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Sony BDP-S350

Manufacturer: Sony Part number: BDP-S350

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$259.85 - $399.99 at 6 online stores

CNET Editor rating:
3.5 stars Very good
Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 39 reviews

More product information:: Editors' review; User reviews; Specifications; Manufacturer info

Bottom Line:: The combination of its small design, solid feature set, and excellent image quality make the Sony BDP-S350 a worthwhile standalone Blu-ray player--especially if you can find it for less than $300.
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CNET editors' review

Sony BDP-S350

price range: $259.85 - $399.99

Reviewed by: Matthew Moskovciak
Edited by: David Katzmaier
Reviewed on: 08/05/2008
Updated on:09/29/2008
Released on: 07/15/2008

The good: Excellent Blu-ray image quality and very good DVD upscaling; compact size; onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and bit stream output for all high-resolution audio formats; Ethernet port for firmware updates; BD-Live compatible.

The bad: Recessed USB port can be difficult to access; no onboard DTS-HD Master Audio decoding; quick start option uses power even when player is off.

The bottom line: The combination of its small design, solid feature set, and excellent image quality make the Sony BDP-S350 a worthwhile standalone Blu-ray player--especially if you can find it for less than $300.

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Editors' note: This review has been updated--and the product rating has been raised--to account for the addition of BD-Live functionality added via a September 2008 firmware update to this product.

Since the Sony PlayStation 3 appeared on the scene, it's been CNET's go-to choice for those interested in Blu-ray--even if they weren't interested in gaming. At $400, the PS3 was delivering a full-service Blu-ray player, with the added value of being a top-notch digital media device and gaming machine as well. But as Blu-ray players get better and cheaper, the equation is no longer so cut and dry. Sony's own BDP-S350 is a good example. With its latest firmware update in place, the S350 adds full BD-Live (Profile 2.0) compatibility to its bag of tricks. That leaves only its annoyingly recessed USB port (for added storage) and its lack of onboard DTS-HD Master Audio decoding (not a huge issue outside of audiophile circles) as the remaining red flags--and neither is a deal-killer. The Sony is in a neck-and-neck battle with such other full-featured standalone Blu-ray players as the Panasonic DMP-BD35 and the Samsung BD-P1500. And now that all of those models can be found for as low as $300, they're realistic alternatives to the PS3 (for nongamers, at least).

Design
Nearly all standalone Blu-ray players so far have looked like oversize DVD players, requiring a lot of depth and width in your rack to make 'em fit. The BDP-S350 is radically different in this regard; it's about half as deep as every other Blu-ray player we've tested, coming in at 17 inches wide by 8.75 inches deep by 2.38 inches high. The front of the player is mostly covered by a blue-tinted, reflective faceplate, and there's an LCD screen on the right. On the far right are a couple playback controls, although there are no chapter forward/backward buttons for when you can't find the remote control. There is also a single blue indicator light, which tells you if the player is outputting at 24 frames per second. Altogether, it's a sharp-looking player--albeit not as sharp as the Samsung BD-P1500--and its small footprint is a welcome design touch.

The BDP-S350 is easily the smallest Blu-ray player we've seen so far.

The included remote is pretty good. The center is dominated by a directional pad, which is surrounded by important buttons such as menu, options, and home. Toward the bottom are separate rockers for volume and channel changing, for those who want to use the remote to control their TV as well. We generally liked the layout, and there's enough button differentiation to navigate by feel in a darkened home theater.

One major design flaw is the deeply recessed USB port--used for BD-Live compatibility--on the rear of the unit. Our first problem is that it's located on the rear of the unit in the first place, as that can be a pain to get to in many home theater cabinets and you may not want to dedicate a USB memory stick solely to the BDP-S350. Secondly, because of how deep the USB cavity is, many types of USB memory sticks won't fit--you'll need a long slim one to fit properly. The deep recess means you won't have a USB stick protruding too far from the back of your player, but since the player is already quite shallow and there will already be cables connected to the back, we can't see it being much of an advantage.

