BD-ROM, DVD-ROM - HD Video, DVD Video, MPEG-4, MPEG-2, JPEG Photo CD, MP3 Playback - Progressive Scan - MPN: BDPS1
Strengths: Great image & sound, solid build! Easy to setup.
Weakness: High price for a player. No remaining time display. Remote not lighted.
Sony has finally come out with their Blu-Ray player and it is incredible to watch. You notice the difference immediately when you see how sharp the text is on the screen compared to normal DVDs. Now backgrounds are as sharp as the foreground.
Although I expected a great picture, the sound really blew me away. The sound on this player is not compressed and you can tell the difference with its booming audio.
Setup was a breeze. I just intuitively hooked up the standard connections, went to the "Easy Setup" menu and answered a few setting questions and I was ready to go. Even if you don't like the picture quality, the BDP-S1 let you adjust black and white levels just to name a few.
This player does indeed have a few shortcomings, primarily the price. $1000 is rather steep for a player-only device, but you can find some discounts.
A minor complaint is this players inability to display remaining time. Yes, the BDP-S1 will display elapsed time on the disc or just the chapter, but it will not let you see how much time is left. The player does give you total time on the disc and let you do the math in your head.
Another minor complaint is the lack of a lighted keypad on the remote. A glow in the dark remote would have helped as well. For a new user, this remote is difficult to use the first time without any illumination. Try and find the disc contents menu in the dark on your first disc!
It would have been easier to overlook its shortcomings, if it had not been priced so high. Overall, a great but pricey player. Sony has really done its job by producing a quality player with a solid build.
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TopStrengths: Sleek and slim and modern looking Easy to use and connect
Weakness: Haven't found too many yet!
We purchased this to go with the Sony Bravia 1080 tv.
We are very satisfied with both items. Response time in start up of DVD's is a little slower than regular DVD players.
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TopStrengths: Picture, Build/Construction, Silent Operation, Easy to use Menus
Weakness: Slow to boot up (all blu ray players seem to be), slow menu response (you get used to it). Price.
Blu Ray is expensive, but as far as construction, picture quality, ease of use - I'm satisfied. If I could have knocked a few hundred off the price, I'd have been thrilled.
So far I will say this about blu ray - it depends on the disc. Fifth Element, which sony includes with this player, is the worst one I've watched. Why does sony give us such a horrible looking movie to try first on their machine? If I hadn't bought a few movies at bestbuy when I got it, I might have taken the unit back.
That said, Blazing Saddles and The Fugitive were good. Phantom of the Opera was amazing. The depth of the images made you feel you were watching a live play at times.
Oh, and the unit is silent. Compared to any other DVD player I've used, I can't even tell there's a disc in it. And the thing has a quarter inch of steel on top that I think you could jump on and not bust it to pieces (although I certainly didn't test my theory).
Do I recommend the player? Yes. But it might be worth it to wait until a few more units are out or it drops in price...
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TopStrengths: Awesome Video and Audio. Silent operation. Sleek and solid design. Extremely easy setup. Made by Sony (creators of Blu-Ray). Upconverts regular DVD's.
Weakness: Price - but lowering slowly. Can't play music CD's. Remote not illuminated.
One beautiful machine! Sleek, solid, and stylish design add to the decor of the room. Stunning audio and video resolution when used with Component or HDMI cables. Users will want to eschew the video cable provided with the BDP-S1 as the HD capabilities of this awesome machine will be lost by the non-HD picture that will result by using the standard video cable provided. My TV is 3 years old and doesn't have HDMI, but I purchased an HDMI-to-DVI cable and the resulting 1080i picture is stunning! The BDP-S1 has the ability to output in true 1080P if your TV can display that resolution. The audio output is equally stunning and together with the HD Video verifies that this was money well spent! The Easy Setup Menu is very user-friendly and will ensure that most everyone will be able to begin appreciating this home cinema wonder!
