The Sony BDP-S360 Review Thread

[arthursiew]

Sony BDP-S360 Blu-ray Player

First Thoughts

I just purchased the BDP-S360 player yesterday, but I didn't see a review thread for this player so I just started one. I tested two BDs, I am Legend and Quantum of Solace and they looked pretty good. The player loaded Quantum of Solace in 19 seconds the first time and I'm not sure whether that's fast, slow, or normal. It ran pretty quiet, but the remote control did not have an eject button which was a minus for me. There was one thing that I'm not sure whether it was normal or defective. Going through the menus wasn't very smooth or fast compared to my PS3. If you're not sure what I'm talking about... I have a video here. I have some pictures coming up in my HT gallery.

Review

PROS: Quiet Operation, Nice Design, Good Value, BD Live Capable, Onboard DTS TrueHD and MA, Compact, PQ and AQ, Best Bang for your Buck, Simple Set-up, 2.0 Out of the Box

CONS: Loading times are just OK, No Eject button on Remote, Sluggish performance on more complex menus

For $250, I thought that this player was inexpensive and carried a good value. The player was ready for BD Live out of the box and had Onboard decoding for DTS TrueHD and MA which the S350 didn't have. I also found that the player was smaller compared to the S350 and had a nicer design. It was also extremely quiet compared to my PS3. The PQ and AQ was quite impressive.

This player also had some problems. The PQ and AQ's performance was impressive, but one thing that Sony failed to deliver was the loading times. The loading times were just OK, but pretty slow compared to my PS3. There was also no eject button on the remote, but that can be easily resolved by borrowing or purchasing a remote from the S350. Navigating through more complex menus was also a little sluggish, but simple ones were fine. Overall, I thought that this player was great for the price and I recommend it for anybody looking for an affordable BD player with impressive PQ and AQ.

Description (taken from Sony Style)

Link

The revolution continues with the BDP-S360 Blu-ray Disc™ player. Watch Blu-ray Disc movies in Full HD 1080p and upscale your existing DVD collection via HDMI™ to near HD quality. In addition to a superior picture, this player supports Dolby® TrueHD and dts-HD audio codecs for up to 7.1 channels of high-definition sound. There's even quick start-up mode which begins operating your Blu-ray Disc player in approximately six seconds from the time it is powered on. Featuring BD-Live™ compatibility1, you can take full advantage of the Bonus View feature of select Blu-ray movies as well as acquire the latest features and updates as they become available. And navigation of the player's menus is a breeze thanks to the icon-based Xross Media Bar™ (XMB™) menu system.

Full HD 1080p video output
Full HD 1080p video output provides high-resolution HD images so you can take full advantage of your HDTV and the detail of Blu-ray Disc™ video content. BD/DVD/CD and AVCHDTM compatibility lets you play your favorite Blu-ray Disc™ movies, DVDs, audio CDs, and AVCHD-format discs.2

DVD Upscaling via HDMI™ technology
DVD Upscaling via HDMI™2 makes your existing standard DVDs look better on your HDTV by upscaling them to near HD quality.2

BD-Live™ Technology
BD-Live™ technology: BD-Live™ technology brings you the next generation of interactivity, allowing you to connect to the internet to access bonus features on BD-Live enabled Blu-ray Disc™ movies, including additional scenes, shorts, trailers, movie-based games, and more. (External memory (sold separately) is required.)1

Support for enhanced audio formats from Dolby® and dts®
The BDP-S360 Blu-ray Disc™ player supports both internal decoding and bitstream output2 of enhanced audio codecs, including Dolby® TrueHD and dts®-HD Master Audio. These high definition audio formats delivers “lossless” surround sounds with 7.1 channels of discrete audio that is bit-for-bit identical to the master studio recording, allowing you to enjoy uncompromised sound from the comfort of your living room.

Quick Start Mode
Quick Start Mode lets you begin operating your Sony® Blu-ray Disc™ player approximately six seconds from the time it's powered on.

Xross Media Bar™ technology
Sony’s exclusive xross media bar user interface makes it simple and intuitive to navigate television menus, controls, and user settings.

Ethernet port
The ethernet port lets you connect the BDP-S360 to your home’s existing broadband network to access bonus features on BD-Live enabled Blu-ray Disc™ movies.1

x.v.Color™ output
x.v.Color™ output plays AVCHD-format discs with support for the international xvYCC color standard, producing images with nearly twice as many viewable colors as the existing RGB color standard.4

BRAVIA® Sync™
BRAVIA® Sync™ technology lets you enjoy the convenience of one remote control to operate and control all your compatible home entertainment devices. It utilizes the HDMI™ CEC function to easily turn on and control your compatible HDMI-connected components without having to use multiple remote controls.

24p True Cinema™
24p True Cinema technology lets you watch films at their intended 24 fps (frames per second) -- the way movies are shot and mastered -- so you can enjoy cinematic picture quality.5

Precision Cinema HD Upscale
Precision Cinema HD Upscale circuitry delivers accurate and vivid images with clarity and detail that are faithful to the source -- whether film or video (upscaled image quality will vary). This circuitry uses advanced conversion and processing to detect image changes at the pixel level, rather than at the level of whole scan lines. Additionally, separate algorithms are used to process the moving and still parts of an image, resulting in sharp backgrounds with moving objects that are free from motion artifacts.

Bonus View
Built-in USB port enables you to connect a portable USB storage device (sold separately) for additional storage capacity and lets you take advantage of specially created content on BD-Live™1 with compatible Blu-ray Disc™ media.

MSRP- $299

Current Deals
Fry's- $239 Online and In-Store
Buy.com- $249

Reviews
CNET
PCMag