The Sony BDP-S350 Review Thread

[pingman]

Originally Posted by jlangner

Lol, yes, that is where I got mine from yesterday.

Mine hasn't arrived yet, but now I'm wondering about my universal remote. Since you had a BDP-S300, is the remote functions the same or are there glaring differences? It is so much easier to select a model number in setup, instead of having to teach the commands to the remote.

[jlangner]

Originally Posted by pingman

Mine hasn't arrived yet, but now I'm wondering about my universal remote. Since you had a BDP-S300, is the remote functions the same or are there glaring differences? It is so much easier to select a model number in setup, instead of having to teach the commands to the remote.

Here is the remote:

http://www.ahri.com/S350/1449_001-1_opt.pdf

[DAAKNESS]

I am thinking of purchasing this one to replace my Samsung 1400. Would I be making the right choice?

[tron3]

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/mod...pl?mdl=BDPS350

That page will take you to the online .pdf manuals. I always d/l the pdf manual of any product I buy.

Links on the top left will show you the latest firmware as well. But there are none as of now.

[blurayisking]

ATTENTION jlangner:

If I understand correctly from the printed manual scans, the playback of " BonusView " material is handled by the USB external memory and essentially serves as a temporary storage for the " BonusView " content.

Assuming you have the BD Audio Setting showing " Direct " for bitstream of all codecs , the only way to playback the " BonusView " material is to have the USB external memory inserted.

After you play the " BonusView " material, you can erase the material from the USB memory if you wish.

Have you tried this out yet ????????????????????????

[jlangner]

Originally Posted by blurayisking

ATTENTION jlangner:

If I understand correctly from the printed manual scans, the playback of " BonusView " material is handled by the USB external memory and essentially serves as a temporary storage for the " BonusView " content.

Assuming you have the BD Audio Setting showing " Direct " for bitstream of all codecs , the only way to playback the " BonusView " material is to have the USB external memory inserted.

After you play the " BonusView " material, you can erase the material from the USB memory if you wish.

Have you tried this out yet ????????????????????????

I think that the manual is wrong. I have tried Bonus View Disk without the moemory and have seen numerous reports from others their who have said Bonus view works without the memory. I think the memory is for BD Live when it is enabled. Also, keep in mind, some flash memory is too "fat" to fit in the indention. I tried a Sancruz that I had laying around and it was too big too fit in.

[blurayisking]

jlangner:

So, without any external memory and BD Audio Setting set for DIRECT did the " BonusView " work ??????

If so, then the manual is definitely wrong and I justed wasted $ 30.00 on a
2GB Sony flash memory.

Please clarify.

[Brad1963]

I cancelled the Abt order and ordered directly with Sony. It is shipping today.

[jlangner]

Originally Posted by blurayisking

jlangner:

So, without any external memory and BD Audio Setting set for DIRECT did the " BonusView " work ??????

If so, then the manual is definitely wrong and I justed wasted $ 30.00 on a
2GB Sony flash memory.

Please clarify.

Well, if you use direct, you will not get the secondary audio since it is only bitstreaming the primary channel. You have to have it on mixed. But yes, memory isn't required for bonusview. It won't be a total waste, when the player is upgraded to 2.0, you will need it then.

[Phredd]

I've had my 300 for about a week and my two gripes were that the Bravia Sync buttons on my TV remote would not control the player and that the load times were unbearable. The "sync menu" button would work and the player would automatically switch the TV input, but nothing else - not even after 45 minutes with Sony tech support.

I just got the 350 and Bravia Sync works. I can pause and play, etc. from the TV remote.

I compared the startup and load times with Ratatouille:

From power on to the first sight of the previews:
300: 1:33 350: 0:52 (with Quick Start on - 1:01 off)
While the previews are playing, from top menu to the first appearance of the menu:
300: 1:20 350: 0:20 (with Quick Start on - 0:23 off)
I don't know what Quick Start does and I was just looking at the second, not a stop watch, so I could be off by a couple seconds here and there.

Does anyone know if you can have automatically load the BD? It seems that I have to wait until BD appears in the menu, then I need to select it before it will load.

[jlangner]

Originally Posted by Phredd

I've had my 300 for about a week and my two gripes were that the Bravia Sync buttons on my TV remote would not control the player and that the load times were unbearable. The "sync menu" button would work and the player would automatically switch the TV input, but nothing else - not even after 45 minutes with Sony tech support.

I just got the 350 and Bravia Sync works. I can pause and play, etc. from the TV remote.

