The Sony BDP-S300/301 Review Thread

[tek101]

Originally Posted by rwojtalewicz

I upgraded my S301 and confirmed it in System menu. But after playing POTC3 BD and stopping the player with the stop button, I still get the same ole 'Resume Off' displayed. It still reloaded the BD from scratch after pressing the play button.

So what exactly are you talking about that it fixed Stop......Resume.....?

Yup...You r right..It did not work on Java(BD) form(POTC..Curse Of )BP)
I tried other BDs .....and It works great.

[RIPSeanTaylor21]

Hello,

How can I update the Firmware for the BDPS300?

[Bonifax]

Originally Posted by RIPSeanTaylor21

Hello,

How can I update the Firmware for the BDPS300?

1. Download the firmware here
ftp://download.sony.com/US/bluray/UP...00_VER0395.EXE

2. Extract the .iso file and burn it in a CD-R

3. Insert the firmware disc in your S300 and wait.

4. The update finishes until the tray opens and the legend "Download OK" appears. (several legends will appear meanwhile)

5. If you want complete instructions go to sony.com

[gleff]

I'm a bit confused.. I have the BDP-S300 and from what i've read on this forum and others is that DTS-HD and Dolby HD are both able to work albeit an un-advertised feature and will only work via HDMI etc.

I've got I, Robot which is DTS HD and a BDP-S300 connected to my Yamaha RX-V1800 via HDMI but when I go into the audio settings on the blu-ray player and choose PCM under the HDMI audio choice (the other choice being Auto), whenever I play the movie, it just shows as PCM on the receiver.

Can anyone confirm

1. It will definately work in my case?
2. How to set up the blu-ray player to output the linear pcm (which I believe I should be doing).. I thought I did it right.
3. Do I have to do anything with my receiver?
4. Will it show as PCM or DTS HD or something on the receiver?

I knew in advance that the HD audio formats weren't part of the features of the BDP-S300 so if it can't work it's no loss. If it can work though, i'd love to take advantage of it. Incidently, i'm only using a 5.1 surround speaker setup at present so i'm not sure if that's an issue. I can easily go to 7.1 if necessary as I have the extra speakers but just didn't like the set up before so I stopped using the other 2.

Any help would be appreciated.

Edit: Forgot to mention.. using firmware 3.90

[tek101]

Read this..:

Originally Posted by rwojtalewicz
I don't recommend using the Toslink or coaxial outputs of the player for audio connections if you have your S300 connected to your AVR via HDMI. You got the best connection already. You won't get lossless audio using a Toslink connection, but you can get it if you use HDMI. There is a setting you need to make in the System Menu. Just for your reference, turn to page 47 in the S300 manual on Audio Setup. You access Audio Setup from the System Menu. When you get that, scroll down to Audio (HDMI). You need to change the default setting, AUTO, to PCM.

Now, when you select Dolby True HD or PCM 5.1 formats on a BD, your player is going to output linear PCM to your AVR. NOTE: Your AVR is not going to have any idea which audio format or codec you selected. But what it does know is that it's getting PCM. So don't be confused when your AVR says the source is PCM when you actually selected DD True HD or DTS MA. That's normal and there is nothing wrong.

On a side note, this player decodes Dolby True HD (according to our Sony insider on this forum starting with FW 3.70 update). It will not decode DTS MA but you will get the higher bit rate DTS MA core (higher bit rates than lossy DTS). Now you'll be getting the best possible sound this player has to offer since you already have updated to FW 3.90. Enjoy!

[gleff]

Originally Posted by tek101

Read this..:

Originally Posted by rwojtalewicz
I don't recommend using the Toslink or coaxial outputs of the player for audio connections if you have your S300 connected to your AVR via HDMI. You got the best connection already. You won't get lossless audio using a Toslink connection, but you can get it if you use HDMI. There is a setting you need to make in the System Menu. Just for your reference, turn to page 47 in the S300 manual on Audio Setup. You access Audio Setup from the System Menu. When you get that, scroll down to Audio (HDMI). You need to change the default setting, AUTO, to PCM.

Now, when you select Dolby True HD or PCM 5.1 formats on a BD, your player is going to output linear PCM to your AVR. NOTE: Your AVR is not going to have any idea which audio format or codec you selected. But what it does know is that it's getting PCM. So don't be confused when your AVR says the source is PCM when you actually selected DD True HD or DTS MA. That's normal and there is nothing wrong.

On a side note, this player decodes Dolby True HD (according to our Sony insider on this forum starting with FW 3.70 update). It will not decode DTS MA but you will get the higher bit rate DTS MA core (higher bit rates than lossy DTS). Now you'll be getting the best possible sound this player has to offer since you already have updated to FW 3.90. Enjoy!

