The Sony BDP-S300/301 Review Thread

[Rob1956]

With the speed Sony sends out the discs, you might as well forgo burning and just order one. I ordered one on a Tuesday night, and it was in my mail box Friday afternoon.

[tek101]

Originally Posted by Rob1956

With the speed Sony sends out the discs, you might as well forgo burning and just order one. I ordered one on a Tuesday night, and it was in my mail box Friday afternoon.

Hey. Everybody knows you can order from Sony site.
WE just want to help out the one who likes to download themselves.
like most people here.

[Fatboymart]

Originally Posted by Rob1956

With the speed Sony sends out the discs, you might as well forgo burning and just order one. I ordered one on a Tuesday night, and it was in my mail box Friday afternoon.

Said with a Homer Simpson accent...

BUT I WANT IT NOWWWWWWWWW

[CBFETT]

Firmware update 4.20 is out there now. I really like my S300.

[Yeha-Noha]

+1

I am lovin' it man.

For awhile there the S350 or Pan DMP-DB 30 were getting pretty tempting. I am glad I didn't give in. Now that my S301 is upgraded to 4.20, it's faster and decodes DD TrueHD too. Sure it lacks DTS-HD MA but the core at 1.536 Mbps doesn't sound bad at all. The S300/1 is built like a tank and will last like one. I'm going to hang onto it for awhile until the BD player gets finalized, whatever that means. I guess I mean after the S550/BD50 has seen its day, I'll get the next generation player after those.

Yes, I love my S301. It still needs lots of TLC. Thank you Sony, and keep those FW updates a comin'!

[Blu Man]

I have this player and exept for the load time its good. Not worth the 400 bucks i payed for it

[Yeha-Noha]

Yup, I hear ya. Been there done that. Same price too ($499). So there's no need to feel sad or mad. I bought it during the format war when it was sizzlin' hot. It looked back then like PCM was going to be the primary lossless format. The S300 seemed reasonably priced for that time in Blu-ray's history. It was very well solidly built machine with gold plated connects/jacks to boot. Winning the format war was a blessing and a curse though. Those of us who bought the S300 got the cursed end of the deal. HD-DUDs had DD-TrueHD as the lossless format of choice, badly needed for those duds since the discs space was diddly-squat. Not long after the war had ended a few new BDs appeared with DD THD and few other formats that were flops. Then more and more DD THD... then DTS jumped on the bandwagon. The rest is history. Lossless PCM tracks on BDs died out or just quietly fading away. We lost because our players were outgunned by the new players coming out that supported the new formats.

You nor I probably didn't see it comin'. Looking back and reminiscing about this stuff made me realize, hey man, I'm a war (format) veteran! You too man. We were brave combatants buying these machines that helped to win the war. The PS3 got the blessing though. No hard feelings. It's the journey that counts. So cheer up! Enjoy the movie!

And, BTW. Welcome to the forum.

[tron3]

Originally Posted by rwojtalewicz

... The S300/1 is built like a tank and will last like one. I'm going to hang onto it for awhile until the BD player gets finalized, ...

Yes, I love my S301. It still needs lots of TLC. Thank you Sony, and keep those FW updates a comin'!

Glad to see my "tank" description is catching on. I forgot what I paid for my S300. Either $350 with 5 free movies, or $400 with 5 free movies. It was a good deal as I didn't pay no $1500 a year sooner.

This latest firmware is just the icing on the cake. I have seen PotC: CotBP load time go from 3 or 4 minutes (2.0) to 1.11 (4.20). I hope they can keep tweaking. If every movie can load under 90 seconds I would be a happy camper. I'm sticking with the S300 until the firmware stops getting support. Then I will look around for a new / second player.

It definately is a tank. Big, little slow, but powerful.

[Yeha-Noha]

Yep, when the firmware support stops, that will be the time to get a second player. I am not letting mine go. I will probably use it for whatever DVDs I have left that haven't gone Blu. It really does a fine job upscaling to 1080p too.

[awre]

I give props to Sony.

They have a taken a simple and basic machine (I paid $250 for mine last December and have never had a single problem) and they have kept us updated with firmware, now I can even decode Dolby True HD (with firmware update 4.20 and it sounds great) using my HDMI 1.1 via PCM. Of course I want DTS HD MA and while I have been looking at Denon, Marantz and Pioneer players, I just feel that Sony has done such a good job of supporting this player that I should stick with Sony and go with 5000ES when it comes out.

Good customer support and service builds good customers and I belive right now Sony is providing that support and service, at least in my case.

Good job Sony.

[Fatboymart]

Originally Posted by rwojtalewicz

Yep, when the firmware support stops, that will be the time to get a second player. I am not letting mine go. I will probably use it for whatever DVDs I have left that haven't gone Blu. It really does a fine job upscaling to 1080p too.

Shhhhhh not so loud. Once Sony sus out our intensions the patches will stop and I aint sold the upgrade path to her in door's yet.

