Sony BDP-S350 Blu-ray Player (1 Viewer)

[Joseph Bolus]

Bryan,

Thanks for that review! It wasn't what I wanted to hear, though *sigh*. I've *got* to get a Blu-ray player before October, and I thought this would be my best bet. But I've also got to have a player that will provide good upconversion for my current extensive DVD library. (I only want one player in the rack.) It sure would be nice if Toshiba would get off their high horse and release a Blu-ray player ...

 

[Tim Glover]

Thanks to Bryan and Phil for their review of Sony's 350 Blu-ray player. I just picked one up for my bedroom setup.

I'll post some of my thoughts a little later in terms of comparing it to my beloved Sony ES Blu-ray player for which I had to pay some serious change for as well as a testical.

Stay tuned!

 

[Larry Sutliff]

Geez, that's pricey.

I'm also considering getting the S550 when it's released in the fall. This way I can use the analog outs and keep my still excellent Denon AVR-3805. I've got to mull this over. This will be my third BD player(not counting the two HD DVD players I have). Very pricey. But I still have my testicles(I think).

 

[Nick P]

Wow, that gives a whole new meaning to the term Blu(e)-Balls.

 

[Phil Iturralde]

Pre-order (if you liked the movies) "Transformers" & "Iron Man"!

Available now (from my Blu-ray collection):

DTS HD Master Audio:
1) I, Robot (Great DEMO!!!)
2) Independence Day (that is if you like that movie, ... which I do!!! - another Great DEMO!!!)
3) Flyboys (another Great DEMO!!!)

TrueHD:
1) Spiderman 3
2) The Fifth Element (Re-Issue)
3) The Hunt for Red October (Great DEMO!!! - sub effects, ... )
4) Sum of All Fear
5) Legend of Zorro

PCM 5.1 Uncompressed Surround:
1) Bridge to Terabithia

NOTE: Since the early Blu-ray disc have had production issues (i.e. The Fifth Element first release was a disaster which required a Re-Issue), I'd recommend reading the Blu-ray Movie review @ HighDefDigest! All the Blu-ray disc I put on my HT Website (linked below) links to their respective review @ HighDefDigest (or DVDTalk, HTF, etc.)

Have fun discovering your speakers/sub again!!!
Phil

 

[Tim Glover]

Good summary Phil. I will add this. I've had TrueHD capability since Sept. 2006 and DTS-MA since last November when I got my Onkyo 805 Receiver. Sometimes the differences between Dolby Digital Plus and TrueHD is minor. Noticeable, yes, but sometimes minor. What I often find in TrueHD, DTS-MA, and PCM 5.1 tracks is more natural dialouge and the LFE channel. The bass is not only a little bit stronger, but tighter.

I also like my sound when bitstreaming to my receiver. Not everyone is sold on the differences but they're there.

Regarding the Sony s350 Blu player, I will agree with many here and other forums that report poor sd-dvd playback. That's one of the best reasons I have for keeping my Tosh A-35 with the Anchor Bay chip.

Maybe one day someone will make a Blu-ray player that also excels at standard dvd too?....without costing me my remaining man jewell.

 

[Phil Iturralde]

I'm sure one day for around $249.00 (or less ), we'll get a Profile 1.1/2.0 Blu-ray player that also excels w/SD DVD conversion also!!?!?

Phil

 

[DavidJ]

Thanks for posting this Phil as it is a good read, but based on the article and the parts of the article that you posted I am not sure your conclusion or at least the "tone" of your conclusion is supported (I hope I'm phrasing that correctly so that you understand my meaning). It seems that they all noticed, as they phrased it, a subtle difference between 488 kbps and the original. This was on an extremely high-end system and not a modest setup. I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you, but I think people's expectations should be more modest especially when taking into account different listening acuities.

Do I think high-res audio is worth it? Absolutely!!! I teach a course in audio production and lecture on high-res audio including some class experiments. And the article does a great job at showing how good these new codecs are. Special note should be given to the fact that in a true scientific test, none of them could tell the difference between Dolby Digital Plus and the original. Regardless, it great that we get to enjoy this hobby at a time with such great technology available to us.

 

[Phil Iturralde]

Try to tell that to the gentleman that uses separates to power each speaker and $$$ cables to connect his 7.1 HT Speakers!!!

My family and friends (including previous clients) are people with tight budgets - especially living in Silicon Valley where the cost of living is higher!

I'm just surprized (using my example) how implementing a simple, 3-Measurement Location Calibration System** can IMPROVE the OVERALL 360-degree seamless surround soundstage w/greater clarity and depth! You don't have to spend $799+ (think my ole' Yamaha RX-V1300) to achieve sonic bliss w/HD audio with the right speakers anymore, and products that utilize the Audyssey system makes it possible for modest HT Systems (like my $369.66 TX-SR606) to compare and hear those subtle differences.

**Onkyo TX-SR606 Audyssey System:
1) 2EQ: Measures 3 room positions, uses a basic resolution filter for the satellites. - Amazing results!!!

2) Dynamic EQ maintains consistent bass response, tonal balance and surround impression. - This is even more amazing!

Thanks for contributing David!
Phil

 

[Bryan X]

Thanks for the suggestions on movies Phil. After trying multiple Best Buys, I finally found a Pioneer 1018 (dang BB employees didn't update their inventory when they sold their last 1018s so the internet gave me false information regarding which BBs to try).