Sony's XMB graphical user interface looks great in high-definition, and we liked that you could access it without stopping the movie.

The BDP-S350 also uses a version of Sony's XMB graphical user interface, which should be familiar to anyone who has used a PlayStation 3, PSP, or a recent Sony HDTV. The high-definition graphics are a nice touch, and we found it easy enough to make tweaks in the menus. Geeks will enjoy the amount of tweakable options, including the highly desired capability to force the BDP-S350 to output 24 frames per second. A somewhat esoteric perk we enjoyed is that it's possible to access the XMB menu without stopping a disk, so you can make minor tweaks like changing the resolution without having to reload the entire movie.

Features
Originally sold as "BD-Live ready," Sony issued the promised firmware update for the BDP-S350 in September 2008. So long as the player is connected to your home network, the update is available at the click of a button, and automatically installs after a few minutes. Thereafter, the player becomes fully BD-Live/Profile 2.0 compatible, meaning that it can access the online features available on certain discs. To date, there hasn't been a lot of compelling content, but the point is that you're getting a player that's as close to state-of-the-art as possible. The feature is there when and if better BD-Live content turns up down the road.

High-resolution soundtrack support on the BDP-S350 is good, although not perfect. There's onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD--which means you can hear Dolby TrueHD on any HDMI-compatible receiver--but DTS-HD Master Audio cannot be decoded by the player. On the other hand, the BDP-S350 can output both Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio in bit stream format, which means that people with newer receivers with onboard decoding can still take advantage of DTS-HD Master Audio. Of course, the similarly priced Sony PlayStation 3 can decode both formats, which means you only need a receiver with HDMI support to take advantage of both formats. However, keep in mind that the differences between these high-resolution soundtracks and standard Dolby Digital and DTS may be hard to hear unless you have a high-end listening environment.

The jack pack has pretty much all the connections you need, although those with older receivers will miss having analog multichannel outputs.

Connectivity is fairly standard on the Sony BDP-S350. The main connection is the HDMI output, which can handle HD video up to 1080p as well as multichannel high-resolution audio. There's also a component video output, which can output Blu-ray movies at 1080i and DVD at 480p. There are also two legacy standard-definition video outputs, S-Video and composite video, but you should stick with the high-definition connections to take advantage of Blu-ray.

For audio, the HDMI output is the best option for those with HDMI receivers. There are also both optical and coaxial digital audio outputs, although these can't handle the full resolution of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. For analog audio, there is a stereo RCA-style output. The big omission is the lack of analog 5.1 outputs, which means that those with older receivers won't be able to take advantage of Dolby TrueHD decoded by the BDP-S350.

It's tough to tell from the image, but the USB port is actually recessed inside the player, so you'll need a slim USB stick to reach it.

Rounding out the rest of the connectivity is a USB port and an Ethernet port. While you might think the USB port is used for looking at some JPEGs or listening to MP3s, actually its only purpose is to serve as external memory for advanced Blu-ray features--which is why the port is labeled "EXT." You'll need to connect a USB drive for storage to use the BD-Live features. Likewise, the Ethernet port can't be used to stream files from your computer; it's dedicated to accessing firmware updates and pulling Blu-ray-specific content off the Internet.

Blu-ray performance
Blu-ray playback performance from all Blu-ray players is generally excellent, providing a far superior image to DVD when viewed on a large HDTV in darkroom environment. We have, however, seen some flaws on less-expensive Blu-ray players--particularly when the players are set to output 1080p signals at 60 frames per second--so we were interested to see how the BDP-S350 measured up.

