Sony S350 won't play certain Blu-Ray discs - Blu-ray Forum

JAFlanagan · 02-24-2009, 02:06 AM

This is driving me insane. Does anyone else have any experience with these types of problems?

I bought a Sony S350 from Amazon in December. As far as I knew, it functioned perfectly with BD discs and DVDs. I updated the firmware pretty quickly after I got it. I bought a 3 disc set of Mad Men (great show!) and watched the first disc an a half with no trouble.

Skip ahead a month or so, I'm watching "The Company" on BD from Netflix, and the first disc works fine, but the second won't load at all. It just says, the player cannot read this disc, and stays on the menu. I return it to Netflix, and get a replacement, which works fine.

Last week, I get a copy of "W." and it won't load either. Annoying sure, but tell them the disc doesn't work, and they send me a new one. It won't load either. It was pristine. No scratches, fingerprints or anything. I updated the firmware again, even stuck a 1 GB thumbdrive in the back, just to be sure (even though it wasn't a BD Live disc, but what the heck), and it still doesn't play. No biggie. It's not supposed to be a great movie either way.

The straw that drove me nuts is that tonight, I put the second Mad Men disc back in, and it won't load. Neither will the first disc, or the 3rd, which has never been played. I tried some other discs I have, and they all work fine. I checked the firmware again, reset all the settings on the player and did a power reset. Nothing will make these discs play that played fine before. They aren't damaged in any way.

Checking Sony support, they want me to pack up my player, and ship it to them on my dime to Pennsylvania. I can't return it to Amazon, since it's been over 30 days. So, any thoughts?

Also, thank you, but please don't tell me I should have bought another brand, or get a PS3. That's not really a solution to my problem. Thanks for any helpful advice.

-josh

zombie77 · 02-24-2009, 02:29 AM

i dunno man i have the same player and a ps3, and i havent had any problems with either player so far.. (knock on wood) and ive played all of madmen s:1 on the stand alone.

Rob J in WNY · 02-24-2009, 02:36 AM

I would assume that your latest firmware update was version .015. I have the Sony BDP-S350 as well, at version .015 (updated from version .010, updated from the original factory version .007), and have not had any problems. I don't have a ton of titles, but I've had no playback problems. If you are running firmware version .015, then you should not be experiencing any disc incompatibilities.

As you suspected, the insertion of the thumb drive does not affect the unit's playback operation.

Sounds like you might have a bad drive in your player. More specifically, it could be a defective laser or pickup. It could be as simple as a dirty laser lens. Not sure if you can use a CD laser type cleaning disc in a BD player, but it may be worth a try.

Lastly, if you can, take your Mad Men discs to a known-good BD player (perhaps a friend's, or even a local audio/video store) to make sure they are fine.

Best of luck to you! The S350 is really a good player!

Avond · 02-24-2009, 02:40 AM

The only similar issue I had was with the DVD boxset of Supernatural season 2-it wouldn't recognize the first disc and just registered a ? on the blue setup screen. It would play in my DVD player in another room and the other discs in the set would play on my 350, but it wouldn't recognize that first one. It's the only problem I've ever had and I just wrote it off as a fluke....

Don Blish · 02-24-2009, 03:01 AM

The following thread describes playability of PS3 discs, but the same could apply to any set of BluRay heads. Upshot: load and reload several times before giving up.

http://forums.support.roxio.com/inde...howtopic=49142

mr.hidef · 02-24-2009, 03:11 AM

332 Blu-ray's and not one single glitch with mine.....

JAFlanagan · 02-24-2009, 04:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob J in WNY

I would assume that your latest firmware update was version .015. I have the Sony BDP-S350 as well, at version .015 (updated from version .010, updated from the original factory version .007), and have not had any problems. I don't have a ton of titles, but I've had no playback problems. If you are running firmware version .015, then you should not be experiencing any disc incompatibilities.

Yes I'm on .015. And I can't imagine it's the discs. I mean, 1 of them maybe, but all of them? It's just weird.

I think I'm gonna have to send it in. Argh.

krazeyeyez · 02-24-2009, 04:40 AM

i hope for your wallets sake it is a firmware issue, my s-300 started doing that randomly with some discs not others, progressively became more and more that would not read, even ones i had watched just fine nights earlier! finally no BD playback at all. soon after dvd playback went the same route, i still have the thing lol, i dont even bother to put BDs in it anymore, but dvd's will read if the unit has been off for a day or so lol. ALSO just FYI, i did find that if one of the discs actually read, it played fine, but getting the unit to actually register the disc in the tray, that was a problem ...... good luck

JAFlanagan · 02-24-2009, 05:01 AM

It is under warranty, so hopefully it won't be a complete loss, but I've been down this road, and I can see myself sending it in, where they check it, and find "nothing wrong," and I repeat the process for months until the warranty does run out, and wash my hands of the whole mess.

mr.hidef · 02-24-2009, 05:25 AM

hmmmm..........(open spot for random PS3 fanboy to comment)..........aaaaah silence........is golden.....j/k

JA........I hope all goes well with your player! Keep us posted please.(I had some major issues just like this with an old Samsung BDP-1000)

garytma · 02-24-2009, 02:10 PM

I have the S300, and very occasionally see this happen- mostly with Blu discs from Netflix.

