The Sony BDP-S300/301 Review Thread

[DuDs]

Hello there,

Looks like I've found the place to figure out my new BDP-S300. I am connecting to an Onkyo TX-SR606 via HDMI, and I have upgraded the BDP-S300 to the 4.3 firmware, in the quest for the Dolby True HD Codec. I have the BDP HDMI audio set to PCM, and on the Onkyo the source shows as PCM Multichannel. What I cant figure out is how to get the Onkyo to kick into the True HC codec. The True HD light does not illuminate no matter what listening mode I select.

Please let me know if anyone has any ideas or whether you need any more information.

Thanks!

[DuDs]

...doing a little more research I think I have it all set up correctly. If anyone else is searching about this same issue, the BDP-S300 does not bitstream the audio in order for the Onkyo to decode it. The BDP decodes the True HD codec and then outputs it through PCM.

Thanks!

[JasonR]

You are correct sir!

[krisjan]

Originally Posted by DuDs

Hello there,

Looks like I've found the place to figure out my new BDP-S300. I am connecting to an Onkyo TX-SR606 via HDMI, and I have upgraded the BDP-S300 to the 4.3 firmware, in the quest for the Dolby True HD Codec. I have the BDP HDMI audio set to PCM, and on the Onkyo the source shows as PCM Multichannel. What I cant figure out is how to get the Onkyo to kick into the True HC codec. The True HD light does not illuminate no matter what listening mode I select.

Please let me know if anyone has any ideas or whether you need any more information.

Thanks!

The specific answer to your question is that once the S300 decodes and sends the TrueHD audio as PCM, there is no way for your AVR to know what the original audio codec was. Hence it will display "PCM Multichannel" on its display. Rest assured that you are getting the Hi-Rez audio.

[DuDs]

Thanks guys!

[Eezer]

I'm a little confused and am wondering if maybe I can get some help here?

I've read some of this thread (70 pages would take too long) and have seen written that in order for me to get Dolby THD from my 300 I need to set it to output LPCM so that the player decodes it.

Fair enough.

But I have a Sony 820 amp/receiver which is supposed to decode DTHD and DTS HD-MA itself.

So my question is this; How should I set up my system so that I can get both HD formats (I'd prefer to stick to HDMI connections)? I assume it's possible as the amp does the decoding?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[J.Cornelius]

Ezer the player can not bitstream the high def codecs so your AVR will never decode them. Further the player can decode DDTHD but not DTSHD, you will never get the high def DTS codec from the S-300. Just make sure the player is set to PCM and it will internally decode DDTHD. Hope this helps, if you want further information just search this thread this topic appears numerous times.

[Eezer]

Thanks a lot for the quick reply.

[CJS]

Has anyone had problems with the Sony BDP-S300 after installing the 4.30 firmware update? The update installed OK (I've done many such updates in the past), but now the player has to restart one time before it can load a Blu-Ray disc successfully. This happens with many Blu-Ray Discs that have loaded without problem in the past, such as:

- Kung Fu Panda
- Pirates of the Carribbean: Dead Man's Chest
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Now if I leave the disc in the player and turn it off, the disc will load the first time without problem the next time I try to watch it.

I contacted Sony product support and they had me reset the player to the factory defaults, unplug it for one minute, power it back on and then reinstall the firmware update. After doing that, I still have the same problem.

I asked Sony about reinstalling the 4.2 update, but they recommended not doing that. Now they're telling me that I have to send it away for service. That will take three to four weeks since my nearest service center is out of state.

This player has been very reliable up until now and this is the first problem I have had with it.

Thanks,

CJS

[tek101]

Originally Posted by CJS

Has anyone had problems with the Sony BDP-S300 after installing the 4.30 firmware update? The update installed OK (I've done many such updates in the past), but now the player has to restart one time before it can load a Blu-Ray disc successfully. This happens with many Blu-Ray Discs that have loaded without problem in the past, such as:

- Kung Fu Panda
- Pirates of the Carribbean: Dead Man's Chest
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Now if I leave the disc in the player and turn it off, the disc will load the first time without problem the next time I try to watch it.

I contacted Sony product support and they had me reset the player to the factory defaults, unplug it for one minute, power it back on and then reinstall the firmware update. After doing that, I still have the same problem.

I asked Sony about reinstalling the 4.2 update, but they recommended not doing that. Now they're telling me that I have to send it away for service. That will take three to four weeks since my nearest service center is out of state.

This player has been very reliable up until now and this is the first problem I have had with it.

Thanks,

CJS

Hi. You can try to download a new Cd-r firmware, and start a new update.
Just to make sure , before send it out for repair.
Good luck.

[CJS]

Originally Posted by tek101

Hi. You can try to download a new Cd-r firmware, and start a new update.
Just to make sure , before send it out for repair.
Good luck.

Thanks. I tried that, but the problem still persists. I think I'm out of luck. I really don't want to send it away for service. I'd rather wait until the next firmware release to see if that fixes the problem. But by that time my warranty will have expired and then I'll have to pay to have it fixed. Looks like I may have to send it away after all. Maybe it's time to upgrade to the BDP-S550. I've been wanting to do that anyway.

Thanks again!

[Yeha-Noha]

Originally Posted by CJS

Maybe it's time to upgrade to the BDP-S550. I've been wanting to do that anyway.

Thanks again!

