Newbie has basic questions/needs help

[Blue Jester]

I'm a recent owner of a Sony 32" 120 hz 1080p HDTV and a Sony BDP-S350 blu-ray player which is hooked up by a $50 HDMI cable I got from Best Buy. The cable hooks strait from the player to the tv. I bought one BD--->V for Vendetta.

I was going to put this in the S350 thread, but it seemed best here, so...



When I played my BD movie, the sound was significantly lower. I had previously used my cable for my Xbox360 and it was fine. I put in a DVD for comparison and it was a little better, but not as loud as the volume of the TV. I threw in a DVD-R and teh sound was just fine.

1. Is it common for the sound to vary in a BD player depending on the disc?

2. Is it common for a player NOT to resume the movie when you stop it? My old DVD player would resume even if you turned off the player. It also seems odd that my player doen't even offer a chapter display.



My research online shows that sometimes people have trouble with compatibility with certain discs, but I can't tell if that information is outdated.


Any help appreciated!

[bongzilla]

Did you use the audio button on remote to switch thru the different selections?

My friends BDP-S350 will not resume,
my BDP-S550 does for some reason.

[gonk]

Originally Posted by Blue Jester

2. Is it common for a player NOT to resume the movie when you stop it? My old DVD player would resume even if you turned off the player. It also seems odd that my player doen't even offer a chapter display.

Discs authored with BD-Java cannot be resumed after turning off the player because the disc's Java menus do not allow the player a way to "remember" where the disc was when it stopped. Many of those discs include a way to bookmark where you were and return to that spot, but it's up to the people authoring the disc to include such a feature on the disc.

[Chordata]

Originally Posted by bongzilla

My friends BDP-S350 will not resume,
my BDP-S550 does for some reason.

Wonder how yours does it...my 550 will absolutely NOT do it with newer/BD-Java discs.

[Blue Jester]

Originally Posted by gonk

Discs authored with BD-Java cannot be resumed after turning off the player because the disc's Java menus do not allow the player a way to "remember" where the disc was when it stopped. Many of those discs include a way to bookmark where you were and return to that spot, but it's up to the people authoring the disc to include such a feature on the disc.

Are BD-Java players common ie. the majority/minority?

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by Blue Jester

Are BD-Java players common ie. the majority/minority?

the discs themselves are what are authored in bd-java, players will not resume on those titles (which is the majority), but will on others (Mission Impossible for example) and all dvds.

[Sammy]

That issue really needs to be resolved. Here we're trying to go forward to new technology and having to deal with something DVD had 10 years back.

As far as the audio goes, I think that some PCM sound tracks are 10 dB lower than DD, TrueHD and dts MA tracks, from what I've seen.

Tip though, next time you get an HDMI cable give monoprice a shot. Great prices on quality cables.

[Blue Jester]

OK,I switched audio channels to the "HD" one and that helped.


How do I know if my disc offers bookmarking? And is this something they can theoretically fix with firmware?


Thanks for everyones help!

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by Sammy

That issue really needs to be resolved. Here we're trying to go forward to new technology and having to deal with something DVD had 10 years back.

Here we go again!!! Already MANY threads on this topic already in existence. As for my opinion? I have expressed it numerous times.

People need to organize their lives better! Time management alleviates SO MUCH stress. Films were meant to be watched as one continuous piece of entertainment. I have never once been able to stop a film and come back to it at the same point. If the film is stopped for a period of longer than 20 minutes, I will be restarting it from the top. Watching films in segragated sections is a huge insult to the artists who put the time and effort into ensuring the quality of your entertainment.

It literally pisses me off to hear that people can't set aside the proper time to appreciate art anymore. It's like going to the Louvre in Paris and making the decision to look at all of the masterpiece from 100 yards away in order to "maximize the efficiency of your time." That doesn't do the experience justice!

Originally Posted by Sammy

Tip though, next time you get an HDMI cable give monoprice a shot. Great prices on quality cables.

He's 100% correct on this one. You could have saved yourself $45 by shopping at www.monoprice.com

P.S. Any BD issued by Warner Bros, you want to INSTANTLY bring up the playback menu and check audio option settings. 99% of their releases are defaulted to the DVD quality audio.

[peanutlover]

Jeez dude get off your high horse. there is nothing I love more than to sit down and watch a movie all the way through but sometimes it just doesn't happen. Obviously you don't have kids. When my baby is screaming sorry I'm going to have that as a priority. The other persons' point was great and valid about being able to go back to the spot where you left off. Got an important phone call? You could stop and go back right where you left off. My old DVD player saved something like 100 DVDs bookmarks after hitting stop and my Blu-ray player can't do it with any? Very inconvenient.

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by peanutlover

Jeez dude get off your high horse. there is nothing I love more than to sit down and watch a movie all the way through but sometimes it just doesn't happen. Obviously you don't have kids. When my baby is screaming sorry I'm going to have that as a priority. The other persons' point was great and valid about being able to go back to the spot where you left off. Got an important phone call? You could stop and go back right where you left off. My old DVD player saved something like 100 DVDs bookmarks after hitting stop and my Blu-ray player can't do it with any? Very inconvenient.

Well, I'm an artist. I can say that it would be an insult if nobody wanted to experience what I had to offer in its designed method of presentation. Watching half a film, taking 6 hours to do other stuff, and then coming back to to the film completely removes you from the atmospheric/thematic/emotional arc of the project. This also translates to the destruction of the artistry.

