Sony BDP-BX1 = BDP-S350?

[Yeha-Noha]

I was in Sam' Club today and came across a new player on display, the Sony BDP-BX1 for $378.00.

So I was wondering if this another one of those alias names for the same product used by stores to circumvent price matching schemes.

It was displayed next to the S301 which is selling for $100 less than the BX1. There's no question in my mind that the BX1 is a cheaper build and looks like a toy next to the 2x bigger, heavier S301. I asked an associate if it was the S350, and she said she didn't think so. I still think it is though or very close to it.

The carton says it's BD Live 2.0 which I can careless about. It didn't say anything about requiring a FW update to get it either. Also it comes with a 1.5 meter HDMI cable, but didn't say which version. Other than that, spec for spec, it seems to be the same beast as the S350.

I was going to get the S350 in the near future. But now, the Panny DMP 30, even though it costs $50 more at Walmart, looks better built and more expensive than the BX1. The Samsung 1500 from user opinions seems to be about as buggy as its predecessor. Since the quality is going down on the new entry level players while the prices are still astronomically high, I am even considering keeping my S301 for awhile until the prices dip down to $200 especially before I would buy the cheap looking Sony-BX1.

[krisjan]

Originally Posted by rwojtalewicz

I was in Sam' Club today and came across a new player on display, the Sony BDP-BX1 for $378.00.

So I was wondering if this another one of those alias names for the same product used by stores to circumvent price matching schemes.

It was displayed next to the S301 which is selling for $100 less than the BX1. There's no question in my mind that the BX1 is a cheaper build and looks like a toy next to the 2x bigger, heavier S301. I asked an associate if it was the S350, and she said she didn't think so. I still think it is though or very close to it.

The carton says it's BD Live 2.0 which I can careless about. It didn't say anything about requiring a FW update to get it either. Also it comes with a 1.5 meter HDMI cable, but didn't say which version. Other than that, spec for spec, it seems to be the same beast as the S350.

I was going to get the S350 in the near future. But now, the Panny DMP 30, even though it costs $50 more at Walmart, looks better built and more expensive than the BX1. The Samsung 1500 from user opinions seems to be about as buggy as its predecessor. Since the quality is going down on the new entry level players while the prices are still astronomically high, I am even considering keeping my S301 for awhile until the prices dip down to $200 especially before I would buy the cheap looking Sony-BX1.

The BX1 is a re-badged S350 made specifically for Costco precisley for the reason you indicated. The difference is that it comes with an HDMI cable and a backlit remote (a couple of nice additions relative to the S350). The player is "BD Live Ready" which means that it will require a future FW update to make that a reality. Like you, I have no interest in BD Live.

I've owned a BD30 since it came out last November and it continues to be a very, very good player. Panasonic support has been stellar with regular FW updates (to improve playability of titles and to correct performance issues that were uncovered since its release). If you have a fully decoding AVR, then the BD30 will bitstream all the hi-rez audio for decoding by your AVR. BD PQ is excellent, DVD PQ is adequate at best. With the announcement of the upcoming BD35/BD55 models, you should probably wait a bit and snare a BD30 at a rock bottom price once those new units are in the market.

[Yeha-Noha]

Originally Posted by krisjan

The BX1 is a re-badged S350 made specifically for Costco precisley for the reason you indicated. The difference is that it comes with an HDMI cable and a backlit remote (a couple of nice additions relative to the S350). The player is "BD Live Ready" which means that it will require a future FW update to make that a reality. Like you, I have no interest in BD Live.

I've owned a BD30 since it came out last November and it continues to be a very, very good player. Panasonic support has been stellar with regular FW updates (to improve playability of titles and to correct performance issues that were uncovered since its release). If you have a fully decoding AVR, then the BD30 will bitstream all the hi-rez audio for decoding by your AVR. BD PQ is excellent, DVD PQ is adequate at best. With the announcement of the upcoming BD35/BD55 models, you should probably wait a bit and snare a BD30 at a rock bottom price once those new units are in the market.

Yes that's a good suggestion. At WM the BD30 is about $448. If your prediction is correct, I'd like to see it come down to around $300. Although still a bit steep, I can handle it.

My Yammy V663 should be an excellent match for the BD30. The V663's decoders decode all the lossless formats.