I share those sentiments. My S301 is over a year old. It served it's purpose and has done well and hasn't had any problems. It plays the new BD releases quite well. It's biggest drawback is that it doesn't decode DTS-HD MA. Lots of BDs these days are being released in DTS-HD MA and some are 7.1 channels. I am missing out on a lot sound because I also have a 7.1 HT system. Unfortunately the DTS-HD core is only 5.1 channels and at the lower 1.5 Mbps or about half the bit rate of DD-TrueHD and DTS-HD MA.

Yep, it's high time to get the Panny DMP BD30 or 35 on Black Friday. My second choice is the S350. I don't need to waste my money the S550 though. My AVR decodes all the lossless audio codecs.

[Octavio]

Originally Posted by rwojtalewicz

I share those sentiments. My S301 is over a year old. It served it's purpose and has done well and hasn't had any problems. It plays the new BD releases quite well. It's biggest drawback is that it doesn't decode DTS-HD MA. Lots of BDs these days are being released in DTS-HD MA and some are 7.1 channels. I am missing out on a lot sound because I also have a 7.1 HT system. Unfortunately the DTS-HD core is only 5.1 channels and at the lower 1.5 Mbps or about half the bit rate of DD-TrueHD and DTS-HD MA.

Yep, it's high time to get the Panny DMP BD30 or 35 on Black Friday. My second choice is the S350. I don't need to waste my money the S550 though. My AVR decodes all the lossless audio codecs.

I just bought the S350 and I am more than pleased. It's a wonderful machine. It took just a couple of minutes to get updated once I connected it to internet. Now I can acess BD-Live content; as of today BD-Live feature is still overrated but I can see a lot of quite interesting future applications.

IMO if your A/V receiver can decode all the HD audio codecs, I don't see any reason for paying 100-200 extra bucks for the S550. I just tried some DTS HD MA and DD THD tracks in my S350 bitstreamed to my Onkyo receiver and I did notice the difference, IMO DD THD and DTS MA sounds better when a good A/V receiver does the decoding job.
Audio-wise and picture-wise S350 beats PS3 without any doubt.
My only problem is that I have only a 6.1 system and now I NEED to buy 2 Surround Back speakers to fully enjoy 7.1 audio tracks.

My S300 tank is a noble machine, served its purpose extremely well, but it has its limitations. I am gonna sell it, but whoever gets it, if doesn't has a High-End A/V receiver, will be very satisfied.

[Yeha-Noha]

The S350 should do fine for me as well. In the end, it'll be the cost that'll determine which brand/model that I'll be buying.

[Razlaw]

Just updated to 4.3 from 3.8. Should there be any visible display on or from the player to indicate that Dolby TruHD is being decoded? The Audio display function of the player still says Dolby Digital 3/2.1. The display on the TV does indicate it is receiving multichannel pcm. Thanks.

[Yeha-Noha]

Originally Posted by Razlaw

Just updated to 4.3 from 3.8. Should there be any visible display on or from the player to indicate that Dolby TruHD is being decoded? The Audio display function of the player still says Dolby Digital 3/2.1. The display on the TV does indicate it is receiving multichannel pcm. Thanks.

There isn't. The only way to be sure is to select it from the audio setup menu on the BD. Unfortunately the Audio display function only shows DD 3/2.1 even though its the DD TrueHD track. I guess it is hard wired that way and not even a FW update will ever be able to fix it. If you want that displayed, then get the Sony S350 or Panny 35.

[Razlaw]

Originally Posted by rwojtalewicz

There isn't. The only way to be sure is to select it from the audio setup menu on the BD. Unfortunately the Audio display function only shows DD 3/2.1 even though its the DD TrueHD track. I guess it is hard wired that way and not even a FW update will ever be able to fix it. If you want that displayed, then get the Sony S350 or Panny 35.

Thanks!

[samesound]

Forgive me if this has been answered before. I did a search and couldn't find an answer.

My 301 has stopped playing Blu-Ray discs however it still plays DVDs and CDs. It gives me the error message "Can't play disc" or "Loading" without any response.

I discovered this problem while trying to play "Sleeping Beauty". The main disc wouldn't load but the bonus disc would however, while playing it would stutter and then freeze. I was still on FW 3.80 so I upgraded to 4.30. The upgrade was successful but the problems continued. Then I discovered that all my Blu-Rays wouldn't play anymore. DVDs however still would play.

Another symptom that popped up earlier was the movie "300" and "Ocean's 13" would stutter and then freeze. The only way to get out of it was to pull the power cord.

I suspect that my player needs service but I thought I would check with all you experts first. Thanks for any insight you can offer.

sam

[krisjan]

Originally Posted by samesound

Forgive me if this has been answered before. I did a search and couldn't find an answer.

My 301 has stopped playing Blu-Ray discs however it still plays DVDs and CDs. It gives me the error message "Can't play disc" or "Loading" without any response.

I discovered this problem while trying to play "Sleeping Beauty". The main disc wouldn't load but the bonus disc would however, while playing it would stutter and then freeze. I was still on FW 3.80 so I upgraded to 4.30. The upgrade was successful but the problems continued. Then I discovered that all my Blu-Rays wouldn't play anymore. DVDs however still would play.

Another symptom that popped up earlier was the movie "300" and "Ocean's 13" would stutter and then freeze. The only way to get out of it was to pull the power cord.

I suspect that my player needs service but I thought I would check with all you experts first. Thanks for any insight you can offer.

sam

It appears that the Blu-ray laser has died. It will need to be repaired. Hopefully the unit is still under warranty.

[samesound]

I was afraid of that. Luckily it's still under warranty.

Thanks,