BDP S300 or S500?

[Living Near Shamu]

Just helping a new blu member with his question, since he can't post a new thread here. Any help from the expert members would be greatly appreciated. Please don't reply to me, reply to his quote.

Lets give him a warm welcome to the group.

Originally Posted by Karl45

Hi,

I am getting my first home theater setup in 3 weeks, since my wife and I are finally moving out of an apartment and getting a bigger place.

I chose the Bravia 46W3000 as my TV, as I thought it looked great. Here is the question, Sony will bundle a Blu-Ray with the TV package. I can get the BDP-S300 free, as they take $299.99 off the TV, or for $299.99 I can get the BDP-S500. I need help in deciding. My wife has given me a firm budget and the fact that it’s free makes me almost jump at the BDP-S300.

My Questions are:

1. Will the BDP-S300 or 500 be updatable to the new 1.1 profile?
2. Will the older HDMI (1.1) and no TrueHD audio capability of the S300 really be a huge issue for a novice? As of now we have a 10 year old TV and a 3 year old DVD player, nothing spectacular.

I feel like a late arrival to the Blu-ray scene, so any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[Go Blu]

The 500 can be brought up to 1.1 with Firmware.
I beleive this was mentioned from Sony.

Honestly you brob won't notice much difference right now between the two.
Going from an old TV and DVD player it will already be a huge leap in both AQ and PQ.


I myself was planning on getting the s500 but I was able to get the 301 for $279.
So I said what the heck and got it, for now.
By the time I'm ready for my next player it will be even cheaper
and full profile out of the box. Plus it gives my PS3 a break.

[Metalthrasher442]

I have the S300 and love it. It loads a little slow, but other than that it's great..plus it's free! It wouldn't be a bad bet.

[quetzalcoatl]

Where just a few days ago if these were the only choice I would have said without a doubt the 300. Since the 500 cannot be 1.1 and was just more money. But within the past few days Sony has updated their site and it looks like the 500 might be able to bitstream DTS HD MA. And if that is the case that makes it a much better player. This has not been confirmed as to weither it is HR or MA since they just say DTS HD without the last 2 letters.

But if it can do MA that make this player a much better deal than it was before since it would do both TrueHD bitstream and decoding and MA bitstreaming. So someone without a a 1.3 receiver, as long as they were able to use HDMI, would get all the lossless formats except for MA. And if they were able to upgrade to 1.3 they would have them all.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...52921665227485

Dolby® TrueHD, dts®-HD Bitstream out over HDMI™
The future of surround sound arrives with Blu-ray Disc technology. With the BDP-S500, you can enjoy incredible new audio codecs from both Dolby Laboratories and Digital Theater Systems (dts). Simply by connecting your Blu-ray Disc player to the HDMI connection on your A/V Receiver, the BDP-S500 can either output or internally decode Dolby TrueHD & dts-HD. - Dolby TrueHD delivers lossless studio master quality audio designed specifically for high definition entertainment like Blu-ray Disc movies. An incredible sound stage, dynamic range and a stellar Home Theater experience await you with Dolby TrueHD. - dts-HD gives you sound quality that matches the crystal clear image of Blu-ray Disc media. With up to 7.1 channels of surround sound and audio that is indistinguishable form the original studio version, dts-HD promises you an extraordinary surround experience.

[School]

i bought the 500 for my father just wondering can this unit update firmware so it does not become out of date to fast?

[quetzalcoatl]

Originally Posted by School

i bought the 500 for my father just wondering can this unit update firmware so it does not become out of date to fast?

Yes you just need to goto the Sony site and burn it when they come out.
That is for the instructions on how to do it.

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu...d=3201&os_id=7

[Marcusarilius]

I would seriously ask them if you can work prices with the Panasonic BD30 instead of either Sony player. After a year or two of Sony player ownership, I have the feeling you will up-grade to a player that can take advantage of DTS HD as many BD titles have these days. You can't beat the price on the new Panasonic unit for what you get.

[School]

i got the 500 for 575.00 with tax my friend works at electronic expo so i got hooked up