The Sony BDP-S300/301 Review Thread

[Octavio]

Finally I sold my S300. Actually I sold it a month ago but since the buyer is a good friend of mine and he wasn't in town, then I kept "my" tank one month more.

I have nothing but good things to say about this player. Perhaps the only annoyance is its slowness compared to newer models.
But the real reason why I sold it is because it cannot be upgraded to a higher profile. So far BD-Live sux, but an ethernet port makes easier and faster those firmware updates. Besides more and more BD releases includes PiP commentaries (recquires profile 1.1 at least)

I played about 150 BD's on this player and NEVER had ANY important issue. Of course I always updated firmware asap. The S300 is a good machine and I'll still recommend it to somebody who doesn't care for Bonus View or BD Live content and for those who are not bothered if they have to burn their own CD-R in order to update this player's firmware.

Farewell to my tank

[tron3]

Anymore firmware updates for the tank, or has it finally run out of gas?

If they have not done so, Sony needs a compiled version of the firmware to tweak the last bit of speed from this beloved slug.

Could it be we have seen the last of firmware updates for this player?

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by blackmind

The Sony BDP-S300/301 sucked beyond compare. Now that I have been a Pany 35, I realize what I have been missing! Sony tried to make an inexpensive player, but only succeeded in forcing its customers in upgrading to their BDP-S350, which is not as good as the Panasonic DMP-35k.

Mine has performed flawlessly for 18 months.

Does your panny have slow motion or frame by frame advance?

[blackmind]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Mine has performed flawlessly for 18 months.

Does your panny have slow motion or frame by frame advance?

I once felt as you do, but my S300 just suddenly died leaving me without my blu-ray addication. I have seen the future and the Sony S300 isn't it. However, I am gald that your Sony is still working properly. You should fully enjoy it while it last.

[Teabaggins]

shouldn't this thread be stickied?

[krisjan]

Originally Posted by Teabaggins

shouldn't this thread be stickied?

The site did away with individual player stickies. Instead there is a master sticky that links to the various player stickies.

[adlup]

I have an s-300. what advantages would the s-350, or something newer from another brand bring me. does it have anything to do with pq or aq? I have had mine for over a year and have never had any problems. just wondering if it was worth an upgrade. -thanks

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by adlup

I have an s-300. what advantages would the s-350, or something newer from another brand bring me. does it have anything to do with pq or aq? I have had mine for over a year and have never had any problems. just wondering if it was worth an upgrade. -thanks

Newer/higher end models have a number of improvements.

PIP capable
BD Live
Firmware updates over the internet
Better audio (support for both HD codecs)

[azncarbos]

question....when you guy say the loading time is slow, how slow and same go to DVD too and how the upconverting....b/c I own a S-350 right now but looking for another bluray and find the S-300 for dirt cheap!BD live and PIP is not really needed! THanks for the help.

[ninja1]

I had installed 4.50 FW for my s300
Would I get HD sound(True HD after internal decoded) from 5.1 analog output if I connected cables from s300 5.1 analog output to my AVR 5.1 analog input ?

[Scorxpion]

Originally Posted by ninja1

I had installed 4.50 FW for my s300
Would I get HD sound(True HD after internal decoded) from 5.1 analog output if I connected cables from s300 5.1 analog output to my AVR 5.1 analog input ?

I'm afraid to inform you that this player capability through 5.1 analog output is only for PCM and Lossy sound like Dolby Digital and DTS.this player can internally decoded DolbyTrueHD only in one way if your AVR has HDMI input.

If you like this tank player as a lot of users here ,my recommendation for your setup now as it is to buy this player BDP-S550 which can really decodes everything through its 5.1 analog output.or in another scenario you can trade it and buy the player i told you about.

Regards,

[Factionparadox]

HI

please forgive me if this is a silly question but iam new to Blu-Ray. I recently bought a Sony BDP S300 player and it works brilliantly however i have a question.