We began our high-definition tests with Silicon Optix's HQV test suite on Blu-ray. During the Film Resolution Loss Test, the BDP-S350 looked good on both the test pattern and the slow pan across Raymond James Stadium, showing none of the moire or jaggies that we often see on cheaper players. Next were some video-based tests, which are considerably less important, as the number of video-based Blu-ray Discs is pretty small. We looked at the Video Resolution Loss Test, and the BDP-S350 was not able to correctly display this test pattern, as the most detailed resolution box had a strobelike effect. Next up were a pair of jaggies tests, and the BDP-S350 handled them with ease, clearly rendering both three pivoting lines and a rotating white line without excessive jaggies.

Switching from test patterns to program material, we popped in Ghost Rider on Blu-ray, and the BDP-S350 had no issues rendering the end of Chapter 6, as the grille of the RV remained perfectly detailed as the camera pulled away. We also looked at the beginning of Chapter 8 of Mission Impossible: III, and we saw no moire in the stairs in the background, which confirms what we saw in the test patterns--the BDP-S350 handles film material well. Next up we tried Tony Bennett: American Classic, and at the beginning of Chapter 7--which includes some video-based footage--we did see some minor jaggies on the clapperboard, but not quite as many as we saw on the BD-P1500.

It's important to stress that the differences between these players is slight, and that only the most perceptive videophiles will notice the difference. Overall we found the DMP-BD50 to have slightly less jaggies on video-based titles, but you'll notice them very rarely. Also note that if you plan on using these players in 1080p/24 mode, the differences essentially disappear, as we noticed virtually no differences between the players in 1080p at 24 frames per second mode.

We also tested how quickly the BDP-S350 powers on and loads discs, and it's a step above other players released this year--but with a major caveat. The caveat is that to take advantage of the speedier load times you need to set the player to Quick Start mode, which means the BDP-S350 uses power even when you turn it "off." In our tests, the BDP-S350 used 16 watts while playing a Blu-ray movie, 9.3 watts when off in Quick Start mode and 0.5 watt when off in normal mode. That being said, the BDP-S350 powers on in a very speedy six seconds in Quick Start mode. Once on, the BDP-S350 also loads discs about as quickly as other new Blu-ray players, with Mission Impossible: III loading in about 27 seconds, and the BD-Java heavy Pirates of the Caribbean II: Dead Man's Chest in 2 minutes and 6 seconds.

Standard DVD performance
The number of movies available on DVD still dwarfs the number of available Blu-ray movies, so DVD performance remains an important factor. We started off looking at test patterns from Silicon Optix's HQV test suite on DVD. The BDP-S350 handled the initial resolution test well, depicting all the detail that DVD is capable of--although we did notice some very slight image instability. The next two video-based jaggies tests were a mixed bag--it performed admirably on a test with a rotating white line, but it was just mediocre on a test with three shifting lines. On the other hand, we were impressed that it passed the difficult 2:3 pull-down test, as it kicked into film mode in less than a second, resulting in no moire in the grandstands as a racecar drove by. It also handled scrolling CNN ticker-style text competently, as well as a credits sequence.

The BDP-S350's performance on test patterns was pretty solid, so we expected similar results with actual program material and were not disappointed. We popped in Star Trek: Insurrection and the BDP-S350 did a solid job on the introduction, as the curved railings of the bridge and hulls of the boats were rendered smoothly. We switched over to Seabiscuit and took a long look at the opening sequence. While we did notice a few subtle jaggies, we were overall very impressed. The BDP-S350 handled the black-and-white photos better than most players we tested. In all, the BDP-S350 should satisfy all but those that need the absolute best DVD playback--and if you're one of those, you should check out the Oppo DV-983H.

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User reviews

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Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 39 reviews
My rating: 0 stars

Showing opinion 1 to 10 out of 39

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9 stars

Beware if considering PS3!

by spambaggs on August 18, 2008

Pros: Great quality, upconverting, & QUIET!

Cons: None as of yet.

Summary: This is mostly a note for anyone considering a PS3 as a blu-ray player. I bought one this weekend on CNET's recommendation that it is a better blu-ray player ...

