Sony vs Panny

[itschris]

I've seen a bunch of stuff about each... here and in the mags, but no head to head comparisons. The 350 and 35 and 550 and 55 are about the same in price. I'm wondering which is the better player. I'm also wondering if they'll do upconverting better than my Oppo 980.

Thoughts and 2 cents?

 

[Adam]

Prepare thyself for the next round of, "But, Chris...buy a PS3!"

BTW, as you can tell, I don't have any actual feedback of value for you. Sorry.

 

[jostenmeat]

I'd go with Panasonic. The step up model (and this goes for the Sony step-up model as well) will be identical in video; you just get more audio support, such as m-ch analogs.

Pana owns most of the patents associated with BD. They have excellent FW support. Their track record is very good. In the recent shootout I linked here, the older Pana BD-50 was the only player that passed every HQV test. Not the S350, not the PS3.

I can only imagine that the newer models will be better, not worse. Only complaint about the Pana was it exhibited the most shift in color points.

as for upconversion vs Oppo, ya got me there. All I will say is after you get used to the BIG jump in PQ, you're probably not even going to care. Seriously. I've compared DVD playback between Denon, Toshiba, and Panasonic on my own display, and subtle differences are there . . . but I don't watch DVD anymore.

Differences between upconversion quality between players vs BD and DVD are not even comparable, IMO.

edit: allargon brought up an interesting point about the S350. If its connected via SPDIF only, it is not able to transcode PCM to DD/DTS. See his post here. Granted, I wouldn't lose any sleep over the titles mentioned . . .

 

[j_garcia]

I would say the upscaling will be comparable but not quite as good as the 980, however as jostenmeat mentions, once you start watching BDs, you won't be watching your SD DVDs for long.

 

[speakerman39]

I would say the upscaling will be comparable but not quite as good as the 980, however as jostenmeat mentions, once you start watching BDs, you won't be watching your SD DVDs for long.

I am sure that is the case John. Do you believe that the BR picture is better than on your Toshiba when watching regular dvds? My A-3 does a very good job and almost as good as HD DVD. Just curious is all. Thanks go out to both you and Jost for the very helpful info.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[itschris]

Thanks guys. I was looking at the Panny player yesterday. It's kinda ugly.

The guy in the Magnolia section at Best Buy told me to wait until after Thanksgiving because they'll be a big discount on both the Sony, LG, Samsung, and Panny players. He thought the Sony 350 would sell go for $275. We'll see.

 

[j_garcia]

I am sure that is the case John. Do you believe that the BR picture is better than on your Toshiba when watching regular dvds? My A-3 does a very good job and almost as good as HD DVD. Just curious is all. Thanks go out to both you and Jost for the very helpful info.

Cheers,

Phil

Some titles looked almost as good upscaled, however the best looking BD and HD DVD titles there was no comparison between upscaled and true high def IMO. What I mean by that is some movies are relatively clean and look good upscaled, while others may have a less than stellar transfer in SD and they look even worse when upscaled.

 

[speakerman39]

Some titles looked almost as good upscaled, however the best looking BD and HD DVD titles there was no comparison between upscaled and true high def IMO. What I mean by that is some movies are relatively clean and look good upscaled, while others may have a less than stellar transfer in SD and they look even worse when upscaled.

I see, thanks for the info John. Do you feel as though I should hang on to my A-3 for the up-conversion of regular dvds because I am getting ready to oder a Panny BD35??? In other words, what would you do John?

Cheers,

Phil

 

[j_garcia]

That is a tough call. IMO the upscaling will probably be good enough with the BD-35 that it would be worth it to me to have the benefits of Blu since there are no more HD DVDs coming out. I guess it depends on how many HD DVDs you have and whether or not you are still buying them at the currently reduced prices? If you have a lot of movies, I'd keep it. If you don't, then I don't see much to hold you back if upscaling is the only thing.

 

[jostenmeat]

Thanks guys. I was looking at the Panny player yesterday. It's kinda ugly.

If willing to sacrifice both PQ and audio flexibility via SPDIF, then have at your prettier player.

The guy in the Magnolia section at Best Buy told me to wait until after Thanksgiving because they'll be a big discount on both the Sony, LG, Samsung, and Panny players. He thought the Sony 350 would sell go for $275. We'll see.

If you've been following my posts, you could have got it for $250 a month ago, and that's before the free $50 coupon towards WB titles, free shipping on all.

I see, thanks for the info John. Do you feel as though I should hang on to my A-3 for the up-conversion of regular dvds because I am getting ready to oder a Panny BD35??? In other words, what would you do John?

