The Sony BDP-S300/301 Review Thread

[alon]

I have just bought a
BLU-RAY Sony Bdp-S301 .The player does not run any disk from any region other than region 1 .
Please advise what can I do in order to open it for multi region .

Many Thanks
A

[electric turd]

Hey everyone. I have been trying all day to get my bdp-s300 hooked up via analogs to my pioneer elite vsx-33tx. I have good sound out of every channel except my sub. I am not getting any sound at all form my sub. I see no option for a sub in the audio setup for the 300. Am I missing something or is there a step I am missing? The sound im getting out of the other speakers is excellent and I believe this will give me better audio than using optical/coax correct?
Thanks for helping
Lee

[electric turd]

Nvm I got it figured out, The 10db decrease in sub volume had me confused.

[mhbarton]

A little new to this subject.... well very new.

Despite the unit not have TruHD decoding, would having a TruHD reciever remedy this? Sorry for my lack of knowledge.

[dankoo]

Hi guys...just recieved my S300 2 days ago...mine is Asia set. I was thinking can I apply the firmware from US to my set to upgrade it to 3.7 as it is only 3.2. I wonder will it change the DVD code to 1 from 3?

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by dankoo

Hi guys...just recieved my S300 2 days ago...mine is Asia set. I was thinking can I apply the firmware from US to my set to upgrade it to 3.7 as it is only 3.2. I wonder will it change the DVD code to 1 from 3?

Is v3.7 of the firmware not available from Sony in your region? What asian country is your player from?

[dankoo]

Nope...you guys in US are fortunate as the support are alot better and faster. I believe mainly due to the critical mass as compared to Asia region. I am in Singapore. I have read that the aust folks also share the same support with us and they are also back up to only 3.2.

I believe that the upgrade should work fine for my set..just wondering anyway to change the DVD code to 1 cos my is 3 and most of my DVDs are from Amazon...

Imagine, my Blu-ray is region "A" and DVD region "3"...

[Gio]

Originally Posted by JeffGott

Hi All,

New member so I hope I'm doing this right.

I recently purchased a BDP-S300 and a STRDA4300ES. I have upgraded the firmware to 3.3 and have the player connected to the receiver via HDMI 2 using a Monster 1000 HDMI cable. I also have a DirectTV HD DVR (HR20-100) connected to HDMI 1 on the receiver. I have no problems with the DirectTV receiver.

The player will periodically drop audio with occasional video blips while watching Blu-Ray movies. I have tried everything I can imagine - using different inputs, swapping HDMI cables, etc. Nothing seems to make a difference.

The last thing I did last night was to run component video to the receiver and I didn't notice any problems. I want to go back to HDMI though.

Is this a bad player? Bad cables? Any help would be appreciated.

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

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by dankoo

Nope...you guys in US are fortunate as the support are alot better and faster. I believe mainly due to the critical mass as compared to Asia region. I am in Singapore. I have read that the aust folks also share the same support with us and they are also back up to only 3.2.

I believe that the upgrade should work fine for my set..just wondering anyway to change the DVD code to 1 cos my is 3 and most of my DVDs are from Amazon...

Imagine, my Blu-ray is region "A" and DVD region "3"...

Since Singapore is Region A it may, but I found the following posted on the internet in regards to Australia:

http://www.dtvforum.info/index.php?s...ded&pid=886698

I lodged a query with Sony Support noting that US and UK wesites had version 3.7 firmware updates for the BDP-S300 and to see if they had a local firmware update available.

Here is part of their reply -


Thank you for your enquiry.

The updates you described are not suitable for your player. Please do not attempt to download and install the update as it could cause your unit to lock-up, requiring servicing by our Authorised Service Centres. The firmware update for Australia should be released around the 27th of December. For further details, please see the following website closer to the date of release: http://www.sony-asia.com/support.


Regards,

Sony Australia
Customer Contact Centre

Does Singapore having any version of the firmware posted to its web site? If so do you have a link because I can't find any firmware updates for blu-ray players from the asian regions?

[dankoo]

Ya..saw that too...no firmware was posted here...only the manuals...I also called up support this morning and dont think the guy know his stuff too...

[lucifer]

Originally Posted by dankoo

Ya..saw that too...no firmware was posted here...only the manuals...I also called up support this morning and dont think the guy know his stuff too...

I have the same problem. I just bought the player BDP-S300 somedayz ago. I have downloaded the new firmware. But not confident enough to run. My one is also region A and 3. My firmware version is 2.60 not sure what to do.

[QwikSand]

Originally Posted by lucifer

I have the same problem. I just bought the player BDP-S300 somedayz ago. I have downloaded the new firmware. But not confident enough to run. My one is also region A and 3. My firmware version is 2.60 not sure what to do.

I just got my BDP-S300 on Monday and did it flawlessly. I burned the IMAGE file onto cd with Nero and then followed the firmware instructions provided when you download it. This is the thread where I asked some questions while doing it. Good luck

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=28006

[lucifer]

I have just found the firmware in Asian support site.

http://www.sony-asia.com/support/dow...ite=hp_en_AP_i

interestingly US F/W and Asian F/W are different size

I am just wondering if i update US firmware then what will happend ??? what will be my region for DVD coz I want to change the region code for DVD.

[red_5ive]

Any word on a fw update for DTS-MA and DD True HD decoding?

[rondanto]

I Just Watch Movvies. Is It Really Necessary To Use The Updated Disc Sony Sent?

[Blu-Raider]

An educated note about firmware releases --

Any time you see a decimal release, i.e. 3.20 to 3.30 to 3.70, etc. it's normally considered a minor release and is more along the lines of bug fixes, etc.

When a significant upgrade is made such as DTS-MA or TrueHD (if even possible with the S300 hardware) it will be given a major release number such as 3.xx to 4.00.

[QwikSand]

Originally Posted by rondanto

I Just Watch Movvies. Is It Really Necessary To Use The Updated Disc Sony Sent?

The fixes are made because some movies don't play. So if you don't have that issue with any of the movies you watch, then you can wait.

[MTP]

I am looking to get either the S300 or the S301 from Samclub.
I have an older Toshiba 46H83 WS HDTV that does not have a HDMI input.
It does have a DVI input though.
It does 1080i.

My real question is will I really see an increase in video quality over a normal dvd player that upscales?

I mean I know most dvds are 540p and I am upscaling to 1080i.
But since my tv only does 1080i will the Blu Ray be "down scaling" from 1080p??

Thanks

[dankoo]

Originally Posted by MTP

I am looking to get either the S300 or the S301 from Samclub.
I have an older Toshiba 46H83 WS HDTV that does not have a HDMI input.
It does have a DVI input though.
It does 1080i.

My real question is will I really see an increase in video quality over a normal dvd player that upscales?

I mean I know most dvds are 540p and I am upscaling to 1080i.
But since my tv only does 1080i will the Blu Ray be "down scaling" from 1080p??

Thanks

Are you going to use a HDMI-DVI cable to connect?

Anyway, the player does allows you to change the format down so should be OK...not sure abt the improvements though but I am sure that 1080 should be better than 540 anytime....

[Meerkat]

Originally Posted by Blu-Raider

An educated note about firmware releases --

Any time you see a decimal release, i.e. 3.20 to 3.30 to 3.70, etc. it's normally considered a minor release and is more along the lines of bug fixes, etc.

When a significant upgrade is made such as DTS-MA or TrueHD (if even possible with the S300 hardware) it will be given a major release number such as 3.xx to 4.00.

Good point.