The Sony BDP-S300/301 Review Thread

[tek101]

Hi Jason..Thank you very much.

[freeform13]

Hi all,

I have the S300, and was watchinng the Face/Off disc last night. The disc played for over an hour, but after a while, froze. (the counter continued for a few extra seconds) I shut the machine off and restarted, but it kept saying "cannot play disc." Once, it said the disc was from the wrong region. I watched this thing for most of the movie, and now it cannot even play. I upgraded to 3.90 firmware, but to no avail. Can anyone help?

Thanks,

Rick

[viiv]

Regarding future firmware updates, I know things like DTS-HD MA is too much to ask for because the hardware is probably not capable of it, but I would like things added that the hardware is capable of, specifically regarding legacy CD support.

Right now the S300 only supports Audio CDs. Thats a waste of the CD diode (that I paid for) when it can do so much more:

I want support for MP3 and JPEG CDs. I mean come on it can read them if they are on a DVD but not on a CD? And who burns MP3 DVDs anyways? No other players like car head units or PCDPs can play MP3 DVDs only MP3 CDs. So it means you have to burn discs JUST for this player instead of using the same discs you already made.

VCD, SVCD support

DIVX Support

And then I am a happy camper. There is no reason why my $$$ Blu ray player shouldn't be able to do everything a $30 Wal Mart DVD player can.

[Migman]

Hello all,

I recently purchased a demo model bdp-s301 from a local retailer but it didn't come with a remote control. I've searched high and low for a remote code, but I have been unable to find any that work. Does anyone have any suggestions for a control solution that isn't going to cost me the $55-$75 for a replacement Sony remote? I have a 42" panny plasma (th-42pz700u)--is there any way to program that control to use the blu-ray? Thanks for any help!!!!

[PythonMonty504]

Originally Posted by freeform13

Hi all,

I have the S300, and was watchinng the Face/Off disc last night. The disc played for over an hour, but after a while, froze. (the counter continued for a few extra seconds) I shut the machine off and restarted, but it kept saying "cannot play disc." Once, it said the disc was from the wrong region. I watched this thing for most of the movie, and now it cannot even play. I upgraded to 3.90 firmware, but to no avail. Can anyone help?

Thanks,

Rick

Sometimes this probelm happens to me, sometime it'll pop up as "wrong region" and screws up with playing the disc. A probelm could be the disc itself is screwed-up. You should switch copies from where you bought it, and see if that plays correctly. If it doesn't, then it's the player that's screwed up (what you can do then, I'm not quite sure). Good luck.

[freeform13]

Originally Posted by PythonMonty504

Sometimes this probelm happens to me, sometime it'll pop up as "wrong region" and screws up with playing the disc. A probelm could be the disc itself is screwed-up. You should switch copies from where you bought it, and see if that plays correctly. If it doesn't, then it's the player that's screwed up (what you can do then, I'm not quite sure). Good luck.

Yeah, I should probably get a different copy of the movie. I've had problems with this player since I bought it. I'm thinking it's due for a trip back to Best Buy.

Thanks for the help!

[tvine2000]

why is this thread even here its a year old
get rid of it

[JasonR]

To provide feedback, information, and ask/answer questions about this player. Geez...

[QwikSand]

And it is very useful.

[navyman]

Originally Posted by tvine2000

why is this thread even here its a year old
get rid of it

Why are you posting in a thread that doesn't apply to you. You don't need to read every thread posted in blu-ray forums. Plus your post was off topic. Why are you posting useless junk in a thread that you have nothing to do with.

But Back on topic, has anyone found out if this last update did indeed give us dts hd capabilities? I know it was stated that when the site is transalted into spanish that it mentions dts hd is now a function on the s300.

[Octavio]

Originally Posted by navyman

Why are you posting in a thread that doesn't apply to you. You don't need to read every thread posted in blu-ray forums. Plus your post was off topic. Why are you posting useless junk in a thread that you have nothing to do with.

But Back on topic, has anyone found out if this last update did indeed give us dts hd capabilities? I know it was stated that when the site is transalted into spanish that it mentions dts hd is now a function on the s300.

Not DTS HD but Dolby True HD. Nobody with a high-end receiver have denied or confirmed it.

I am about to buy an A/V Onkyo 875. Then I'd tell you if it's true or not. but not before 2 weeks I guess.

