Sony BDP Bluray
This is certainly one of the most impressive and value for money units available today. Sony have attempted to take on Pioneer's value packed models with this beauty. It is an attractive unit with a smooth look and feel to it, with a motorised front panel, that retracts for the disc tray and a streamlined, minimalist look.
The technical specifications of this Sony unit are quite good for this price-range. It has an HDMI 1.3 output and can send all the HD codes via HDMI. No ethernet connection or BD 1.1 support. The 1080p/24fps video is present and correct. The build quality is very good, an enduring Sony feature.
However, the most important thing is the picture is clean, smooth and crisp. The Sony BDP-S500's colors are rich, and the player delivers an image that is solid and very presentable. Fast moving scenes and motion are handled well, but the overall detail is just slightly lacking when compared to some of the more higher end alternatives. Darker scenes lose some of their clarity and detail, when compared to other Blu-ray players. The average Blu-ray purchaser will not be disappointed.
The audio is satisfactory but not a standout feature of this unit. It does not stream DTS-HD master audio via HDMI, and some soundtrackslack the punch and power of other comparable players.
There are other machines that can pack more features into this price range, such as the Panasonic BDP 30. Some purchasers may be Sony loyalists and prefer to stick to their known and preferred brand. Overall this is a very good package, that does not reach to the heights of the premium players, but delivers an excellent picture, satisfactory sound in a well packaged and attractive exterior.
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ML Paul loves his gadgets, and has set up a new blog http://blu-ray-comparison.blogspot.com/ to assist people to compare Blu-ray players prior to making a purchase. For more information about this product follow this link: Sony BDP S500
or: http://blu-ray-comparison.blogspot.com/2008/04/sony-bdp-s500-1080p-blu-ray-disc-player.html
Friday, April 25, 2008
Sony BDP-S500 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Player
Product Description
See and hear a whole new world in high definition with Sony’s BDP-S500. The crystalline clarity of 1080p Blu-ray Disc™ movies and DVD upscaling that can bring your DVDs to the highest possible quality, mean your favorite movies have never looked or sounded so good. Add to that Sony’s 24p True Cinema and Cinema Tuned picture presets, which allow you to see any movie just the way its director intended, and all you’ll need is a little popcorn to lose yourself in an HD world. Better yet, now Sony’s BRAVIA® Theater Sync™ means that now you can control your compatible TV and AV systems all from one remote.
Product Description
plays Blu-ray high-definition discs (selectable output resolution: 1080p signals available through HDMI output only; 720p/1080i signals available through HDMI or component video) * selectable 720p/1080i/1080p video upconversion for DVD (upconverted video available through HDMI output only) * built-in audio decoding for Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, and multichannnel uncompressed PCM * 7.1-channel bitstream audio output via HDMI * BD-Java interactive capability * BRAVIA Theatre Sync for control of compatible Sony TVs and components via HDMI *
See and hear a whole new world in high definition with Sony’s BDP-S500. The crystalline clarity of 1080p Blu-ray Disc™ movies and DVD upscaling that can bring your DVDs to the highest possible quality, mean your favorite movies have never looked or sounded so good. Add to that Sony’s 24p True Cinema and Cinema Tuned picture presets, which allow you to see any movie just the way its director intended, and all you’ll need is a little popcorn to lose yourself in an HD world. Better yet, now Sony’s BRAVIA® Theater Sync™ means that now you can control your compatible TV and AV systems all from one remote.
Product Description
plays Blu-ray high-definition discs (selectable output resolution: 1080p signals available through HDMI output only; 720p/1080i signals available through HDMI or component video) * selectable 720p/1080i/1080p video upconversion for DVD (upconverted video available through HDMI output only) * built-in audio decoding for Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, and multichannnel uncompressed PCM * 7.1-channel bitstream audio output via HDMI * BD-Java interactive capability * BRAVIA Theatre Sync for control of compatible Sony TVs and components via HDMI *
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Panasonic DMP-BD30K 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Player
See all 78 customer reviews...Technical Details
- Final Standard Profile Blu-ray Player (BD-ROM Profile1 version 1.1)
- 1080p output: 24p/60p via HDMI v1.3 with Deep Color
- Up-conversion of standard DVDs to 1080p Playback
- Dolby True HD Decoder, DTS/DTS-HD High Resolution/Master Audio Decoder
- Pixel Precision Progressive Progressing for HD
Product Details
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Product Description
Amazon.com Product Description
Blu-ray means incredible full-HD images, breathtaking sound and 5x the data capacity of DVDs. Now Blu-ray means something else too: an entirely new movie-viewing experience, made possible by Final Standard Profile, which adds features never seen before, like four Picture-in-Picture modes including Enhanced Commentary (from directors and actors), Backstage Pass, Peek Behind the Animation and Audio Mixing.
