Sony BDP-S350 user reviews

Pros 1. Great video
2. Onboard decoding of all existing audio formats (great if you don't have a newer receiver)
3. Price as compared to other players
4. Many settings to customize the player as you want it

Cons 1. Referring to Pro #4, settings can be confusing if you aren't that tech-proficient
2. Loading of movies are slower than a DVD.
3. BD-Live has little to no content

Summary I got this on Black Friday. After owning this for just over a month, I now feel qualified to give an opinion on this player. First off, it is a gret player for the price as of right now. Of course, you can expect blu ray players to continue dropping in price.

The video when compared to DVD is like night and day. I saw the same movie on multiple players and the only player that looked better, albeit only slightly for a much bigger price, was the Panasonic.

The audio is amazing but can be confusing to configure with a receiver. I had problems w/ my Onkyo 605, which I finally solved by looking on an online forum.

As far as the common complaint that the USB slot is too small, with the small sizes of most current USB drives, you should find it an issue any longer.

Also, a firmware update was quick and simple when I first connected the player to the Internet.

Bottom line is that this is a great player for the price. There are others but not in this price point. If you can find this for $200 or under, which I did, jump on it!

Pros Easy setup, easy to update to 2.0 via internet. Great picture quality (I have a Dynex LCD 32" 720p) and the picture on blu-rays is AWESOME. Eveny makes regular DVD's look better

Cons None really so far....

Summary If you like Blu-Ray and like Sony...go ahead and get this player. Leave the audio decoding to the receiver....

Pros I love the picture on my HD 1080p. Way better picture than the upscaling player. Easy set-up.

Cons No clear list of accessories for player.

Summary I need a Sony USM1GH Memory stick, which I was able to locate on the Sony website. As far as getting the player able to be BD-Live, no one can tell me what I need to purchase to be BD-Live! Very frustrating. Does anyone know what I need to be BD-live? A place to purchase and a name of the product? Sony said I need a Wireless LAN Media Converter. Try looking that up online. Or better yet, call BestBuy; Costco; CompUSA; Tiger Direct; or best of all SONY. They don't know, do you????
On another line, the picture with my Blue Ray upscalling my regular DVD's is fantastic and the Blue Ray movies are totally awesome.

Pros Awesome picture (even at only 720p), BD-Live and BonusView compatible after downloading update, easy setup right out of the box. Great size and fast startup.

Cons Very narrow USB port, no support for .mp3 discs

Summary I received this player just yesterday (Christmas gift) and have watched 3 BD movies on it so far. All I can say is AMAZING! Even my wife noticed a huge difference! She's already mentally shopping for a bigger TV! I only have a 1080i Samsung LCD but I have it output at 720p so as not to see the interlacing effect. Still an incredible picture compared to my Toshiba upconverting DVD player. Absolutely worth the money. Mine was on sale at Target for $249 with a $25 gift card when purchased! It's hard to believe that these things used to by $800-$1000 just a year ago!!! Even just 2 months ago this unit was $350. For those of you still without a gaming system (I already have an XBOX 360) you may want to consider the PS3. The only drawback to the PS3 (I've heard anyway) is that it will not upconvert your current DVDs, whereas the BDP-S350 will (and it does a great job I might add!) I don't know if that is actually true so you may want to ask around. Doesn't make much since to spend $400 on something that won't even upconvert. I viewed Saving Private Ryan on standard DVD on this unit and it made a marked improvement even over my other upconverting DVD player. Not phenomenal but VERY good. I have heard that other older and some new BD players were very slow starting (due to the amount of info on a BD ROM) but the S350 even in standard start-up mode will start a BD-ROM in about 45 seconds. The sound output from the S350 is also incredible! BD-ROMs sound amazing even on my older Sony surround receiver in standard 5.1 channel DTS. I can't wait to upgrade to a newer receiver with HDMI and DTS and Dolby HD sound!
If you are looking for a great player, this is the one! You will not be dissapointed! This is by far the best electronic purchase I have made since my Xbox 360!