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Sony BDP-S350 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player  | 
 enlarge | Brand: Sony
Category: CE
Buy New: Too low to display
New (14)
Avg. Customer Rating:  158 reviews
Color: Black
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: Yes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 6.4
Dimensions (in): 17 x 8.8 x 2.4
Warranty: 1 year warranty
MPN: BDP-S350
Model: BDP-S350
UPC: 027242737501
EAN: 0027242737501
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Features:
| • | Full HD 1080/60 p & 24p True Cinema Video Output | | • | Dolby TrueHD decoding built-in Dolby TrueHD /DTS-HD bitstream out over HDMI (V1.3) | | • | DVD upscale to 1080p | | • | Precision Cinema Progressive HD | | • | x.v.Color for AVC-HD |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Experience the next wave of home entertainment with this Blu-ray Disc player, featuring Dolby TrueHD and BD-Live compatibility. Featuring BD-Live compatibility, you can take full advantage of the Bonus View feature of select Blu-ray movies as well as acquire the latest features and updates as they become available. This player also outputs a Full 1080/24p True Cinema picture, plus upscales your existing DVD collection to 1080p when using the HDMI connection. Superior picture quality isn't the only thing you'll notice, the BDP-S350 comes with Dolby TrueHD which delivers sound as stunning as the high definition picture itself. Bringing it all together is the icon based Xross Media Bar, which provides simple navigation of the player's menu system. Quick start-up mode allows operation in less than 6 seconds from when Sony Blu-ray Disc player is powered on. Dolby TrueHD delivers lossless studio master quality audio designed specifically for high definition entertainment like Blu-ray Disc. An incredible sound stage, dynamic range and a stellar Home Theater experience await you with Dolby TrueHD. With up to 7.1 channels of surround sound and audio that is indistinguishable from the original studio version, Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD promises you an extraordinary surround experience. DVD Upscaling via HDMI gets the most out of your existing DVD collection by upscaling standard definition video to near HD quality. Precision Cinema HD upscale uses high bandwidth digital-to-analog conversion and processing to detect image changes at the pixel level, rather than at the level of whole scan lines. Additionally, separate algorithms are used to process the moving and still parts of an image, resulting in sharp backgrounds with moving objects that are free from motion artifacts. Ethernet port provides connectivity to a home broadband connection so you can download network updates.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 153 more reviews...
 Sony BDP-S350 vs. Panasonic DMP-BD30K: DVD Upconversion, etc. August 29, 2008
318 out of 327 found this review helpful
I went to Circuit City yesterday to purchase the Panasonic DMP-BD30K Blu-Ray Player. As the salesman showed me where the Blu-Ray players were located in the store I told him I was interested in the DMP-BD30K. His response was that I should consider the new Sony BDP-S350 instead. He claimed that the BDP-S350 had received great reviews and is a better player than the Panasonic DMP-BD30K. Usually I don't listen to anything the sales people at Circuit City say, but this time I decided to see if he knew what he was talking about. I did some quick research online, while in the store, and discovered that he was correct about the Sony receiving decent reviews. I had my mind set on the Panasonic DMP-BD30K after months of research and waiting until the price dropped below $300, so the prospect of the Sony BDP-S350 through me for a loop. I decided to purchase both players, try then both out, and then return the looser.
I have to admit that the results surprised me. As I said before I had my heart set on the Panasonic DMP-BD30K, but after installing the 2 players and carefully comparing their image quality and features the Sony BDP-S350 is the clear winner in my opinion.
