Sony BDP-S360 and BDP-S560 Blu-ray players (and BDP-BX2) - Page 35

You implied it by complaining that there's no streaming and no update to add streaming.

I know you don't hate the unit. People don't buy things they hate or return it if they discovery it sucks and they were a victim of clever marketing.

But there is a line between needing an update to fix a bug and an update to get more for your money. There is also the grey area, like digital TV, where a company can try to keep brand loyalty by giving away an update. I have three Sony DVRs that needed such a fix. I've also had a fix for a Panny DVD recorder, a Toshiba DVD and DVR recorder, my Sony 32XBR9, and we all know there is an update for the S360. Sometimes the update will include a feature that is standard on a higher priced or newer unit, sometimes not.

Color me stupid, but I'm always looking for newer models to get newer features. I have a serious case of "new cow" syndrome. The stuff in my attic is proof. Yet, I'm not perfect. I've had the same car for 16 years.

If anyone is interested...the refurb model of the S360 is $79.99 till April 10th on sonystyle.com, additional 2 year warranty is $19.

This is a really important point and one of the most frustrating things about how the consumer marketplace has changed over the last thirty-five years. It used to be that a bonus, like that, was recognized and appreciated by consumers as a bonus. Nowadays, such bonuses rarely are recognized as such at all, and only register in consumers so as to foster an expectation that the consumer is now entitled the such bonuses, and deserving of such bonuses from all suppliers in all sectors for all things. I'd hate to be back in the consumer products sector -- it's become a comparatively horrible place to do business.

I agree.
I have the s360 as well, and knew full well that it didn't support streaming when I bought it, but did so for the price and reliability, and didn't want to spend the extra money. I have no right to expect additional options that I didn't pay for. Would it be a nice bonus, yes, but why should I expect it. It does everything as advertised.

Anybody else have to return their S360 for a warranty swap out?? Mine would just up and lose video connection only, audio was fine, only video would cut out. Using a Sony HDMI cable also...Sony just went right on ahead and sent me a new/refurbed one as it is a known issue....I'm so glad I got SONY stuff, they really have been very helpful and quick to respond considering the size of the company!!

This may or not be the right place to put this, if not, i'm sorry.

I just purchased this player to play on my hd projector. I purchased the harry potter flicks (blueray) and gave the first one a whirl.

The black border on the top and bottom of the screen eat up practically a 3rd of the shot. completely new to the world of HD and 16:9 and beyond.

Are the borders expected/desired?

Or, can adjustments be made on the blu ray player, or on the tv side (ie. projector) to "crop" these?

Thanks in advance.

Those films were filmed with a much wider aspect ratio. While some broadcasts might fit them into a 16:9 aspect ratio, most broadcasts will be presented in original aspect ratio, and probably all Blu-ray Discs will present films that way.


My television does support such adjustments.

thanx. Do you know what the name of the config on a tv would be to support this? it is working on 16:9, but what do i want it set at?

If you provide the model number of your television, I'll tell you what your television calls it.

I've seen it labeled "aspect" and "zoom" among other things.

I did nothing of the such. You assumed that I did and commented as such, but I never said I "hated" the player.

I did becuase it trouble reading a few standard DVDs. There was no hassle at all. The 2nd player seems to be rock solid excpet that it skips on CD's that I've made that has label adhered to teh top side. I have to reburnhose with labels. The CD drive on my PC works flawlessly with the labeleld CD, just not the Sony. Its strange.

Hey, I just bought one of these and am not sure what the "video" settings do. I'm talking about the ones you have access to while the movie is playing such as standard\\bright\ heater and the 3 noise filters.

I just switched from a Denon dvd-2910 which had tons of filters\\settings and just want to get this setup for as clean of a picture as possible.

from what I can tell right now, standard with no filters on seems to seem the most natural with my current settings.

I have the Sony BDP-S560 connected to a 40 in Samsung HD 1080p TV connected thru an HDMI cable. I like the picture that comes from the Sony BDP-S560 - however the sound is another thing entirely. On my tv - regular listening volume is usually around 10-12 on the tv...13-15 if you really want to start to make it loud. Yet when I play a Blu-Ray disc - sometimes 28 or more is not really sufficient or overwhelming. I had heard to play with the audio settings online - about changing a setting to "TV Audio" or something of the like - it seemed like it was better - however playing other BD's it really wasn't. But one weird thing I noticed when playing Iron Man BD the other night - the main feature part of the movie was like usual - had to put it on 28 just to get a decent sound out of the movie - yet when I was playing the Special Features part of the disk and playing the deleted scenes, etc - RICH, beautiful sound was coming from the player. It can't be the disk - all disks I play on the Sony BDP-S560 the sound is this way. Is it the player? Is it because I got a cheap HDMI cable on ebay and I should have put out for a more expensive one? I don't think that is it either - cause wouldn't the picture suffer as well? Any and all opinions welcome!