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Summary: This is mostly a note for anyone considering a PS3 as a blu-ray player. I bought one this weekend on CNET's recommendation that it is a better blu-ray player than the BDP-S350. I returned it yesterday and bought the BDP-S350 and here's why: The PS3 has serious Fan Noise Issues! ...to the point, where it totally ruined my viewing experience. Do the research yourself. Google PS3 & fan noise. You will see why a stand-alone Blu-Ray player isn't so bad after-all.

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20 out of 22 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 stars

Finally, Sony Gets It Right

by dvdirv on July 29, 2008

Pros: Great picture, easy set up, small size, remaining time display

Cons: Control panel GUI cannot be turned off

Summary: My previous Blu-ray player was a Sony until late last year when I purchased a Panasonic DMP-BD30 which had all the latest profile upgrades. The biggest problem with the Sony ...

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Summary: My previous Blu-ray player was a Sony until late last year when I purchased a Panasonic DMP-BD30 which had all the latest profile upgrades. The biggest problem with the Sony was its slow loading time.

With the BDP-S350, this has all changed for the better. Load time have vastly improved and it is a Profile 2.0 player. Picture quality is stunning, but most Blu-ray players display this picture.

One of the best features of this player is its size. Sony has been able to reduce the size of the player to just over a 2" height and only 8-3/4" deep. Sony's previous model was nearly 15" deep and just over 3" high.

Finally Sony adds a remaining time function to the display. Previous models only had a elapsed and total time display, so you had to do the remaining time in your head. Most Sony DVD players always had this function, but this is a first for their Blu-ray players.

Main complaint I have with this unit (a minor one) is that you cannot turn off Sony's GUI control panel (Xross Media Bar) over the desktop pattern--it is always on unless you are playing a disc. I use this player with a front projector and it looks tacky for guests seeing my control panel over the desktop. Sony didn't do this with their DVD players, so why do it with this new technology? About the only time you even need to use the GUI is when you are setting up the unit or add new equipment to the player.

All in all, Sony did a great job with this player. It's easy to set up and offers an outstanding picture.

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7 out of 7 users found this user opinion helpful.
10 stars

Best of any DVD player ever owned!

by Bruce R Nelson on November 13, 2008

Pros: EVERYTHING! I exchanged a BDP300.(slowest load time ever)for the BDPBX1 (I got mine at Costco.you can't beat their exchange policy). It is compact, good looking and loads like a fully automatic Beretta!

Cons: I have had this about 45 days and so far its flawless operation leaves me complaintless. Issues may show up but none yet..thats a great feeling so far!

Summary: There appears to be nothing about this player (yet) that i dislike and were there any thing I did seriously dislike I would drive 30 miles, one way, to Costco ...

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Summary: There appears to be nothing about this player (yet) that i dislike and were there any thing I did seriously dislike I would drive 30 miles, one way, to Costco and get rid of it...in fact I did just that with my previous Sony Blu Ray Player purchase which, by the way was $50 MORE than the BDPBX1...now thats saying someting!

When I HDMI'd this sweetheart into my precious VIZIO SV470XMTai/120hz/Smooth Motion LCD HDTV and put on National Treasure 2, I was absolutely balowned out of my massage recliner! I can not believe that an old fart like me (70), living on SSA, can enjoy what may be the very finest video experience available on planet earth and do so for what, for a combined cost of under $1700. Well let me tell you thats saying something. I live in a 32' vintage Holiday Rambler (1973) trailer in small but perfect comfort. When my lights go out at night and I crank up a Blu Ray disc freshly mailed to me by Block Buster (I get 3 BluRay discs per week like clockwork in the mail for $20 bucks per month so who says a poor man can't live like a King if he keeps his vices to a minimum and shops wisely for entertainment gear that may be the last he will ever purchase in this life!). My wee environment lights up like wrap around 3D Cinerama when I saw that for the first time back in the....oh yeah 1960s! I have my micro a few steps away so popcorn is always freash and I can sip on an ocassional Russo Negro withouth guilt. This is possible with the BDPBXI (same as S300 I have come to learn) and the spectacular Vizio for which the closest competing units were running upwards of 2500-3500k but a couple of months back. My "review" really is for BOTH the Vizio product (which in my wee environment produces more than adequate Surround Sound without a costly audio reciever. Oh, if I want wireless 5.1 it truns out VIZIO can sell me a 5.1 wireless speaker set using the 3 onboard speakers and two outside wireless...already to rock if I wish to spend a mere $300 more and I will, as soon as I save up enough to add the 5.1 kit to the 5.1 Vizio set I own. Damn I love writing such an upbeat "review" on two different mfgers products. IIts so EZ to find things to complain about these days! But not with these two very fine high quality products in myi life.

