Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony BDP-S350 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player

This unit does NOT support slow motion play back nor frame by frame advancing. Don't believe me? Don't blame you, the 5 or 6 "official" reviews I checked all fail to mention it. Go to esupport.sony.com, enter the model number, on the left side of the screen select FAQ, in the box enter "slow motion", click on the question to see Sony's answer. I am returning the unit, very disappointing.

I recently picked up this Blu Ray Player and have been watching movies/shows pretty much non stop since then. The Planet Earth series is excellent. I am using the S350 with my Samsung LN46A550 and it is unbelievable. Even cartoons on Blu Ray are spectacular.

This unit responds quickly to remote functions and has been flawless so far. Every movie has played without a hitch and has been a treat to watch.

A great stand-alone blu-ray player and a great deal, less than a Playstation and much quieter. Quick load times, the menus and options are easy to follow and set up is a breeze. Connected to my network and found a firmware update upon first power up, zero configuration needed. Like the slim profile, looks good and performs as it should. The remote is easy to use, wish it were able to change channels on my TV but it's not supposed to. Blu-Ray movies look awesome, I suspect they would look much better than on my 42" plasma at 1080i, but it is an investment with plenty of future potential. I'm glad I waited for this second generation player and not been an early adopter of those Profile 1.0 players. This is a solid performer that I would recommend to anyone considering entering the blu-ray arena.

We needed a Blu-ray player to use with our new Samsung 7 series 52" LCD. I first tried a PS3 and liked the picture quality, but not the heat. Also, the PS3 is remote controlled by bluetooth, so it wouldn't work with the Logitech Harmony One IR remote we just added (see my review of this wonderful piece of gear!).

So, the hunt was on for a BD player that performed as well as the PS3. We almost went for the new Samsung P1500, but it won't play DVD+Rs (which we burn on our Sony DVD Recorder). And, frankly, I figured that Sony should be able to make the better player. Then, the S350 came out and I waited a couple of weeks until the price dropped about $65 and I could resist no longer.

It's installed now, and it works great - plays BDs just as well as the PS3, loads reasonably fast depending on content, is internet upgradeable, does all the cinema and sound stuff (but, no 7.1), upconverts DVDs nicely and plays well with rest of our entertainment system.

Looks? Really, who cares? It's just a (small!) box of electronics that does what it's supposed to do. This one's in an enclosed, but vented cabinet, so it's practically invisible anyhow. But, for the record, I think it looks better than a PS3.

So, am I dissing the PS3? Hardly! It's brilliant! All I'm suggesting is, if you just want to play BDs/DVDs and save almost $200 (remember, you still need a remote for the PS3) over an 80gig PS3, then I think the S350 is a good alternative.

Initially I was put off by the few negative reviews I saw on here and I was planning to get a Panasonic instead... then the local Sony distributor advertised a "special", this player along with 6 Blu-ray movies included.... and I thought, "good way to jump-start my blu-ray collection" because the titles are good.

I am glad that I bought this product.... it does NOT have a "long loading time" even when the default "normal" start is selected... although you can set "quick start" in the menu... then the player does not completely "turn off"... it remains warm and consumes power... and starts up quicker... although this was what I set initially, I found the "normal" start wait to be quite acceptable and soon switched it back to normal.

The crossbar is intuitive and easy to use and I cannot see why anybody would be unhappy about it.

Contrary to what some spec sheets on internet suggest... the product has
TOS link (optical) as well as coax digital output jacks.... although these only work up to 5.1 Dolby it is not a problem for me... because my surround system is 5.1 anyhow.

The unit is quiet in operation and can hardly be heard.

This is a great product with super picture and sound quality.... I can only conclude that the few people who gave this product a low rating must have got defective units.... which they should exchange as soon as possible.

Sony has done it again.... and you can buy this product with confidence... start watching blu-ray quality today...

Best Wishes, Stephen