I suspect that 2 different issues can occur- at least in my case. One, is simply defective Blu-ray discs. The other, is a dusty, or dirty disc.

Certainly, one can not discount a faulty player- especially if many discs are a problem. But in my case, I started to clean every Blu disc I get from Netflix, and now I rarely have a problem.

I often wonder if, due to the extremely small footprint of the Blu laser, any slight microscopic airborn matter, that might enter the player and get under the laser lens, would momentarily confuse a player causing a momentary glitch, or stick.

JAFlanagan · 02-24-2009, 03:15 PM

I thought it was the Netflix discs, but I got 2 in a row that didn't work at all. And they were pristine. I cleaned them with my microfiber eyeglasses cloth. In the case of the Mad Men discs, one of them had never been out of the packaging, and it didn't work.

visual0ne · 02-24-2009, 03:30 PM

I have the same player. It's glitchy sometimes, perhaps just dirty disks? But it's never just locked up on me. (Knock on wood)

ryoohki · 02-24-2009, 07:02 PM

Never had a single glitch with 200+ disc played so far... Not even frozing on anything.

Sammy · 02-24-2009, 07:50 PM

Wait! I thought that Sony BDP's were flawless.

jkwest · 02-24-2009, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JAFlanagan

I thought it was the Netflix discs, but I got 2 in a row that didn't work at all. And they were pristine. I cleaned them with my microfiber eyeglasses cloth. In the case of the Mad Men discs, one of them had never been out of the packaging, and it didn't work.

When I used to have Netflix, I had a problem with two rentals before on Blu-ray..with the flapper mailers and the USPS sorting machines, apparently BD's are to resilient...DVD's can bend a little, but, Blu-rays...not so much...sometimes you can see hairline fractures near the spinner hole....

or, you could possibly have a funky player...is it under warranty?

02-24-2009, 02:06 AM	#1
JAFlanagan New Member Member since:Feb 2009	Sony S350 won't play certain Blu-Ray discs This is driving me insane. Does anyone else have any experience with these types of problems? I bought a Sony S350 from Amazon in December. As far as I knew, it functioned perfectly with BD discs and DVDs. I updated the firmware pretty quickly after I got it. I bought a 3 disc set of Mad Men (great show!) and watched the first disc an a half with no trouble. Skip ahead a month or so, I'm watching "The Company" on BD from Netflix, and the first disc works fine, but the second won't load at all. It just says, the player cannot read this disc, and stays on the menu. I return it to Netflix, and get a replacement, which works fine. Last week, I get a copy of "W." and it won't load either. Annoying sure, but tell them the disc doesn't work, and they send me a new one. It won't load either. It was pristine. No scratches, fingerprints or anything. I updated the firmware again, even stuck a 1 GB thumbdrive in the back, just to be sure (even though it wasn't a BD Live disc, but what the heck), and it still doesn't play. No biggie. It's not supposed to be a great movie either way. The straw that drove me nuts is that tonight, I put the second Mad Men disc back in, and it won't load. Neither will the first disc, or the 3rd, which has never been played. I tried some other discs I have, and they all work fine. I checked the firmware again, reset all the settings on the player and did a power reset. Nothing will make these discs play that played fine before. They aren't damaged in any way. Checking Sony support, they want me to pack up my player, and ship it to them on my dime to Pennsylvania. I can't return it to Amazon, since it's been over 30 days. So, any thoughts? Also, thank you, but please don't tell me I should have bought another brand, or get a PS3. That's not really a solution to my problem. Thanks for any helpful advice. -josh

02-24-2009, 03:01 AM	#5
Don Blish Member Member since:Jun 2006 Location:Los Angeles	It could be dust The following thread describes playability of PS3 discs, but the same could apply to any set of BluRay heads. Upshot: load and reload several times before giving up. http://forums.support.roxio.com/inde...howtopic=49142

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02-24-2009, 02:29 AM	#2
zombie77 Active Member Member since:Jan 2008 Location:Illinois 4K collection:56 Blu-ray collection:169	i dunno man i have the same player and a ps3, and i havent had any problems with either player so far.. (knock on wood) and ive played all of madmen s:1 on the stand alone.

