Sony BDP-S300 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player Review

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(More customer reviews)Not exactly a product review as you already have dozens of them. If you are undecided because of some of the negative things said, let me show you the light. It's blu!
I bought this player with the 2.0 firmware and it was great. Yes, it did take a very long time to load Pirates of the Caribbean - almost 3 full minutes. That is due to the disc heavily using Java (BD-J) for interactivity. I flash update to new firmware in about 10 minutes. See Sony's web site for the firmware and carefully follow the instructions. They will even provide you with the disc.
Keep in mind these things are essentially customized single purpose computers. The firmware is simply reprogramming them to include more functions, become more stable, etc. It is only limited by the existing hardware.
After the update, it still takes 45 seconds to turn on, but that is down from about 1 minute. Pirates of the Caribbean now loads in 1 minute 11 seconds. All my non-BD-J movies now start up in +/- 30 seconds.
BD-J load times may seem outlandish compared to DVD, But remember, future firmware updates can only improve things. We may or may not see further improved load times and that depends on the existing hardware. Any playback issues with movies will always be rectified by new firmware. Sony is showing great support.
In short, this is a second generation player and minor issues do exist. But you won't have to live with them forever. Firmware fixes all, and helps the longevity of your player. Remember that extended load times is normal for some titles, but within acceptable range for this player because it is "The Tank". It's not obsolete, just update the firmware!
Updated Addendum October 2010: The latest 5.50 firmware update further enhances BD-J, and still supports BD-R/RE playback ability. Fastest load times ever for BD-J discs. Some significantly so, others by seconds. Load times for all BD-J movies should improve. Menu selection has never been this smooth and responsive. The newest feature "Adds Dolby® TrueHD Audio decoding functionality". Fixes playback freezing issues with movies like Wall-E. BEST FIRMWARE YET!
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Here is my suggested "Load Time Performance Table".
* Non BD-J loading in 35 seconds or less. Excellent.
* BD-J up to 75 seconds. Very Good.
* BD-J 76 to 90 seconds. Good. (Tolerable Threshold)
* BD-J 91 to 100 seconds. Very Fair
* BD-J 101 to 120 seconds. Fair.
* BD-J over 120 seconds. Poor.
* BD-J over 180 seconds. Very Poor.


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See and hear a whole new world in high definition with Sony's BDP-S300.The crystalline clarity of 1080p Blu-ray Disc� movies(1) and DVD upscaling(2) that can bring your DVDs to the highest possible quality, mean your favorite movies have never looked or sounded so good.Add to that Sony's 24p True Cinema(2) and Cinema Tuned picture presets, which allow you to see any movie just the way its director intended, and all you'll need is a little popcorn to lose yourself in an HD world.Better yet, now Sony's Bravia Theatre Sync means that now you can control your compatible TV and AV systems(3) all from one remote.

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Sony BDP-S500 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Player Review

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(More customer reviews)It lacks support for streaming DTS-HD Master Audio over HDMI. It downgrades that signal to regular DTS.
It supports BD-ROM Profile 1 only, although the player started selling after October 31st, so it should support Profile 1.1. I don't think that can be upgradeable by changing the firmware.
Load time is very slow. Around 1.5 minute from pressing standby button to the moment you see an image on the screen.
Remote is not backlit. If you don't memorize where the buttons are on the remote you have to turn on the lights to operate it when watching a movie in a dark room.
The Display function only shows time elapsed of the title, but not time left.
Cover is not as blue as the picture suggests, but almost black.
As I have noticed in different audio/video stores, picture quality is the same than cheaper model Sony BDP-S300 and Samsung or Panasonic players.
BRAVIA Theatre Sync (HDMI-CEC) is very useful, very nice feature, but I don't know if it works with TV and receivers that aren't from Sony.
Picture quality from regular DVD's is about the same compared to a DVD player with the ability to upgrade signal to 1080p. Picture quality from a Blu-ray disc is 10% to 25% better than regular DVD (upgraded to 1080p via HDMI) but noticeably worse than HDTV at 1080i coming from a terrestrial antenna (over the air).
If cost is important, I would recommend that you wait a little bit longer for a new model to be released, since it will cost less and will come with some of the things this BDP-S500 lacks.
My TV: Sony KDL-40XBR5. My receiver: Sony STR-DA5300 ES.


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See and hear a whole new world in high definition with Sony’s BDP-S500. The crystalline clarity of 1080p Blu-ray Disc™ movies and DVD upscaling that can bring your DVDs to the highest possible quality, mean your favorite movies have never looked or sounded so good. Add to that Sony’s 24p True Cinema and Cinema Tuned picture presets, which allow you to see any movie just the way its director intended, and all you’ll need is a little popcorn to lose yourself in an HD world. Better yet, now Sony’s BRAVIA Theater Sync™ means that now you can control your compatible TV and AV systems all from one remote.