[Yeha-Noha]

Ah yes, I'll get off my soap box. I think there's no need to worry. By the time that happens, the new crop of BD players will have come down in price quite a bit. I think the low prices by then won't bring a frown on your honey's face. Perhaps when it gets down to a minuscule requests or downloads for firmware, Sony will stop supporting the S300. The BDP-S1, a discontinued product, is still getting firmware support. So I think we got a while.

[Octavio]

Originally Posted by awre

I just feel that Sony has done such a good job of supporting this player that I should stick with Sony and go with 5000ES when it comes out.

Good customer support and service builds good customers and I belive right now Sony is providing that support and service, at least in my case.

Good job Sony.

Same here. Just a couple of months ago I was thinking on buying a new stand alone player profile 2.0. But based on what I've read, the "BD-Live" feature has been so far an utter disappointment. So I'll wait until that feature becomes worthy. Besides I don't plan to spend more than $200-250 bucks for any new player. Within one year the same players that as of today costs 500 to 700 dollars will be around 200-300. You'll see.

My ideal player should be region free (both for BD's and DVD's). In case of DVD playback: PAL and NTSC compatible. Profile 2.0; Not that I care for that feature, but is better to have it than not to have it. Besides in the coming years it might become finally a worthy feature, not the flop that is nowadays. Finally the player should bitstream AND internally decode any Hi-Def audio format.

I know such players are gonna be released sometime in the future, and of course they are going to be cheaper because demand for BD players is increasing drastically.

In the mean time. Me and my BDP-S300 TanK, can wait.

[Fatboymart]

Originally Posted by Octavio

.

My ideal player should be region free (both for BD's and DVD's). In case of DVD playback: PAL and NTSC compatible. Finally the player should bitstream AND internally decode any Hi-Def audio format.

I know such players are gonna be released sometime in the future, and of course they are going to be cheaper because demand for BD players is increasing drastically.

I agree, region free for me is a must as most of my DVD's have come from America.

In fact the family sat down on the weekend-popcorn at the ready-Blu-ray and speakers warmed up, unfortunately I had forgotten the Toy Story DVD was region 1 and my BD player region 2 or whatever it is over here now.

I spent the following 2 hours listening to Nemo from the shoe cupboard.

I'm changing my terminology from now on from "Upgrade path" too tunnel 1 & tunnel 2, (just in case the misses sneaks in and looks at my mail). It’s going to be easier to explain that I was trying to leave her than justify another upgrade to BD player and amplifier.

[tron3]

Originally Posted by Spartan54

I have this player and exept for the load time its good. Not worth the 400 bucks i payed for it

Dude, the 4.20 firmware is the best one to date for Tank-S300. It is faster and now does Dolby TrueHD Audio. It's like getting a new machine for free! When you buy a tank, don't cry over it running like one. This is normal and acceptable for this player.

You want slow? Try loading PotC: CotBP on this thing with the 2.0 firmware. Took 3 or 4 minutes but I immediately forgave the load time when I saw the picture. Performance was hit-n-miss when 3.80 to 3.95 came out. I was very upset some things slowed down. But I am back to loving my player because 4.20 fixed everything.

If I could ask God to write the last firmware we will ever need for this player I would. But being a tank with man-made limits, even God would only take it within maximum design limitations. Why? Because He doesn't cheat.

[garytma]

Hi Everyone,

Last night, we played our latest Blu-ray disc rental, from Netflix, which was the film, "Shooter". The picture/audio quality was superb, but the disc had some brief sticking/skipping problems in two spots.

What I have been seeing of late, is that Blu-rays coming from Netflix, seem often to stick slightly, or severely, but Blu's that I purchase play fine.

I bought my S300 last summer, and when I first got it, it seemed to have a freezing issue with some regular DVDs, but not Blu-ray discs. After a firmware upgrade, now it seems to play nearly everything just fine, except an occasional Netflix Blu-ray. In fact, I received a DVD from Netflix the other day, and the DVD was a terrible scratched mess, but the 300 played it like a champ. However, my last 2 Blu-ray discs, the aforementioned Shooter, and the one that we watched before it, Superbad, both skipped in one or two areas, on each disc.

Has anyone else noticed similar issues with renting Blu-ray discs? I have about 30 Blu-ray discs that I own, and so far, none of them have had to be returned due to defects, but the Netflix Blu rentals have shown us defects to the degree, I'd say, of every 3 or 4, out of 10 discs rented.

This reminds me so much of the earliest laserdisc days where one could never tell whether a disc was bad, or if a given player did not allow for a certain degree of tolerance in a disc.

This Blu-ray era is not quite as bad as the LV days, but there are a few uncertainties yet.

At any rate, I am continuing to report the defective discs to Netflix, so hopefully any disc manufacturing issues will be noted, passed along, and corrected.

