Sony BDP-S1 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player
by Sony
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List Price: Our Price: $124.99 You Save: $675.00 (84%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Home Theater See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sony BDP-S1 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player
Customer Review: SunnyBoy
Summary: 3 Stars
Sony's BDP-S1 Bluray player's built quality is like other flagship products (in the ES series) they built: SCD-1, DVP-S7000, DVP-S7700, DVP-S9000 etc. (Sony tends to build their first generation machines with every tools they have, but...)
After V3.7 firmware update, I would like to report the following (seen on my LG 32LC2D LCD TV set at 720p):
1. booting procedure is a little faster: about 50 seconds (not the first time booting).
2. disk loading takes about 20 seconds.
3. the machine responds to the remote control much faster: "almost" instantaneous, with at most 1 second of latency.
4. no glitches on most regular DVD playback I have tried so far (>100), and the up-conversion picture quality is as good as PS3, in certain area, it even surpasses that of PS3.
5. it still does not support CD playback! It cannot play SACD is quite strange to me, since its audio DAC (BB/TI PCM1738E, after that 2 dual OPs amps for using as L/R channel current output low-pass fileter and I/V conversion, plus another dual OP used as the second stage stage of LPF, with 3 PCM1738E in this configuration to handle 5.1 audio outputs) is capable of both DSD and PCM decoding. With the design out the output stage, it is very easy to modify the analog output signal to be fully balanced one. However, with PCM recorded red book CD, why BDP-S1 cannot decode? I am not sure whether this "problem" is due to the hardware limitation (first generation BD ROM drive does not read CD pixels), or Sony disabled CD playback in its firmware. Please SONY: enable red book CD playback, if it is disabled in the firmware!
Lots of people are debating whether they should get the new BDP-S300/350, BDP-S500/550 or the first generation BDP-S1 or even PS3. The decision depends on what you really want/afford to buy. All-in-one player: PS3 period. For people hunting for a dedicated bluray/DVD up-converting player: S3000/3500, S5000/5500 with warranty or you can buy S1 at really low price off e-bay (with/without warranty). Audiophiles need to keep away from BDP-S1! If you really want the top-of-the-line Sony Bluray player, get BDP-S2000ES (MSRP $1200). From technical side, BB/TI already discontinue the PCM1738 and the suggested replacement is its top-of-the-line PCM1796. Probably that audio DAC will be in BDP-S2000ES. Usually, not too many machine under 3K are using BB/TI PCM179X series DAC chips, stay tuned!
(Video equipments using: Sony BDP-S1, Sony PS3, Toshiba HD-A30, XtremeMac 4-1 HDMI switch, XtremeMac HDMI cables, LG 32LC2D LCD TV.)
Customer Review: Unstable and glitchy
Summary: 3 Stars
Bought this unit for two reasons because it was on sale and it was Sony. While the Picture is flawless and the sound is great, it doesn't always work as it should.
I have had problems with this unit not reading some Blu-ray movies. I thought since it was a brand new movie maybe the movie was defective so I returened it to the store and got another new one. When I put it in it did the exact same thing. So I went and tried the movie in a friends Blu-ray player and it worked just fine, but still wouldn't work in the Sony. Along with that it has locked up several times on us while watching a movie. I then had to reboot the player and then find where I was in the movie again.
Customer Review: HD-DVD is better than Blu-Ray
Summary: 3 Stars
I own both an I had the chance to try the same movie for both formats in my 1080p capable HDTV, and I can assure you that HD-DVD is the way to go. Better picture quality, mor vivid colors and the audio sounds less compressed in the HD-DVD Player. And it's because Blu_Ray still uses the MPEG-2 while HD-DVD uses the VC-1 codec that allows for a better quality image and compression. Over the paper they sound like two similar technologies, but believe me, when you own both machines like me you will see that HD-DVD is the best format around. It should be the standard format without a doubt.Customer Review: PS3 is a better buy over Blu Ray Players...Save your hard earned money!
Summary: 3 Stars
After comparing the Sony to the Panasonic DMP-BD10 and PS3...for the price the PS3 won hands down...Also the blue front panel on the Sony is a total turn off. In my opinion the prices of all the Blu-ray stand alone players are way over priced compared to the PS3...and the Toshiba's HD DVD A2...you can purchase a PS3 20GB and a Toshiba HD-A2 for less than some of the Blu ray players...and the Toshiba can be bought for under $400 and puts out a awesome HD Picture...I feel the best buy would be the PS3 20GB and the excellent Toshiba HD-DVD A2. A blockbuster deal.Customer Review: Take a Wait-and-See Attitude
Summary: 2 Stars
I am, as a rule, not one to buy first generations of any kind of product. I have a long history of owning problem-free Sony products, so I was willing to risk it with the BDP-S1 once I caught it on sale. Big mistake! While the picture quality is amazingly better than anything I've seen so far in a digital video format, the machine is glitchy as can be. Here's my thoughts:
Pros:
1. Much better audio than with any player I've ever owned. The channels are clearly separate and not muddy sounding as with other players I've owned. Some of that is the Yamaha receiver, but there've been other players connected to it recently and none match the BDP-S1 sound output quality.
2. The picture delivers as advertised when played with the Blue Ray discs. The 1080i upconversion (my TV doesn't support 1080p...another wait-and-see attitude for me) is not remarkable with standard DVDs, but there is a difference.
Cons:
1. Does not play CD audio discs. Not a big thing to me since I never played CDs in any of my previous DVD players, but for the price (see #5 below), this machine should have zero problems handling any previous digital data formats.
2. The boot-up speed is, in a word, awful. It takes a LONG time for the player to get to the point where the tray can be opened to insert a disc. After I'd first bought the player, I pressed the open/close button and, once the player had finished it's boot-up process, it opened and then immediately closed the tray, scratching the disc. I learned to wait until I see the "CLOSE" indication on the player before pressing the open/close button. This con sounds a bit trivial, but after several foot-tapping delays, it becomes insane.
3. The menu access is hit-and-miss with standard DVD discs. Some discs will allow you to go back to the previous menu when the MENU button is pressed on the remote, others will display the message "This operation is prohibitied by this disc" and then you're forced to stop the disc and either restart it again for this power cycle or reboot the entire player (see #2!).
4. Following the argument in #3, if you are able to restart the disc without rebooting the player, this process sometimes hangs the play mode into scan mode. When this happens, it's back to rebooting the player and, you guessed it, see #2.
5. There is no resume function that bookmarks your progress after power is removed from the player. So, if you have to reboot because you tried to access the menu with a standard DVD, you'll have to find where you were at manually once you are able to return to the movie. The resume works only on the current power cycle.
6. Even on sale, this player is enormously expensive.
I broke my own rule of avoiding first generation products based on brand loyalty and performance history. It's why I don't own a 2005 Mustang while I absolutely loved the redesign and my mouth watered every time one drove past. But in this instance, I turned a deaf ear to my better judgment, so I deserve what I got for having ignored my own cardinal rule. Don't make the same mistake. Wait and see what's next. It's my understanding that the next generation of Sony Blue Ray players will play CD audio. Save your money and frustration budget and wait.