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TopStrengths: Stellar Picture, Beautifil Design, Solid Construction
Weakness: Remote not backlit, slow to load
I've had my Sony BDP-S1 3 whole days and love it! The picture is ASTOUNDING when viewed on my Mitsubishi 65" DLP set in 1080P. Plus the Sony can output 1080P at 24 frames rather than the standard 60 that TV uses, giving you a clearer, smoother picture (no motion artifacts). Everything works flawlessly with the exception of load and power on time which is a little slow when compared to my XBOX 360 HD-DVD Drive (super quick) - however the picture is HANDS DOWN better than the HD-DVD drive! Long live Blu-Ray!
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TopStrengths: Build quality, features, operation, and picture quality. The best picture quality that have seen.
Weakness: This player will not play CDs. You can play DVD Audio. Sony could have made a better qaulity remote (it does the job).
This player is the best dvd player the have ever used. It is built like a tank, but is very sexy in it's appearance. The picture quality on my Sony 57" XBR rear projection is excellent. The picture is very sharp and clean, but film like. It is also the best up-scaling DVD player that have used. I also own a Toshiba HD DVD player so I know what I am talking about.
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TopStrengths: HD quality DVD....finally!
Weakness: Expensive! Changed IR code set from nearly every other Sony DVD. HDMI did not want to work with some tv's. Large footprint.
Waited a long time after the supposed release date to get one of these DVD players. Picture is phenomenal, even on a non-1080P HD set. Couldn't get it to display 1080P on a Fujitsu monitor I have, had to switch to a component connection. In it's final resting place (my big Sony LCD) it connected with no fanfare. I had to reconfigure other items as the footprint on this player was much larger than the one it replaced. I have a Universal MX-350 remote that was already set for a Sony DVD player and thought it was going to be almost a direct setup for this player. I quickly found out that BD has it's own unique codeset and I had to do some searching for discreet on and off commands for it. Can't wait for the price to drop 75% so I can buy for other TVs in the house!
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TopThis is the only person that have ever found discreet codes for the sony BDSP1 have you or anyone else found the discreet on off codes? PLEASE email me at agentsmith3012@yahoo.com
Here you go Sebastion, it requires a Philips Pronto to directly teach learning remotes or the ability to import hex codes into your remotes program. Good luck!
Sorry, here's a link:
http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/files/rcfiles.cgi?area=prontong&db=devices&br=sony&dv=blurayplayer
Strengths: great picture quality, nice outlook, easy setup
Weakness: pricey, but you get what you pay for
This is one of the best bluray players in the market, especially considering sony is trying to push up the bluray format. The quality of the picture is awesome. I connected it to my 720p lcd hdtv, and I watched the fifty element disc which came with the player 3 times right after I set it up. I am sure the video quality will be even better if you have 1080p hdtv.
The only weakness I can say about this player is the price, much more expensive than samsung player (or other hd-dvd players). But i still believe you get what you pay for and the player has a shiny outlook and the best video/audio quality compared with others.
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Sony did a good job taking a charge into Blu Ray. The BDSP1 is the first player to play back BD-ROM's or Blu Ray discs.
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Sony BDP-S1 Blu-Ray receives an overall TopTenREVIEWS score of 3.02 out of 4.00. It is ranked the #5 HD and Blu-Ray DVD player of all time. The overall rating represents an intelligent balance of features, value as a function of price to features, and a summary of reviews from a variety of sources. The TopTen REVIEWS' formula gives a picture of important consumer features, market value, and a...
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Sony's BDP-S1 is slow and lacks frills, but it's a great performer: It tied with the Pioneer Elite BDP-HD1 for top audio and video honors, and costs $500 less than that player.
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Sony blu ray
Strengths: When paired with a 1080p LCD flat panel the results are breathtaking.
Weakness: Slow response time of the unit is the only weakness I see, and easily overlooked for the quality of sound and picture.
The blu ray format, in my opinion, is the right choice for high definition disks. Shop for this using web price finding sites and you'll save at least $200 off the list price. You will not be disappointed with this purchase.
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