Images So Real, You Feel Like You're in the Picture
Combining a PHL Reference Chroma Processor with advanced P4HD (Pixel Precision Progressive Processing) imaging technology, UniPhier — the Precise Digital Video processor — reproduces crisp, natural colors that are extremely faithful to the original movie. It does this by up-sampling the color information in decoded video signals, while the super high-speed P4HD up-converts content recorded in 480i/p, 720p or 1080i format to 1080p by correctly generating each pixel according to information drawn from up to 60 surrounding pixels. The image motion of each pixel is then categorized into one of 16 levels, from stationary to super fast. Image quality is further enhanced by Diagonal Processing, which creates smooth, sharp diagonal lines, and 3:2 Pull-Down, which optimizes the processing accordingly for film or video making the images look natural and lifelike. In addition, the DMP-BD30's HDMI output is Deep Color compatible, with 4,096 steps of gradation for even smoother, finer-quality images that meet Hollywood's stringent demands, so you can experience movies just the way they were meant to be experienced.
Incredible Sound Completes the Hi-Def Experience
With Precise Digital Audio, Blu-ray's beautiful images are complemented by exceptionally pure, accurate sound thanks to Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD. UniPhier's advanced processing capability decodes these audio signals with high precision and outputs them in bitstream form with no degradation. It also brings re-mastering to Blu-ray for the first time, which compensates for data lost during the compression process creating a fuller, richer sound.
HD Networking with SD Card
The convenient SD card slot on the DMP-BD30 allows easy viewing of hi-def videos and photos on your HDTV. Videos shot with a Panasonic HD camcorder are output in their original 1920x1080 resolution, while still images taken with a Panasonic Lumix digital camera are up-converted and output in 1920x1080 resolution1.
With EZ Sync HDAVI Control, you can control your Blu-ray Disc player — and all your home theater components — with your TV's remote2. Simply press the EZ Sync button and select "BD Player" on the menu screen; the BD player's menu will be displayed and you can begin playback.
Product Description
plays Blu-ray high-definition discs (selectable output resolution: 1080p signals available through HDMI output only; 720p/1080i signals available through HDMI or component video) * plays DVD-Video, DVD-R & DVD-RW, DVD+R & DVD+RW, and DVD-RAM * plays high-def AVCHD files on home-burned DVDs and SD memory cards * plays CD, audio CD-R & CD-RW, and MP3 CDs * plays digital photo CDs (JPEG) * selectable 720p/1080i/1080p video upconversion for DVD (upconverted video available through HDMI output only) *
Sony BDP-S300 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player
Sony BDP-S300 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player
From Sony
List Price: $399.99
Price: $389.99
Availability: In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served.
Ships from and sold by Target.com/ITC
6 new or used available from $325.00
Average customer review:
Product Description
See and hear a whole new world in high definition with Sony's BDP-S300. The crystalline clarity of 1080p Blu-ray Disc� movies(1) and DVD upscaling(2) that can bring your DVDs to the highest possible quality, mean your favorite movies have never looked or sounded so good. Add to that Sony's 24p True Cinema(2) and Cinema Tuned picture presets, which allow you to see any movie just the way its director intended, and all you'll need is a little popcorn to lose yourself in an HD world. Better yet, now Sony's Bravia Theatre Sync means that now you can control your compatible TV and AV systems(3) all from one remote.
Product Details
* Color: Black/Blue
* Brand: Sony
* Model: BDP-S300
* Released on: 2007-06-18
* Dimensions: 7.96" h x 20.72" w x 19.46" l, 17.60 pounds
Features
* Full HD 1080/60p and 24p True Cinema Video Output
* DVD Upscaling to 1080p via HDMI
* BRAVIA Theatre Sync (HDMI-CEC)
* BD/DVD/CD playback(4) and AVC-HD with x.v.Color output
* Multi-channel Linear PCM & Dolby Digital Plus Decoding
Editorial Reviews
From the Manufacturer
See and hear a whole new world of high definition with the incredible BDP-S300 Blu-ray Disc Player. The crystalline clarity of 1080p Blu-ray Disc movies1 and DVD upscaling2 has to be seen to be believed. Amazing 24p True Cinema3 2 output and cinema-tuned picture presets allow you to see movies exactly how the director intended. And with BRAVIA Theatre Sync, you can now you can control your compatible BRAVIA TV and AV systems3 from just one remote.
