PattyFraser · 08-13-2008, 04:16 PM

Yes. I'm especially anxious to hear about the standard def upconversion. From the few posts I've seen ( only 2 on Amazon discussion forum to address this) it's getting marks far below the HD DVD players for upconversion. I don't have one of those and have no plans to try to scrounge one up. I'm very interested in this player, or possibly the upcoming 550.

Bryan X · 08-13-2008, 04:39 PM

Overall, I'm really happy with the S350. The power-on and load times are better than my Toshiba A3, but it's still nowhere near as quick as a standard DVD player. But I wasn't expecting it to be either. It's fast enough where it's not really an issue. There's a quick-start option that you can enable that will make start-up even faster, but I haven't turned it on.

The PQ is great. No complaints there at all. The contrast seemed a little low initially, but running video essentials fixed that. The PQ is equal to what I had with the Toshiba A3. Maybe someone with high-end equipment and a more discerning eye for these things could find issues, but I certainly couldn't (65" Mits DLP).

I'm not sure about the the upconversion yet. I haven't really watched any SD DVDs on it yet. My A3 handled those great, so I'll try to do some comparison tonight.

The reason I picked this up is that I was waiting on a profile 2.0 player at a decent price (I have no desire for a PS3). Between a coupon and gift cards for Best Buy, I got this pretty cheap. Out of the box this player is not 2.0, but will be made so with a firmware update later this year. Speaking of firmware, I updated the player's firmware out of the box and it worked flawlessly over the internet. Simple plug and play. No issues there at all.

In addition to a later firmware update to make this player 2.0, it doesn't have any onboard memory. So you have to buy a 1GB or larger USB thumb drive to plug into it to make it 2.0 compliant. It's not a big deal since those are pretty cheap, but it would have been nice for it to ship with the required memory. Be careful when buying a thumb drive for this player though, the USB port is recessed and most thumb drives will be too wide to fit. I had a 2GB Sandisk thumb drive laying around that I wanted to use, but it was too wide.

This player bitstreams Dolby True HD and DTS MA (and internally will decode Dolby True HD), but I don't have a receiver capable of processing those codecs so I haven't been able to try them out. My current receiver is only a few years old, so replacing it may not be in the cards quite yet.

I was surpised how small this player is. It's as wide as a typical component, but not as tall and not anywhere near as deep.

I'd certainly recommend the S350 to anyone looking for a good stand-alone profile 2.0 player.

**HTF Ads**

Patrick_S · 08-13-2008, 05:43 PM

Thanks for the review it sounds like a very nice player.

I figured that the USB key was for the resident storage and the price of a key is so cheap I don't think that is big deal.

I'm going to recommend this to a friend who has been waiting for a 2.0 machine.

Phil Iturralde · 08-13-2008, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryan X

Overall, I'm really happy with the S350. The power-on and load times are better than my Toshiba A3, but it's still nowhere near as quick as a standard DVD player. But I wasn't expecting it to be either. It's fast enough where it's not really an issue. There's a quick-start option that you can enable that will make start-up even faster, but I haven't turned it on.

The PQ is great. No complaints there at all. The contrast seemed a little low initially, but running video essentials fixed that. The PQ is equal to what I had with the Toshiba A3. Maybe someone with high-end equipment and a more discerning eye for these things could find issues, but I certainly couldn't (65" Mits DLP).

I'm not sure about the the upconversion yet. I haven't really watched any SD DVDs on it yet. My A3 handled those great, so I'll try to do some comparison tonight.

The reason I picked this up is that I was waiting on a profile 2.0 player at a decent price (I have no desire for a PS3). Between a coupon and gift cards for Best Buy, I got this pretty cheap. Out of the box this player is not 2.0, but will be made so with a firmware update later this year. Speaking of firmware, I updated the player's firmware out of the box and it worked flawlessly over the internet. Simple plug and play. No issues there at all.

In addition to a later firmware update to make this player 2.0, it doesn't have any onboard memory. So you have to buy a 1GB or larger USB thumb drive to plug into it to make it 2.0 compliant. It's not a big deal since those are pretty cheap, but it would have been nice for it to ship with the required memory. Be careful when buying a thumb drive for this player though, the USB port is recessed and most thumb drives will be too wide to fit. I had a 2GB Sandisk thumb drive laying around that I wanted to use, but it was too wide.

This player bitstreams Dolby True HD and DTS MA (and internally will decode Dolby True HD), but I don't have a receiver capable of processing those codecs so I haven't been able to try them out. My current receiver is only a few years old, so replacing it may not be in the cards quite yet.

I was surpised how small this player is. It's as wide as a typical component, but not as tall and not anywhere near as deep.

I'd certainly recommend the S350 to anyone looking for a good stand-alone profile 2.0 player.

Excellent review - I agree 100%! Like you, once I unpackaged and setup my BDP-S350, I updated the Firmware via the Internet / Ethernet port and it was Plug & Play!!!

