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Question: Compared to S350? Besides the 1GB of internal flash memory, how does this compare to the 350? Are they basically the same unit?
Document: If, however, you have an older receiver that has 7.1 analog inputs you can have the player do all of the work and use your receiver as a gateway for sound to your 7.1 speakers.2. There is one other feature that puts this above the BDP-S350...and that is Blu Ray Profile 2.0 w/1GB flash memory. The 350 does not have FLASH and I believe it does not support the now finalized 2.0 profile. Not that the 350 is a bad unit (we own one of those also.
The flash memory, in my opinion helps the quick start up times on the 550...a big gripe with my 350...I think this player has a permanent spot in many homes for a long time to come.I highly recommend this to anyone getting into BluRay - new reciver/old receiver..whatever your setup...this is the one to get.
For a long time, I have been contemplating on getting a blu ray player. I've been watching the Sony line for the last month or so and I've taken in interest in the S350, and the S550. The reason why I got the S550 was because of the analog audio inputs, so that I could get TrueHD and other digital sounds through my older reciever, which can decode Dolby Digital and DTS. Other reasons were because it is future proof, and it comes with the latest upgrade already installed... plus the 1GB flash card is pretty cool.
The picture and audio quality from this unit is unreal. It's pretty easy to use and navigate the menus to set it up. And i love that it has an ethernet port for online connectivity. I have only two criticisms. The first is a minor one: the power and open buttons are on a slant at the top of the unit. If youre stacking your units it a little bit of a hassle to hit these buttons. not much, but it would be easier if they were on the front. The second criticism is that the flash memory input is in the back of the unit.
The Sony S550 unit functioned as advertised. It was connected via HDMI. Viewing Blueray discs did offer incredible detail but the image appeared harsh. Compared to HD from Directv and off air, the latter were much more realistic. I did adjustments to my plasma to soften the images but it did not make a difference. I would compare the Blueray "affect" to the introduction of stereo; at the outset, recordings were very much like a ping pong and not realistic. Perhaps the issue is with the discs and not the player but I have no way of knowing this.
I contacted Sony customer support and the technician had no idea that this player could even output more than 2 channels of analog.With the main advantage the 550 has over the 350 being the internal decoding and that being sub-par, I find no reason not to save money and buy the 350 instead.
But then you are at a different point in the movie.5) The USB port cannot be used to play music or view pictures off a USB flash drive. To my knowledge, the USB port only serves as a place to insert the external memory for BD-Live functionality. At least Sony provided a 1-GB USB flash card for that purpose.6) Fast-forward and rewind are quite sluggish.7) The display button only reports the video resolution that the player is outputting, such as 1080/24p or 1080/60p.
(Big deal for some people, like myself. )- It decodes ALL next-gen audio formats (the 350 does not decode the one that is not used much, and I am reading that they will upgrade that via firmware, so minor difference).- It is BD 2.0, which is the newest and for now final Blu-Ray format. (The 350 can be upgraded to it by buying and installing a memory card, so also only a minor difference. )The last two are nice if you want a player that is future proof without you actualy needing to fiddle around with it.
I should have gone with the BDP-S350 since the only apparent difference is that the 550 has 7.1 audio connections (which I don't need) and is shipped BD Live 2.0 ready (which you can upgrade the 350 to through a firmware update)
I purchased this player for $350 in 2008. I was fairly happy with it for a number of years, but now I'm not so pleased with it. First, this thing takes an eternity to boot up. To eject the disk from a powered-down player, expect around 8-10 seconds.Second, I have had a number of issues playing Blu-ray disks, even though the firmware is up to date. A call to Sony's customer support appears to have resolved one of these issues (playback was choppy and would skip about half way through some disks, even brand new ones).However, here's my big complaint: Sony states in the manual that an external USB slot is available for additional memory, which might be necessary for &#34;additional content&#34; on some disks--but apparently an external USB drive (not included) is now REQUIRED for some disks to play their main content.
Answer: 350 can be upgraded with firmware downloads to match the 550. Only reason to pay extra for the 550 is you don't have to upgrade it. CNET review, which regards the PS3 as the reference, states the extra money for the 550, compared to the 350, is not worth it. CNET rates the Panny 55 as the best profile 2.0 stand alone BD player, above the Sony 550.