The Sony BDP-S360 Review Thread

[joker552]

Also, are the loading times faster, by any means, than the 350?

[Roman5]

Originally Posted by arthursiew

Some BD players doesn't process the PQ and AQ very well. For an example, I compared to this player to the BD370 they were using as a display. I don't exactly remember, but the BD370's PQ wasn't as great.

I've got the LG 370 and the 360 here right now and have been comparing them both for a couple of hours with watchmen. It's interesting you say that because it's exactly my experience. At first I didn't see it, they both looked identical. Both have very good detail, colour and resolution. But after a while it hit me how much nicer it is watching movies from the sony. It's more of a perceived thing than something you can see, it's pretty subtle. But enough to make a fairly big difference for me. The resolution on the sony is definitely up a notch from the LG, it's sharper and it's more vibrant. You can see the same amount of detail in both machines yet you actually notice these details on the sony because they stand out more. Little twinkles here and there of detail and lighting that I didn't take notice of on the LG. So I'm going to return the LG. It's shame only because the LG's case design is nicer. But I enjoy watching movies on the sony more so it's become a no brainer for me.
I was also going to return the sony 360 and get the 350 since I understood that the 350 and 360 have identical PQ and that the 350 has the open/close button on the remote. But then I read this:

Originally Posted by HDTV1080P

better video quality, a nice improvement over the BDP-S350

Is that true? If it is, then I'm not sure if the 350 will give me the same experience as the 360 and perhaps then the 350 is only the same PQ as the LG? Can anyone qualify if the 360 actually is better PQ than the 350, ie, sharper imaging?

[Old Geezer]

Audio rookie here with a question. I just purchased the 360 and left the factory settings pretty much as is when I did the quick set-up. If I'm reading thuis thread correctly the audio setting "mix" has the player doing all the decoding and sending the decoded info to the receiver. If the audio setting is "direct" the info is sent to the receiver and the receiver does all the decoding. Is this correct? Also, it shouldn't matter for me as I have an Onkyo 606 receiver and the receiver will recognize if the info needs decoding or not - is this correct also?

On a separate note the only thing I would miss is PIP audio if I have the player set to "direct" according to the manual ? Thanks for the help.

[moose]

I just got the 360 and when I pause a movie it only will pause for 5 minutes then I have to go back and start the movie all over again. Can anyone help?

[djc11369]

Did you try turning off the screen saver and/or auto power off settings? I think the screen saver setting will fix it. I think I remember that at one time in the beginning after I got my player, although I think it was more than 5 minutes. My TV is a DLP set so burn in isn't a concern.

[djc11369]

Audio rookie here with a question. I just purchased the 360 and left the factory settings pretty much as is when I did the quick set-up. If I'm reading thuis thread correctly the audio setting "mix" has the player doing all the decoding and sending the decoded info to the receiver. If the audio setting is "direct" the info is sent to the receiver and the receiver does all the decoding. Is this correct? Also, it shouldn't matter for me as I have an Onkyo 606 receiver and the receiver will recognize if the info needs decoding or not - is this correct also?

Yes, you need to set the player to Direct for the receiver to decode. I have the Onkyo 706, it will recognize whether it needs decoding or not but it still matters for your receiver if you want it to display the codec on the lcd and properly select the soundfield you have chosen for that particular codec. With mix it will show a generic name for the codec on the lcd, something like multichannel if I remember right.

[Old Geezer]

Originally Posted by djc11369

Yes, you need to set the player to Direct for the receiver to decode. I have the Onkyo 706, it will recognize whether it needs decoding or not but it still matters for your receiver if you want it to display the codec on the lcd and properly select the soundfield you have chosen for that particular codec. With mix it will show a generic name for the codec on the lcd, something like multichannel if I remember right.

Thanks for the information. I'll change the setting to direct since I don't have any desire to use PIP anyway.

[CBFETT]

OK, I have the Sony BDP-S360 and a Marantz SR7002 Receiver. Should I set the audio setting to mix and let the BDP do the decoding? Or set to Direct and let the receiver do the decoding? Thanks!