x.v.Color
Thanks to the adoption of a newly approved international color standard called xvYCC (an option in the HDMI v1.3 spec and which Sony participated in helping to create), the color space has been greatly expanded. 1.8 times as many natural colors as existing HDTV signals will now be faithfully reproduced. (x.v.Color capability is available on select BRAVIA televisions, Blu-ray Disc players and the PlayStation3 computer entertainment system.)
24p True Cinema Video Output
Many movies are filmed at 24 frames per second (fps) and prime time TV programs are videotaped at 24p. Seizing an opportunity, some studios are taking a purist approach and encoding high definition video content such as Blu-ray Disc in 24p. The BDP-S300 wisely takes advantage of this by including 24p output capability. The benefits are smoother and more natural-looking images that make watching television an experience to remember. (24p video input capability is available on select BRAVIA televisions.)
BRAVIA Theater Sync
Go beyond simple audio and video transmission with the "one-touch play" remote control feature that allows you to easily manage select BRAVIA televisions and Sony HDMI audio and video components with a single remote. (Available on select BRAVIA theater home A/V systems and components.)
Blu-ray'sHD resolution offers a vastly better picture than SD resolution availabel from regular DVD
Blu-ray'sHD resolution offers a vastly better picture than SD resolution availabel from regular DVD
More About Blu-ray
The format provides five times larger capacity than today's DVDs, with unprecedented storage capacity of 25 GB (single-layer) and 50 GB (dual-layer). Blu-ray Disc players will be fully backward compatible with current DVD formats, delivering entertainment content in full high-definition (HD) quality, under a secure environment made possible through the most advanced copyright protection technology.
Blu-ray Disc provides picture quality beyond anything available, with full capability 1080p/24 resolution in Blu-ray and Up to 40Mbps bit encoding - 5X current DVD. The theater quality "uncompressed" audio supports 8 channels of Liner PCM, Up to 32 streams of audio, interactive capability, seamless menus, integrated games, hi-def bonus and educational features. Java will allow for more dynamic, more sophisticated interactivity.
Expand your workd with Sony products using Blu-ray Disc technology. It;s the heart of an outstanding line of Sony products with Blu-ray Disc technology that extends beyond the boundaries of high-definition and opens the new vistas for creativity, enjoyment, and interaction.
Discover unsurpassed picture quality and uncompressed audio on supporting media that goes beyond any other format you've seen. Immerse yourself in the unrivaled detail that lets you experiencemore in every movie, every game.
MoviesFind a huge selection of great movies available now on Blu-ray Disc
Find a huge selection of great movies available now on Blu-ray Disc
The best names in entertainment suppor Blu-ray Disc technology. Seven of Hollywood's major studios -- with 90% of home entertainment sales -- ensure the most extensive library of high definition titles, with hits from SOny pictures, Walt Disney, MGM, 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers, Paramount, and Lions Gate. You'll find more titles coming every month.
Blu-ray Disc was created to match the accelerating growth in digital consumer electronics and computer technology. The platform supports the convergence of film, music, gaming and other computer entertainment in a single standard. Sony Computer Entertainment's adoption of Blu-ray Disc ROM technology in the next-generation PlayStation 3 system was announced at the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo.
Capacity Without Compromise
Everything that DVD can do, Blu-ray Disc does and more. Blue laser technology enables up to 50 GB of storage -- five times the capacity of DVD. That's room for nine hours of HD. Or 23 hours of SD. Or tens of thousands of songs. Unbelievable data storage.
Versatiltiy Beyond the Ordinary
From movies to music to games to PC software and file backup, Blu-ray Disc is your solution! The system embraces pre-recorded titles (BD-ROM), discs that you can record yourself (BD-R) and discs you can re-record over and over again (BD-RE). So we can anticipate not only BD players for your living room, but also BD recorders, BD-based game consoles, BD drives for your personal computer and even BD camcorders using compact 8 cm (3") discs!
Customer Reviews
If it works3
Operating this device, with firmware upgrades, is a crapshot. My experience: it is a one in four chance you will have to power down/up (I'm thinking Microsoft wrote the code). The remote often does nothing. Why? I assume something is happening; chapter moves are iffy. You need to weigh the benefits carefully. If you are moving one chapter forward then you may as well wait - the remote control operation is that flaky.
