Sony Blu Ray Disc Players

[SlowMotion]

Sony BDP-S550 $311-320 shipped at amazon.com retail is $400

Sony BDP-S350 $227 shipped at amazon.com retail is $350

Just a heads up to anyone that is looking to purchase one...both are great players and would make excellent Christmas gifts for someone


Flanners is having a three day thanksgiving sale, the Sony BDP-S350 is now only $199

[SLOWC5]

Tim, What are the main differences between the 350 and 550, If you know off hand?

[SlowMotion]

Here is a listing from www.avsforum.com . It compares the audio formats, you can plainly see the added 7.1 audio options available with the S550. From personal experience, the S550 is a great unit, quiet, quick loading compared to others and user friendly. There is also a Sony S550 for sale in the classifieds on avsforum.com for $275 that is lightly used.

[Car Guy]

Great info right there.....

Is the Sony brand considered 'top of the line' when it comes to Blu-Ray players...???

[SlowMotion]

I believe sony pretty much sets the standard with the blu ray scene. The
PS3 has been known to be the best blu ray player for the money, but if you don't need a gaming counsel and want a true stand alone, you really can't go wrong with sony products. The prices for stand alones are falling fast, especially with the declining economy and xmas coming up. When looking for a blu ray player, keep an eye on things like profile 2.0 as it will work for Blu Ray live, and HDMI v1.3, as it is the highest version available and will be good for future use. Most newer electronics will be v1.3 and more of the "better" players will support 7.1 channel surround.

[GTSLOW]

Is the PS3 V1.3 & 2.0???

We've been battling between a PS3 and blue ray player.

[SlowMotion]

The Sony Playstation 3 is profile 2.0, it was one of the first to offer it as well as offering v1.3 hdmi. If you are looking for the capability of a gaming counsel along with the ability to watch blu ray movies, this is your choice hands down. If you want a true stand alone that plays blu rays and SDVDs I would recommend that one of the standalones offered. One thing people have an issue with using the Playstation is the lack of capability to use a universal remote. You need to use two remotes, whereas alot of the standalones are universal remote compatible. I would imagine with the use of a IR transmitter that is now offered for the PS3, you would be able to make it work, but would add into the cost of the unit as a whole, making your decision even more difficult

Either way you will not lose, sony products are top knotch when it comes to Blu Ray. Good luck and please check out the chart to see which would best suite your needs.

[Holeshot]

Sony designed and wrote the software for Bluray . I have the Samsung BD 1500. I get emails from Samsung for firmware updates for my TV , BLU RAY and my Home Theater Receiver. I just download to A zip drive and upload it the unit and it self updates.

[GTSLOW]

The next question is can these stand alone blue rays or PS3 play regular dvds?

[HITMAN]

The next question is can these stand alone blue rays or PS3 play regular dvds?

I don't know about the PS3, but not only do the stand alone players ply regular dvds, but they also up-convert them to near HD quality.

After doing a lot of research, starting with this thread, I ended up buying a Panasonic DMP-BD35K last night. I looked at the specs posted above and went from there. I don't need any of the analog capabilities of the more expensive machines, as I will be feeding the signal into an Onkyo TX-SR605 via an HDMI cable, so the analog features are unneeded. The Panny also reviews a little bit better at this price point. Up-converted picture is supposed to be a tad bit better, sound quality higher, and a bit less troublesome according to the reviews I read. The Sony's are nice, but I've had real good luck with the Panasonic I presently own (DVD-RP56) and based on my present ownership and the reviews I read, I went with the Panasonic. The best part of it all, is I bought it on ebay using MSN-live cash back search. I found a NIB player for a Buy-It-Now price of $235.00 shipping included. Paid with PayPal, and got 25% instant cash back. Final price to me, $175.00

For those of you wishing to buy the Sony BDP-S350, Sears has a "Black Friday" deal on that player. $179.99 tomorrow morning.
If you don't mind getting up early and standing in line, (I frickin hate it ) that deal is about as good as your going to get, locally.

[SlowMotion]

Glad you were able to find the chart useful and that you got a killer deal on the Panny player

[GTSLOW]

So the PS3 doesn't up convert?

[Holeshot]

So the PS3 doesn't up convert?

You are correct.

[wikked]

You are incorrect.

The PS3 had upconvert included in a firmware upgrade a long time ago, May of 2007, in v1.8.

And yes, it plays regular DVD's, as well as CD's.

[GTSLOW]

Wow looks like the PS3 is a bitchin way to get in on blue ray and GT5.

[Holeshot]

I was not aware of the update my bad. But I haven't paid attention either as I don't do Video games. Sorry I miss posted Nathan

[GTSLOW]

The best part of it all, is I bought it on ebay using MSN-live cash back search. I found a NIB player for a Buy-It-Now price of $235.00 shipping included. Paid with PayPal, and got 25% instant cash back.

Can you do this with a PS3?????

[GTSLOW]

I was not aware of the update my bad. But I haven't paid attention either as I don't do Video games. Sorry I miss posted Nathan

Oh it's cool, I'm not up to par much with these newer console games either.

[T-Bag]

Just buy the PS3...its one of the best blu ray players on the market and isn't even a standalone unit. It upconverts DVDs, plays cds, ps3 games and will suck your **** and make you breakfast.

[Junky Giorgio]

I still have yet to pull the trigger on buying a PS3. I just can't justify $400, then if I buy it, I'm going to buy MOTOGP08 and another controller. Then I'm at $510ish. Not to mention when GT5 comes out I'll have to get that too. But I will say it is by far the best blue ray player which is my main focus for buying it. The loading time when you put in a BlueRay disc is instant vs other players where loading time is an issue.