Customer Reviews:
 Beer Budget Blu-ray Bites Back! November 14, 2008
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
With past standalone Blu-ray players, Sony has been its own greatest competition. Their PS3 provides excellent Blu-ray Disc playback, network upgradability, and a comprehensive Blu-ray feature set including BonusView and BD-Live. Previous Sony players were lacking in these areas, or were prohibitively expensive. But this is no longer the case with the BDP-S350, a solid budget Blu-ray player that has the features and performance that most Blu-ray buyers are looking for, at the lowest price yet of a name brand player.
The PS3 is still a little faster to boot up and to load, but the latest generation Sony player is catching up even on this front, and the BDP-S350, with its CE component-style design and Infrared remote capability, integrates into a home theater system more easily than the PS3. Also, with the inclusion of a network port, the BDP-S350 can enjoy the same kind of firmware upgradability that the PS3 offers, as well as support of BD-Live interactive features (don't forget to pick up a USB flash memory card as you'll need it in order to use the BD-Live features).
The Sony's closest competition in price and functionality, Samsung's BD-P1500, doesn't quite match the Sony player in its DVD upconversion or reliability. One area where the BDP-S350 is slightly bettered by other competitive players (notably, the Panasonic DMP-BD35 and DMP-BD55), in its video performance, both on DVD upconversion and BD playback. Subtle details in color and complex handling of things like moving diagonal lines are handled by the newest Panasonic players better than on the Sony, but these differences only become apparent on larger screen sizes such as large flat panels and massive front projection screens.
But on 3:2 cadence detection from DVDs (where the player optimizes the picture for movies, by detecting the inherent 3:2 cadence of film-based material), the BDP-S350 performs flawlessly, eliminating artifacts like moire patterns that can plague some lesser players. And, based on the current Amazon prices, the Panasonic players are slightly more expensive than the Sony, so this does merit some consideration, particularly with the economy the way it is right now.
The player's handling of next generation surround sound formats (Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio) is pretty typical for the current entry-level players - bistreaming these soundtracks over HDMI for decoding in one of the latest home theater receivers with HDMI 1.3 support. But the S350 offers neither multi-channel analog outputs, nor on-board decoding of DTS-HD sountracks to PCM. These shortcomings will make a difference if you have an older home theater receiver without on-board DTS-HD decoding and you want to get the best possible sound. If this is the case, then either of the new Panasonic players or Sony's own BDP-S550 player may be a better option. But if you've got the latest home theater gear, then the S350's bitstreaming of DTS-HD over HDMI is perfectly fine.
If you're a Sony brand fan, the BDP-S350 will give you a lot to be excited about, at a price that would have seemed impossible just a few short months ago. Pick one up for the holidays and you'll finally get to see what your HDTV and home theater system is really capable of.
A more detailed review of the player is available at Big Picture Big Sound.
 Fantastic picture, firmware and BD-Live not so much November 14, 2008
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
Just got this yesterday and set up last night. Be aware that if you are not setting this up with a wired internet connection, you'll have some extra work.
- The firmware upgrade on the unit I received was required. Without a wired internet connection next to the unit with the TV monitor for the on screen menus, you will need to create a firmware update CD from the sony support site and then load the update via disk. Didn't take much effort, but could be challenging if you are not comfortable burning CD's, navigating software support sites, etc.
- This unit lacks a wireless network adapter - why, I have not idea. Does Sony think that every house has a wired internet connection every place you might want to plug in a DVD player? Wii ships with a built in adapter. So if you want BD-live content or to do firmware updates over the internet and don't have a wired connection at your TV, you need to purchase either generic wireless bridge or a wireless game adapter - each about $100. Very dissapointing. I waited for this generation of Blu Ray specifically for the internet connectivity, and they left off a pretty basic and inexpensive feature to enable it.
