[Audio5oh]

I'm curious if any former or current owners of the Samsung BD-P1500 made the switch to the Sony BDP-S350 (or vice versa). Obviously, Samsung released their unit first, so I imagine many people did not wish to wait for the Sony or the new Panasonic. I currenty own the player, however, I am strongly considering returning it to Wal-Mart due to a few glitches that are annoying. My music cd's do not sound as good on my BD-P1500 as they did with my previous dvd player from Yamaha. This is just my opinion. I hate to let this player go cause I really loved it, but this player should have had zero issues out of the box. Blu rays look and sound awesome. The only complaint I have is the freeze ups on a few of my standard dvds, plus the resolution and movie frame feature keep resetting back to default whenever the player feels like it. I'd like to point out that the 1500 has been a nightmare for a few folks, while others report zero issues.


How do you guys compare the sound and picture quality on both units (standard dvds and blu rays)?

Any freeze ups, pauses, audio drops on the S350?

What about music cds?

 

[adrian457]

Please read my post below which I posted yesterday in the Sony thread and earlier in the Samsung thread. It was late at night and meant to post it in the Samsung thread but actually I posted in the Sony thread that's why I double posted it. This would be a triple post of it. Besides what I posted below my girlfriend and I also noticed more of a pop when using the 120hz AMP of our Samsung LN-T5271F. We tend to like the real look, though many others dont. The setup menus look exactly like the PS3s. I also beleive you can adjust some of the picture quality but don't quote me on that. I really didn't get in depth with it as I bought it last night. I'm not a fan of Sony but so far so good on the 350.


"I purchased a Sony BDP-S350 today after trying 2 Samsung 1500s. And the first test I threw at it was Spider-Man 2.1 with TrueHD bitstreamed. This movie has given me trouble in the 2 BD-P1500s I have tried. I've exchanged players, bought new cables, new disc and tried a new receiver as well and always got the audio drop at the same spot. It was a drop I could constantly repeat.


It's the scene when Peter is on his way to see Mary Jane's play and helps the police to catch 2 crooks in a convertible. The 2 crooks are shooting at him and he shoots them with webs then web shoots them to the light post above them. When he slings them to the light post is when I always have the drop.


I didn't get the drop while using the BDP-S350. I retried it again 3 times in the 350 and did not get the drop either time. Replugged the 1500 and got the drop again and again. Unfortunately I will be sticking with the 350 and returning my 1500 again. The thing that bothers me the most was that I dislike Sony and was hoping the Samsung would work out for me and to also prove the doubters wrong about Samsung as well. At least Samsung got an update out quickly but it didn't fix my issue."

 

[Audio5oh]

Adrian457,

Yeah I read your post already, thanks for the info. What about your standard dvds, do they look pretty good on the S350 as compared to the 1500? This forum has so many threads and posts that it's hard to keep track. I'm just trying to get as much feedback as possible from people that have owned both units. I still have plenty of time to exchange the player, thanks to Wal-Mart's 90 day return policy.

 

[adrian457]

I'll check a standard DVD tonight. I haven't watched one of those in about a year. =P

 

[wnorris]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Audio5oh /forum/post/14342107


I'm curious if any former or current owners of the Samsung BD-P1500 made the switch to the Sony BDP-S350 (or vice versa). Obviously, Samsung released their unit first, so I imagine many people did not wish to wait for the Sony or the new Panasonic. I currenty own the player, however, I am strongly considering returning it to Wal-Mart due to a few glitches that are annoying. My music cd's do not sound as good on my BD-P1500 as they did with my previous dvd player from Yamaha. This is just my opinion. I hate to let this player go cause I really loved it, but this player should have had zero issues out of the box. Blu rays look and sound awesome. The only complaint I have is the freeze ups on a few of my standard dvds, plus the resolution and movie frame feature keep resetting back to default whenever the player feels like it. I'd like to point out that the 1500 has been a nightmare for a few folks, while others report zero issues.


How do you guys compare the sound and picture quality on both units (standard dvds and blu rays)?

Any freeze ups, pauses, audio drops on the S350?

What about music cds?

Exchange your unit. Mine kept resetting resolution and 24p settings, seemingly at random. Exchanged it for another unit and it has yet to do it once, and I have played double the number of movies compared to the 1st unit. So I think it the result of a manufacturing defect (maybe a faulty firmware chip?).

