Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 126
 Almost ready for prime time-keep your eye on prices August 25, 2008
R. Lebo
37 out of 55 found this review helpful
There is no denying the picture and sound quality is top notch. However, this player is still not ready for prime time. As pointed out by numerous other reviewers and confirmed by Sony, resume play is disc dependent, and most current BDs do not support that feature. Each disc also exhibits other eccentricities. I called Sony and they blame it on the DVD authoring. They also admitted that when you do future firmware updates the BDs that you currently have may not perform the same way. I updated the firmware to version 1.7 and it did not address any of my complaints.
I find it hard to believe that a $400 player and a $30 disc can't duplicate the same features that are in a $50 DVD player. Add to it the long load times and it is quite evident that Blu-Ray was rushed out too soon. There should be no excuse for not finalizing a hardware and software profile that at least duplicates the functionality of DVD before we start worrying about things like BD-live.
Although the picture and sound is superior to DVD, I have to admit in a comparison of a BD and upsampled DVD of Pirates of the Carribean At World End, my wife and I found the difference to be noticeable, but not significant.
UPDATE:
I took some time to contemplate, did some more research and then jumped back in the fray. My first Blu-Ray was the Costco equilivant of this Sony for $379. Amazon had this puppy briefly for $258.99 and at that price point I snatched one up. Amazon doesn't allow a change in the star rating, but at this lower price point I find the benefits of the better picture to be a better value. I still feel that Blu-Ray was rushed out too soon, with too many issues, but I would raise my rating to 3 stars. I have been doing more comparison of Blu-Ray and DVD, and the image is sharper and I have to accept the fact that I only have a 720P Sony Bravia so I will not get the full HD experience out of any Blu-Ray player at this time.
 First impression is this is a great player July 21, 2008
Kylie Hrncir (Warsaw, Poland)
31 out of 47 found this review helpful
This is my first BluRay player. So far so good. The setup was very straightforward and I did appreciate the simple set up walk through the minute I turned it on. After setting up - I was a bit surprised (all right - fricking shocked) when sound played through my TV speakers because I specifically set it up to play through the digital audio output. Not a big deal - I can just mute the TV, but I did fear it was going to blow out the speakers.
So after the unit was set up (less than a minute with an HDMI connection and a digital audio out) I popped in my first disc. Granted, I did not test with a BluRay DVD, but the load-time was a pleasant surprise. I found it just as fast as the el-cheapo model DVD player that occupied the space before it. All the nightmares I have heard about ridiculously slow start-up times seem to have been for not. No problem with loading.
Also, I have heard horror stories of having to update firmware out of the box. Luckily, the check for a firmware update is easier than the set-up, and took less than 5 seconds to tell me I was up-to-date.
Since I don't have a BluRay DVD handy I popped in an animated feature. My family - who is usually the biggest critic of new things - all noticed a significant improvement vs. the previous analog player.
So set-up, ease of use and picture quality are all superior. Also, when using a digital coaxial I notice a much better sound than with other mid-line DVD players. Aesthetically this is a sharp looking unit. The remote seems a bit of overkill and I think it's a bit too large. Plus I'm not confident that I can use it to control my non-Sony TV. I haven't played around with all the features yet, but so far it's worth what I paid for it.
Your best option for Blu-Ray October 2, 2008
C. Wynes (Dyersburg, TN)
27 out of 29 found this review helpful
Until very recently, the conventional wisdom was that the Sony Playstation 3 -- primarily a video game console -- was universally the best option for those looking to get into Blu-Ray discs. Now with the release of the S350, and its late-September price drop, that is no longer the case. Which option is right for you?
As of this review (Oct. '08), the PS3, plus the remote which is sold separately, comes to about $420. The S350's suggested retail price of $299 undercuts that by $120. Both machines feature an ethernet port which allows it to be updated all the way to Profile 2.0, although the S350 will require a flash memory card to do this whereas the PS3 presumably uses the attached 40GB hard drive. Up to this point, Profile 2.0 features have not been very appealing, and you may have no desire to update at all. Both machines are capable of outputting 1080p at 24fps, to more accurately represent the frame-rate associated with American cinema, but you will only be able to make any use of this if you have a 120hz set. And of course both machines will function as upconverting DVD players.
