A Blu-ray player [Sony BDP-S550] that will do EVERYTHING! (Verified) (1 Viewer)

[BrianM]

This may be a dumb question but does anyone know if it will also play DVD-A and SACD? Does the PS3 play DVD-A or SACD?

 

[Jordan_E]

Only certain players do SACD on the PS3. My launch day 20G plays them, but newer models dropped that feature.

 

[Paul.S]

And no PS3 plays DVD-A. And I think SA-CD playback is via HDMI only.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

What does this refer to?

 

[Chris Gerhard]

No Sony player of any kind plays DVD-A, other than the DVD-V portion of the discs. Some PS3 models play SACD, others don't. No 40GB PS3 plays SACD and all 20GB and all 60GB models do. Apparently the recent version of the 80GB model does not play SACD, but my 80GB from a year ago does. It will depend on what model SACD you are interested in, but we can get you an answer before you purchase. If you want Blu-ray/SACD/DVD-A in a single player, the upcoming Oppo may do that, but it is uncertain at this time.

Chris

 

[Kevin Stewart]

In cases you haven't seen it yet, the 550 is now on sonystyle and comes with this disclaimer:

DTS-HD decoding function will be provided by firmware update

 

[Paul McElligott]

Well, that just firms up my decision to go with the 350 and a new receiver.

 

[MarkHastings]

The ethernet port will allow the update, so no biggie; I'm still very interested.

Can't wait to see what the price will be and hopefully Circuit City gets it soon so I can use my 8% off voucher from AAA.

 

[RobertR]

I'm very annoyed by this. It certainly puts a big dent in the thread title. Why is it so damn difficult for these companies to get it right the first time? If Panasonic can do it, why not Sony?

 

[Paul.S]

Agreed re annoyance. IMO we should be past the point--at nearly two-and-a-half years after the launch of the format--wherein a major manuf is not providing DTS-HD MA out-of-the-box. At the very least they should be referring to the format by its proper name at their Website.

 

[MarkHastings]

I don't think this was on the SONY site before, but it now shows a price of $499

 

[GlennH]

How stupid is it that SACD, a Sony product, isn't supported by all of their players?

 

[Paul.S]

Don't even get me/us (read: vets of the high rez aud format "wars") started. (The "comedy" arguably all began with single layer SA-CDs of non-DSD recordings by Sony artists that were supposed to drive Sony hardware sales, but didn't).

Now, in "fairness," leading DVD Forum member Toshiba never incorporated DVD-Audio playback in any of three generations' worth of HD DVD players either. :rolleyes

 

[Chris Gerhard]

It would be stupid if consumers wanted SACD playback with the BDP-S550 and were willing to pay for it. They don't want it and aren't willing to pay for it and therefore the added cost would be a waste. Any added cost for SACD, license fees paid to Philips and the rest, would be rather stupid and Sony has made a very basic and easy business decision to not waste further money providing SACD playback that consumers don't want. The smartest move Sony can make is offer the BDP-S550 and BDP-S350 at the best possible price and with that make sure the players are great Blu-ray players first and offer good DVD playback second. Hopefully Blu-ray music releases, classical and popular both are coming and that format can actually be a success. I have about 200 SACD's and several players and wish the format had caught on, but what I wish for doesn't always happen.

Chris

 

[Paul.S]

I understand that perspective, Chris, but respectfully disagree with some of it as you've expressed it here. I'll endeavor to largely leave it at that since it's been discussed elsewhere at length and it's not really the subject of the thread.

I (foolishly) predict that, in about 12 to 18 months, Oppo will 'stupidly' release a player that does "everything" (except probably HD DVD)--at a price point at or below Sony's current least expensive standalone BD player--and it will sell at least as well as Oppo's current 'universal' player.

 

[Chris Gerhard]

I hope you are right about the Oppo Blu-ray/SACD/DVD-A player, but you are going to have to show me where you get information that it will be priced less than the BDP-S550, never mind the BDP-S350. What you are suggesting doesn't appear possible to me.

Chris

 

[Paul.S]

Well, I don't "have" to show you anything but you're welcome to drop by and I'll escort you through the consumer electronics wing of my voluminous Vault Of Great Expectations and Wishful Thinking.

Seriously, Chris, I think my use of the words "(foolishly)" and "predict" indicate that I'm engaging in some prognostication/speculation/soothsaying here. "[W]here I get [my] information" is the aforementioned Vault.

However, having said that, the Oppo DV-980H--available for $169 from Music Direct--sets a fabulous precedent. I'm particularly interested in the differences between that price point and other current SA-CD-capable players (they're generally more expensive than that). With both some of the predictions in the trade press about BD market growth and downward pressure on BD player prices in mind, I don't think it is unfathomable for Oppo to bring a BD/SA-CD/DVD-A player to market in maybe 18 months at a price point that is similarly lower than some (many?) of the BD standalones we'll see at that time.

 

[Chris Gerhard]

I have the Oppo DV-980H and love it and a Blu-ray player based on that would be a good player, no doubt. Let's hope Oppo can do it in the future. The prototype player shown at CEDIA was not based on the DV-980H, it was a much more expensive design and didn't include the DVD-A logo, so that is an unknown.

Chris

 

[Paul.S]

For the I think third time, I'm referring to/speculating based upon precedent about prospects in the 12/18(/24?) month future. There is plenty of precedent (compare the prices of the S1 to the 350, or the original BD10 to the BD50 or even 30) for decks in this market space costing way less now than they did 18 months ago.

From the Firmer Than "Unknown" Yet Still Not Clear file: the picture is too blurry to confirm but the text says the Oppo BDP-S83 sports a DVD-A logo. The response from Oppo to inquiries for more details states in pertinent part, "We are investigating the possibility of DVD-Audio support."

CEDIA 2008: Oppo BDP-S83 Blu-ray Player May Be First (Almost) Universal Disc Reader

The wheels are already moving in the direction I'm crystal spitballing about.

 

[Chris Gerhard]

Of course you get to see whatever you want to see in your crystal ball, mine doesn't show a Blu-ray/SACD/DVD-A player for less than the Sony BDP-S350 or whatever low price Blu-ray player Sony offers at the time any universal player is offered. One significant point regarding the fact Sony doesn't offer SACD playback in any stand alone Blu-ray player might be the fact that Sony has never and apparently will never support DVD-A. This of course is one reason the upcoming Oppo player will be more popular if it can include both. I suspect most people that have an SACD collection also own a DVD-A collection and a player that only covers one of the two formats would be less useful.

My point stands, Sony doesn't offer SACD playback with stand alone Blu-ray players as a business decision to keep the player price lower. I expect Sony will completely discontinue SACD playback in all future PS3 consoles as well for the same reason. It was a nice gesture to include it in 7 or 8 million PS3 consoles sold, but I bet most owners don't use their PS3 for SACD and almost none purchased a PS3 because it included SACD.

Chris