Perhaps I started getting anal about this when I came to realize that one of my roommates actually fast forwards and chapter skips films that he has never seen. He says that he "doesn't have time to waste on full presentations." Apparently, he just wants to get the surface material out of it. What the hell is that? He literally watches a 1.5 hour film in 25 minutes or less and tries to formulate an opinion about it based on that.

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

Well, I'm an artist. I can say that it would be an insult if nobody wanted to experience what I had to offer in its designed method of presentation. Watching half a film, taking 6 hours to do other stuff, and then coming back to to the film completely removes you from the atmospheric/thematic/emotional arc of the project. This also translates to the destruction of the artistry.

i hate leaving a film part way through for longer than 15minutes
i only do it if i am pretty much falling asleep, then i finish it first thing in the morning (always), even if i have to get up a little earlier

but as far as stopping to use the bathroom, go feed the dog, get a drink/food, i don't have a problem doing that. But phone calls, no, the phone does NOT get answered while i'm watching a movie

[peanutlover]

Uhhh you do know movies are entertainment...Yes I understand there is an artistry to movies and some are pure genius to watch. I am a huge movie fan and love nothing more than to watch one straight through especially in the theater, but sometimes other things come up. It is just a fact of life. Sorry but sometimes there are other priorities.

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by Diesel

i hate leaving a film part way through for longer than 15minutes
i only do it if i am pretty much falling asleep, then i finish it first thing in the morning (always), even if i have to get up a little earlier

but as far as stopping to use the bathroom, go feed the dog, get a drink/food, i don't have a problem doing that. But phone calls, no, the phone does NOT get answered while i'm watching a movie

You and I sir... would be very good friends if we knew one another outside of these digital pages of excremental verbiage (I say this because there is a lot of garbage posted on internet forums... I'm not necessarily referring specifically to this thread nor those involved in this conversation).

Originally Posted by peanutlover

Uhhh you do know movies are entertainment...Yes I understand there is an artistry to movies and some are pure genius to watch. I am a huge movie fan and love nothing more than to watch one straight through especially in the theater, but sometimes other things come up. It is just a fact of life. Sorry but sometimes there are other priorities.

I agree that stuff happens that interrupts a presentation. But, if you have to stop it halfway through, you should at least respect the artistic intentions of the work and start it over at a later date... even if that is the following day.

[Blue Jester]

Isnt this a discussion for a different thread?


I'd still like my last questions answered...

[Diesel]

the only time i recall NOT being able to finish the movie the next day was a few weeks ago were something came up everyday for a week and i couldn't get back to it, the film was Return of the King, so that next weekend i started it over from the beginning (the first time around i was about 2hours through it).

Originally Posted by Blue Jester

Isnt this a discussion for a different thread?


I'd still like my last questions answered...

yea, we did go a little off subject

the ones i have that offer bookmarking usually say something about it after you select "Play Movie" right before the film starts

[peanutlover]

Oh I absolutely agree with you on that. I always try to finish a movie at the latest the next day. I prefer to watch all at once but sometimes either things come up or as I'm getting older i cannot always make it through. Some movies I watch i have seen so many times it doesn't really matter I can pick them up anywhere. As far as most newer movies though...ugh. I haven't seen amything great in a while.

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by Blue Jester

OK,I switched audio channels to the "HD" one and that helped.


How do I know if my disc offers bookmarking? And is this something they can theoretically fix with firmware?


Thanks for everyones help!

I don't think firmware can "add this functionality" (notice I didn't use "fix" as it isn't something that is broken). The software will contain bookmarking features if, when you pause, a timebar appears at the base of the screen (the select button timebar of the PS3 does not count for this scenario). Usually, when that timebar appears, there will be some option to create a bookmark at the timeframe.......

But I neither recommend, nor condone this practice!

[Chordata]

Originally Posted by peanutlover

Jeez dude get off your high horse. there is nothing I love more than to sit down and watch a movie all the way through but sometimes it just doesn't happen. Obviously you don't have kids. When my baby is screaming sorry I'm going to have that as a priority. The other persons' point was great and valid about being able to go back to the spot where you left off. Got an important phone call? You could stop and go back right where you left off. My old DVD player saved something like 100 DVDs bookmarks after hitting stop and my Blu-ray player can't do it with any? Very inconvenient.

I'm with you. Can't always "devote" two hours to sitting on my butt to watch a movie. Wife calls, kids cry, work e-mails come in, yard needs mowing, etc.

It's silly to think this can't be done so it would please EVERYONE (including the OP), whereas the current status pleases only some people.

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

Well, I'm an artist. I can say that it would be an insult if nobody wanted to experience what I had to offer in its designed method of presentation. Watching half a film, taking 6 hours to do other stuff, and then coming back to to the film completely removes you from the atmospheric/thematic/emotional arc of the project. This also translates to the destruction of the artistry.

You'd be "insulted"?? Personally, and with all due respect, I don't care about the "art" or the experience of watching a movie; I care about being entertained when and where I choose. It's not a serious business for me to watch a movie. If I want to watch an hour, then take 6 hours off, then finish the movie, that's my prerogative.

If DVD players could do it, BD players should be able to do it (as the OP suggests).

All that said...it doesn't really bother me anymore.

[repete66211]

I'll stick to the topic.

Not all players have a "resume play" option. As mentioned above, this has to do with the java menu. However, most with such a menu will have a bookmark option. I know, this isn't as easy as pressing "stop", but it is a solution to the problem.

P.S. I thought this answer looked familiar. I answered it on Yahoo Answers yesterday.