Overall this player feels more like a prototype than a finished consumer product. If you buy be sure to put it thought it's paces during the return period. I had to leave town myself. Chances are I would have returned otherwise.
great player--updated to firmware version 3.804
I use this player with my Yamaha RX-V461BL 500 Watt 5.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver and my Samsung TX-S3082WH 30" direct-view CRT HDTV. I also own the Toshiba HD-A3 720p/1080i HD DVD Player and was anxious to compare the picture difference, if any.
The BDP-S300 arrived with firmware version 2.60. I have heard so much about slow disc load times and freeze-ups from owners, so before I turned the player on, I downloaded firmware version 3.80 from Sony's website and burned it onto a CD-R. The manual specifies that you do NOT burn a data disc, which I did, just to test the player. I inserted it into the player and the display read 'could not read disc--data disc' error. I then ejected the data disc with no problems with the player.
Next, I followed the Sony owner's manual instructions--which specify that you burn the firmware update as an image file onto a CD-R. I had to download some ISO-image-burning software to burn the CD-R, so after I downloaded the software, I was able to burn the CD-R in about 1 minute. I inserted the CD-R into the player and expected the worst, but the player read the disc and processed the upgrade in about 12 minutes total--not the 30 minutes+ as specified in the manual.
The setup was very easy. I was able to do it without the manual, just like my Toshiba HD-A3 720p/1080i HD DVD Player. After the set-up, I inserted Michael Clayton [Blu-ray] and timed it--21 seconds flat from insertion to 'ready' mode, which is pretty close to standard-def DVD load times in my Sony DVP-NS57P/S Progressive Scan DVD Player Silver. I turned the player completely off, and then turned it on and timed it--44 seconds from power 'off' to 'disc ready' mode. I can live with that.
While playing the dvd, I shuttled forward and backwards with ease, using full speeds in both directions, and had few (if any) problems. Using chapter skip in both directions, it took three of four seconds to start playing after I skipped ahead 5 chapters, with no freezing. During regular playback of the dvd, the audio was amazing, and I was only listening in 2-channel DTS. I can imagine what it would sound like in 5.1 audio.
There is slight fan noise during dvd playback, which was only detectable with the tv turned off. While the movie is playing, I couldn't hear the fan at all. The display on the front is a gray-blue. There are 4 brightness settings (High-Med-Low-Off), which can be accessed with one button on the top left of the remote. Very convenient. With the display turned off, this is a very nice viewing experience. There is also an additional display button on the remote, which tells you the TRT of the disc, which chapter you are watching, time remaining in the chapter, and bit rate.
There was very little resolution differences between HD-DVD and Blu-ray. Both deliver stunning clarity and vivid colors, particularly on tube tvs. I used component video cables. HDMI would look great.
I was able to access the special features on the blu-ray discs with no problems, there is an internet access sppecial feature, which I didn't try to access.
In summation, the Sony BDP-S300 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player is a great stand-alone player. The upgraded version, the BDP-S350, will be released July 2008 for $399, and has an ethernet port for easier upgrades. It also has the ability to deliver DTS Master HD audio, as well as Dolby HD audio. Of course, you will need a new receiver capable of decoding the aforementioned. I'm sure it sounds great, but to me, it's not worth buying another new receiver just to hear HD audio.
Horrible.1
Garbage. The worse electronic product I have ever owned in my entire life. Expect to wait a minute or so after powering up the unit to insert a disc. Expect to wait another 2-3 minutes after that to actually get to the menu to start the disc. During this process keys will not be available, you have no indication of what is happening on the unit, and the remote control seems to be totally out of sync with the unit - making the entire thing very sluggish. Mine failed to work after 5 months of ownership. I had it replaced under warranty with a refurbished one and that one does not work either. HORRIBLE - DO NOT BUY THIS UNIT. If you think you can deal with the slowness and possible quality control issues, once it actually starts playing the Bluray disc the picture is good and sound is great. I used this with a Pioneer Pro-110FD 50" plasma and the Pioneer Elite VSX-94TXH receiver. If you want alternatives, look at either the Sony PS or one of the Panasonic units which get good reviews and will load your discs much faster. Sony makes great products, the BPD-S300, however, is not one of them.
Monday, April 21, 2008
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