Thats now near 2500 characters in my "review". I could write more but its Blu Ray movie time in my digs...Just got Space Odessy 2001...can't wait to see OLD HAL rap with Kier D in 1080p Blu Ray...lights down, movie starting in 3...2...tadaa!

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3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
10 stars

excellent player!

by ssapyb on August 15, 2008

Pros: Everything

Cons: price - in a couple of years players will be better and cheaper

Summary: I had a PS3 for the sole purpose of watching movies. I understand why many places use it as their reference blu-ray player, but it gets way too warm for ...

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Summary: I had a PS3 for the sole purpose of watching movies. I understand why many places use it as their reference blu-ray player, but it gets way too warm for small spaces. I am now able to watch movies in my bedroom without having to crank the A/C. I have good home theater gear, which takes advantage of the player's potential SQ and PQ output. I am very impressed. No discernible difference in PQ between the PS3 and the S350. Although, there is a significant difference in DVD upconversion quality between the two with the S350 coming on top by a wide margin. AQ seems to be a bit sweeter now that my Pioneer Elite 94TX is decoding the HD codecs. I understand there really is no theoretical difference of SQ between the PS3 and bistreaming players, but my receivers decoding really does seem to be better-more dynamic. Ultimately, if you have a top tier receiver capable of decoding bistreamed HD codecs then opt for the S350 over the PS3. You will reduce the cost of your energy bill. I mean, aside from having to crank the A/C, it truly is a power hog. The PS3 is a multimedia powerhouse, thus it requires more power to be juiced up.

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3 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
8 stars

dont need to wait any longer

by 1jonesy on August 19, 2008

Pros: so simple to hook up

Cons: havent found one yet

Summary: ive been waiting, reading reviews & when this came out i decided to pounce. love the picture, but what has most impressed me in the first few days is the ...

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Summary: ive been waiting, reading reviews & when this came out i decided to pounce. love the picture, but what has most impressed me in the first few days is the sound. i have 5.1 dolby digital, so ive got great sound anyway. but this seems true surround, without hearing what speaker its coming from. great on upgrading standard dvds on my 42-inch, hdtv.

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2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
8 stars

Nice Player for 199.00

by on December 14, 2008

Pros: Price!!! Easy Hook up

Cons: None so Far

Summary: I could not find a Blu-Ray Player made by Sony for this Price!!! Period Im just glad I waited and didnt get hosed buying a player until the HD DVD ...

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Summary: I could not find a Blu-Ray Player made by Sony for this Price!!! Period Im just glad I waited and didnt get hosed buying a player until the HD DVD Blu-Ray Battle was over. Thanks C-Net for the Wait and See you posted for several months on buying a player of any type.

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1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
8 stars

Great Blu ray player

by kjake82 on December 3, 2008

Pros: The picture is simply spectacular. Unlike the earlier players, this one loads pretty quickly, 5 - 15 seconds on average. Quiet Operation. Light, small, and aethetically pleasing to the eye.

Cons: no analog 5.1 audio out. but thats ok if you're using a newer receiver with a Hdmi in port.

Summary: Bottom line this is an excellent player especially since its possible to get it for under $200 (got mine for $150) it loads movies w/o a glitch, plays them ...

