The Sony BDP-S300/301 Review Thread

[carbuff]

I have tested a DVD movie and then a CD first using a digital coaxial cable and then a digital optical cable. The cables tied a Denon DVM-3700 standard DVD player to a
Denon AVR-4800 A/V Receiver

Perhaps test equipment might have determined a difference. I could not do so. As far as I am concerned, either cable does the job equally well as a substitute if a HDMI cable cannot be used.

[JasonR]

You can play PCM soundtracks over your analog 5.1 inputs, as well as standard DD & DTS. Over your digital non-HDMI inputs you won't get PCM Soudtracks in 5.1, only 2.0. So, use the 5.1 analogs.

[Baldrick]

Thanks, i'll try the analog inputs and let you know

[Yeha-Noha]

Originally Posted by Baldrick

A Question for all you audiophiles out there, i have two options for the audio from my S300, as my Sony AV amp does not have HDMI, only optical/digital coax or seperate 5.1 channels, which would give the best sound.

Hook up your S300s 5.1 analog audio outputs to your Sony HTR if it has 5.1 analog inputs. Select 5.1 speakers and set your speakers to 'small' in the speaker setup menu. You will obtain much better sound and for those blu-ray movies that have lossless LPCM 5.1 tracks or 7.1 (downmixed to 5.1) you will get the best sound you can possibly from this player. Avoid optical/coax unless your Sony lacks 5.1 analog inputs. The downside is that this BD player neither decodes nor bitstreams any of the lossless HD codexs like DD THD, DTS MA, etc. Rumors/folklore abound that it is decoding DD THD, and I admit that I think it is the case with DD THD. The core DTS-MA like from the movie Sunshine will even knock your socks off.

So yes, by all means, don't hesitate, just do it! Hook it up through the 5.1 analog outputs. That's the next best thing to HDMI connection.

[Baldrick]

Thanks for this, will definatly be connecting the Audio via the 5.1 audio connections, i have B&W speakers for my center and fronts, and a pair of Mission 55s for the rear, only 5.1 setup.

[truenorth]

I use the 5.1 analogue outputs. The sound from PCM soundtracks is breathtaking. I hope it becomes the standard, as it is the highest quality possible, the studios just need to cut loose the DTS and DD compressed tracks, even if the new HD codecs are high bit rate.

I still use the coax output for older DVDs that have mono or stereo soundtracks, so that I can put them through Dolby PLII. So I have both outputs connected to the receiver (analogue and digital)

There is just no need for audio compression on BD (I used to own HD-DVD and obviously it was the only way to go due to the space limits of the disc).

[Yeha-Noha]

Originally Posted by truenorth

I use the 5.1 analogue outputs. The sound from PCM soundtracks is breathtaking. I hope it becomes the standard, as it is the highest quality possible, the studios just need to cut loose the DTS and DD compressed tracks, even if the new HD codecs are high bit rate..

True, lossless LPCM tracks on BDs can't be beat. Unfortunately, the studios are ditching it for the lossless compressed formats like DD True HD, DTS-MA etc so they can add more BD-j menus, games, special features, and also have many different language tracks available. The problem, at least for the studios, is that LPCM takes up so much space even on 50 GB BDs. It is not going to be the standard. Although at first for a while, that might have been the trend, but not anymore. Since the DD-THD, DTS-MA etc are compressed and take up less space, they are here to stay.

The old DTS and DD compression is probably here to stay too. Firstly, what if your HTR didn't have 5.1 analog audio inputs or HDMI inputs? You would have to use the optical/coaxial connection for 5.1 - 6.1 sound. Secondly, The average Joe/Jane on the street probably doesn't give a flip about lossless audio. I do think its the PQ and special features that really sells BDs and the studios know it.

