Sony BDP-S300 Blu-ray Player Review

[admin]

While the Sony BDP-S300 is an entry level Blu-ray player, entry level doesn't necessarily mean cheap. At $500, you're getting a capable high definition video player and that's about it. The unconversion ability of standard DVD's is lackluster at best and it only decodes Dolby Digital Plus. If you already have a capable upconverting DVD player and don't care about the decoding of Dolby TrueHD and the myriad of high definition DTS formats, this may be the Blu-ray player for you.


Discuss "Sony BDP-S300 Blu-ray Player Review" here. Read the article.

[darien87]

Wow, so it seems that the PS 3 is about the only high def player out right now that's worth a damn. My A3 is slow, and clunky to use, but it seems like the S300 is also.

I don't know what the reviewer is talking about when he says the PS 3 is noisy though. Sure the fan can get loud if you've got the unit in and enclosed cabinet, but I don't remember noticing it at all when I had it an open cabinet. And why do they always complain about not having a backlit remote? So what? I almost always go by feel anyway.

[smurphy522]

Well this player is certainly not going to make my list. I certainly didn't expect Sony to put out this type of player but wonders never cease.

I am leaning towards BD but have not made the decision yet. More or less I think BD has more titles our family would be interested in: younger, animation based stuff. Any other thoughts?

[tn001d]

Originally Posted by darien87

My A3 is slow, and clunky to use, but it seems like the S300 is also.

MY A2 isnt slow at all. Its speed is respectable. I think HD-DVD is here to stay!!

"One shall stand.. one shall fall" - Optimus Prime, only on HD-DVD!!

[patnshan]

Originally Posted by tn001d

MY A2 isnt slow at all. Its speed is respectable. I think HD-DVD is here to stay!!

Mine is not slow either.

I'll agree the A2 and A3 are entry level players, but they don't cost anywhere near this supposed entry level BDP! $500 for an entry level player is ludicrous!

Pat

[Harrison476]

I just took my sony 300 back and traded for a samsung. Where were you a month ago! Excellent review, You covered everything, I found while messing arround with this player. The biggest disapointment to me was the sound. to be more specific no trueHD. After messing with the BD-1400 for one night, I,m not sure I made the right move.

Knowledgeable I’m not! Thanks to this site I,m learning. I ordered the HQV test disc (both HD and SD). The Sony player failed few tests but so did the Samsung. For what it’s worth here’s my simple review:

Ease of use-SBP-300
Appearance-SBP-300
Display-SBP-300 , much brighter
Video-Samsung
Audio-? well at least I have trueHD or better have
Remote-Sony
Price-Sony

Sony just missed the sound! V1.3?

For those that can afford it and waiting, your missing out, HD is best entertainment for the money invested, in my opinion.

I would like to hear others opinions

[fmw]

I own both the A2 and the S300. The difference in boot time is pretty similar. Perhaps the A2 is a little faster but not much. I also think the players both handle DVD upscaling about the same and both handle it about the same as my Oppo 980. Whether that is good or bad I will leave up to others but I don't think poor upscaling would be a very fair comment to make about the S300 unless you made it about most other players. It would certainly be a fair comment to make about my TV set, however, which does a wretched job of upscaling.

[Bryce_H]

hhmmmm....$500 entry-level player or $98 entry-level player

Comparable performance - no brainer - I jumped on the HD-DVD bandwagon

Go A2!

Hey if HD-DVD loses, I'm out $98 (rent from Netflix) and by then Blu-Ray will (may??) drop to a respectable price.

[gus6464]

Looks like the Panasonic DMP-BD10AK might be the entry level player to get. It can decode True-HD, DD+, DTS-HD/MA and BB just dropped the price to $499. Plus they also released the DMP-BD30K which can bitstream all the formats as well through the HDMI if you already have a 1.3 receiver like the Onkyo 605.

[evan]

I have to disagree with the lack luster upconversion . I think the sd upconversion loks great and the load up times are very quick since I did the upgrgrades