There might be just one caveat though:

I have a 7.1 surround system. Can the BD 30 bitstream DTS-HD MA and DD THD 7.1 channels? I have no doubt that the BD 30 can send 7.1 PCM through HDMI but it's the other lossless formats that I'm concerned about. Someone awhile back told me it couldn't but he didn't even own the BD 30 player. So I'm not sure if that is correct. Can you clarify that? Thanks for your help.

[mr.hidef]

Originally Posted by rwojtalewicz

I was in Sam' Club today and came across a new player on display, the Sony BDP-BX1 for $378.00.

So I was wondering if this another one of those alias names for the same product used by stores to circumvent price matching schemes.

It was displayed next to the S301 which is selling for $100 less than the BX1. There's no question in my mind that the BX1 is a cheaper build and looks like a toy next to the 2x bigger, heavier S301. I asked an associate if it was the S350, and she said she didn't think so. I still think it is though or very close to it.

The carton says it's BD Live 2.0 which I can careless about. It didn't say anything about requiring a FW update to get it either. Also it comes with a 1.5 meter HDMI cable, but didn't say which version. Other than that, spec for spec, it seems to be the same beast as the S350.

I was going to get the S350 in the near future. But now, the Panny DMP 30, even though it costs $50 more at Walmart, looks better built and more expensive than the BX1. The Samsung 1500 from user opinions seems to be about as buggy as its predecessor. Since the quality is going down on the new entry level players while the prices are still astronomically high, I am even considering keeping my S301 for awhile until the prices dip down to $200 especially before I would buy the cheap looking Sony-BX1.

Take a look at DVD players lately? (small and cheap looking) That is where blu-ray players are headed.....powerfull and compact. By the way, the 350 is 4lbs, and built very well ,and it's extremely fast and efficient.

[krisjan]

Originally Posted by rwojtalewicz

Yes that's a good suggestion. At WM the BD30 is about $448. If your prediction is correct, I'd like to see it come down to around $300. Although still a bit steep, I can handle it.

My Yammy V663 should be an excellent match for the BD30. The V663's decoders decode all the lossless formats.

There might be just one caveat though:

I have a 7.1 surround system. Can the BD 30 bitstream DTS-HD MA and DD THD 7.1 channels? I have no doubt that the BD 30 can send 7.1 PCM through HDMI but it's the other lossless formats that I'm concerned about. Someone awhile back told me it couldn't but he didn't even own the BD 30 player. So I'm not sure if that is correct. Can you clarify that? Thanks for your help.

Yes, the BD30 will do 7.1 audio via HDMI for the hi-rez formats. See here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1050507

[Entertainment72]

Does the BX1 look identical to the 350? Also does anyone have photos of the backlit remote?

[Yeha-Noha]

Originally Posted by krisjan

Yes, the BD30 will do 7.1 audio via HDMI for the hi-rez formats. See here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1050507

Thanks for link!

[Yeha-Noha]

Originally Posted by mr.hidef

Take a look at DVD players lately? (small and cheap looking) That is where blu-ray players are headed.....powerfull and compact. By the way, the 350 is 4lbs, and built very well ,and it's extremely fast and efficient.

That's true. But I was just a little bit shocked by it though and was expecting more for the money. And if what you say is true, the prices are bound to come down then like they did for DVD players.

Well, like someone else suggested, when the BD 35s come out, the BD 30 should cost less than the S350. That's going to be my choice.

[Valore]

Hi All,
I just purchased a BDP-BX1. First time user. I had imagined it would operate somewhat similar to my PS3, until I realized there is no internal wireless card. Ergo, I am attempting to connect it wirelessly to my network so I can receive the latest java and firmware updates. Does anyone have any suggestions on which type (if there are different types) of wireless antenna I should get to plug into the back of my player? Your input it greatly appreciated.

[DrXym]

Originally Posted by Valore

Hi All,
I just purchased a BDP-BX1. First time user. I had imagined it would operate somewhat similar to my PS3, until I realized there is no internal wireless card. Ergo, I am attempting to connect it wirelessly to my network so I can receive the latest java and firmware updates. Does anyone have any suggestions on which type (if there are different types) of wireless antenna I should get to plug into the back of my player? Your input it greatly appreciated.