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Summary: Bottom line this is an excellent player especially since its possible to get it for under $200 (got mine for $150) it loads movies w/o a glitch, plays them with ease, and the picture is awesome.

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1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
8 stars

Hard to pass up for the price

by lupinesmile on November 8, 2008

Pros: Good value unit that will satisfy all but the most critical videophiles. Easy to use standard features and plenty of tweak options.

Cons: Some better units out there for handling standard DVDs.

Summary: For entry machines this unit fits the bill. For those that want to hang onto old DVD's you may look at the Panasonic 35K unit, but I like the ...

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Summary: For entry machines this unit fits the bill. For those that want to hang onto old DVD's you may look at the Panasonic 35K unit, but I like the features on the Sony better and I am going full swing into Blu Ray.

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1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 stars

Good value for current positioning

by rawhide5 on August 5, 2008

Pros: Video quality, easy set-up, compact size, relatively quick

Cons: none so far

Summary: I did not need audio decoding and am perfectly happy with bitstream to modern Denon 3808ci receiver. Did not need a gaming machine, simply looking for a good bluray player ...

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Summary: I did not need audio decoding and am perfectly happy with bitstream to modern Denon 3808ci receiver. Did not need a gaming machine, simply looking for a good bluray player that is quick to start, supports latest expanded color gamut standards, and provides full 7.1 audio vua bitstream for decoding by receiver. I also wanted a unit that could do 1080/24p (to be true to original film content). This player had everything I needed at a good price and was up and running 5 minutes after taking out of the box (driving a front projection Epson 1080ub in home theater with excellent picture and sound quality). Very pleased with product. BD Live may be a nice option in future, but I honestly don't care so much about that -- I'm mostly interested in watching movies with highest quality video and this product delivers...

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1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 stars

Suprisingly Good

by gms021 on July 21, 2008

Pros: Fast loading, suprisingly good upconversion, amazing picture.

Cons: You will have to upgrade memory for BD live. Nothing Else.

Summary: This player is really cool. It loads discs pretty fast. It's much smaller than the previous generation. Picture is amazing. Audio is also amazing. Upconversion is surprisingly good. Bravia ...

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Summary: This player is really cool. It loads discs pretty fast. It's much smaller than the previous generation. Picture is amazing. Audio is also amazing. Upconversion is surprisingly good. Bravia sync works pretty well is you are also using a Sony T.V.. Only complaint is you have to upgrade memory for BD Live, but I knew that before buying. So far it is definitely worth the money for this player. Setup is simple. I couldn't be happier.

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1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

Showing opinion 1 to 10 out of 39

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Specifications

Manufacturer: Sony
Part number: BDP-S350
Description: The BDP-S350 models support BonusView (picture-in-picture) featured on some of the Blu-ray Disc theatrical releases. The BDP-S350 models are BD-Live ready featuring an Ethernet port for an easy firmware update and access to Internet-based interactive content features. They also feature an external port for local storage, so users can add optional flash-based memory. The players feature 1080/60p and 24p True Cinema output. They are compatible with most standard DVDs and feature 1080p upscaling through an HDMI connection to capable HDTV sets, improving the picture performance of existing DVD libraries. The BDP-S350 models offer 7.1 channel Dolby TrueHD and Dolby digital plus decoding and bit-stream output, as well as dts-HD high resolution audio and master audio bit-stream output. The players support AVCHD discs encoded with x.v.Color (xvYCC) technology, an international standard for wide color space reproduction. The standard expands the current data range of video by about 1.8 times, allowing the players to output more natural and vivid colors similar to what the human eye can actually see. The players also feature compatibility with an array of video formats, including BD-R/RE (BDMV and BDAV modes), DVD+R/+RW, DVD-R/-RW (video mode), CD, CD-R/RW (CD-DA format), and JPEG on DVD/CD recordable media.

General
Product Type Blu-Ray disc player
Form Factor

Sony BDP-S350

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