02-24-2009, 02:36 AM	#3
Rob J in WNY Blu-ray Guru Member since:Dec 2008 Location:'Western' N.Y. State (MEMBER OF THE "ECPP")™ Home Theater Gallery:24 4K collection:30 Blu-ray collection:486 iTunes collection:1 Blu-ray reviews: 15	I would assume that your latest firmware update was version .015. I have the Sony BDP-S350 as well, at version .015 (updated from version .010, updated from the original factory version .007), and have not had any problems. I don't have a ton of titles, but I've had no playback problems. If you are running firmware version .015, then you should not be experiencing any disc incompatibilities. As you suspected, the insertion of the thumb drive does not affect the unit's playback operation. Sounds like you might have a bad drive in your player. More specifically, it could be a defective laser or pickup. It could be as simple as a dirty laser lens. Not sure if you can use a CD laser type cleaning disc in a BD player, but it may be worth a try. Lastly, if you can, take your Mad Men discs to a known-good BD player (perhaps a friend's, or even a local audio/video store) to make sure they are fine. Best of luck to you! The S350 is really a good player!

02-24-2009, 02:40 AM	#4
Avond Active Member Top contributor Member since:Oct 2008 Home Theater Gallery:5 4K collection:67 Blu-ray collection:1989 DVD collection:212 MA collection:3 Trading Score:33	The only similar issue I had was with the DVD boxset of Supernatural season 2-it wouldn't recognize the first disc and just registered a ? on the blue setup screen. It would play in my DVD player in another room and the other discs in the set would play on my 350, but it wouldn't recognize that first one. It's the only problem I've ever had and I just wrote it off as a fluke....

02-24-2009, 03:11 AM	#6
mr.hidef Power Member Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Sep 2007 Location:Twin Cities Home Theater Gallery:113 Blu-ray collection:570 Blu-ray reviews: 6 Trading Score:17	332 Blu-ray's and not one single glitch with mine.....

02-24-2009, 04:40 AM	#8
krazeyeyez Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Dec 2007 Location:the guy on the couch Home Theater Gallery:18 Blu-ray collection:287 Blu-ray reviews:4	i hope for your wallets sake it is a firmware issue, my s-300 started doing that randomly with some discs not others, progressively became more and more that would not read, even ones i had watched just fine nights earlier! finally no BD playback at all. soon after dvd playback went the same route, i still have the thing lol, i dont even bother to put BDs in it anymore, but dvd's will read if the unit has been off for a day or so lol. ALSO just FYI, i did find that if one of the discs actually read, it played fine, but getting the unit to actually register the disc in the tray, that was a problem ...... good luck

02-24-2009, 05:01 AM	#9
JAFlanagan New Member Member since:Feb 2009	It is under warranty, so hopefully it won't be a complete loss, but I've been down this road, and I can see myself sending it in, where they check it, and find "nothing wrong," and I repeat the process for months until the warranty does run out, and wash my hands of the whole mess.

02-24-2009, 05:25 AM	#10
mr.hidef Power Member Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Sep 2007 Location:Twin Cities Home Theater Gallery:113 Blu-ray collection:570 Blu-ray reviews: 6 Trading Score:17	hmmmm..........(open spot for random PS3 fanboy to comment)..........aaaaah silence........is golden.....j/k JA........I hope all goes well with your player! Keep us posted please.(I had some major issues just like this with an old Samsung BDP-1000)

02-24-2009, 02:10 PM	#11
garytma Member Member since:Aug 2007	I have the S300, and very occasionally see this happen- mostly with Blu discs from Netflix. I suspect that 2 different issues can occur- at least in my case. One, is simply defective Blu-ray discs. The other, is a dusty, or dirty disc. Certainly, one can not discount a faulty player- especially if many discs are a problem. But in my case, I started to clean every Blu disc I get from Netflix, and now I rarely have a problem. I often wonder if, due to the extremely small footprint of the Blu laser, any slight microscopic airborn matter, that might enter the player and get under the laser lens, would momentarily confuse a player causing a momentary glitch, or stick.

02-24-2009, 03:15 PM	#12
JAFlanagan New Member Member since:Feb 2009	I thought it was the Netflix discs, but I got 2 in a row that didn't work at all. And they were pristine. I cleaned them with my microfiber eyeglasses cloth. In the case of the Mad Men discs, one of them had never been out of the packaging, and it didn't work.

02-24-2009, 03:30 PM	#13
visual0ne Active Member Member since:Jan 2008 Location:United States Home Theater Gallery:12 4K collection:133 Blu-ray collection:495 iTunes collection:169 Blu-ray reviews:1	I have the same player. It's glitchy sometimes, perhaps just dirty disks? But it's never just locked up on me. (Knock on wood)

02-24-2009, 07:02 PM	#14
ryoohki Blu-ray Samurai Member since:May 2007 Home Theater Gallery:6 Blu-ray collection:6 Blu-ray reviews:8 Trading Score:5	Never had a single glitch with 200+ disc played so far... Not even frozing on anything.

02-24-2009, 07:50 PM	#15
Sammy Power Member Member since:Jan 2009 Location:Right next to Wineville, CA Home Theater Gallery:1 Blu-ray collection:199 Blu-ray reviews:1 Trading Score:3	Wait! I thought that Sony BDP's were flawless.

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