You will need to buy a wireless to ethernet bridge. They are sometimes also known as wireless gaming adapters. They cost from $60 upwards and consist of a box that does the wifi and an ethernet cable that plugs into your non-wifi device (e.g. an XBox 360). As far as the 360 is concerned, it's just hitting ethernet and all the packet transfer, crypto etc is automatically done in the adapter but it does need to be configured. Wifi is pretty complicated with multiple speeds (802.11b/g/n), protocols (clear/WEP/WPA/WPA2) and network configurations (DHCP / manual) to consider so you should probably check out the reviews and see if the device supports your home network, and how you go about configuring it.

Most will be configurable through a Windows app or web browser. Web browser would be best especially if you have a PS3 sitting there. You could fire up the PS3's browser to configure the device without leaving the room.

I have yet to see any BD-Live content that even justifies the effort. If you have a PS3 then you probably should access the content through that and ignore the features on the other player. I'm surprised that no standalone has appeared with wifi yet. It seems like an obvious feature for BD-Live and a great way to boost sales for the first player to implement it.

[Valore]

Thanks much for your advice. I will look into it.

[Entertainment72]

From my research the linksys one does not need to be configured (if I recall correctly) just plug and play. Google them, there are many out.

[DrXym]

Originally Posted by Entertainment72

From my research the linksys one does not need to be configured (if I recall correctly) just plug and play. Google them, there are many out.

They must have some way to be configured. For example my wifi network uses WPA personal key encryption. Unless there was a way to tell the adapter what the password was it would never get on the network.

[Entertainment72]

I mean they have an auto-config setup.. just bad choice of words on my part.

[Kage]

According to the manual on the BDP-BX1 it seems that it does not have internal decoding for Dolby TrueHD, while the BDP-S350 has internal Dolby TrueHD. However, both players can bitstream the HD audio format. I really don't care about internal audio decoding done in a blu-ray player, because my Yamaha RX-V1800 AVR does the decoding.

[gvortex7]

Originally Posted by Valore

Hi All,
I just purchased a BDP-BX1. First time user. I had imagined it would operate somewhat similar to my PS3, until I realized there is no internal wireless card. Ergo, I am attempting to connect it wirelessly to my network so I can receive the latest java and firmware updates. Does anyone have any suggestions on which type (if there are different types) of wireless antenna I should get to plug into the back of my player? Your input it greatly appreciated.

What you need is a wireless access point. Here is one of the cheapest ones, the Linksys WAP54G :

http://www.amazon.com/Linksys-WAP54G.../dp/B00007KDVJ

It's pretty solid (as solid as "bleeding edge" technology can be) and you can get it for about $60-70 shipped.

[matthewrounds]

Originally Posted by Valore

Hi All,
I just purchased a BDP-BX1. First time user. I had imagined it would operate somewhat similar to my PS3, until I realized there is no internal wireless card. Ergo, I am attempting to connect it wirelessly to my network so I can receive the latest java and firmware updates. Does anyone have any suggestions on which type (if there are different types) of wireless antenna I should get to plug into the back of my player? Your input it greatly appreciated.

How about downloading the firmware to a CD? If you need help, respond to my post.

[Kage]

If the BDP-BX1 is the same as the BDP-S350, can someone please confirm if the BX1 has the internal Dolby TrueHD decoder?

[BluCheez]

Originally Posted by Kage

If the BDP-BX1 is the same as the BDP-S350, can someone please confirm if the BX1 has the internal Dolby TrueHD decoder?

Here is what I have noticed...

I have the S350. In my manual under Audio Output Signals it has a table that has a few differences from the corresponding table on the BX1 manual that I am viewing online.

The S350 has the following under DD TrueHD via HDMI and set to Auto: LPCM 7.1ch

The BX1 has the following under DD TrueHD via HDMI and set to Auto: LPCM 5.1ch (Dolby Digital)

For DTS-HD Master Audio, both manuls have: LPCM 5.1ch (DTS core). So, both players are not identical in the way they handle the audio. Whether this means that the BX1 does not decode DD TrueHD, I'm not sure.

[Valore]

Originally Posted by matthewrounds

How about downloading the firmware to a CD? If you need help, respond to my post.

will that work? and if so where would I go to dl the firmware? and if found could i burn the firmware to a regular recordable data disc? HAHA sorry for the questions but you bring up a great idea and a much cheaper alternative