Just picked up Sony's BDP S350 model and.....

[Gino_34]

I just wanted to ask a few things.

I don't own an HDTV yet so my video setting are set to 480i. I've hooked up the player via component cables. Yes, I know I'm not getting the full 1080 experience but I have no choice as I own a standard def TV. So my questions are:

a) what things need adjusting in my video settings? I was going through the entire setup process and was confused by many sections. What are the best settings for 480i? I have it set to "fixed aspect ratio" and have most of the Bluray features set to "off". What else do I need to know?

b) Will I see any upconverting differences or is that only apparent on 480p sets? Will the BDP S350 display anything better than my previous standard DVD machine? I noticed that it made my regular DVD's really dark. I changed the setting from standard to brighter room and it looked better. Should I be altering anything else? I also noticed that the colors were really strong so I had to lower my color setting on my TV.

c) Can someone tell me if the quick start feature is worth it? According to the manual it states that the unit uses up power even when it's off! Is this a good thing? I heard that movies start up within 6 seconds. With it off, how long does it take to start a Blu ray flick? Is the fan loud?


This is all I can think of right now. As soon as I get more questions I'll come back and post them. I'm new to this so any assistance would be appreciated.

[PatrickL2009]

Your DVDs will have little to no visual difference at all and Blu-Ray disc are going to look like a DVD on a 420p or 420i television (420p is better though) As for your settings, and your SD television, I would just leave the factory settings and watch as is until you upgrade your television. And i'm not sure about the start-up feature you mentioned (My Blu-Ray player is a Magnavox), but I know with nearly all Blu-Ray players, when you start up an actual Blu-Ray disc, it takes a considerably longer loading time than a DVD. It's not terribly slow, but it's certainly not fast. You should really return the player in my opinion and put that money towards a new HDTV because that player will do nothing for you on a SD television. Without a Blu-Ray player, an HDTV still provides great picture, even if your subscribed to regular television channels, as I am.

[Blu_Ray_Fan]

I don't know the answer to most of your questions, as I have owned and HDTV longer then Blu_ray has been out (about 5 years now). As far as the "fast start" feature, I don't use it. Seems to me the thing loads fast enough for me anyway, so why not save some energy.

[Rob J in WNY]

Gino,

There's not a lot you can do to adjust the BDP-S350 player's picture quality from the unit, as you have noticed. If your SDTV can handle a progressive video signal over the component input, you can tell the S350 to output video at 480p instead of 480i (see page 61 in your S350 Operating Instructions). The progressive scan output (480p) may provide a better picture over the interlaced output (480i).

The Quick Start feature will save you some of the "Wait" time when starting up the player for use. As you probably know, there is a waiting time before you can even eject the tray from a cold start. Actual disc loading times will not be lowered, though. The Quick Start feature only reduces the unit's typical startup time for initial use.

Most electronics in their typical "power off" standby mode will use less than 1 watt of power. Such is the case for the S350. However, Quick Start mode is another thing entirely. I have heard varying figures for the Sony BDP-S350's power consumption in Quick Start mode, but a review article from PCMag.com seems to set the Quick Start consumption at (surprisingly hefty) 9.3 watts (by comparison, the specifications in the Operating Instructions state that the unit, in full operation, consumes 26 watts of power). See the link below for the review - specifically the second-to-last paragraph.

I don't use the Quick Start mode, but I can say that I have had the unit on for longer lengths of time, but not in operation, on occasion. I've never heard any fan noise from the unit.

PCMag.com Review of Sony BDP-S350

Suffice it to say that when you upgrade to an HDTV, hopefully you will go with a 1080p unit. Your BDP-S350 and Blu-ray titles (as well as upconverted DVDs) will really shine when you do!

[Gino_34]

Originally Posted by PatrickL2009

You should really return the player in my opinion and put that money towards a new HDTV because that player will do nothing for you on a SD television.

The only reason I bought it was because the price was excellent. Had the player been $400 bucks I would have passed. Even if blu ray machines didn't play standard DVD's I still would have picked it up and not opened it until I bought a HDTV. When you see an awesome deal you don't hesitate.

I passed on so many good deals in the past and then of course I changed my mind and wanted to buy it only to comb the entire city to find everything sold out. So this time I simply jumped on board even though I don't own a high def set yet. It's just a matter of time until I get one so I figured I'd just use it as a DVD player right now. Hell, I just picked up "Speed" and "Robocop" on blu ray just to make sure the player worked.

Oh....and maybe it's just me, but Speed looked so clear and the colors were so bright. Remember, I'm still using component cables so the picture is going to look somewhat better than standard def DVD's because there's no compression artifacts. I'm still going to buy BR titles if I see them at a good price (got both movies for $30 bucks)....this way once I get a HDTV I'll have lots to watch.