The S350 seems to have eliminated the problems most reviewers were associating with the S300, Sony's previous entry-level model. There were reports indicating a higher than usual failure rate on the S300, but with the S350 on the market for a few months now it seems that this has been remedied. The load times, once a 2-3 minute inconvenience on the earliest Blu-Ray players, are barely noticeable on this player and are not much worse than the load time on a DVD. I have NOT noticed the drive being unusually loud, which another review mentions -- in fact, if I have A/C or a fan running, I can't hear the disc drive over that and the movie.
The S350 is a solid entry-level Blu-Ray player, with all of the Blu-Ray playback functionality of the PS3, but for more than $100 less. If you're interested in a Blu-Ray player, and you prefer the reliability of the Sony brand, but you have no interest in video games, the S350 should be your first choice.
 Which is better? This player or the Panasonic DMP-BD35K? I bought them both and tested them side-by-side! October 28, 2008
Home Theater is Fun (Philadelphia, PA USA)
26 out of 30 found this review helpful
I take my home theater hobby pretty seriously, that's why when it came time to invest in a Blu-Ray player (finally the wait is over!!!), I did a ridiculously great amount of research. I was willing to spend much more money on a blu-ray player, but the prices have come down so much, you don't have to! I narrowed down my extensive search for the right player to the Panasonic DMP-BD35K and the Sony BDP-S350. **I BOUGHT THEM BOTH AND DID A "SIDE-BY-SIDE" TEST!**
I have some nice equipment, so I feel that the test was an excellent representation of the capabilities of these two players. My equipment includes a 100-inch Stewart screen with a 1080p Sony Pearl front projector, an Integra 9.8 DTC processor (with all the latest surround sound goodies), an NAD amp, 7 Paradigm Signature speakers, and a dual M&K subwoofer (for full 7.1 surround sound).
I do understand electronics, but the Sony manual was really hard to follow. After only one call to Sony, I eventually got the player set up properly. After I set up the Panasonic, everything became much clearer. The Panasonic manual is so much better. But, who really cares about manuals? How do these two players perform side by side?
Audio for BOTH Blu-ray discs and standard DVDs: The Panasonic unquestionably has better audio. Compared to the Sony, the highs were much clearer. The 7.1 surround sound put me right in the middle of the "explosion" (my first test blu-ray disc was National Treasure I) when the Charlotte blew up. The biggest Audio difference was the bass. The bass in the Panasonic was so much better than the Sony. In fact, my old Sony standard-DVD player had better audio than the Sony BDP-S350. I'd give the Sony 3 stars with the audio. The Panasonic had outstanding treble, bass, and surround: 5-star audio!
Video for BOTH Blu-ray discs and standard DVDs: The Sony's video was ok, but the Panasonic's video was fantastic. The skin tones were more realistic and the colors were more vibrant with the Panasonic. The Sony seemed to have a thin gray film over everything -- like looking through a filmy-dirty window. The Sony had 4-star video, the Panasonic and its upscaling gets an easy 5 stars!
Both my wife and I did the "side-by-side" test by going back and forth between Blu-Ray discs and standard DVDs. We didn't discuss any of our thoughts until we each independently formed our own conclusions. After seeing and hearing both players, we were both in complete agreement that in every way the Panasonic DMP-BD35K was superior to the Sony BDP-S350.
By the way, the card slot on the Sony for BD-Live is very hard to get to. I do like Sony as a brand for some things, but not Blu-Ray players.
Also, to save you some research time, I've already checked out all of the professional reviews including the ones on CNet.com: The Sony is considered ok, and CNet liked the Panasonic so much that it is the first Blu-Ray player EVER to receive CNet's "Editor's Choice Award."
I have to go to the store now and return the Sony player that I bought. I'm keeping the Panasonic!! :-)
Hopefully you found this review helpful!
 excellent blu-ray player, but dvd upconversion not so great August 15, 2008
CS (Acton, MA, USA)
24 out of 24 found this review helpful
As many other reviews (including professional ones) have described, this is one of the best blu-ray players available in this price range right now.
I don't have much to add to those reviews, but will make two quick points.
(1) If you have a Bravia tv, the player and the tv work together well (e.g., you can use the remotes to control both, can have the tv automatically turn on and switch to the BD player).
(2) If you play a regular dvd in this, you will get upconversion (electronic conversion of the 480p video to 1080p video), but I found that my Oppo 981 dvd player's upconversion was noticeably better (sharper & clearer picture).
So I'd definitely recommend this player for blu-ray, but you might want to hang on to your Oppo for playing your dvd collection.
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