[JasonR]

I will have a receiver that accepts PCM within the next couple of weeks as well. I will submit my feedback.

[blurayisking]

The last firmware update (eg: 3.9) did not provide Dolby TrueHD according to a Sony representive that I spoke to recently.

That whole spanish thing about providing Dolby TrueHD was an error.

Bring on the BDP-S550 that will internally decode everything and send via 5.1 analog outputs or bitstream via HDMI for external decoding.

[Carlsberg19]

hmm now u guys have me seriously considering getting rid of the bdp s300 lol!

[JasonR]

Originally Posted by blurayisking

The last firmware update (eg: 3.9) did not provide Dolby TrueHD according to a Sony representive that I spoke to recently.

That whole spanish thing about providing Dolby TrueHD was an error.

Bring on the BDP-S550 that will internally decode everything and send via 5.1 analog outputs or bitstream via HDMI for external decoding.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...&postcount=724

First post of this thread from our Sony insider.

I finally took some time this evening to reconfirm what is going on with the 300.

A couple of points to know first:

I checked this with firmware 3.7, but it applies to several earlier releases going back to when the feature first appeared on the S1.

It is not an advertised feature of the S300, It could be removed at any time in a future firmware release.

DO NOT call Sony customer service and hassle them about why this does not show up in the information display or in the manual. As mentioned before, this is an unadvertised feature. Consider it a gift.

The only setting that matters is the HDMI audio setting. It MUST be set to LPCM, or Dolby THD will only come out of the HDMI connection as DD. The downmix setting does not matter.

Dolby THD will only be decoded and passed as LPCM on the HDMI connector. If you want to confirm if you are really getting THD versus DD, try the following: Connect your receiver analog inputs to the analog outputs of the S300, set the HDMI audio output to LPCM and connect the HDMI output to your receiver as well, playback a THD audio stream and use your receiver to toggle between the analog input or the HDMI input, better yet, have someone else do the switching for you. If these do not sound the same to you, you have learned something. Now try the same thing with a normal DD stream and see if you hear the same difference, if not....

For those of you who will continue to question this until the sun burns out, someone makes a test disc to confirm it, or someone dedicated does an invert/add of the analog out vs. the HDMI THD out, keep in mind that I don't do this for a hobby and I don't have anything to gain by misleading you.

[Lucy Diamond]

I'm going to burn a copy of 3.90 and I will let you all know later if it worked and if there are any new codecs.


WIsh me luck

[tron3]

Originally Posted by Carlsberg19

hmm now u guys have me seriously considering getting rid of the bdp s300 lol!

I'm one of those guys who will stick with it until the joyful firmware gifts stop giving. Few things could entice me away from the S300. Faster power up, load times and quicker navigation to name a few. Then it is time to look longingly those players with features I do not need, nor could use, but absolutely must have.

Please don't hawk the PS3 at me. I have a stand alone player for a reason.

[Moefiz]

Ok ...help me out here.My S300 is hook up to to the Yamaha RX-V663 now the receiver can decode it all we all know that the S300 can't decode much.I checked out Dewey Cox last night all I could get was regular Dolby no Tru HD.

I have the S300 Hdmi set at auto, what should be the right setting for this player.

[Yeha-Noha]

Originally Posted by Moefiz

Ok ...help me out here.My S300 is hook up to to the Yamaha RX-V663 now the receiver can decode it all we all know that the S300 can't decode much.I checked out Dewey Cox last night all I could get was regular Dolby no Tru HD.

I have the S300 Hdmi set at auto, what should be the right setting for this player.

That's why you're not getting it. Change the HDMI AUTO setting to PCM. Also, the S300 decodes DD THD internally and sends it out over HDMI as PCM. Your Yammy's source indicator display should say PCM. It won't or really can't display Dolby True HD because your Yammy isn't decoding the codec. When you see PCM displayed, that's what you want.

I

[Moefiz]

Originally Posted by rwojtalewicz

That's why you're not getting it. Change the HDMI AUTO setting to PCM. Also, the S300 decodes DD THD internally and sends it out over HDMI as PCM. Your Yammy's source indicator display should say PCM. It won't or really can't display Dolby True HD because your Yammy isn't decoding the codec. When you see PCM displayed, that's what you want.

I

Thank you, I knew some thing just wasn't right with the set up.