I compared the startup and load times with Ratatouille:

From power on to the first sight of the previews:
300: 1:33 350: 0:52 (with Quick Start on - 1:01 off)
While the previews are playing, from top menu to the first appearance of the menu:
300: 1:20 350: 0:20 (with Quick Start on - 0:23 off)
I don't know what Quick Start does and I was just looking at the second, not a stop watch, so I could be off by a couple seconds here and there.

Does anyone know if you can have automatically load the BD? It seems that I have to wait until BD appears in the menu, then I need to select it before it will load.

I read somewhere that the quickstart is like a "standby" mode and shaves about 19sec off of the unit powerup.

[EManT2200]

OK, now I'm alittle upset here . I have been waiting for this Sony BDP-S350 to be my first blu-ray player. Now I'm reading that it wont decode DTS-HD/MA. I own the Sony STR-DG1000 receiver with HDMI inputs, which is no slouch, but, it doesn't decode DTS-HD/MA. The Sony BDP-S550 will be released with the Profile 2.0, it also decodes DTS-HD/MA audio I believe. Has anyone heard or read anywhere if Sony's Profile 2.0 upgrade for the S350 will include DTS-HD/MA decoding ? Not sure what to do now ! ! !

[EManT2200]

Originally Posted by EManT2200

OK, now I'm alittle upset here . I have been waiting for this Sony BDP-S350 to be my first blu-ray player. Now I'm reading that it wont decode DTS-HD/MA. I own the Sony STR-DG1000 receiver with HDMI inputs, which is no slouch, but, it doesn't decode DTS-HD/MA. The Sony BDP-S550 will be released with the Profile 2.0, it also decodes DTS-HD/MA audio I believe. Has anyone heard or read anywhere if Sony's Profile 2.0 upgrade for the S350 will include DTS-HD/MA decoding ? Not sure what to do now ! ! !

DTS-HD/MA, DTS-HD/MA, DTS-HD/MA, DTS-HD/MA ! ! ! Man, that last post looks like I've gone DTS-HD/MAD

[blurayisking]

ATTENTION EManT2200:

You'll need the BDP-S550 to get DTS-HD Master Audio internal decoding.

The BDP-S350 is ideal for anybody who has an HTR that can decode everything.

[ryoohki]

Originally Posted by EManT2200

OK, now I'm alittle upset here . I have been waiting for this Sony BDP-S350 to be my first blu-ray player. Now I'm reading that it wont decode DTS-HD/MA. I own the Sony STR-DG1000 receiver with HDMI inputs, which is no slouch, but, it doesn't decode DTS-HD/MA. The Sony BDP-S550 will be released with the Profile 2.0, it also decodes DTS-HD/MA audio I believe. Has anyone heard or read anywhere if Sony's Profile 2.0 upgrade for the S350 will include DTS-HD/MA decoding ? Not sure what to do now ! ! !

If you're amp process audio from HDMI, the logical and cheapest choice would be the PS3 since it decode all codec and is 2.0. Until.. if you want one day, get a 199$ Do it all player in 2-3 years


Otherwise you'll have to pay the extra of having analogs out witch will be 499$US or more..

[blurayisking]

ATTENTION jlangner:

Is the manual correct in regard to setting the BD Audio Setting for MIX and therefore does not pass the HD codecs but gives you access to the " BonusView " material ??????????

If that is true, it's kind of a nuisance, having to change the player's setup menu, just to watch " BonusView " material.

I suspect the average person will watch the " BonusView " material once.

(Incidently, here in Canada, the player is not available until latter August which is why I'm asking these questions)

Thanks for the info.

[Pellaeon]

Has anyone heard when Best Buy or Circuit City may be getting these?

[jlangner]

Originally Posted by blurayisking

ATTENTION jlangner:

Is the manual correct in regard to setting the BD Audio Setting for MIX and therefore does not pass the HD codecs but gives you access to the " BonusView " material ??????????

If that is true, it's kind of a nuisance, having to change the player's setup menu, just to watch " BonusView " material.

I suspect the average person will watch the " BonusView " material once.

(Incidently, here in Canada, the player is not available until latter August which is why I'm asking these questions)

Thanks for the info.

Yes, Mix is what you have to use for Bonus View and yes if it is on Mix then it does not Bitstream..from what I can tell.

[Phredd]

Originally Posted by Phredd

Does anyone know if you can have automatically load the BD? It seems that I have to wait until BD appears in the menu, then I need to select it before it will load.

I've answered my own question if anyone else was curious. If, instead of pressing the power button, press the play button: it will turn on the player and automatically play the BD. If you've got a Bravia sync TV, it also turns on the TV and switches to the BD input. I reconfirmed the time from pressing play to the start of the previews is 0:52 on Ratatouille.

[Brad1963]

Mine just arrived from Sony. Now I am home to set it up!