- BD-Live content requires flash memory, which you need to purhcase and plug in to the back. I wasn't expecting that either. I had a USB jump drive that worked, but rather than have the USB flush to the back of the panel as you would see on a laptop, it is set back about 1/4", meaning some types of USB drives won't fit. Sony makes one that seesm to be specifically designed for this spot. The user manual even gives you the part number to buy.
All in all, the picture is beautiful and I probably could use this without the firmware update and the internet connectivity and never notice a difference. Stumbling across all these little gotcha's on the setup is frustrating. If you put together everything that you need to really get this set up (without a wired internet connection), you've got the Wireless Bridge (~$85), USB memory (~$25), and of course the HDMI cable that is not includes (~$25 for a cheap one). All of which, given BluRay's selling points, should be in the box. Price this thing appropriatley and give me the stuff I need in the box - it makes for a very annoying experience.
 Very satisfied HD-DVD convert November 13, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I made the mistake of going with HD-DVD last year and had been holding out for a reasonably priced blu-ray player. The BDP S350 has exceeded my expectations. The picture and sound are fantastic when hooked up by HDMI through my Sony STR dg910 receiver. The start up time is very fast when the quick start option is selected during set-up. I upgraded the firmware after downloading the update from the sony website and burning to a CD. The setup and upgrade process went smoothly and took less than an hour to get everything optimized. As with previous reviewers I recommend reading the manual thouroughly because there are a lot of features and settings that can be optimized. If you're still holding out for the perfect blu-ray player, stop waiting and buy this one!
Stunning Clarity November 13, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Really smooth set up but you do have to be patient and READ the manual to get it squared away. This is due to the enormous number of options allowing it to be configured for most any TV/AMP/Home Theater. I have this player connected to a Vizio 42" HD LCD 1080i. Using standard DVDs there is a significant improvement over the one year old Panasonic player this Sony replaces. Using an HDMI connection, both units "up convert" standard DVDs to improve the picture quality on an HD screen but he Sony is much, MUCH better at it. The resulting image approaches HD quality. I can detect no sound difference but then again, I'm allowing my Sony digital receiver to handle the sound decoding rather than the player. The picture quality when playing a Blu-Ray DVD is truly exceptional. It is impeccably clear, bright and detailed to the point of appearing almost three dimensional at times. No pixilation, fade out or blurring. I have heard and read of complaints over earlier HD and Blu-Ray players having impossibly slow start up and shut down times. Not so with the BDP-S350. It is equal in speed to my Panasonic standard player. The price is right, the functions are all there and the play back is exceptional. I would strongly recommend this unit just for what it can do with existing DVDs. It's that good at the up-conversion. Add in that the BDP-S350 takes it up two or three full notches with a Blu-Ray Disc and this becomes a true "gotta have" for any movie fan. Did I remember to mention the outstanding up convert capabilities this has?
Great piece of hardware November 13, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I have had this player for a couple months now, and love it. The value of the features for the price was the best I could find when I bought it. And believe me, I've been researching this out for a couple years.
It does a super job playing back my BluRay's. Even my wife, who was a little skeptical that it would be any different than DVD, couldn't believe the picture when we put a movie in. Especially some of the PIXAR animated movies. They just pop! DVD's on a large screen have always left me wanting, but even they look better now. I've always been leary of the DVD "upscaling" promise, but I could definitely tell a difference and was impressed with it's ability there too. Playing DVD's on this the Sony is MUCH closer to the picture quality of BluRay's that it was on our old DVD player.
The only reason I gave this 4 stars instead of 5, is that it doesn't have an easier way to connect to the internet. Instead of having a USB port option, it's only option is a CAT5 Ethernet port. That means for me, I've got to buy a wireless bridge, since I don't have a hard-wired internet option close by. Running a long cable or dropping something through the wall isn't an option. So to get the benefit of the BD Live options, I'm forced to spend another $75 for a bridge. I haven't connected it up to the internet yet, so I can say how well the BD Live features work.
Bottom line, even with the hassle of the internet, I would still buy it again.
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