Awesome.. thanks for that.. That explains everything.

[Yeha-Noha]

Originally Posted by gleff

Awesome.. thanks for that.. That explains everything.

That's what we're here for.

[natedoog07]

i just got one 2.0 firmware this dvd fits perfectly on my tv cause my tv samsung support 1080p/24 it look awesome the player with the tv i love it now im going to download the firmware update and ill enjoy this player...later guys

[aus1ander]

Anyone able to play Vantage Point on this player? I've had the BDP-S300 for over 6 months and haven't had a Blu fail to play on it... until now. I get a "Can't Play" error everytime I try to play it. I updated the firmware to 3.95 but still no dice. The disc is brand new from Netflix, so unless its defective, I guess I'm out of luck.

[tek101]

Originally Posted by aus1ander

Anyone able to play Vantage Point on this player? I've had the BDP-S300 for over 6 months and haven't had a Blu fail to play on it... until now. I get a "Can't Play" error everytime I try to play it. I updated the firmware to 3.95 but still no dice. The disc is brand new from Netflix, so unless its defective, I guess I'm out of luck.

Hi. If you could play it before..then no reason you can't now...(Upgrade or not)
Try to clean the disc real good...and try it again. Have fun

[aus1ander]

Originally Posted by tek101

Hi. If you could play it before..then no reason you can't now...(Upgrade or not)
Try to clean the disc real good...and try it again. Have fun

Sorry, I wasn't clear. It only happens with Vantage Point, which just came out this week. I rented it from Netflix. Every other movie has played fine. I've tried cleaning the disc, but it doesn't help; it actually looks brand new with no scratches or smudges.

[neto]

Hey there, I've been using my Sony S300 for 5 months now with no problem. THe firmware version is 3.70. Today I bought Batman Begins (they started selling it before in a store in NYC)... and to my surprise... after 5 to 6 minutes loading, the WB logo starts in black and white, and the unit reboots by itself. It did the same 5 times.

Should I upgrade firmware? Can I do it on a MAC? Or this sounds like a disc problem?

THanks!!!

[Bonifax]

Originally Posted by neto

Hey there, I've been using my Sony S300 for 5 months now with no problem. THe firmware version is 3.70. Today I bought Batman Begins (they started selling it before in a store in NYC)... and to my surprise... after 5 to 6 minutes loading, the WB logo starts in black and white, and the unit reboots by itself. It did the same 5 times.

Should I upgrade firmware? Can I do it on a MAC? Or this sounds like a disc problem?

THanks!!!

I don't know exactly if the firmware will solve your batman problem, but obiously there's a good chance that it will so do it. And yes you can upgrade using a Mac.

[monkyman]

Originally Posted by aus1ander

Anyone able to play Vantage Point on this player? I've had the BDP-S300 for over 6 months and haven't had a Blu fail to play on it... until now. I get a "Can't Play" error everytime I try to play it. I updated the firmware to 3.95 but still no dice. The disc is brand new from Netflix, so unless its defective, I guess I'm out of luck.

I also got Vantage point from Netflix, but have no problems playing it in the S300. I still have 3.90 for firmware, so I suspect you have a bad disc.

[Phredd]

Originally Posted by Bonifax

I don't know exactly if the firmware will solve your batman problem, but obiously there's a good chance that it will so do it. And yes you can upgrade using a Mac.

Would you please elaborate how to upgrade using a Mac? I just downloaded the ".exe" file. How can I get to the ISO file so I can burn the CD?

Thanks,
Phredd

[JasonR]

I would try this.

http://my.smithmicro.com/mac/stuffit.../download.html

[Phredd]

Originally Posted by JasonR

I would try this.

http://my.smithmicro.com/mac/stuffit.../download.html

Thanks for the suggestion. I was able to extract the firmware file, _AH_, and write it to CD, but the player doesn't seem to know it's a firmware update. The player says "DATA DISC", but it does nothing and there are no status displays on the TV.

Has anyone ever done this on the Mac?

Thanks,
Phredd

[aus1ander]

Originally Posted by monkyman

I also got Vantage point from Netflix, but have no problems playing it in the S300. I still have 3.90 for firmware, so I suspect you have a bad disc.

Thanks for helping me out. I'll just report the disc as damaged and sent it back... hopefully I won't have to wait a month before they'll send me another copy of Vantage Point.

[postroad]

I just got off a chat session with sony and they told me the 300 will not play any profile over 1.0. The new disc vantage point and jumper will not play.

[postroad]

The Sony BDPS-300 is outdated.