a Sony S350 or a Panasonic DMP 35K

[complete_noob]

I apologize if this type of thread has already been posted ad nauseam.

Seeing the rather notable price drops amongst blu-ray players, I'm looking into buying my first player. After skimming through some of the threads on this forum, I think that I have narrowed down my choices to the Sony S350 and the Panasonic 35K with regards to ideal price range.

I'm planning on just playing the audio through the TV speakers via the HDMI cable. Also, I don't foresee BD-Live options/content being utilized often. My main points of concern are comparative picture quality, startup/load times, as well as speed and smoothness of disc menu navigation. I understand that the PS3 is still the fastest blu-ray player on the market, but how far behind are the S350 and 35K?

If I do purchase a player, I will most likely be picking up Iron Man and definitely the Dark Knight when it comes out in December.

[Footloose301]

Those are the two players that I have narrowed it down to also. But if you look at the thread just composed of the BD35 it states that home theater magazine said the Panasonic is the best quality Blu-Ray player on the market. So maybe I'll start leaning towards the Panasonic. I was going to wait until Black Friday and pick up the Sony S350 for $179. Maybe the Panasonic will a Black Friday deal as well. Otherwise I'll save some money and get the Sony over the Panasonic.

[poorcollegekid]

I am ALSO debating between these two. Looks like they are both great players from what I have read. I'd love to hear the PQ, AQ, and load time comparisons if any exist. I plan to run 5.1 via optical output, so maybe the AQ isn't such a big deal for me (for now).

[GeonosisX]

Originally Posted by poorcollegekid

I am ALSO debating between these two. Looks like they are both great players from what I have read. I'd love to hear the PQ, AQ, and load time comparisons if any exist. I plan to run 5.1 via optical output, so maybe the AQ isn't such a big deal for me (for now).

I posted this elsewhere.

I finally picked up the BD35 from Best Buy today after a long battle between the S350 and BD35. I had the Oppo980H and BD30 in my set up, my goal was to go to 1 player for DVD and Blu.

I have tested a few Blu's and DVD's so far, but didn't watch them in their entirety.

Blu-ray films appear to look a little sharper and colorful than the BD30. I think the the sharpness is helping bring out better details.

I tossed in a few SD-DVD's, they looks better than the BD30.....but the text is where the scaler is horrible at. Any of the warning screens before a trailer, the white text didn't look defined or sharp. The BD35 does a better job with colors, defining the image and cleaning up some of the grain.

The player is slim. It reminds me a lot of a slimmer Toshiba A3/A30 HD DVD player. Brings back nostalgia for me. I do miss the tank look of the BD30, but so far this player is good off of just initial impressions.

I also want to add that there isn't a delay in any of the button presses anymore like there was when hitting the pause button with the BD30. There was a 1 second delay when you hit pause and same when you would hit play in return.

[kpkelley]

Originally Posted by poorcollegekid

I plan to run 5.1 via optical output, so maybe the AQ isn't such a big deal for me (for now).

I'm assuming that you are running an older reciever, do you know if it has 5.1 analog inputs?

If it does you should look at the Sony S550 and Panasonic BD55 as they would be able to give you hd audio over the analog outs. Both can be found at reduced prices online.

[Pellaeon]

I have the Sony S350 and have been thrilled with it. Unfortunately that is as much as I can tell you in regards to your decision. I would imagine you will be in good shape with either, and at $179....... you cant really go wrong right?

[Zman2k2]

I'm gonna refer you to this thread. In it, it states that Home Theatre Magazine has rated the BD35 and 55 among the best players available. There are some minor differences with them as well, aside from the chips used for audio and video. For BD-Live, if it might make a difference, the S350 uses a USB thumb drive for memory, and the BD35 uses SD memory cards(like in a digital camera). The S350 is a smaller chassis as well, so it fits in tighter areas.

[Avond]

I have the 350 and have been thrilled with it as well. It is my first player, and I'm very happy I chose it. I don't know how much help I can be, but I run my audio through a digital coaxial cable (I could also run optical if I didn't already have that cable used for a different box) and the 350 will do both of those. I solved the recessed USB port problem by using a USB cable extender and now I can even get the drive out easily if I want to use it for something else or change it out.

[Mr. Cinema]

The BD35 decodes all HD audio formats. The 350 can't decode dts hd Master Audio. Both bitstream all HD audio formats.

[DeadEyesSmiling]

Can anyone confirm that the BD35 has the ability to do slomo and frame by frame? Thanks!

-DES

[runnerbl]

Originally Posted by DeadEyesSmiling

Can anyone confirm that the BD35 has the ability to do slomo and frame by frame? Thanks!

-DES

It can do slo mo but not frame by frame

[1tribeca]

The BD35 decodes all HD audio formats. The 350 can't decode dts hd Master Audio. Both bitstream all HD audio formats.

My receiver (Elite SC-07) decodes everything. I bought the S350...price was good. Totally happy so far.

[ak808]

Quick question. In the home theater mag article it state that the s350 did not past the 2:2 test where as the panny did. Is 2:2 that important?

[DeadEyesSmiling]

Originally Posted by runnerbl

It can do slo mo but not frame by frame

Thanks!

-DES