I did buy the Onkyo TX-SR606 at the same time and I have both the BDP-S350 & HD-A35 connected to the TX-SR606 via HDMI!!!

Hearing DTS HD Master Audio along w/TrueHD is GREAT!!!

But the revelation with my new TX-SR606 was the REFERENCE Audio Calibration System via Audyssey 2EQ - the automatic calibration system that uses the included microphone to analyze the speakers' and subwoofers' sound from three positions in your room. It was relatively fast (10 mins from all 3-position SPL readings), accurate and super!!! Overall, I thought the final result with the Audyssey gave the audio a fuller sound with greater depth in the soundstage.

Anyway, the PNY Technologies 1GB USB stick fits in nicely in the back of the BDP-S350!

FYI: Change the following in:

1) Setup OPTION:

...a) SETUP / AUDIO SETTINGS / Audio DRC = "Wide Range" (pg. 45 in manual)

That's Sony's Option to TURN-OFF the Compression Circuitry!!! My unit default was "Auto".

Have fun,
Phil

Bryan X · 08-13-2008, 07:54 PM

So is DTS MA and Dobly True HD that noticeably different than DTS ES an DD EX? I looked at the 606 but not sure I can justify replacing my Pioneer 1014TK at this time (it's a great receiver except no HDMI and also has an automatic calibration system using a microphone-- but only from one position). Have you had any of the "hum" problems some have reported with the 606? I could get the 606 for $367 so it is tempting.

Thanks for the tip on the DRC. I had mine set on "auto" initially, but you and someone on another forum noted that "wide" is "off". So that's what I have it at now. Not real intuitive-- for me atleast.

Do you know if the 350 will pass Dolby True HD through the optical cable? It decodes it internally, so I thought maybe. But if I understand right, to get any of the lossless codecs you have to use HDMI. Do you know?

troy evans · 08-14-2008, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryan X

So is DTS MA and Dobly True HD that noticeably different than DTS ES an DD EX?

Oh Yes. It has the same effect for sound quality that Blu-ray has for picture quality. You don't need to rush to get a new receiver, but, when you do get one you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Phil Iturralde · 08-14-2008, 01:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryan X

So is DTS MA and Dobly True HD that noticeably different than DTS ES an DD EX?

Yes!!! Once you experience what your speakers can do with these High-Definition Audio formats, ... there's no turning back!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryan X

I looked at the 606 but not sure I can justify replacing my Pioneer 1014TK at this time (it's a great receiver except no HDMI and also has an automatic calibration system using a microphone-- but only from one position). Have you had any of the "hum" problems some have reported with the 606? I could get the 606 for $367 so it is tempting.

No - no problem with HUMM or HISS or any artifical noise when I'm playing my HD Movies @ -10 dBc below REF Level (w/approx. 106 dBc Fast LFE SPL Peaks)!

For kicks, I just put on the Blu-ray ID4 - DTS HD Master Audio, the final battle scene and turned-up the TX-SR606 volume to 55, which with this Blu-ray audio soundtrack turned out to be approx. -5 dBc below REF Level (w/approx. 1 Fast LFE SPL Fast Peak hitting 110dB

- most bombastic sub-sonic LFE SPL Fast Peaks around 103-107dB) and the sound didn't hardened up like my ole' Yamaha RX-V1300!!! Pressing PAUSE and the speakers were silent!!!

The 360-degree seamless surround sound was smooth around me, w/more distinct discrete effects, the dialog track was very clear, balanced to the action scenes around it, and it sounded like the Onkyo was breathing life into a very familiar movie soundtrack effortlessly!!!

It's just amazing what the Audyssey 2EQ equalized HT Sounds vs. a manually Referenced Audio Calibration (RS SPL Meter & Test Tone).

I can say that the claims that the Audyssey 2EQ takes into account the speakers, frequency response and HT room interaction during the 3-position measurement process does work, it's amazing!!! It just amazing!!!

I think some of the problems arose with a few TX-SR606 & PS3 HDMI combinations. I don't have a PS3 so I can't comment on that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryan X

Thanks for the tip on the DRC. I had mine set on "auto" initially, but you and someone on another forum noted that "wide" is "off". So that's what I have it at now. Not real intuitive-- for me atleast.

Do you know if the 350 will pass Dolby True HD through the optical cable? It decodes it internally, so I thought maybe.

Unfortunately no, since the optical cable has limited bandwidth.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryan X

But if I understand right, to get any of the lossless codecs you have to use HDMI. Do you know?

Your understanding is correct!!! Now you know why I also bought the Onkyo TX-SR606! Once I knew that my next Blu-ray player would not include 5.1/7.1 Analog OUTputs, ... I needed an AVR that can decode TrueHD & DTS HD Master Audio! Turns out the Onkyo has great quiet discrete AMPs x7, and Getting the Audyssey 2EQ/Dynamic EQ was the bonus extra cherry on the top!

Hope this helps,
Phil