[djc11369]

I can't comment on the Marantz as I don't own one but I'm guessing it's the same scenario. Direct from the player and let the receiver handle the audio and apply whatever surround mode or soundfield you have applied to that codec. Maybe someone on here owns a Marantz and can be more helpful.

[CBFETT]

Thank you! That's kinda what I thought but wanted some opinions.

[phish00]

Hey guys just a quick question on the S360 it does DTS HD master audio correct I am using a 350 now and thinking of up grading because the 350 does not do dts hd or so I go with the 560? Thanks for the help.

[icyteddy]

Originally Posted by phish00

Hey guys just a quick question on the S360 it does DTS HD master audio correct I am using a 350 now and thinking of up grading because the 350 does not do dts hd or so I go with the 560? Thanks for the help.

I was also considering an upgrade and was debating whether it is really worth it. The specification and performance on the S350 vs the S360 seems marginal. For me I don't need the internal DTS-MA decoding as my AVR does it.

[djc11369]

Hey guys just a quick question on the S360 it does DTS HD master audio correct I am using a 350 now and thinking of up grading because the 350 does not do dts hd or so I go with the 560? Thanks for the help

To be quite honest, I'm not sure if it decodes it or not. If you look at the specifications it says that it both decodes and bitstreams TrueHD but only states that it bitstreams the DTS HD. Like iceteddy I let my receiver do the decoding and just bitstream to it so it was a moot point to me. Maybe someone else who is letting the player decode can chime in on this one. FYI the 560 also has this lack of clarity in the specifications.

[Apophis906]

Originally Posted by djc11369

To be quite honest, I'm not sure if it decodes it or not. If you look at the specifications it says that it both decodes and bitstreams TrueHD but only states that it bitstreams the DTS HD. Like iceteddy I let my receiver do the decoding and just bitstream to it so it was a moot point to me. Maybe someone else who is letting the player decode can chime in on this one. FYI the 560 also has this lack of clarity in the specifications.

Can anyone confirm one way or the other if it decodes DTS-MA. Easiest way would be to use a disc with 7.1 and see if your AVR is getting 7.1 or 5.1 from the player. Then could know for sure it was decoding the MA and not the core.

Nevermind I found the Cnet review and they explain about its dts decoding.

Soundtrack support is solid, with the BDP-S360 featuring onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio Essential. That means it can decode those soundtrack formats so they can be played back on almost every HDMI-capable AV receiver. Bit stream output is also supported, if you'd rather the decoding be done in your AV receiver. (DTS-HD Master Audio Essential differs from standard DTS-HD Master Audio in that it lacks decoding for a few legacy DTS DVD soundtracks formats such as DTS 96/24, ES, ES Matrix, and Neo:6. It still decodes all the high-resolution Blu-ray DTS soundtracks.)

[The Spanierd]

I have somebody who selling all the equipment and has offered me the 360 in gem mint condition for $165 do you guys think I should go for it ? I could use the savings but you know what they say... You're paying little and getting even less.

[npanzeca]

WalMart has the S360 for $249 and Best Buy has it for $299. Does anyone know if Best Buy price matches from WalMart? I would like to use my Best Buy card and some gift cards so i'd rather get it there.

[djc11369]

Yes, if WalMart has it in stock. They'll call them to verify so make sure they do.

[connect42]

Originally Posted by The Spanierd

I have somebody who selling all the equipment and has offered me the 360 in gem mint condition for $165 do you guys think I should go for it ? I could use the savings but you know what they say... You're paying little and getting even less.

What exactly are you getting with this deal that is less (other than the price)? I love my 360 and it is worth every penny of the $263 that I paid for it.

[Ray_Rogers]

My S360 should be arriving from UPS within the next couple days. Took me long enough to finally purchase a player!
I paid $219.77 via Amazon Marketplace and the seller was Video & Audio Center in Santa Monica and I live in Santa Cruz, closer to the Bay Area. Being shipped GROUND-style.
Scheduled delivery date is tomorrow. Not too shabby.

[Old Geezer]

Amazon.com currently has the 360 on sale for $224.15. I bought mine a couple of weeks ago for $217.98. No tax and free 2 day shipping thanks to my Amazon Prime membership. Great player - I'm glad I moved up from the S-300.