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Sony BDP-S360 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player Review

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(More customer reviews)I'll start with the bottom line about this player-it just works! If you're looking for a nice, fully functional Blu Ray player that's going to just WORK as you'd expect it to, on anything you throw at it, this is a nice, safe buy. You'll have no problems upgrading from a normal DVD player to it.
Like a lot of people, my first Blu Ray player was my Playstation 3, which I bought last year. If you don't already have a PS3, that's worth considering instead of a stand alone player, because it doesn't cost much more, handles Blu Rays (and DVDs) well, and of course plays Playstation 3 games.
I even toyed with getting a second one, but decided a stand alone player would be a bit cheaper, and I didn't really need the second Playstation 3. (I've also since bought a Blu Ray drive for my computer, so I can watch Blu Rays on it too.)
Impressions of the s360:
-Audio and video are excellent. I can't notice any difference from my PS3.
-The unit is physically SMALL. It's actually smaller than my two stand alone DVD players (though is the same width as normal stereo components, so fits in fine)
-The unit is very quiet in operation-quieter than my two stand alone DVD players in fact. I don't think I can hear it at all except when it's first starting up, loading up a disc (and that only if the room is dead silent). Interestingly, the disc drive's seek sounds sound IDENTICAL to the drive in my Playstation 3! I'd be shocked if it's not basically the same drive.
-Remote is decent-I mean no remotes aside from Tivo's are particularly good, but this works as well as any other (the oft-noted omission of an eject button is a bit surprising, but not really missed, since you have to get up anyway, and the eject button on the unit is pretty large). (And thankfully unlike the PS3 remote, it's normal infrared, not Bluetooth.)
-Performance is very good. I think it takes SLIGHTLY longer than my PS3/PC to load the fancy interfaces some discs use (some discs replace the normal fast forward/rewind interfaces with their own themed interfaces, and loading that interface adds a few more seconds before the disc's ready-so far I've only run across this on two discs, and it's kind of pointless, but this player DOES seem to handle them just fine). Rewinding/fast forwarding on this isn't quite as smooth as my Playstation 3, but it works as you'd expect a normal DVD player to.
-Power usage is very low-the unit says it draws a *MAX* of 22 watts in operation
-Boot time takes...well I haven't timed it, but I'd guess maybe 15 seconds. To me that's plenty fast, but that can actually be cut by setting the player to use more power when it's "off" (essentially it presumably actually stays on, so it appears to boot faster). Players that claim they have faster boot times are probably just doing that same thing, without giving you the option of actually shutting the unit off.
-It has all the features and ports you'd expect from a unit like this, and has an excellent menu system, that's ripped straight off of the Playstation 3 and Portable (of course once you've set it up with the settings you want, you'll probably never really use the menu again, but it's easier than any DVD player's menus I've ever used).
-Unlike some players, it doesn't have internal memory to store "BD Live" internet features, but it does have a USB port where you can connect a USB memory device to enable those features. I have a spare one lying around, but haven't bothered hooking it up because I never use those features. I mean Blu Ray has some great additions over DVD, like the pop up menus that can adjust settings without going back to the main menu-but the internet features are pretty gimicky to me, and I've never used them. Still, this player does support all of that if you care.
(Also unlike many of this year's players, it lacks support for online services like Netflix's streaming service, etc. I don't use those (I just use Netflix's disc service), and if I did use them I already have other devices that connect to them, but if you check reviews, the s360 is a better BLU RAY PLAYER than those other devices-and I'm buying this to be a good Blu Ray player.
I'm probably forgetting something I'd like to mention, but honestly I could have quit after the first paragraph. If you're like me and just want something that WORKS without hassle, this is a great choice.

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The Sony BDP-S360 Blu-ray Disc player provides a movie experience worthy of your HDTV. Plays Blu-ray Disc movies in Full HD 1080p quality and upscales the quality of your DVDs. Supports BD-Live technology to download bonus interactive entertainment on select movies. Supports Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD audio codecs for up to 7.1 channels of high-definition sound. With QuickStart Mode your movies will start approximately six seconds from the moment you turn on the player.

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Sony SA-VS150H 5.1/7.1-Channel Speaker Package (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)The smaller speakers are Okay but the subwoofer is little more than a regular bass speaker. I would compare it to a Bose bass speaker. To be a real subwoofer a speaker has to be able to produce sound that you feel and not just hear. The little $100.00 RCA speakers/receiver combo that I first used did just as well. Basically with these I paid for the name.

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The SS-VS150H 5.1/7.1 Channel Ready Speaker System is a perfect complement to your multi-channel A/V receiver. Whether it's a Home Theater or Gaming Theater, this unique speaker package can be configured for either a 5.1 or 7.1 set up. The key is the ability of the surround speakers to be connected together to make one larger speaker or one larger speaker into two smaller versions. The micro design provides flexible placement while its elegant black gloss design complements any room. With a total power handling of 990 watts, the SS-VS150H the ultimate Blu-ray Disc Player experience regardless if it's movies, concerts or video games.

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