Originally Posted by truenorth

I still use the coax output for older DVDs that have mono or stereo soundtracks, so that I can put them through Dolby PLII. So I have both outputs connected to the receiver (analogue and digital)

No, before I bought my Onkyo 805 last week, I just used the 5.1 analog output from my S301 for everything, and that bypasseed DD PLIIx in my old HTR. Multi-channel in on my old HTR was equivalent to the old stereo Direct In. If DVDs only have DD/DTS 2.1, that's what I listen to through my fronts and subwoofer only. Now with my Onkyo 805, I have the S301's HDMI audio output set to PCM (don't set it to Auto!) and hooked up the S301 to the HDMI input. If the source is PCM or DD 2.1, I still only use the fronts and subwoofer. I still like to listen to true stereo if that's the way it was orginally mixed.

Originally Posted by truenorth

There is just no need for audio compression on BD (I used to own HD-DVD and obviously it was the only way to go due to the space limits of the disc).

Actually just the opposite is true. DD-True HD and DTS-MA are compressed formats but are converted to LPCM, identical to the lossles PCM 5.1 tracks on BDs but take up less space. Compression is here to stay.

[truenorth]

Chronicles of Narnia (Wardrobe) is being released with uncompressed PCM track .. it is a fairly high-profile title. The only other titles I have at the moment (the Queen and Bridge to Terabithia) also have uncompressed audio. I was hoping it was becoming a standard.

Put the games and other such nonsense on a separate disc. BD is about image and sound quality.

I can see that Dolby Labs and DTS have a lot at stake here, but it would be too bad if these companies force their codecs on the BD consumer.

[dad2erin]

Originally Posted by WarrenPS

I play DVDs with basic DD5.1/DTS and receive the audio signal in multichannel PCM (as opposed to 2-channel). In fact, the surround back channels are much improved with this setup.

Same here an I have to agree the audio sounds more full and engulfing in sound.

[ThecounT]

Hi everyone! I was excited to buy my sony s300 but am becoming concerned as I use it. Sure it is slow as molasses in march but the real problem is weird skipping. Some movies do it some don't (only my favorite movies lol) for instance "no country for old men" in the same damn place it will stall out ona frame and then skip forward sometimes to the next chapter and it does it in several places during the movie. in addition to that, one of the selections in the bonus material skips so much it wont play at all others play just fine. sometimes (from movie to movie) it will do it in several spots some movies not at all. I have updated it to the latest firmware and it has not solved the problem. Make a kids wish come true and tell me what to do to fix this f&%$ing thing.

Count

[Baldrick]

Hi, just to let you all know, Connected my S300 to my Sony STR-DB940 using the 5.1 seperate audio connectors, changed the settings on my S300 to match, and the sound difference is amazing, better seperation and quality.

Thanks for all you advise...

[tron3]

Originally Posted by ThecounT

Hi everyone! I was excited to buy my sony s300 but am becoming concerned as I use it. Sure it is slow as molasses in march but the real problem is weird skipping. Some movies do it some don't (only my favorite movies lol) for instance "no country for old men" in the same damn place it will stall out ona frame and then skip forward sometimes to the next chapter and it does it in several places during the movie. in addition to that, one of the selections in the bonus material skips so much it wont play at all others play just fine. sometimes (from movie to movie) it will do it in several spots some movies not at all. I have updated it to the latest firmware and it has not solved the problem. Make a kids wish come true and tell me what to do to fix this f&%$ing thing.

Count

It all comes down to the same question. Do you have the 3.80 firmware? That will fix alot. Unless your movie is bad.

The thing to remember about the S300 is Java slows it down. Non BD-J loads in about 30 seconds. Java is the enemy here. But the firmware has been making great strides in speed and performance improvements.

[blurayisking]

Count:

You loyal servant, Igor, can always be counted on to do your bidding, so send your BDP-S300 player back to Transylvania and have him fix it; otherwise, get the latest firmware update (3.8) and if that doesn't work, return the player to Sony.

[Moefiz]

COUNT...

I have the same player and I saw the same movies the other night it worked fine, you might one to check your firmware to see if you have the latest one,if you do you might have a bad disc.

[garytma]

My own experience just slightly reminds me of the earliest days of laserdisc.

