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post #151 of 245

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

Boss - sounds as though this Sony is a winner. I am hearing the sound is noticeably better than Dolb Dig or DTS thru coax or optical. I also have a non HDMI equipped Yamaha Reciever. Now I just need to order.
post #152 of 245

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

Is it absolutely definitely certain this player decodes DTS-HD MA and outputs over the analog 7.1 connections? I have seen too many claims both ways, with a big majority claiming yes, and I am hoping for a final definitive answer.

Chris
post #153 of 245

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

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Gerhard
Is it absolutely definitely certain this player decodes DTS-HD MA and outputs over the analog 7.1 connections? I have seen too many claims both ways, with a big majority claiming yes, and I am hoping for a final definitive answer.

Chris

YES.
Set the "Audio Output Priority" to "multi channel analog" and the "BD audio" setting to "direct"
post #154 of 245

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

Chris...
Paul Hillenbrand posted the owners manual link on post # 120...go to page 66 and check out the audio output chart and you will see under multi-channel output that Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD, and DTS-HD Master are all output through the 7.1 channel outputs. That is how I have mine set up and it works great. I need to find a dvd recorded in DTS-Master 7.1 channel to really put it to the test.
Hope this helps. Be sure to thank Paul because I read that owners manual link before I purchased mine.
Good Luck
BOSS Hogg
post #155 of 245

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

Quote:
Originally Posted by Boss Hogg
Chris...
Paul Hillenbrand posted the owners manual link on post # 120...go to page 66 and check out the audio output chart and you will see under multi-channel output that Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD, and DTS-HD Master are all output through the 7.1 channel outputs. That is how I have mine set up and it works great. I need to find a dvd recorded in DTS-Master 7.1 channel to really put it to the test.
Hope this helps. Be sure to thank Paul because I read that owners manual link before I purchased mine.
Good Luck
BOSS Hogg
I'd recommend Forbidden Kingdom. It will give your 7.1 setup a real workout....
post #156 of 245

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

Thanks guys, I don't own the player or I would have known first hand.

Chris
post #157 of 245

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

So, you can't advance frame by frame with this machine? Huh?
post #158 of 245

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

Quote:
Originally Posted by ScottR
So, you can't advance frame by frame with this machine? Huh?
Nope.
post #159 of 245

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

That sucks.
post #160 of 245

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

Quote:
Originally Posted by Grant H
Someone at AVS claims to have taken apart both the new Sony and the new Panasonic and claims the Sony has better power supplies and a better analog section. This surprised me because Panasonic has always mentioned the high quality audio components in the 55 and Sony has not made a big to-do about the 550 audio section.
Has this ever been confirmed, better build quality in the Sony as opposed to the Panasonic? Right now on Amazon, the Panny is $70 more than the Sony.
post #161 of 245

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

Stranger things have happened.
post #162 of 245

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

I just ordered this from Amazon with free shipping. Total cost=$329.99.
post #163 of 245

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

Quote:
Originally Posted by ScottR
I just ordered this from Amazon with free shipping. Total cost=$329.99.
You went from "that sucks" to buying it Now I'm tempted to go for the Sony and cancel my Panasonic order.
post #164 of 245

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

Yeah, I did. It does suck about the remote, but it's not the most important thing. I am so excited!!!
post #165 of 245

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

Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny Angell
Has this ever been confirmed, better build quality in the Sony as opposed to the Panasonic? Right now on Amazon, the Panny is $70 more than the Sony.

Better build quality is a subjective opinion and I don't know how that can be known clearly for years. Both the BDP-S550 and DMP-BD55 are complete players at a much lower price than I thought possible this quickly so about all we can do is hope both are well built and durable. Better power supply and better DAC's could be identified but other factors won't be clear for months maybe years is what I would expect.

Chris
post #166 of 245

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

Quote:
Originally Posted by ScottR
Yeah, I did. It does suck about the remote, but it's not the most important thing. I am so excited!!!
Since Amazon won't do post-sale price adjustments anymore, I canceled the Panny and ordered the Sony. That price difference will get me the Harryhousen collection at Xmas.

BTW, according to the website it's still in stock and should arrive Wednesday.
post #167 of 245

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

Has anyone been able to get this player to play 4x3 encoded DVDs in the proper aspect ratio? I can't find a setting that will enable this. When I play one the image gets stretched to fill the 16x9 screen.

There's an option to play 16x9 DVDs on a 4x3 screen in either lettbox or P&S, but not the other way around.

I hope this is possible, otherwise I need to keep my old DVD player hooked up.
post #168 of 245

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

Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul D G
Has anyone been able to get this player to play 4x3 encoded DVDs in the proper aspect ratio? I can't find a setting that will enable this. When I play one the image gets stretched to fill the 16x9 screen.