 

[Audio5oh]

The issue with the 24p resetting itself didn't occur right away. It seemed to do it after about 2 weeks of owning the player. The resolution also would reset from 1080p to 1080i. Samsung support said to reset the player by holding down the fast forward button on the player for at least 5 seconds and unplugging the unit for 10 minutes. This seemed to work for about 2 weeks and I thought the problem had gone away, but sure enough, I turned on the unit one day and the 24p/screen resolution reset itself again. This player shouldn't operate like this. There is obviously something wrong with my unit, but weird thing is, I haven't had any issues with blu ray discs. I have yet to experience any audio drops, freezing and lip sync issues as described on the owner's forum. It's those darn standard dvds that started freezing recently.

 

[rlhjr34]

I had the 1500 previously and went with the 350. I was having the audio drop out problem with the 1500. Since the previous Samsungs had various issues I decided to get out just in case more problems were to come down the road. Or that the firmware updates would fade out when the next model arrived (like with 1200). I've been very happy with the 350 so far and am happy with making the switch.

 

[monomer]

I too had thought about starting a similar thread but found this one instead...


I have had the Samsung for about a month now and have had zero problems with it... but of course I only play Blu-rays on it... since DVD's look slightly softer than on my Oppo and because of its limited capabilities in other areas, I use the Oppo for all my DVD's, DVD-R and +R, SACD's, DVD-A's... basically everything else other than Blu-rays. Its my first Blu-ray player and is almost as fast as a 'normal' DVD player and I can stream everything over HDMI to my Onkyo for decoding. Well, I am now thinking of getting another Blu-ray player for the upstairs theater and am considering the Sony also since it appears to fit the bill also. However when looking at the specs it seems they are identical based upon my usage and needs. About the only difference I've so far been able to decipher is that the Samsung can be purchased cheaper than the Sony. So does it really all just come down to price? With the Samsung I don't have audio drop-outs, video freezes or any over-heating issues (we liberally use our air conditioner) and don't need the player for anything more than playing Blu-ray discs and streaming all the audio formats out through HDMI... so under those circumstances can anyone come up with a compelling reason to pick one over the other or is price the only remaining difference between the two?


BTW, though my Sony projector (VW-60) can do 24p, after living with the Samsung in that mode for awhile I decided to switch it to 60p and I'll be darned, I've found I actually think fast motion and camera pans are better in 60p, for real! So though my Samsung has never magically switched resolution or fps without me selecting it first, the point that it might not stay in 24fps is moot as I will be keeping it in 1080p/60.

 

[Audio5oh]

As far as price is concerned, it doesn't bother me that one unit is pricier than the other. At this point, I just want a quality player that is reliable. My player seemed to play perfect for he first couple of weeks, then I started having the problems. I owned different receivers, dvd players, speakers and other audio/video stuff, and I never had any problems with any of my equipmet. This Samsung is the first that's given me issues. However, I do want to point out that I currently own the Samsung 46 inch A650 series television. That is working perfect. I probably will get the Sony this friday after I exhange the Samsung.

 

[Audio5oh]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Audio5oh /forum/post/14350153


As far as price is concerned, it doesn't bother me that one unit is pricier than the other. At this point, I just want a quality player that is reliable. My player seemed to play perfect for the first couple of weeks, then I started having the problems. I owned different receivers, dvd players, speakers and other audio/video stuff, and I never had any problems with any of my equipmet. This Samsung is the first that's given me issues. However, I do want to point out that I currently own the Samsung 46 inch A650 series television. That is working perfect. I probably will get the Sony this friday after I exhange the Samsung.

BTW, I also felt that comparing these two players would be fair, being that both are similarly priced. For example, I don't think I'd be fair to compare either unit to the Panasonic BD50. But for some reason, I don't know why the price of the Samsung keeps dropping. At least on Amazon.com, it seems the price drops everyday.

 

[DWAnderson]

I just wrote a blog post about this very subject. Ultimately I went with the Sony because of reports of sound problems with the Samsung player. It was worth a small of amount of extra purchase price, not to have to deal with this risk (mainly the time to deal with it).


I also spell out some of the reasons that the PS3 would not have been a god choice for me.

 

[wabkab]

I just posted this on the 1500 owners thread.



I know some are bailing out on this player, but I remember when this thread was young and everything was looking rosey. Since I have the luxury of a 90 day return period, I'll wait and see: 1-does Samsung respond and fix issues with firmware, 2-will the Sony 350 continue to have rave reviews as it gets more use/reports.