Cheers,

Phil

Why don't you simply compare them, and then go from there? My guess is you're not going to care very much, but ya never know.

 

[speakerman39]

That is a tough call. IMO the upscaling will probably be good enough with the BD-35 that it would be worth it to me to have the benefits of Blu since there are no more HD DVDs coming out. I guess it depends on how many HD DVDs you have and whether or not you are still buying them at the currently reduced prices? If you have a lot of movies, I'd keep it. If you don't, then I don't see much to hold you back if upscaling is the only thing.

Great-I will keep all of this in mind. Appreciate your input.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[speakerman39]

If willing to sacrifice both PQ and audio flexibility via SPDIF, then have at your prettier player.



If you've been following my posts, you could have got it for $250 a month ago, and that's before the free $50 coupon towards WB titles, free shipping on all.



Why don't you simply compare them, and then go from there? My guess is you're not going to care very much, but ya never know.

Sounds like a great idea Jost. I will compare them for a while to see if it is actually worth keeping my A-3. Who knows, might just keep my A-3.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[itschris]

I'll likely go with whatever's cheapest. i wouldn't buy one or the other solely on looks alone, but I do like the Sony. I'm going to replace this in a year or two anyway so I don't really care one way or the other.

I'm just hooking up HDMI, so I think either play will work fine for me.

 

[speakerman39]

I'll likely go with whatever's cheapest. i wouldn't buy one or the other solely on looks alone, but I do like the Sony. I'm going to replace this in a year or two anyway so I don't really care one way or the other.

I'm just hooking up HDMI, so I think either play will work fine for me.

Chris, I agree the Sony's do look much better which is always a plus. Besides, you got a great deal on the 350 anyways. Congrats on doing so my friend. That may have swayed me to do just the same, but I have already ordered the Panny BD35k. Oh well, we all live and learn.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[PENG]

Chris, I agree the Sony's do look much better which is always a plus. Besides, you got a great deal on the 350 anyways. Congrats on doing so my friend. That may have swayed me to do just the same, but I have already ordered the Panny BD35k. Oh well, we all live and learn.

Cheers,

Phil

I read a recent review on the Sony and learnt that it could not decode DTS-MA. That means for some bonus view material you have to compromise because bitstream does not support mixing of the audio tracks. So be happy with the Panny, it seems like the best choice available on the market right now.

 

[Gov]

Just hooked up my new Panny BD30 to my Pioneer SC-05 today. Popped in The Hulk just for a quick listen, WOW DTS-MA sounded very nice. I can't wait to watch the whole movie!

 

[itschris]

I read a recent review on the Sony and learnt that it could not decode DTS-MA. That means for some bonus view material you have to compromise because bitstream does not support mixing of the audio tracks. So be happy with the Panny, it seems like the best choice available on the market right now.

I just picked up the Sony for $200. Couldn't pass it up. To be honest, I can't remember the last time I ever watched any bonus material on a disc. I'm not terribly concerned about it. If I do feel the need, I'll have already watched the flick and won't care that I don't have the full audio resolution.

I have the Elite 94 which can decode everything, so that's not a big deal either. Besides, I was waiting and looking for a player as a stop gap between now and say 2 years from now when players will likely be much improved in every way. Already it seems each generation surpasses the prior not just in features and ability, but PQ as well. So in a couple of years, I move this player to the bedroom and pick up a high end player when it's money better well spent.

Thanks for the pointing that out, however, because you raise a very important limitation on players that can't do the decoding themselves.

 

[speakerman39]

I read a recent review on the Sony and learnt that it could not decode DTS-MA. That means for some bonus view material you have to compromise because bitstream does not support mixing of the audio tracks. So be happy with the Panny, it seems like the best choice available on the market right now.

Great Peng, this is good to hear. It will be here this coming Tuesday. My Denon 2808 CI just got here today. Things are looking up! You know, I probably will need your help getting everything set-up properly.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[croseiv]

The BDP-S550 kiks some major butt@@@! Watching/listening to Eragon (DTS-MA). Incredible dynamic range and bass. Had to back off the volume a little out of fear of blowing my mains (not the Ultras).

 

[Davemcc]

I had a BD35 then traded it for a S550 while trying to figure out some codec issues with my pre/pro, basically to rule out the player as the cause of my issues. In the short time I had the players, I think the image quality of the BD35 was better than the Sony, but that's purely a subjective statement since I didn't have the players side by side at the same time to compare. I think ultimately I will end up returning the Sony and go back to the Panny.