There's an option to play 16x9 DVDs on a 4x3 screen in either letterbox or P&S, but not the other way around.

I hope this is possible, otherwise I need to keep my old DVD player hooked up.

Yes. There is a setting in the setup menu for this. Under "Screen Format", select "Fixed Aspect Ratio" instead of the default "Original". The wording in the manual is very poor, but this setting should windowbox 4x3 material instead of stretching it.
post #169 of 245

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

Quote:
Originally Posted by Scott Merryfield
Yes. There is a setting in the setup menu for this. Under "Screen Format", select "Fixed Aspect Ratio" instead of the default "Original". The wording in the manual is very poor, but this setting should windowbox 4x3 material instead of stretching it.

Finally got around to investigating this. Yep, changing the Screen Format option worked. It seems to me, setting to Original would apply to the original format of the disc, and Fixed implies everything plays with the same aspect ratio (ie 16x9), but the opposite is true.

And yes, the manual is badly written for this.
post #170 of 245

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

I love this player! The dvd upscaling is also great. WOW!
post #171 of 245

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

Should I buy this or the Panasonic 55?
post #172 of 245

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

Quote:
Originally Posted by Yumbo
Should I buy this or the Panasonic 55?

I think both are great based on what I have read but if you are concerned about not getting the best of the two or not getting the best deal, you should wait. More reviews on both players will be available soon and probably lower prices the way Blu-ray player prices have been dropping. If I was going to buy right now, it would be the BDP-S550, I have seen the best deals on it. I have the little brother, the BDP-S350 clone BDP-BX1 and think it is very good.

Chris
post #173 of 245

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

Quote:
Originally Posted by ScottR
I love this player! The dvd upscaling is also great. WOW!

I don't have any experiences with other upconverting players other then my Toshiba HD-A35 which looks terrific with upconversion. How does the Sony BDP-S550 compare, if anyone has both machines?

And I am hoping this machine's latest firmware will be or has been confirmed to be able to handle the James Bond Blu Ray discs? If so, I'll sit it out a little longer and hope this machine's street price might get a tad better so it will be a holiday gift to myself as my first BD player.
post #174 of 245

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

I don't have both machines but I compared the SD of Spiderman 3 to the BD and the SD looks like a slightly fuzzier version of the BD. If I weren't so video savy I wouldn't have noticed all that much of a difference. Anyway, the SD picture is very smooth.
post #175 of 245

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

Thanks Scott. Sounds like if I compared an HD-DVD and SD disc of the same movie, the results would be like how you described.
post #176 of 245

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

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nelson Au
Thanks Scott. Sounds like if I compared an HD-DVD and SD disc of the same movie, the results would be like how you described.

Not with this player it wouldn't. This player will do much better with a DVD and 100% of those in a double blind study would agree.

Chris
post #177 of 245

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

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Gerhard
Not with this player it wouldn't. This player will do much better with a DVD and 100% of those in a double blind study would agree.

Chris

Thanks for that reply Chris. If you're not kidding with me (Doulbe blind test! ), then that is great news. I didn't get a good sense of the upconversion capability of standard def DVD's based on some less then satisfied comments from reviewers at Amazon for this machine. And I figure members here are better educated to be able to review the machine's ability.

Now all I need to know is if the firmware is or has been confirmed to handle the James Bond discs. And hopefully future discs!
post #178 of 245

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

I was noticing in the quick start guide that component hookup only supports 1080i while HDMI is required for 1080p. Is this typical? Can't make my mind up if I want to hook it up with component while I wait for my HDMI cable to arrive.
post #179 of 245
Thread Starter 

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

Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny Angell
I was noticing in the quick start guide that component hookup only supports 1080i while HDMI is required for 1080p. Is this typical?
Yes, for the moment. Studios are allowing 1080i analog as the maximum resolution at this point in time because early adopters who purchased their 1st generation televisions don't have digital (HDMI) input capability for high-definiton sources.

There is always the possibility that the ICT (Image Constraint Token) option may be used and sent in a firmware update or when a Blu-ray disc is authored that can and will limit the analog picture to 480P (cut 1080i off entirely), if activated for Studio copy protection concerns.

Paul
post #180 of 245

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

I've been following this thread for a long long time but am I reading correctly that most are now considering the Sony over the Panny due to the price and upconversion capabilities? I had a Sony S300 and it seemed to do a much better job with upconverision than my newer Panny BD50. I've been waiting to buy my third machine for the HD Audio Decoding capabilities but the quality of the upconversion is also important. Has anyone been able to compare the two?
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