I am still not totally convinced that the audio dropouts are not HDMI and or Receiver/Processor issue based on the bitstream via HDMI decoding- I agree this is less likely than it being this player. I still await an answer from Denon Jeff as to whether new receiver firmware addressed that kind of stuff.

__________________

Tony B

 

[adrian457]



"I am still not totally convinced that the audio dropouts are not HDMI and or Receiver/Processor issue based on the bitstream via HDMI decoding- I agree this is less likely than it being this player. I still await an answer from Denon Jeff as to whether new receiver firmware addressed that kind of stuff."


If you read my post above, I thought it was cables or receiver as well. I bought specific 1.3a HDMI cables as the ones I was using didn't indicate they were 1.3a. That didn't work. I bought a Denon 1909 receiver to try it out to see if my Yamaha 1800 was the problem. Still had drops with it. Borrowed a friends copy of Spider-Man 2 because maybe it was a disc problem. Played Spider-Man 2.1 and still got the same drop at the same spot listed before. Mind you I tried the different receivers and cables with my friends disc and got the same drop at the same spot in Spider-Man 2.1. I happened to be in a Fry's and noticed a boat load of Sony 350s sitting there and purchased one. Got it home plugged it in and no drops with Spider-Man 2.1. Tried all different configurations and tried various times and never got the drop.


I returned the Sammy 1500 and the cables but kept the Denon 1909. That is one sweet sounding receiver and the Audyssey MultiEQ, DynamicEQ and Dynamic Volume work as described. My system never sounded better. Now I'm looking to sell my Yamaha 1800

I'm not saying that there will never be any problems with the 350 because you can never say never, but for right now it's the right one for me. If it screws up them I'm sticking to the PS3 until all of these bugs are gone from all of the players.

 

[adrian457]

Sorry Audio5oh. My girlfriend took back the Sammy 1500 before I can check the DVD differences. I have a well trained girlfriend who absolutely new nothing about audio and video besides listening and viewing. Now she knows about calibrating and audio quality and tells me when there's drops or artifacts when watching a BD. She said she could tell the difference between the Sony and the Sammy and took it back while I was at work. No complaints from me.

 

[monomer]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Audio5oh /forum/post/14350286


BTW, I also felt that comparing these two players would be fair, being that both are similarly priced. For example, I don't think I'd be fair to compare either unit to the Panasonic BD50. But for some reason, I don't know why the price of the Samsung keeps dropping. At least on Amazon.com, it seems the price drops everyday.

Well, today it finally increased a little in price. The funny thing about Amazon lately is that certain consumer electronics items seem to have daily and sometimes almost hourly fluctuations in their pricing... its sort of like watching the stock market and trying to buy when you think its at its lowest... but unlike the stock market, with Amazon you can get them give you the lowest price for the next 30 days following your purchase if you just give 'em a call and request it and you can even return the item for a full refund (within 30-days and they cover the shipping too), try that with the stock market.


Curious... how many times can one watch Spider-man 2? and how much is it worth to not hear the audio hiccup a couple of times in that particular movie? Right now the price difference between the two seems to be around $60... about the price of 3 Blu-ray movies or 4 months of Netflix Blu-ray rentals (maybe like 65 rented movies)... is the Sony really worth it? I don't know just yet, I'm still trying to decide. However I've yet to hear a single audio dropout from my current Samsung 1500 in any movie and that's after watching maybe a dozen+ Blu-ray movies that were all passed-around Netflix disc's (which often times are scratched). I think I can afford to wait a bit longer to see how that Sony S350 thread developes... it seem most every product has a thread that starts out optimistically so but inevitably (pretty much predictably) it turns into a ***** session, and so I believe I will wait a little longer to see if that thread too 'goes south' and who knows? the price may be dropping here real soon after the mass rush of first adopters has begun to dampen, which in not unusual at all.

 

[adrian457]

I kept watching Spider-Man 2.1 over and over because it was a repeatable drop. It dropped audio at the same spot every time I tried it. I don't pay $400 in hopes of someday it will hopefully play correctly, I want it to pay correctly from the beginning. I got audio drops in AVP: Requim also and that was one movie I wasn't willing to watch over and over. Read the Panny 30 thread and see how many times people watched Enchanted or the people that had the DTSHD-MA bomb on their receivers and bought or rented The Fly to see if their receiver would pop. I replaced many things in the chain and was hoping it wasn't the Sammy but it was. The one drop in Spider-Man 2.1 turned into many drops on AVP: Requim that I couldn't repeat at the same spot. The many drops on AVP: Requim then turn to ???? I don't know and I'm not willing to wait around and find out. Read the Sammy 1200 thread on the problems they had and Samsung saying they would release a firmware and didn't and many people were past their return window and were stuck with a lemon. I was within my return window to return it and I did and moved on after trying 2 of them. Is the Sony perfect? I don't know but "FOR ME" it's better than the Sammy.

