Sony BDP S350 1080p Blu ray Disc Player
Sony BDP S350 1080p Blu ray Disc Player
The BDP-S350 models support BonusView (picture-in-picture) featured on some of the Blu-ray Disc theatrical releases. The BDP-S350 models are BD-Live ready featuring an Ethernet port for an easy firmware update and access to Internet-based interactive content features. They also feature an external port for local storage, so users can add optional flash-based memory. The players feature 1080/60p and 24p True Cinema output. They are compatible with most standard DVDs and feature 1080p upscaling through an HDMI connection to capable HDTV sets, improving the picture performance of existing DVD libraries.The BDP-S350 models offer 7.1 channel Dolby TrueHD and Dolby digital plus decoding and bit-stream output, as well as dts-HD high resolution audio and master audio bit-stream output. The players support AVCHD discs encoded with x.v.Color (xvYCC) technology, an international standard for wide color space reproduction. The standard expands the current data range of video by about 1.8 times, allowing the players to output more natural and vivid colors similar to what the human eye can actually see. The players also feature compatibility with an array of video formats, including BD-R/RE (BDMV and BDAV modes), DVD+R/+RW, DVD-R/-RW (video mode), CD, CD-R/RW (CD-DA format), and JPEG on DVD/CD recordable media.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Great unit for the price
There are many reviews listed here that provides the virtues and shortcomings (not too many) of this player, so I will not get into the details. I’ve been using this unit for a week or so, and it’s my first blu-ray player.
It has excellent looks, not too loud, amazing picture and sound. Working Ethernet (firmware updates) and USB ports. (I haven’t had to download any firmware or code updates, but I’m sure it’ll work fine.)
No fan noise, no noise while playing, but during menu & loading, I hear some track-seeking which is audible at 5 feet. Nothing too unpleasant. A great unit for the price.
3 Stars not what I expected
The player works great but I expected more out of Sony. The does does not have the option for slow motion or frame advancing. Other than that I quite pleased with the picture quality. Sony BDP-S350 1080p
5 Stars Awesome Blu-ray player
Got it for an older friend who was a bit skeptical about the blu-ray technology. After he got it, he noticed a huge difference and is hooked. And if he’s hooked, that’s good enough for me, since he’s a picky kind of guy.
5 Stars Fast and Responsive
The BDP-S350 is about a year old, and is showing no sign of slowing down at the moment. Thanks to the fact that all BD players are upgradable, the latest firmware upgrade for S350 has rendered it compatible with the most recent Blu-ray titles.
Although the loading time for S350 can’t compete with a Playstation 3, it is probably one of the fastest machines in the market. Loading time for earlier BD titles is as fast as most DVDs, while newer titles takes less than a minute to play.
The picture quality of this player depends alot on the quatlity of the source, as most BD and DVD players, but from what I can see so far, the S350 performs the best 1080 upscaling for DVDs. Since my S350 was purchased in Singapore, the player is shipped without DVD region lock so I can put any DVD into the machine right out of the box.
When paired with the cosmetically matching HT-SF2300, the current firmware decodes every kind of audio stream into LPCM and feeds it straight into the SF2300. There is no option to turn this feature off at the moment, as in to output the original bit stream. This may be a turn off for some prospective buyers. The S350 also outputs a blank 5.1 LPCM flag when the source disc is in pause mode so the SF2300 doesn’t switch to analog or idle mode when the S350 is in pause. Anyone who owns the HT-SF2300 or any low end Hi-Fi receiver knows it is quite annoying when your receiver goes idle and then tries to resume decoding when the BD/DVD player resumes playback. You tend lose a second or two of the sound.
The xcross graphic user interface is very pleasant to the eyes, and easy to navigate through. Too bad the xcross menu does not appear to be in high definition; the text and graphic look very soft under my 40″ screen.
Highly recommended for speed and responsiveness, especially considering the price tag.
4 Stars Mostly happy, but wish it had just one more feature
Generally I’m very happy with this player. I got it at a good price at Best Buy a few months ago. I don’t even have a hi-def TV yet, and I can already see a difference in the picture with Blu-Ray discs on a regular TV.
I purchased the Blu-Ray of “Amadeus”, and even when viewed on a regular TV through the BD player it looks FABULOUS!
The remote is easy to navigate with, and the menu screens on the TV (via the player) are neither too complex nor overly-elaborate.
I don’t have the player hooked up to an Internet cable yet for all the firmware updates, Blu-Ray Live features, etc, but that’s not really my thing anyway. I just want the movies I watch to look cool!
The only drawback I see is that there is no frame-by-frame advance feature. I didn’t see anything about that feature on any published or online literature for this model, so I just crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. No luck in that department, I guess.
If you’ve read a lot of reviews of BD players, you’ve no doubt heard about various “start-up times”, or how long it takes the player to read and start playing a Blu-Ray disc. Yes, it can often be slower than a standard DVD, but it isn’t so long as to be a deal-breaker.
Overall, I’m very happy with this player’s performance — even if it doesn’t have frame advance. You can REALLY tell the difference between standard DVD and Blu-Ray discs even if you don’t have a hi-def TV yet.
Christmas is just around the corner. Think I’ll buy me a plasma TV to go along with my S350. Bring some beer and you can come over and we’ll watch some Blu-Ray movies! First up — “Blade Runner” and “The Fall”. And when and if “Jaws” ever comes out on Blu-Ray, be advised that I’m taking the phone off the hook when I watch it.
