Sony BDP-S350

The Sony BDP-S350 a black colour 7.1-channel DVD player system with Blu-ray ready features. It provides a full 1080/24p True Cinema picture, handles full high-definition processing of 1080p video up-scaling, comes with x.v.Color (xvYCC) to adjusts picture settings, S-Master digital amplifier, BRAVIA Sync function that enables user to control a Sony TV and this device by just using one remote, fitted with a USB connectivity for adding more storage capacity, Ethernet port connectivity, equipped with HDMI connectivity to enable connection to Sony compatible BRAVIA flat-panel LCD HDTV sets and Sony audio/video devices, new Xcross Media Bar menu system (an icon based menu for simple navigation) which is Sony’s Technical-Emmy award-winning graphic user interface used for Sony WEGA, BRAVIA televisions, PS3 and PSX game systems; plus it also offers quality on board DTS Decoder, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD (Master Audio and High Resolution) that eliminates the need for an external decoder by processing all channels of audio information to provide a natural sense of ambience and dynamic realism.

Specifications
The Sony BDP-S350 features a Blu-ray capability that increases the storage and content of up to 5 times more than a DVD, therefore with the extra storage, it also enables user to make use of the inline navigation, Bonus View (Profile 1.1) feature which also provides “picture-in-picture” capability with selection for viewing director or actor commentary while playing movie, browsing the internet using BD-Live updated content (Profile 2.0), interactive games, deleted scenes, director commentary and other features provided by the Blu-ray device. The device also features a 7.1-channel through HD audio bitstream out via its HDMI (Ver1.3) port, true full high-definition HDMI connections with 1080p video up-scaling (the HDMI offers an output resolution of 480p, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p input) and 24p True Cinema that displays movies at 24 frame per second. The Blu-ray Disc’s Full HD 1080p resolution provides up to more than 2 million pixels per frame for producing razor-sharp images with unmatched depth and clarity which is six times more than the picture data contained on DVDs (encoded at only 480p). Together with its Precision Cinema HD Upscale, it enables the usage of high bandwidth digital-to-analog conversion and processing to detect image changes at the pixel level resulting in sharp backgrounds with moving objects that are free from motion artifacts. It also has Deep x.v. colour (xvYCC which is an option in the HDMI v1.3 specifications) that expand the available range of colours display on HDTV for smoother transitions from color to color. The system is also designed with built-in decoders such as DTS-HD, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD (HDMI bitstream out) decoder which means it enable users to hear Dolby TrueHD on any HDMI-compatible receiver.

In addition, it also comes with Xross (pronounced Cross) Media Bar (XMB) for easy handling of its set-up menu/user controls, remote control with infrared technology and Bravia Sync function that enables user to control a Sony TV and other compatible devices with this device by just using one remote; and it comes with disc-tray type with quick loading function through its Quick Start mode it allows approximately up to 6 seconds from when the Blu-ray Disc player is powered on. Other features inluce a Dynamic range control (Night mode) for customizing audio playback to reduce peak volume levels, Parental Lock, support JPEG photo playback, plus it support various types of media format such as CD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, BD-ROM, BD-R/RE (BDMV and BAAB format) and AVC-HD. The Blu-ray player’s dimension measures in at 17-inch in width, 8.75-inch in depth, 2.38-inch in height, 6 3/8 pounds in weight and its front is covered by a blue-tinted, reflective faceplate, along with an LCD screen on the right. It comes with power requirement of 220 to 240 V, uses 26 Watt of power consumption during operation and 0.3 Watt of power consumption during standby mode. In terms of connectivity, the system is fitted with one rear HDMI video signal output (19 pin HDMI Type A) for high-def video display, one rear Composite Video Output, one rear Component Video (Y/Pb/Pr) Output, one rear 2-channel Analog Audio Output, one rear Optical digital Audio Output (TOSLINK), one rear Coaxial Audio Digital Output, one rear S-Video Output (4 pin mini-DIN), an Ethernet port for accessing firmware updates (browsing and downloading Blu-ray-specific content off the Internet) and also a USB port (4 pin USB Type A).

Reviews:

“Sony’s original Blu-ray player, the BDP-S1, was poky at loading and navigating discs. The BDP-S350, now a third-generation player for Sony, is a far cry from that model. The deck is reasonably responsive to commands from the remote; in my tests, it loaded a Blu-ray disc in a respectable 63 seconds. I noted a slight lag when pausing, and a longer one when skipping chapters. You can find cheaper Blu-ray players on the market, but the Sony BDP-S350 is a strong bet. This model delivers a solid all-around package, and it does so at a price that won’t break your wallet.” (PC World, 2009)