Panasonic DMP-BD30K: (Profile 1.1)
The start up time was respectable (as the reviews I had read indicated) and the menu interface was straight forward and relatively easy to navigate. After setting up the player, my first test was to compare its ability to upconvert standard definition DVDs with my now obsolete Toshiba HD-A20 HD-DVD player. I had read online that the DMP-BD30K's upscaling abilities had something to be desired and my tests confirmed this. To be honest the results were a little disappointing. Next, I decided to move through the players setup menu and change a few settings. At this point I made another disappointing discovery. If for any reason you need to access the players setup menu while you are watching DVD or Blu-Ray disc the player will not remember where you left off. When you exit the menu and resume play, the disc will start playing from the beginning of the disc. Although accessing the setup menu looses your place on the disc the Panasonic does remember where you left off if the DVD is stopped or the the player is shut down and then turned on again. Other than these criticisms the DMP-BD30K is a very nice player that yields excellent results using Blu-Ray discs, but doesn't do a great job with SD DVDs.
Sony BDP-S350: (Profile 1.1, but soon to be updated via firmware to 2.0)
The Sony player was a pleasant surprise. The start up time was very respectable, and was comparable to the Panasonic DMP-BD30K. After setting up the player I proceeded to run the same tests that I ran on the Panasonic. I had read online that people were impressed with the BDP-S350's upconvertion abilities, but having owned multiple Oppo DVD players (in my opinion, some of the best out there) I was skeptical. I put in a SD DVD and could immediately see the improvement over the Panasonic. Although the image is a little softer compared to my obsolete Toshiba HD-A20 HD-DVD player, and my other Oppo DVD players, it was still excellent. It made the Panasonic's upscaling abilities seem unrefined and outdated. Next, I then jumped into the players setup menu and changed the players output resolution. What really amazed me was that when I exited the menu the player began playing my disc where I had left off. Finally, I tried powering the BDP-S350 down while in the middle of a DVD. When I powered the player back on it remembered where I had left off and began to play the disc. The Sony BDP-S350 seems the winner in my opinion due to its superior upconversion and disc playback memory.
Finally, I wanted to add that I read a review comparing the Sony BDP-S350 to the new Panasonic DMP-BD50K that declares the DMP-BD50K the winner (http://hdguru.com/first-review-of-sonys-latest-blu-ray-player-exclusive-sony-bdp-s350-vspanasonic-dmp-bd50/256/). This may be true, but the almost $300 price difference makes me feel that this is an unfair comparison. In my opinion, the Sony BDP-S350 is currently one of the best deals out there.
 Works well...Wife likes it...What could be better July 16, 2008
125 out of 133 found this review helpful
I purchased my BDP-S350 from Sony Style web site. This is my first BD player. I was waiting for the format war to end once it did I read a column by David Pouge in the New York Times that said you might consider waiting to making the jump to BD until the next generation of players to come out on the market.
This one loads pretty fast. From what I read it is much faster then older models. I was upgrading coming from a Sony 5 disc up converting DVD player and that thing was slow so I'm very satisfied. The picture is awesome and the audio is great too. I don't even have it connected to a amp that does Dolby Tru-HD or DTS-MA. That will be my next purchase.
There is only one thing that I'm disappointed with the player has the Bravia Theater Sync feature. Which works great with my Sony amp. But for some reason the DVD remote will only control the volume for the TV not the amp. So I still have to use a second remote for volume on my Sony amp. This makes no sense to me.
We watched Batman Begins, Mission Impossible III, and the Bucket List on BD so far. Batman Begins was jaw dropping good from an audio and picture quality issue. My wife said she had no clue that a DVD could look that good.
I also watched Stop Loss on a SD DVD and that look pretty good too.
The DVD player has a slot in the back for a USB drive and it also has a ethernet port so it can connect to the net for firmware updates and to access bonus features.
There is another model the S-550 due out in the fall it will cost more but it decodes all the audio inside the player.
Overall a week in I'm happy with the purchase and I'm happy I waited for this model.
FORMER HD DVD SUPPORTER August 30, 2008
113 out of 123 found this review helpful
Ok,my HD player of choice was HD DVD. I own about 100 HD DVD disks. These players were far less expensive than Sony Blu Ray. The movies were generally less expensive than Blu Ray. HD DVD had more features, easy to update on line, less expensive...easy choice. The dreaded evil Sony corporation was not going to get my business.
