SonyUSA has Their New Blu-Ray In Stock

[Stanley Kritzik]

Sony has their BDP-S300 Blu-Ray (plus regular DVDs and audio CDs) in stock, at $500.

See: http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665088000

With Blockbuster going 100% Blu-Ray, there might just be a winner in the DVD format wars.

Stan

[gparris]

Thanks for the info, though Best Buy claims it also has this model currently available and it would be great to see if they honor their coupon for 10%  or 12% off this product with the new coupon good for this coming weekend.

I would like to see if this new player decodes Dolby TRUEHD with the new release of "Ghost Rider" Blu-ray recently released like my Panasonic DMP-BD10A does and if it does 6.1 PCM and DTS-HD, too ("Crank", "Descent") or does it need an upgrade like the BDP-S1 does.
It would be great if did, then it would be a good value.
Some avs'ers have reported some issues with Pirates movies due to some BD-Java implementation in this new Sony player...hope these have cleared up by now.

[Stanley Kritzik]

Thanks for the info, though Best Buy claims it also has this model currently available and it would be great to see if they honor their coupon for 10%  or 12% off this product with the new coupon good for this coming weekend.

I would like to see if this new player decodes Dolby TRUEHD with the new release of "Ghost Rider" Blu-ray recently released like my Panasonic DMP-BD10A does and if it does 6.1 PCM and DTS-HD, too ("Crank", "Descent") or does it need an upgrade like the BDP-S1 does.
It would be great if did, then it would be a good value.
Some avs'ers have reported some issues with Pirates movies due to some BD-Java implementation in this new Sony player...hope these have cleared up by now.

I bought the BBC's Planet Earth series in Blu-Ray, narrated by David Attenborough (also available in HD-DVD) because the series on Discovery HD was so phenomenal, and I wanted to keep it for re-use.  It will be a great (acid) test of the high-definition DVDs, as I still have some of them saved on my Tivo for comparison purposes.  Planet Earth is the way to sell the non-sports TV viewers on big screen HDTV -- along with Winged Migration and the like.  For me, I can hardly stand to watch plain old TV, high-definition has me spoiled.

Stan

[gparris]

Certainly, once you watch a high def disc (either format), you don't want to go back to standard definition anything.
"Planet Earth" is stunning, excellent high def video, though the audio is not up to par with say, movie titles, though its hardly a low-action release.
The Sony player offers an good choice for adopters at this price point, just make sure that all the codecs currently available in BD players are in this unit as I mentioned to get the best deal for now and the near future.
Out of the five free BD discs that came with Panasonic, only one ("Transporter") was one I already had, so with my BB coupon, this model was actually less expensive than the Sony model and it does all the available codecs.

[Stanley Kritzik]

Certainly, once you watch a high def disc (either format), you don't want to go back to standard definition anything.
"Planet Earth" is stunning, excellent high def video, though the audio is not up to par with say, movie titles, though its hardly a low-action release.
The Sony player offers an good choice for adopters at this price point, just make sure that all the codecs currently available in BD players are in this unit as I mentioned to get the best deal for now and the near future.
Out of the five free BD discs that came with Panasonic, only one ("Transporter") was one I already had, so with my BB coupon, this model was actually less expensive than the Sony model and it does all the available codecs.

It's kind of exciting -- video in HD on a big screen.  There's one thing I still want to see happen, and that is the ability to record a program originally in HD on a Blu-Ray recorder.  My present DirecTV Tivo (HR10-250) "dumbs down" a program to 480i (s-video) for recording purposes on a standard DVD recorder.  But, I'm hoping that Blu-Ray recorders will get past that.  Now, there might be some HDCP content protection issue, but I live in hope.  I don't want to go into the piracy business, but a hard drive on a DVR can only hold so much content, and being able to back up a drive onto a Blu-Ray device would be nice.

Stan

[gparris]

Stan, I am assuming you are watching your new BD discs on that wonderful 57" Sharp Aquos 1080p flat panel and set the output via HDMI to 1080p.

How is your surround sound system configured with the player and what codecs has it actually supported for disc playback in your experience?

[Stanley Kritzik]

Stan, I am assuming you are watching your new BD discs on that wonderful 57" Sharp Aquos 1080p flat panel and set the output via HDMI to 1080p.

How is your surround sound system configured with the player and what codecs has it actually supported for disc playback in your experience?

I'll be able to answer those questions in a week or so -- the player is on-order from Sony, and has been shipped.  BTW, my setup will run from the Blu-Ray through a Sony AV receiver -- STR-DA5200ES.  Said receiver supposedly (in automatic mode) decodes digital audio Pro Logic, Pro Logic II, etc.  I'm still learning how to use the audio properly; the receiver teamed with the Blu-Ray and the 57" Sharp ought to be quite a combo.

Stan

[Stanley Kritzik]

I'll be able to answer those questions in a week or so -- the player is on-order from Sony, and has been shipped.  BTW, my setup will run from the Blu-Ray through a Sony AV receiver -- STR-DA5200ES.  Said receiver supposedly (in automatic mode) decodes digital audio Pro Logic, Pro Logic II, etc.  I'm still learning how to use the audio properly; the receiver teamed with the Blu-Ray and the 57" Sharp ought to be quite a combo.