It was often difficult to pinpoint exactly whether a similar problem was due to a faulty disc, or the player. When I first got my S300, it seemed that the player often stuck on a DVD. After doing all of the firmware updates (except 3.8, will do that one shortly) as they appeared, I have rarely since a problem.

And those rare issues have only been: 1. a 4 second dropout in sound on a Blu-ray disc. That occurs maybe once every 10 discs played; and 2. A Blu-ray disc from Netflix kept freezing up, toward the end of the disc. I ejected it, cleaned it up, and it played through part of the section it originally froze in, but then started to stick again. I finally gave up with that particular disc, and it has not happened since.

[ThecounT]

see the part where I say 'updated to latest firmware'? ok so maybe I need to return this beast. problem is they are sold out at my local store(s) and backordered for 2 weeks. Do you guys think a hard boot or cleaning with a air can would help?

Thanks!
ThecounT

[garytma]

Originally Posted by garytma

I probably should have stated that I am playing my discs, through HDMI, with an HDMI-capable receiver. And for the record, I have just had enough time to try playing The Fifth Element, with my S300's PCM audio enabled.

The apparently decoded DolbyHD track is astounding, sounding very open, active, and quite transparent!

If, as Paidgeek, has suggested, future Sony Blu-ray discs are likely to eliminate the PCM track, favoring the DolbyHD audio, then those of us with the S300, will desire to decode that codec into either 5.1, or 7.1, LPCM.

For my own convenience however, I was suggesting that I, perhaps like most folks, may want to stay with the "auto" setting, on my S300's audio, for most disc playback.

I was essentianally inquiring whether anyone could discern a potential benefit by staying in PCM mode all of the time- especially since it seems likely, as I suggested, that DVDs encoded with a basic "Dolby Surround" codec, would not get decoded beyond a stereo 2-channel PCM mix, cancelling out the surround back channel. It would seem to be for the best, to stay in "auto" mode, for the player audio playback, in all situations except for playback of a Blu-ray disc that had DolbyHD, but lacked a seperate lossless audio track.

My own personal approach to this now, after having experimenting a bit since writing that post, is to leave the S300's audio in "PCM" mode, and leave my receiver in "auto" mode, as the 5.1 sound is terrific with all discretely-recorded discs.

For "Dolby Surround" discs, that are matrixly encoded to 2 channels, I will simply manually switch the [I]Receiver[I] to the Dolby surround mode that decodes that codec to 5.1, from the 2 channel matrix.

That will deliver surround sound from all scenarios I think.

[shadrack]

Have read this thread of the forum and hope this is the right thread to air this problem. I have just obtained a BDP S300 and installed using HDMI cable with out of the box settings. Have tried 5 separate,, store bought Region B or All Blu-ray discs. Every one cames up Can't Play.

Set parent control and region to au (0121) from "us", same problem.

Found that player was firmware version 2.1 upgraded to 3.8 from 2.1 as that was unly upgrade on Sony site. Upgrade was apparently successful after checking through settings. Same problem.

Reset to factory settings as per page 53 of manual. Same problem. The set the machine is connected to is a SONY Bravia HD. Do I send it back for repair or am I not doing something. I am extremely disappointed.

[plee]

Originally Posted by shadrack

Have read this thread of the forum and hope this is the right thread to air this problem. I have just obtained a BDP S300 and installed using HDMI cable with out of the box settings. Have tried 5 separate,, store bought Region B or All Blu-ray discs. Every one cames up Can't Play.

Set parent control and region to au (0121) from "us", same problem.

Found that player was firmware version 2.1 upgraded to 3.8 from 2.1 as that was unly upgrade on Sony site. Upgrade was apparently successful after checking through settings. Same problem.

Reset to factory settings as per page 53 of manual. Same problem. The set the machine is connected to is a SONY Bravia HD. Do I send it back for repair or am I not doing something. I am extremely disappointed.

Unfortunately, sounds like the drive is bad. I would call Sony and see if you can get an RMA and get it fixed. Or return the unit back to where you bought and get another one.

[shadrack]

Thanks - figured as much - oh well