On The Da Vinci Code DVD one of the special features on disc 1 is `unlocking the code picture in picture` feature. My question is how do i do this?. I have clicked on the special features on disc 1 and there is no picture in picture function only a select scene commentary

thanks for any help

[Scorxpion]

Originally Posted by Factionparadox

HI

please forgive me if this is a silly question but iam new to Blu-Ray. I recently bought a Sony BDP S300 player and it works brilliantly however i have a question.

On The Da Vinci Code DVD one of the special features on disc 1 is `unlocking the code picture in picture` feature. My question is how do i do this?. I have clicked on the special features on disc 1 and there is no picture in picture function only a select scene commentary

thanks for any help

Ok you mean the blu-ray version i dont know about DVD version.If this case is true as far as i know BDP-S300 is not a profile 1.1 meaning you cant view on it Picture in picture commentary neither it is compatible with profile 2.0 known as BD-Live.

Good Luck.

[Factionparadox]

Originally Posted by Scorxpion

Ok you mean the blu-ray version i dont know about DVD version.If this case is true as far as i know BDP-S300 is not a profile 1.1 meaning you cant view on it Picture in picture commentary neither it is compatible with profile 2.0 known as BD-Live.

Good Luck.

Thanks so basically trhe S300 isnt capable of PIP and Bonus view?...looks like il have to upgrade to the S350 then and just when iv bought the S300 too I have updated the firmware to the latest version

[Scorxpion]

Originally Posted by Factionparadox

Thanks so basically trhe S300 isnt capable of PIP and Bonus view?...looks like il have to upgrade to the S350 then and just when iv bought the S300 too I have updated the firmware to the latest version

Yes and even if you buy S350 its important to keep it updated with latest firmware too.

[Factionparadox]

Originally Posted by Scorxpion

Yes and even if you buy S350 its important to keep it updated with latest firmware too.

Thanks very much for your help

Il wait till the S350 comes down in price a little and then upgrade, may as well get a little use out of the old S300 cant fault it really, once i sorted out the settings on my TV (contrast etc) the picture comes out amazing!

[Scorxpion]

Originally Posted by Factionparadox

Thanks very much for your help

Il wait till the S350 comes down in price a little and then upgrade, may as well get a little use out of the old S300 cant fault it really, once i sorted out the settings on my TV (contrast etc) the picture comes out amazing!

For this reason BDP-S300 has been called a TANK.this player is very good as i have heard and see here Anyway you made the right decision to keep this player now and changed it after a while.

[ninja1]

Originally Posted by Scorxpion

I'm afraid to inform you that this player capability through 5.1 analog output is only for PCM and Lossy sound like Dolby Digital and DTS.this player can internally decoded DolbyTrueHD only in one way if your AVR has HDMI input.

If you like this tank player as a lot of users here ,my recommendation for your setup now as it is to buy this player BDP-S550 which can really decodes everything through its 5.1 analog output.or in another scenario you can trade it and buy the player i told you about.

Regards,

Thank you so much

[Blu-ray Neo]

I've had the S300 & S301 for roughly 2 years now. I gave the 301 to my father a couple months ago, but overall both have been very solid players.

The only problem that I've had was with my S300 and the disc Wall-E. IT would occasionally freeze every so often, but that issue has been rectified via firmware updates.

Overall, the S300/301 are VERY SOLID players. The only reason why I'm looking to get rid of ours and upgrade is to take advantage of the HD codecs available on the newer players. From what I understand, the S300/301 will decode DD TrueHD, but will not handle DTS HD-MA.

For those of you that don't really care about the latest HD codecs, the S300 is a solid, somewhat reliable player that won't break the bank.

BTW: "Tank" is a good nickname for this player.

[tron3]

Originally Posted by Blu-ray Neo

...

BTW: "Tank" is a good nickname for this player.

That was my idea.

"T'ank you. T'ank you very much." -Elvis Presley