New Blu-Ray Player

[Talisa]

I have a PS3 which is going to move into the lounge on the 42" Plasma so obviously I will use that for B-R viewing in there.

I am looking to get a B-R player for the bedroom for the 37". I have been looking at Sony BDPS350 Blu-ray Disc Player 1080p Full HD on Amazon but do not really know enough about stand alone players to be able to form an educated opinion.

Does anyone have any advice as to what to go for as a secondary player?

This is the one at Amazon



and it will be running through this Home Cinema System for sound



Anybody?

[Smackos]

Well sound wise mate the Sony BDP350 will do just fine, there are slightly better players out now but in your case for the bedroom then your really not likely to notice any differences. It's a relatively quick machine with good firmware support from Sony to keep it up to date.

What will you have directly connected to the DAV mate other than the BD player?

Do you know if the DAV 260 accepts PCM over HDMI?

If the DAV does accept 5.1 PCM then my suggestion would be a Panasonic BD35 instead for example, you'd then be able to get all current HD audio codec's running through the DAV then.. and a slight increase in (theory at least) sound quality.

If not then I'd say stick with the Sony BDP350. You'll still be able to use the Optical connection on the DAV to get Dolby Digital Plus which will still sound better than regular Dolby etc from your blu-ray collection.

[Talisa]

What would you say is a better one then. Don't want to spend a fortune as it will only be a casual veiwing device, not a primary unit. Curiosity, how do you apply firmware to the unit?

Only the 350 will be connected to the DAV

PCM over HDMI = Pass, does not mean much to me. Sorry

T

[Talisa]

Thinking more about this, I do not think I will rush into the Sony, Looking for BD Live etc I think now



This one states on Amazon and I quote '1080p upscaling on DVD playback' does that mean it can play normal DVD's too?

[Dark Knight]

Yes it does mean that Toni... But all Blu-ray players actually do that so please dont use that as a reason for picking this one specifically

As for Updating Firmware, if its a Profile 2 player and you do connect it to a network it can be updated directly, Profile 2 and all other players use varying methods, most will update by burned disc or even an SD Card via a computer from the manufacturers website...... You would have to see the specific Spec for each machine get what is most convenient- BUT seems you are looking at a Profile 2 you should have no probs with any...... Now how over complicated did i make that

[Talisa]

Thanks for that, yep you made it complicated

It did not even occur to me that my PS3 would play normal DVDs as well. Oh well, can't be brilliant all of the time.

Think I am going to go for the Panasonic player. The Sony needs bits to get BD Live etc so I am not entering into that game.

[Ian H]

I've got a Panasonic BD35 and its a great player, much quiter than my Samsung BDP1500. Its profile 2 out of the box, so need need to mess around with firmware if you don't want to.

The BD35 has now been discontinued, so you should be able to pick one up for a good price, it has now been replaced by the BD60 whuich is £100 more on Amazon. The BD35 was originally £299 when released though, so £155 is a bargain in my opinion.

[Talisa]

So you reckon if I get a



I will good to go. Despite the fact it is obsolete?

[Ian H]

Absolutely, its what I use in the cinema room, and I've not intention of upgrading - well, not until Denon release a universal player with DVD-A, SACD and Denon Link for a reasonable price so that I can replace my 3910.

Just one thought, what AMP are you using?

The BD35 only has HDMI and optical outputs, no 5.1 phono out so you need a HDMI equipped amp to get HD audio. If this doesn't bother you its a non-issue, and if you're looking to buy an amp in the future all but the most basic will work fine with it (e.g. a £200 Onkyo or Denon would be fine).

Oh, and my Dad might be getting one at that price, so it must be a bargain. No need to worry about it being discontinued as the replacement model doesn't really offer any new tech over the BD35.

[Smackos]

First I better previso that i'm a BD35 owner myself, we all have it in us to deliberate or not to justify our "super great" purchases to everyone else.. so take this as and how you fancy mate.

(my opinion) It's not really obsolete in the traditional sense, Panasonic just worked out a way of producing the components cheaper. It often happens in consumer products. The BD35 was only on sale for a short period and it was soon discontinued. It's been a fantastic bit of kit for me so far, no hassles and no fuss. Blu-ray playback is just superb, the sound is spectacular. It also has better audio compatibility than the BDP350 with the ability to internally decode all HD audio codecs and send them to a reciever as PCM. The Sony BDP350 can do most of them but DTS HD Master audio has to be bitstreamed to a receiver thats able to do the decoding for it.

Like I said before though mate, hand on heart for a bedroom player you won't go wrong with either. Oh.. and to throw a slight spanner in the works the Panasonic BD35 although is BD live "out the box".. you'll still need to get a seperate (1 Gb or more) SD card for full functionality if you intend on using the internet stuff.

[Talisa]

It will be plugging into my Sony DAV system via optical

Could have sworn that it came with a 1GB drive when I was reading about it yesterday

[Smackos]

It will be plugging into my Sony DAV system via optical

If your going via optical then I'd actually say go for the Sony instead, the optical connection will not handle 5.1 PCM so you'll either have Dolby digital PLUS or 2 channel PCM matrixed over the 5 channels.(basically each channel at the rear gets the exact same signal as the front channels, not REAL surround sound if you know what I mean where each channel is unique) I wouldn't worry too much since you'll still be able to get the full 1.5mb audio mix off blu-ray via optical and thats far better than standard DVD has.

What do you think Ian?


EDIT: Yours might come with one mate, my BD35 was an import from the U.S so the contents on sale there might have been slightly different from whats sold this end.

[Ian H]

If using optical (forgot about the DAV, sorry) its down to personal preference.

As Mat says, both will give you a downmixed signal over optical, although whilst the Panasonic will output all HD audio formats over optical (albeit at a lower resolution) I'm not sure the Sony can handle DTS-HD Master.

[Talisa]

Does anyone have an opinion on this



Argos are selling it for £150 which is way cheaper than Amazon

[Ian H]

That's the player I have in my living room, £150 is the going rate for it now (same price in Currys) as its been superceded by the £250 BDP2500.

If it was between the Samsung and the BD35, I'd definitely go for the Panasonic, the BD35 is much quiter in operation, and it just feels better built. The remote is also more intuitive to use as well.

Also, if you're looking to do a multi-region hack for SD DVD, there isn't one for the Samsung but it can be done on the Panasonic (you do need a special remote though).