[tek101]

I really don't count much on rental dvds, particularly Bds.
Keep in mind BD players have to spin so fast to play all of those data,so any imperfection on the disc will affect .Depends on how bad the scratch is ,player will try to search for new good spots and continue.
(BTW...People don't normally care much for rentals)

[garytma]

Originally Posted by tek101

I really don't count much on rental dvds, particularly Bds.
Keep in mind BD players have to spin so fast to play all of those data,so any imperfection on the disc will affect .Depends on how bad the scratch is ,player will try to search for new good spots and continue.
(BTW...People don't normally care much for rentals)

Hmm, not exactly sure what you mean there. I would expect that discs AND players would operate under most all conditions- be it purchased discs, or rentals!

As as for rentals in general: while most of the universe was renting VHS movies, my wife and I were buying all of the movies we wanted to view on laserdisc. Today, the extensive world of films on disc has made us more discerning. We only buy the movies that we have seen, and truely love. Even given that, with laserdiscs, DVDs, and now Blu-rays, we own over 500 films on disc.

Given that, even with ownership of so many movies, we probably have 50 that we love so much, that we mostly watch them, when watching titles from our movie library. Also, there is the realization that once one's film collection gets to be so big, it is quite likely that there are many that one will never get back to viewing again- so why buy everything that comes down the gate?

A rental service like Netflix is wonderful for viewing all of the "big and small" films that one never gets around to seeing in the theater. It is perfect if one has a busy life, and can only get to watching new films, supplemented with own library titles, a couple of times a week.

Anyway, I would expect my S300 to play all but the dirtiest/scratched Blu's and/or DVDs, otherwise what are we paying our hard earned cash for? One of the big selling points of Blu-ray, is how much better protected discs are, compared to DVD. I would expect only the best in picture, sound, and durability. Inspecting the outside of every disc I rent, I rarely see any "defects" on Blu-rays, but the skipping still occurs.

Hopefully, I am simply experiencing some "new format/growing pain" manufacturing issue that will pass quickly!

[Scorxpion]

Originally Posted by garytma

Hmm, not exactly sure what you mean there. I would expect that discs AND players would operate under most all conditions- be it purchased discs, or rentals!

As as for rentals in general: while most of the universe was renting VHS movies, my wife and I were buying all of the movies we wanted to view on laserdisc. Today, the extensive world of films on disc has made us more discerning. We only buy the movies that we have seen, and truely love. Even given that, with laserdiscs, DVDs, and now Blu-rays, we own over 500 films on disc.

Given that, even with ownership of so many movies, we probably have 50 that we love so much, that we mostly watch them, when watching titles from our movie library. Also, there is the realization that once one's film collection gets to be so big, it is quite likely that there are many that one will never get back to viewing again- so why buy everything that comes down the gate?

A rental service like Netflix is wonderful for viewing all of the "big and small" films that one never gets around to seeing in the theater. It is perfect if one has a busy life, and can only get to watching new films, supplemented with own library titles, a couple of times a week.

Anyway, I would expect my S300 to play all but the dirtiest/scratched Blu's and/or DVDs, otherwise what are we paying our hard earned cash for? One of the big selling points of Blu-ray, is how much better protected discs are, compared to DVD. I would expect only the best in picture, sound, and durability. Inspecting the outside of every disc I rent, I rarely see any "defects" on Blu-rays, but the skipping still occurs.

Hopefully, I am simply experiencing some "new format/growing pain" manufacturing issue that will pass quickly!

I have a question for you ,you have said you have upgraded your firmware but you did not mentioned if it is the latest or old one.Please be specific and if you have an old version upgraded,if you still have problems send it to Sony and will replace it for you.

Good Luck

[krisjan]

Originally Posted by garytma

Hmm, not exactly sure what you mean there. I would expect that discs AND players would operate under most all conditions- be it purchased discs, or rentals!

As as for rentals in general: while most of the universe was renting VHS movies, my wife and I were buying all of the movies we wanted to view on laserdisc. Today, the extensive world of films on disc has made us more discerning. We only buy the movies that we have seen, and truely love. Even given that, with laserdiscs, DVDs, and now Blu-rays, we own over 500 films on disc.

Given that, even with ownership of so many movies, we probably have 50 that we love so much, that we mostly watch them, when watching titles from our movie library. Also, there is the realization that once one's film collection gets to be so big, it is quite likely that there are many that one will never get back to viewing again- so why buy everything that comes down the gate?

A rental service like Netflix is wonderful for viewing all of the "big and small" films that one never gets around to seeing in the theater. It is perfect if one has a busy life, and can only get to watching new films, supplemented with own library titles, a couple of times a week.

Anyway, I would expect my S300 to play all but the dirtiest/scratched Blu's and/or DVDs, otherwise what are we paying our hard earned cash for? One of the big selling points of Blu-ray, is how much better protected discs are, compared to DVD. I would expect only the best in picture, sound, and durability. Inspecting the outside of every disc I rent, I rarely see any "defects" on Blu-rays, but the skipping still occurs. Hopefully, I am simply experiencing some "new format/growing pain" manufacturing issue that will pass quickly!

Do yourself a favor and thoroughly clean every rental BD. Though you may not visibly see any dirt etc., this is known to take care of 90+% of problems with rental BD's (as reported on these forums by many rental users).