When Toshiba pulled their product after the major studios dropped them, I was shocked and annoyed. What did evil Sony do to get the others to drop them?
After the demise, Sony showed no signs of putting out a good player at a reasonable cost. I didn't want a bulky Playstation. There was plenty of HD DVD movies out there, and at bargain prices.
Then last month a crazy thing happened. Sony released the BDP-S350 to rave reviews. I held out no longer and bought mine from Amazon for 344, no tax, free shipping. I got it within a week.
I just set it up. Took about 15 minutes. It would have taken less but the audio set up confused me a bit. God forbid I read the instructions.
Anyway, I bought a single BluRay disk and played it.
The picture and sound were nothing short of wonderful. I'll buy a few disks as they are still way too expensive, and rent from Netflix or Blockbuster. I am very impressed with the quality of this unit, and consider me a convert.
I recommend this machine highly, and congratulations to Sony for finally waking up!
Update: I bought a Yamaha RX663 so I can enjoy the Tru HD and Master HD sound. Yamaha only recognizes Bitstream signals. The S-350 audio choices are PCM or Direct, no Bitstream. The solution is to choose direct, and Voila, it works! You will not get the uncompressed sound unless you do this! I hope this helps.
Finally, Sony Gets It Right July 26, 2008
94 out of 96 found this review helpful
My previous Blu-ray player was a Sony until late last year when I purchased a Panasonic DMP-BD30 which had all the latest profile upgrades. The biggest problem with the Sony was its slow loading time.
With the BDP-S350, this has all changed for the better. Load time have vastly improved and it is a Profile 2.0 player. Picture quality is stunning, but most Blu-ray players display this picture.
One of the best features of this player is its size. Sony has been able to reduce the size of the player to just over a 2" height and only 8-3/4" deep. Sony's previous model was nearly 15" deep and just over 3" high.
Finally Sony adds a remaining time function to the display. Previous models only had a elapsed and total time display, so you had to do the remaining time in your head. Most Sony DVD players always had this function, but this is a first for their Blu-ray players.
Main complaint I have with this unit (a minor one) is that you cannot turn off Sony's GUI control panel (Xross Media Bar) over the desktop pattern--it is always on unless you are playing a disc. I use this player with a front projector and it looks tacky for guests seeing my control panel over the desktop. Sony didn't do this with their DVD players, so why do it with this new technology? About the only time you even need to use the GUI is when you are setting up the unit or add new equipment to the player.
All in all, Sony did a great job with this player. It's easy to set up and offers an outstanding picture.
 Great picture, decent overall player August 22, 2008
91 out of 100 found this review helpful
I previously gave this player 3 stars. I now would upgrade to 4 but Amazon won't let me change the rating.
The good news: the picture quality with this player is great. I won't belabor this as it's covered in the other reviews. The player has a nice low profile and setup out of the box is easy.
One thing to note: by default the player converts Dolby Digital and DTS to 2-channel PCM. There are items in the audio setup menu that let you change this.
You may find the menus to be a pain. Generally, I find navigation with this player to be confusing. The remote is not great. Tonight I hit the wrong button (in the dark, of course) about half a dozen times. Each time, I wound up staring at a message saying that the player could not resume play from the menu I had reached and I would have to start playing the movie from the beginning. So I had to hunt through the scenes to resume. My existing DVD player easily resumes; and it stores the resume points on the last 30 discs played. This player will not remember your location on a disc if you a) open the disc tray, b) play another title, or c) it just plain may not do it (manual, p. 31). Why??? (Update: This weekend I hooked up our old Rotel DVD player in parallel and my 15-year old daughter was thrilled. More than me, she really dislikes operating the Sony player.)
Many of the other reviews compare this player to an earlier generation of Blu-Ray. If you're upgrading from first generation BluRay, probably you will be pleased. If you're upgrading from DVD, you might find your existing player more convenient. But the picture when playing a Blu-Ray disc is spectacular.
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