The Sony BDP-S300/301 Review Thread

[dvdmax]

About chapter ten it starts freezing up. Has anyone else had any disc playing problems?
Update: actually I can't play Eragon at all! But Black Snake Moan and others play just fine. Well actually I have had times when I try to scan backward and movies lock up. I recycle power to continue. I'm thinking the player is bad, only had it a week, bought it from Sam's Club.

[chapbr]

Finally came to a decision, and ordered the S300. It arrived yesterday, and decided to start by taking a look at the first Planet Earth BD disc, courtesy of Netflix. Was unable to play the disc and got an error stating "incompatible region code".

Has anyone else had this problem? I've seen a few comments on this thread about how good the picture looks on this BD, so it must be working for some people. Could it just be the version that Netflix has in stock? I realize this is the BBC version, but I find it hard to believe that a disc being sold all over the US would not be playable on this machine.

[monkyman]

Originally Posted by chapbr

Was unable to play the disc and got an error stating "incompatible region code".

Has anyone else had this problem?

Yes, and it was a defective disc from netflix. I cleaned it with eyeglass cleaner and it started, but only got to the menu. They sent anouther disc out the next day and it was fine.

I own Ghost Rider and have no problems with the BDP-S300.

[Xeena]

Ok, after having the 300 lock up on every disk if I stoped, paused, or rewound too much, I returned it to Costco and bought the PS3 80 from Circuit City, it hasn't locked up once.

[tron3]

Originally Posted by monkyman

Yes, and it was a defective disc from netflix. I cleaned it with eyeglass cleaner and it started, but only got to the menu. They sent anouther disc out the next day and it was fine.

I own Ghost Rider and have no problems with the BDP-S300.

I had trouble getting to the menu. The background graphics played but no menu. I pressed stop once and then hit "top menu" before it came up. Anyone else with this problem? DO I have a defective disc?

[frank_t]

Originally Posted by videonut

I would still just buy a PS3. You get more for your money.

Yeah, I did just that-- took the S300 back and purchased a PS3 (I'm a gamer anyway, so it's the best of both worlds). The difference is amazing.

The BDP-S300 was so slow to load the PotC discs, and my first thought was that as more and more studios add the processor-intensive java features, it'll only get worse.

Then of course there are the firmware updates. on the Ps3 it's a snap.

About the only thing I miss with the PS3 is the analog outs. Right now I have to downgrade the audio until I purchase a new receiver.

[tron3]

Didn't the 2.0 firmare come out about June? Any idea how often they occur, or when we might expect the next revision?

[jerryray]

I cannot play Pirates of the carribean Curse of the black pearl.
Tried 2 new disks, the newer Dead mens chest plays ok.

My BDP-300 has 2.1 firmware.

Anyone else have disks that won't play?
What can we do about this?

[monkyman]

I have firmware 2.0 in my S300, and both movies play fine. When you said you tryed 2 new movies, were you talking about 2 copys of the Black Pearl, or both Pirates movies?
I would try another Black Pearl if you haven't already.

[Coug]

I just bought the S300. Tried playing two movies from Netflix and got incompatible region on both, so I rented two from Blockbuster (Flyboys, Pirates-2) and they played just fine. Anyone else had problems with Netflix?

[BTBuck1]

Originally Posted by jerryray

I cannot play Pirates of the carribean Curse of the black pearl.
Tried 2 new disks, the newer Dead mens chest plays ok.

My BDP-300 has 2.1 firmware.

Anyone else have disks that won't play?
What can we do about this?

mine plays em all, but i have 2.0

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by Coug

I just bought the S300. Tried playing two movies from Netflix and got incompatible region on both, so I rented two from Blockbuster (Flyboys, Pirates-2) and they played just fine. Anyone else had problems with Netflix?

Yes, for whatever reason a number of discs Netflix let into their system are defective. It is not your player, but their discs.

Pro-B

[tron3]

2.1 firmware? Now how could I be sure it is not the firmware that will ruin my ability to play POTC1? ANyone else try this? I can't even find 2.1 firmware on the Sony site.

[monkyman]

Originally Posted by tron3

2.1 firmware? Now how could I be sure it is not the firmware that will ruin my ability to play POTC1? ANyone else try this? I can't even find 2.1 firmware on the Sony site.

I know 2.1 came on some, if not all of the Costco BDP-S301, not sure how many S300's have it, but I don't believe the S300 with 2.0 needs or has any upgrades yet.

[Blu Blur]

Whats the diff. between the 300 and the 301? No problems with our S300 just slow to load on Java heavy movies, bought it from the Sony Style store.

[Blu As Hell]

Originally Posted by Blu Blur

Whats the diff. between the 300 and the 301? No problems with our S300 just slow to load on Java heavy movies, bought it from the Sony Style store.

If I remember right (and I could be wrong) the only difference in the two is that the s301 comes with a HDMI cord.

[tron3]

Originally Posted by Blu As Hell

If I remember right (and I could be wrong) the only difference in the two is that the s301 comes with a HDMI cord.

I don't know if it comes with a cable, but I do know one is Dolby 5.1 , and the other is Dolby 7.1. I'll let you guess which is which.

[Blu Blur]

Hey thanks for answering. I got another question for you though, I recently got Underworld ( ) and was playing it on my S300 all of a sudden the player froze and made an electric buzz noise (noise came from my speakers) and would not let my operate it. I shut it down and restarted and it came up and said "can't play this disc" so I ejected it and put it back in and there were no problems. Should I be worried about this, or should I chalk it up to a one time glitch. The player is only about a month old.

[tron3]

Originally Posted by Blu Blur

Hey thanks for answering. I got another question for you though, I recently got Underworld ( ) and was playing it on my S300 all of a sudden the player froze and made an electric buzz noise (noise came from my speakers) and would not let my operate it. I shut it down and restarted and it came up and said "can't play this disc" so I ejected it and put it back in and there were no problems. Should I be worried about this, or should I chalk it up to a one time glitch. The player is only about a month old.

Possible you have a bad disc. Try a few movies and then see how Underworld plays out. Get the new 2.60 firmware. Did mine last night. Scared me a little but it is sweet.

[AndrewJC]

I have had The Sony BDP-S300 Since Early August of 2007, I have had no problems of note. Blu Ray Movies blow away SD DVD movies easly, I have noticed the difference. I have a 26 inch 720P 1080I TV, High Definition is the future.