Sony BDP-S350 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player

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) * built-in audio decoding to PCM for Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS * bitstream audio output for Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, DTS-HD, and DTS-HD Master Audio * BD-Java interactive capability * BRAVIA Sync for control of compatible Sony TVs and components via HDMI *

Sony BDP-S350 is everything it claims to be. Amazon provided a great price and free shipping. Fast processing and quick delivery just made it a sweet deal.

Got this through Amazon's Gold Box daily specials and the price was right. So we pulled the trigger on Blu-Ray, even though we weren't especially looking to start a new collection of videos in a new format. The unit itself has worked flawlessly. Not a lot of bells and whistles, but I guess that means there's less to go wrong. On some movies, it made the picture look amazing: Speed Racer, Hellboy II and Dark Knight. Some movies were just ho-hum, and the quality of the picture was no different on our Philips 50-inch Ambilight Plasma. (The blu-ray of Crash was notable in its mediocre quality.) Only a couple of quirks that made the hookup and operation a bit of a pain: 1) You can update the firmware to include, among other things, BD-Live. Unfortunately, it does not have wireless capability - so you must operate the player near an ethernet hookup. I had to run an extra-long cable into another room to my router to get the firmware update; 2) Updating the firmware installed BD-Live, which is currently somewhat of a gimmick, but holds potential for the future. Apparently, you can explore new online content, and in the Dark Knight disk you can record your own commentary. That's great, but if you aren't near that ethernet hookup to access the internet, you can't use BD-Live! If they start offering significantly more features I like with BD-Live, I might invest in a wireless dongle, but this thing really needs built-in wireless. 3) To use that BD-Live and get the firmware update, you need to install a 1Gb Sony micro-sized stick or a very narrow flash drive in the small USB slot in the back. The inexpensive SanDisk Cruzer drives are too wide for the slot, so you essentially are forced to buy a more-expensive flash drive from another company, or Sony's ridiculously expensive micro-sized stick. A bit of a minor point, but I thought it was silly to make me buy a $30 1Gb stick for a Blu-Ray player I only paid $150 for on special. All-in-all those are minor complaints, and it is so far a good player.

I bought this after I became convinced that Blu-Ray won (I was hoping for a HD win), and I needed a new DVD player anyway. I can say my large collection of SD DVDs look much better on the player and Blu-Rays don't look as quite as good as they do in the store displays. That could be my settings on the TV (its 1080p), and I would not assume that the player is at fault. But Blu-Ray disks on the player look great in my home, just not as dramatic as down at the electronics store. If I had any complaint its that startup time is not long, but it is annoying. I have no mechanical problems and there are plenty of connectivity options.

This player delivers great pictures on my Sony HD TV. Also, a great price.

This is the second time we've bought this machine. The only complaint I have about it is the length of time it takes for the machine to rev up, it's not instantaneous by any means.