Stan

So, the Blu-ray BDP-S300 arrived, and, with HDMI, the install was easy -- one HDMI cable and the power cord.  Setup was easy, too.

First, watching a bit of Planet Earth in BD on a big screen was outstanding.  The Sharp Aquos that I have will only accept 1080i, and it may internally up-convert to 1080P (it's a year old --1080P is "it" these days!), but the video is stunning, anyway.  The audio for the Blu-ray and the Sony receiver handle just about anything.  My Blu-ray manual says: "2ch Linear PCM up to 192kHz & up to 24 bit; 6 to 8 ch Linear PCM to 96kHz & 24 bit; as well as Dolby Digital and DTS (5.1 ch up to 96 kHz & 24 bit).  It states that Dolby TrueHD comes out on the HDMI jack either as Dolby Digital or 5.1 ch Linear PCM.  I don't think my ageing ears will spot the difference, but it is what it is.

Second, one minor disappointment.  The BDP-S300's volume control will control the volume on a TV set, but not on the A/V receiver, and it has no "learn" function.  How lame!  The peanut remote on my Tivo handles the video on/off and also the volume control on the receiver.  This is how it should be, but the BDP's coding is all-or-nothing, so far as I can tell.  It has some "Bravia" home theatre setup that I didn't quite understand, for now, but a simple receiver volume control would be nice.

Stan

[gparris]

While I do not know if you have setup your 5200ES AVR for 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1 speakers, the great on-screen setup on this 5200ES AVR will guide you through the surround settings to accept PCM for audio.
First setup the video/audio output from the S300 as it goes into one of the HDMI inputs to the 5200ES  and from the "Monitor Out" of the 5200 ES AVR to your HDMI input on the Aquos.
Secondly, set output from the AVR to output that 1080i video signal for the Aquos making sure to set the S300 to PCM audio output and the S300 will output DD at 640kbps on "Planet Earth" (its maximum audio authoring) and for Dolby TRUEHD, try the movie "Ghost Rider" on Blu-ray disc with 5.1 channels (example).
The 5200ES will, if you follow the setup correctly, wrap the 5.1 surround to 7.1 backs with Dolby Prologic llx (if you have these backs) for a more immersive surround sound even older ears (like mine and yours) can hear.
The PCM audio will deliver lossless audio that you WILL hear, believe me.
HDTV is about both fantastic video AND audio and your equipment will deliver both.

Glad you are enjoying your new Blu-ray player...now get some more BD discs - buy or rent (Netflix).
Hope my suggestions assist you if you haven't done this already.

[Bebop]

Get the BR or HD DVD of PE.  David Attenborough's voice is much better than Weaver's.

If you want to see how much better the disks are compared to broadcast. Watch the scenes when the dolphins are going after the bait fish.

[gparris]

Bebop, I didn't know that there was a different version of "Planet Earth" on high def discs, unless you were referring to the SD DVDs, which of course I don't think anyone with a HDTV would watch, anyway.

[Stanley Kritzik]

Bebop, I didn't know that there was a different version of "Planet Earth" on high def discs, unless you were referring to the SD DVDs, which of course I don't think anyone with a HDTV would watch, anyway.

The HD broadcast by the Discovery channel has Sigourney Weaver doing the narration, while the HD and Blu-ray HDTV disks use David Attenborough to narrate.  I think Weaver is on the standard DVDs.  Why it's split that way -- who knows, but if one gets HDTV disks, it's David, while broadcast HDTV is Sigourney.

Stan

[Stanley Kritzik]

While I do not know if you have setup your 5200ES AVR for 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1 speakers, the great on-screen setup on this 5200ES AVR will guide you through the surround settings to accept PCM for audio.
First setup the video/audio output from the S300 as it goes into one of the HDMI inputs to the 5200ES  and from the "Monitor Out" of the 5200 ES AVR to your HDMI input on the Aquos.
Secondly, set output from the AVR to output that 1080i video signal for the Aquos making sure to set the S300 to PCM audio output and the S300 will output DD at 640kbps on "Planet Earth" (its maximum audio authoring) and for Dolby TRUEHD, try the movie "Ghost Rider" on Blu-ray disc with 5.1 channels (example).
The 5200ES will, if you follow the setup correctly, wrap the 5.1 surround to 7.1 backs with Dolby Prologic llx (if you have these backs) for a more immersive surround sound even older ears (like mine and yours) can hear.
The PCM audio will deliver lossless audio that you WILL hear, believe me.
HDTV is about both fantastic video AND audio and your equipment will deliver both.

Glad you are enjoying your new Blu-ray player...now get some more BD discs - buy or rent (Netflix).
Hope my suggestions assist you if you haven't done this already.

Obviously, I have a way to go to get the best setup for the audio, and I appreciate all your knowledgable comments.  I'm in and out of town for much of July, but when I have the time and patience, I'm going to follow your suggestions, and I'll report back.

Stan

[gparris]

Stan, thanks for your honest reply.

If you need any assistance please PM me and I will be glad to offer assistance to maximize your HDTV/Blu-ray experience !:wave:

[Bigdog]

I also picked up the BD version of Planet Earth after seeing it on DiscoveryHD and it is amazing. Right now I have to play it on my PS3 but will be getting the the new Samsung HD/BD combination player that comes out this fall.