Anyway, I just got it hooked up and I am really looking forward to tyring out some lossless audio tonight. It will kinda be a down-and-dirty trial, though, because I haven't run MCACC yet. It's getting late and I want to start the movie. Unfortunately I didn't see your list of suggested movies until I got home from my buying spree, so I'm stuck with watching Ghost Rider tonight for my lossless debut. Is that bad? Wouldn't be my first choice if I had more time, but hey, what are ya gonna do?

 

[DavidJ]

No problem. I enjoy the dialog. And Bryan I hope you enjoy your new toys. Let us know what you think as you spend time with them.

 

[Geo Gabor]

FYI, Amazon now has the S350 for $295.

I've been thinking of upgrading to Blu-Ray for a month or so, and have been doing research and waiting for prices to come down. So the new price on the S350 is an incentive. But I still have a couple of newbie-type questions that I hope someone can answer. Sorry if these are basic questions, but the more I learn about all this stuff, the more confused I get!

First: I'm worried about the video quality of my SD-DVDs. People have mentioned that the upconversion for SD-DVDs on the S350 is not that great. So I'm wondering if there's a Blu-Ray player that has the same general features as the S350 that does the upconversion any better. Also, do the upconverted SD-DVDs on the S350 look any worse than they would on a standard DVD player? I'm using a Sony DVP-NS975V.

Second: what's up with needing to add more memory just to get the firmware upgrade to 2.0, as Bryan X indicated in a post a while back on this thread? That seems pretty lame. If that's indeed what I need to do, where does that thumb drive plug in? Internally or externally? And then does it stay plugged in for the life of the player?

Third: Sony's webpage seems to show that the only difference between and S350 and the S550 is that the S550 will have the 7.1 outputs (and possibly on on-board memory issue). Is that correct? As a follow-up, since I'm planning to upgrade my receiver as well and have my new receiver decode the audio, do I really need to care about the 7.1 outputs? Would there be any other reason for me to spend the extra $$$ for the S550?

Thanks tons for any help in answering these questions. I might have other questions later!

 

[Phil Iturralde]

I have not really compared the BDP-S350 vs. the BDP-S550 but you're correct to reason on the fact that with a new AVR that decodes HiDef Audio, ... getting a Blu-ray player w/7.1 outputs would be moot!

Hope this helps,
Phil

 

[Geo Gabor]

Thanks, Phil, for a detailed answer! That's exactly the type of info I was looking for. I think I'll be going Blu pretty soon with the S350.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I decided to pull the trigger and enter the world of BluRay. Amazon has the BDP-S350 on sale for $258 with free shipping, so I broke down and ordered one.

My receiver is an older Pioneer Elite with no HDMI inputs or capabilities to decode the newer lossless audio formats. I was leaning towards either the Sony S550 or Panasonic BDP55 that is coming out soon, but decided to forgo the audio for now -- DD5.1 and DTS 5.1 will still be quite acceptable for me. This unit costs only a little more than the Oppo 980H or 981H upconverting SD-DVD players I was considering, and I would not have benefited from the new audio formats there, either.

I will wait things out for a year or so and hope the manufacturers can make more improvements to future players, as well as reduce prices more. Then I can move this player to the bedroom eventually.

 

[Geo Gabor]

Scott - Did you have to do anything special to get that $258 price for the S350 at Amazon? I'm still seeing it listed as $295.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Geo,

I did not enter anything special to get that price. I just noticed yesterday morning a posting at AVS Forum about the price, and did a search for that model.

I notice the price is back to $295 this morning, so Amazon must have raised the price again. I have already received an order confirmation for the lower price, though. Below is a copy of the pertinent section from the confirmation email I received:

Shipping estimate for these items: September 29, 2008 1 "Sony BDP-S350 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player"
Electronics; $258.37

Sold by: Amazon.com LLC

 

[Geo Gabor]

You have done well, Grasshopper!

It looks like Amazon can't seem to settle down on a price for the S350. Now it's up to $340. That's four different prices in the past week. I guess they don't want to remain competitive with digitalmegastore, which now has the lowest price (according to Nextag), which is $290.

 

[HRD-DHC]

Possibly they use a dynamic pricing model, though, which as orders come in (or don't) they change the price.

Let's say I have tons of data on buying behavior, as Amazon probably does. I plan on selling and reordering about 90 S350s per month through my store (call it 3/day). On Day 1-3, I sell 9 at my target price of $300. Then a few reviews come out, and I sell, in the next two days, 18 more. Wow. So I raise the price to $400, and my orders drop over the next three days, but only to 2/day.

So given the buzz, I can sell 9/day at $300, or 2/day at $400...I can extrapolate to my target sales (and profit maximizing) rate.

Depending on their holdings, they could update prices hourly, even. Gas stations seem to do this as well, since a price I see locally in the morning is almost always different by day's end.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

The S350 player arrived yesterday -- amazing since I just received the shipping notice on Wednesday. Unfortunately, the HDMI cable I also ordered has not shipped yet, so I could not install the player last night.

Do any local brick and mortar stores sell inexpensive HDMI cables, or do they just carry the outrageously-priced ones, ala Monster Cable?