 

[wabkab]



Quote:
Originally Posted by wabkab /forum/post/14365509


"I am still not totally convinced that the audio dropouts are not HDMI and or Receiver/Processor issue based on the bitstream via HDMI decoding- I agree this is less likely than it being this player. I still await an answer from Denon Jeff as to whether new receiver firmware addressed that kind of stuff."


If you read my post above, I thought it was cables or receiver as well. I bought specific 1.3a HDMI cables as the ones I was using didn't indicate they were 1.3a. That didn't work. I bought a Denon 1909 receiver to try it out to see if my Yamaha 1800 was the problem. Still had drops with it. Borrowed a friends copy of Spider-Man 2 because maybe it was a disc problem. Played Spider-Man 2.1 and still got the same drop at the same spot listed before. Mind you I tried the different receivers and cables with my friends disc and got the same drop at the same spot in Spider-Man 2.1. I happened to be in a Fry's and noticed a boat load of Sony 350s sitting there and purchased one. Got it home plugged it in and no drops with Spider-Man 2.1. Tried all different configurations and tried various times and never got the drop.


I returned the Sammy 1500 and the cables but kept the Denon 1909. That is one sweet sounding receiver and the Audyssey MultiEQ, DynamicEQ and Dynamic Volume work as described. My system never sounded better. Now I'm looking to sell my Yamaha 1800

I'm not saying that there will never be any problems with the 350 because you can never say never, but for right now it's the right one for me. If it screws up them I'm sticking to the PS3 until all of these bugs are gone from all of the players.

Can't argue with that testing/approach/logic. Let us know if the Sony is good, bad or ugly.

 

[robotec]



Quote:
Originally Posted by wabkab /forum/post/14365509


I just posted this on the 1500 owners thread.



I know some are bailing out on this player, but I remember when this thread was young and everything was looking rosey. Since I have the luxury of a 90 day return period, I'll wait and see: 1-does Samsung respond and fix issues with firmware, 2-will the Sony 350 continue to have rave reviews as it gets more use/reports.


I am still not totally convinced that the audio dropouts are not HDMI and or Receiver/Processor issue based on the bitstream via HDMI decoding- I agree this is less likely than it being this player. I still await an answer from Denon Jeff as to whether new receiver firmware addressed that kind of stuff.

__________________

Tony B

Well, just from the look, weight and build of the Sony s350, I am impressed. Its quieter and doesn't run as hot. I no longer have a need for my laptop cooler. The setup was a breeze with minor tweaking. I started off with some scenes from Spidey 3 and Casino Royale's opening chase scene. Watched all of Ratatoulie with no audio drop outs. My 1500 was notorious with multiple drops with the Rat. The picture is at least as good as the 1500. The audio is just as good. I'll grab another copy of Rambo IV this weekend. This was another BD that gave the 1500 fits with dropouts. So far, I feel real good with my choice of returning the 1500 for the s350. And I only ended up paying 9.00 more for the s350 after the 12% coupon discount from BB.

 

[Captain Spaulding]

I've had the opportunity to use both players in my system. Honestly, I was expecting the Sony to look and function better than the Samsung, but I was wrong. I found the picture on the Samsung to be sharper, clearer and have more balanced colors. Of course, this is just my subjective opinion and others may disagree. I also found the Samsung loaded discs faster and responded to chapter skips quicker. To make a long story short, I'm back with the Samsung 1500 and am very happy.

 

[monomer]

Well, I found I could get the Sony for ~$280... so in the end, I guess price did become the deciding factor for me... err, uh, its just that I was expecting the Sammy to be the low cost winner. The Sony is already on a UPS truck or plane somewhere speeding its way to my door... should be able to do my own comparisons right here at home come Monday afternoon.


I've not viewed Enchanted, Rambo, nor the Rat on Blu-ray... though I've seen them all on DVD, maybe I should load them up in my queue at Netflix just to test for audio dropouts.