Blu Ray Disc Players

Sony has been in the side of Blu-ray players since the origin of the Blu-ray format and as the format war of the hi-definition players was going on, Sony’s PlayStation3 was the talk of the world and still remains to be one. Sony also manufactured the stand-alone players which were frequently criticised for their bulky look and high prices when compared to other standard players. With the recent release of Sony BDP-S350 Blu-ray disc player, we can understand that Sony has attended to both these issues. Sony BDP-S350 has also filled in a great deal of other missing functionalities in its previous model like the DTS-HD master audio decoding and Profile 2.0.

Sleek design:

Compared to Sony’s previous Blu-ray version Sony BDP-S300 Blu-Ray Disc Player, this player is almost just half its size. This player is just 22cm deep and weighs only 2.9 kgs. The face of the disc is blue-tinted and has a reflective face plate. The LCD Screen is placed towards the right of the player and at the far end, is a couple of playback controls which lacked the chapter forward and backward button which would have been handy in the absence of a clicker. When BDP-S350 is outputting 24fps, the control panel has an indicating button that glows blue. A fan has also been fitted in order to reduce noise created by the player. The player has not only been built small, but has also been strengthened and embossed. Sony BDP-S350 Video Player is a shrewd looking player but not as shrewd as that of Samsungs BD-P1500 blu-ray DVD player.

Logically well-designed remote control:

The remote control provided with the disc looks good too. The navigational pad is present at the centre with a few frequently used buttons around it such as, home, options and menu. This remote can be used for TV also as the remote has separate cradles for changing the channel and volume control. The logical layout of the buttons was good. Though the remote is not back-lit, the buttons are sufficiently differentiated to feel them and change when you are in dark home theatre.

Undesirable placement of USB port:

One major bolt with the design is that, the deep-set USB port which is used for future BD-live compatibility is present at the rear side of the player. This type of a design is not recommended as it will not be easy with all your home theatre cabinets to get hold of the rear side and plug-in them and the second problem is with the cavity of the port, which will support only certain types of memory sticks that are thin and long. Since the cavity is quite big, the USB will not be peeping out of the player’s back much. But as the unit is already shallow and as the rear side of the player will be sporting a lot of cables already, the USB port at the rear side is always disadvantageous. This port can be used for storage requirement.

The USB port’s only role is to act as an external memory for some of the advanced Blu-ray disc features like BD-live. This can be understood with the “EXT” label on the port. Sony BDP-S350 Blu-Ray DVD Player also has the Ethernet port that is currently used only for firmware updates but in future it can also be employed to extract the content from internet when Sony upgrades the player to Profile2.0.

Xross Media Bar:

Sony BDP-S350 1080p Blu-Ray Player uses the XMB (Xross Media Bar) which is an attractive and intuitive GUI that makes it easy to see what devices are connected to your BRAVIA – and gives you quick access to them. A lot of tweaks can be done easily and those who like tweaking will enjoy this menu a lot. One of the long desired options is forcing your player to output 24fps is also available. Alongside a Settings option, the horizontal bar displays your connections in easy-to-understand split-ups such as Photos, Digital TV, Analogue TV and Input Devices. Just use your remote to scroll forward and back. When you’ve selected one icon, a vertical bar will automatically appear showing available choices such as TV channels, a Blu-ray Disc player or a Hard Disk Drive DVD Recorder. From there you can click to select a channel or play a disc. As an icing on the cake, you can access the menus and make changes without stopping the disk.

Profile:

Sony BDP-S350 is complaint to profile 1.1 and hence has the features like the Picture-in-Picture and misses out a few features such as BD-live, a feature of profile2.0. Sony is projecting to upgrade the player to profile2.0 through a firmware update.

Audio:

For audio, the player has HDMI output and also both the optical and coaxial digital audio output yet; these cannot handle full resolution of DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD. A stereo RCA-style output is available for analog audio. Sony has made a big omission that does not favour those of you with old receivers as the player lacks analog5.1 outputs, which means you will not be able to take the advantage Dolby TrueHD that is decoded by BDP-S350.

Player’s performance:

Picture performance:
The performance of Sony BDP-S350 as a Blu-ray player is excellent with superior image quality. The player exhibited no moiré (An interference pattern, which looks like waves or ripples and appears in closely spaced lines, which occurs in images that have been scanned or are displayed on computer monitors.) or jaggies which can be seen in many of the cheap players. The overall performance was exceptional and was always a small step ahead of its other competitors.

Quick Start Feature:
Sony BDP-S350 powers and loads more quickly than the other Blu-ray disc players released this year. And in order to enjoy this speed, you have to set the player in the Quick-Start-Mode. When the player is in Quick Start Mode, it will consume power even when the unit is switched off. When in this mode, BDP-S350 powers on in just six seconds and loads the discs in just twenty seven seconds.

Sony BDP-S350 Compact Blu-Ray Disc Player did a good job as a DVD player too. The resolution was good and depicted all the details clearly.

Being an excellent performer as a blu-ray player and having changed its attire, Sony BDP-S350 has certainly pleased a lot of consumers. But it has not managed to come close to its own competitor Play Station 3. As the PS3 comes in the same price, and offers superior Blu-ray playback and features, as well as high-definition gaming and media streaming. However, if you need a standalone player and do not need the additional functionalities available in Panasonic DMP-BD30 Blu-Ray Player, then Sony BDP-S50 is a good option and a better choice than Samsung BD-P 1500.

Sony BDP-S350 Blu-Ray disc player - Technical Specification Details

other Blu-Ray DVD Player Reviews

• Yamaha BD-S2900 Blu-Ray Disc Player Review
• Panasonic DMP-BD35 Blu-Ray Disc Player
• Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-Ray Player
• LG BD370 Blu-Ray Player
• LG BD300 Blu-Ray Player Review