Try accessing the "Audio" menu within the player itself, and then change the current, default setting to something else that's available there to see if you get better sound.

Played Avatar last night on my new BDP-S360 paired with new Panny 54G20. Worked flawlessly and the PQ was simply amazing. I have an older but still very capable Sony DE595 reciever which the audio was extremely good. So far very satisfied with S360

I did - that was the "TV Audio" setting on the player (not the TV) that I spoke of..

Wavester, I have a 460 and the 560 settings should be similar. Connected directly to a TV, set Audio(HDMI) to Auto or PCM, shouldn't matter. Set BD Audio setting to Direct and last but not least, make sure Audio DRC(dynamic range control) is set to wide, to ensure that the sound is not being compressed.

That should give you the best possible sound range for your setup.

Mike T

I have the option to buy a sealed in box bdp-s360 for $60, no receipt...I think they got it free in a bundle. The person, who is local, will give me a full refund if there is a problem with it upon setup...but if it craps out a week from now, I'm SOL, Sony won't cover it without a receipt.

I read posts that on some units the video has cut out, or it didn't play standard DVDs, or it didn't play BDs, or there was a permanent system error, or there's a compatibility issue with HDMI cables, or the firmware update crippled it, etc...not worth it?

If it works right, sure...go for it. I love this player. So, if the condition is as good as new and works great, I don't see why not. Just make sure the person you're buying from is trustworthy.

If it is brand new sealed in the box and they will give you a refund if it is DOA, then what are you worried about for $60? The chances of the player crapping out in a week are pretty darn slim..... The vast majority of these players work just fine and from my experience thus far, they play any title you throw at it without any glitches compared to other brands. As long as you do the firmware update properly, you will have no problem... Don't let posts on this thread dissuade you from getting it... threads like this just naturally focus on the relatively small amount of problem machines that are out there.....

Agreed. My 2nd S360 has been rock solid and has never skipped on anything. The CD issues I was having is becuase of the adhesive on the label which somehow compromises the CD plyback. I was able to reburn these "troublesome" CDs and left off labels and they play with out skipping. DVDs and the few Bluray that I own play flawlessly without any skipping. Its a solid barebones player and I really enjoy it.

Is anyone else having issues with Return on the King and their BDP S560. On mine, the pop up menu won't go away when the movie is playing. My PS3 works fine. I have exchanged the disc already and both copies have done the same thing. I assume the player has the issue.

Hi all,

I got a strange issue with my BDP-S350. Problem is that the picture freeze after one hour playing. The picture freezes but the time-counter keeps on counting. When I let it play (after freeze) picture is getting unfreezed but the player skips to the next chapter. It's pretty dull......

In the meantime I allready updated the firmare to v20......The problem appears at the following BluRays: Avatar, Life-box, Pirates of the Carribean and more. It looks like the player can't read this kind of BluRay....

Does anybody recognized this problem or maybe do have a good solution!?

I'm getting desparate and consider to send it to a repair-center.

Hope to hear some suggestion for this nasty problem.
THanks!

Gr,
Martin

You’re in the wrong thread if your unit is a S350. But it sounds like you have a defective unit. Take it back…

twoodwoody, no problems with my S560 and Return of the King. Just watched it last night.

Hey Tom,
Did you find a solution to your "invalid' dilemma? I have the same issue.
Thanks, John

Hi Tom and John,

I am having the same issue, have you been able to find a solution?

HELP!!! I have Sony BDP=BX2 that will not play blue ray dvd's, I get an "invalid" message and the front of the machine and a cannot play on the tv screen. Any quick fix? Any ideas? I have connected it to the net and it states latest updates installed.
Thanks for the help, John

John....

Can your unit be returned to the store? It sounds like it's bricked. My unit plays BDs just fine with the latest firmware (007). If you're past the return window, then what about the warranty? Is that still good?