The Sony BDP-S300/301 Review Thread

[cyberknight]

Not sure if this has already been posted but the US BDP-S300 is dual voltage. Found it out by accident yesterday.....

[lucifer]

I have updated my BDP-S300 to 3.70, I have downloaded the firmware from US site (My player is Asian version). But it did not change the region code. any one has any idea how to change the region code for DVD. coz also I have many DVD from amazon.

[npanzeca]

I have had this player since June and never installed any of the firmware. What are the advantages of doing so, what am i missing in not having installed any yet? Thanks!

[tron3]

Originally Posted by npanzeca

I have had this player since June and never installed any of the firmware. What are the advantages of doing so, what am i missing in not having installed any yet? Thanks!

Still running on 2.0? Geeze. The immediate difference is faster loading time. Plus compatibility with movies which may not play without the new firmware. BD-J is a huge part of blu-ray disc, so not upgrading only hurts yourself.

With firmware 2.0 POTC loaded in about 4 minutes. That is down to 1:40 with 3.70 firmware. Plus some compatibility with "burned" blu-rays.

[npanzeca]

Thanks for the info. i've never had any problems other than some slow load times and the fact that the picture isn't as sharp as i thought it would be (i have a 50inch sony HD projection tv that only goes up to 1080i I think. Even at that its not as sharp as I thought it would be. I assume that I burn the firmware to a CD/DVD and then load it into the BD player?

[QwikSand]

Yes, I posted my experience from this week a few posts up, #347. Very very easy to do.

[Sailor-man]

New to the group and love the picture on my s300, but having some problems with 5.1 audio dropping out on occasion. Happens most fequently when there is an intense bit in a BP movie.

My s300 is connected to a Sony STR DB870 that's few years old using audio and optical cable. The Receiver is decoding and I am getting 5.1 audio, but it periodically drops. It's most noticeable playing a Blu-Ray disk such as the new Harry Potter film when there is an intense scene. It drops momentarilty (ie. the 5.1 light on the Receiver dims momentarily and sound stops, then resumes a second or 2 later).

So far, it doesn't drop any audio when playing a standard DVD. I have downloaded and installed the latest firmware fix (v 3.70).

If anyone has a solution .. pls post thx.

[npanzeca]

Thanks, i will update as well.

[ATLienGeorgia]

I am loving the player. I don't have it hooked up to a surround sound yet but I am using HDMI with a 1080p Samsung LCD. The load times are alittle annoying, but it is better then expected for the price tag.

[yyyiiikes]

I have solved the Slow load time issue with the S300.... by installing a standard upscaling DVD player on top of the S300 (Sony NS77H)!

The wrath of a 3 year old is unbearable for the 3+ minutes of intermission time between Thomas the Train DVDs... I had to do something. (Yes, I first evaluated the latest firmware... not even close)

So now, the S300 is only used for Blu-Ray viewing... and everyone is happy.

The only regret I have is that I should have gotten another vendor's player... this is not the right corporate reward/punishment system that should be established. But at least the gear all matches.

I suggest that Sony include a NS77H in each Blu Ray player box until the load time issue is solved. Seriously, the usability of the S300 as an everyday player is questionable if you have a family that frequently changes out discs (issue affects CD audio as well).

[JasonR]

+1
Start up is an issue with alot of players though.

You try loading fifty GB worth of data!!!!!!

[monkyman]

Originally Posted by yyyiiikes

The wrath of a 3 year old is unbearable for the 3+ minutes of intermission time between Thomas the Train DVDs...

If your S300 is already on, there should be no 3+ minutes to change discs????? These are regular DVD's, they don't require a load time like the BD-J blu ray discs do. My reg DVD's load right up and start.

[Meerkat]

Originally Posted by monkyman

If your S300 is already on, there should be no 3+ minutes to change discs????? These are regular DVD's, they don't require a load time like the BD-J blu ray discs do. My reg DVD's load right up and start.

I agree, slow load times is expected for BD-J discs. Less than 2 minutes for my player with FW 3.7. SD DVDs load without a significant wait.

Overall, wait time is a slight inconvenience, but well worth the wait.

[JeffGott]

Originally Posted by Gio

first of all nice set-up !

i had problems with that firmware too, movies would also sometimes freeze up

the new 3.70 works great with no probs

https://www.blu-ray.com/firmware/firmware.php?id=10

if it doesnt fix the issues i'd return to where you got it

I returned to where I purchased the unit and exchanged it for another one. I updated the firmware to 3.70 and everything is working great!

[ATLienGeorgia]

My Sony BDP-S300 Blu-Ray Player Review

That is my review of the player on a blog I post at. Check it out. I am no expert, but I know more then the average user about this stuff. Read it and leave me a comment of what you think. Digg it is you would like, the link is at the bottom.

Thank Everyone!

[tron3]

Originally Posted by ATLienGeorgia

My Sony BDP-S300 Blu-Ray Player Review

That is my review of the player on a blog I post at. Check it out. I am no expert, but I know more then the average user about this stuff. Read it and leave me a comment of what you think. Digg it is you would like, the link is at the bottom.

Thank Everyone!

Snip-
The Bad: The main concern I had was how terribly slow the player loads. After you hit the eject button, it can take upwards of 30 seconds before the player actually ejects the tray. Once the disc is in, it can take another min to load. While I can understand that it takes a lot to load 50gb of data, some other players I have seen can load much faster.

I only scanned what caught my eye but I suggest you rework this portion of your review. You are not loading up 50 GB of data. What is taking long are those BD-J (Java encoded) movies. Non BD-J movies can start in 25 to 30 seconds, which is totally acceptable.

Were you running the 3.70 firmware? It makes a big difference in load times on BD-J movies.

[SamInNorthCakalakey]

Also, after pressing eject on mine it spits it out in about 5-10 seconds. And that's not a firmware issue, it's always done that.

Originally Posted by tron3

Snip-
The Bad: The main concern I had was how terribly slow the player loads. After you hit the eject button, it can take upwards of 30 seconds before the player actually ejects the tray. Once the disc is in, it can take another min to load. While I can understand that it takes a lot to load 50gb of data, some other players I have seen can load much faster.

I only scanned what caught my eye but I suggest you rework this portion of your review. You are not loading up 50 GB of data. What is taking long are those BD-J (Java encoded) movies. Non BD-J movies can start in 25 to 30 seconds, which is totally acceptable.

Were you running the 3.70 firmware? It makes a big difference in load times on BD-J movies.

[krazeyeyez]

is the 3.7 new because i updated my player a week or two ago and that does not sound like the number i downloaded.

[tron3]

Originally Posted by krazeyeyez

is the 3.7 new because i updated my player a week or two ago and that does not sound like the number i downloaded.

Yep, brandy new. You might have the 3.30 update. They mostly concentrate on Java improvements, which is great because Java is where all the loading lag time comes from.

Originally Posted by SamInNorthCakalakey

Also, after pressing eject on mine it spits it out in about 5-10 seconds. And that's not a firmware issue, it's always done that.

Assuming you have the current firmware, that might be just your machine. Then again, I make sure to press stop first, and stop again if the resume mode is working. I never just press eject. I treat this thing a little more like a pc and opt for "clean" shutdowns.

I can hardly wait to see what 4.xx brings us.

[QwikSand]

I just bought mine last week and have 3.70 and have no eject time issues at all.