Is the Sony BDP-S370 a decent upgrade over the Sony PS3 for BluRay?

[admin_exported]

I currently have a 60GB PS3 connected to my SONY STRDA2400ES receiver which runs to my 50" 1080p Plasma screen.

I have been toying with the idea of upgrading the PS3 and getting the standalone BDP-S370 BluRay player for a mere £120 for two main reasons:

1) It will be much quieter

2) Audio can be output via HDM as bitstream

Does anybody have any experience upgrading from the PS3 to a standalone player and think the results will be worthwhile?

 

[Anonymous]

I think this has been covered a couple of times, there are those in the camp that there is not much of improvement, but there are many more who think it's a huge improvement.

I no longer have a PS3, but my opinion is that you will see a huge improvement in motion, picture detail and mainly in sound improvement.

I hope this helps.

 

[aliEnRIK]

matt_jaggsy:

1) It will be much quieter

2) Audio can be output via HDM as bitstream

Does anybody have any experience upgrading from the PS3 to a standalone player and think the results will be worthwhile?

Ive got both. The S370 is definitely quieter, although it sounds like a computers dvd drive the way it moves around

Audio is far better bistreaming then being decoded by the PS3 (Although of course it will depend upon your amp)

 

[bigboss]

markjaspi: I think this has been covered a couple of times, there are those in the camp that there is not much of improvement, but there are many more who think it's a huge improvement.

The OP has specifically asked about 2 points, &

1) Yes, the S370 will be quieter

2) Yes, there will be an audio performance improvement if the player bitstreams audio to a capable amp.

I don't think there has ever been a debate on these 2 points. The only debate has been about blu-ray video (1080/24p) performance.

 

[bigboss]

matt_jaggsy: getting the standalone BDP-S370 BluRay player for a mere £120

If you keep an eye on Amazon, Play.com & Richer Sounds, every now & then this player drops to £99.99. I think it was on Amazon at this price only last week. I would expect this player to drop again in price within the next month or so.

 

[Ronald Archiebald]

Matt_Jaggsy,

The S-370 will offer a superior picture and sound quality to your PS3.

My son has the slim PS3, so I know. He agrees too, btw.

Ronald

 

[strapped for cash]

As someone who made this upgrade, I can testify that, yes, it's worth it, just don't expect miracles. Audio is better when bitstreamed; and the 370 is quiter than the PS3 (but not silent).

The 370 trumps the PS3 for motion handling with Blu Ray and DVD, and the picture with Blu Ray is probably on a par (the only subtle difference is with colour reproduction, but there's little in it).

However, when it comes to upscaling DVDs, I think the PS3 does a better job (DVD images from the 370 are just too soft in my opinion).

So you win on some counts and lose a bit on others -- but if your main priority is Blu Ray playback, it's a no-brainer...

 

[aliEnRIK]

Id have to disagree, the PS3 artificially sharpens DVDs, the S370 upscales VERY well (certainly more detail)

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone. I think I'll definitely go with the standalone player a but wait for it to turn to £99.

 

[Anonymous]

bigboss:

markjaspi: I think this has been covered a couple of times, there are those in the camp that there is not much of improvement, but there are many more who think it's a huge improvement.

The OP has specifically asked about 2 points, &

1) Yes, the S370 will be quieter

2) Yes, there will be an audio performance improvement if the player bitstreams audio to a capable amp.

I don't think there has ever been a debate on these 2 points. The only debate has been about blu-ray video (1080/24p) performance.

Bigboss,

I am not all together happy at the tone of this post and the way you attacked my response, must be the time of month or something.

I did give my opinion on his question about the sound quality, and commented that I could not remember about the fan noise as it was a while ago that I owned a PS3, and I am sure I have read a previous post which commented on noise levels.

 

[Anonymous]

PQ will be improved.

Sound quality will be the same for blu-rays.

Bitstream rather than LPCM makes NO difference to the sound quality. As long as the sound remains in lossless digital form from player to the amp there can be no difference in sound.

On the contary LPCM over HDMI is often the easiest choice as every device understands LPCM (eg older receivers).

See other posts about LPCM vs bitsream for lossless sound.

 

[aliEnRIK]

edsib1:

PQ will be improved.

Sound quality will be the same for blu-rays.

Bitstream rather than LPCM makes NO difference to the sound quality. As long as the sound remains in lossless digital form from player to the amp there can be no difference in sound.

On the contary LPCM over HDMI is often the easiest choice as every device understands LPCM (eg older receivers).

See other posts about LPCM vs bitsream for lossless sound.

I completely disagree. Theres a definite difference on my system between the PS3 decoding and my amp decoding (Same goes for the S370)

Sound is definitely better with the amp decoding.

Decoding is 'unpacking' a compressed file 'on the fly'. Clearly some devices do this better than others

 

[Anonymous]

There is no difference when talking about lossless audio. Indeed there cant be - or you wouldnt be able to call it lossless.

All the PS3 does is take lossless compressed DTS-HD MA and turn it into LOSSLESS uncompressed LPCM. It is still lossless.

Have u got ur PS3 setup correctly? If not u will only get DTS/DD and not DTS HD/DD TrueHD. The light on ur amp will only show LPCM but dont worry about that u are getting lossless.

Do u see what I'm saying? How can a lossless digital signal not be the same?

Settings (PS3 Fat)

Video --> BD/DVD Audio Ouput Format (HDMI) --> Linear PCM.

Audio Output Settings --> Select HDMI --> Select Manual --> Make sure all the appropriate LPCM boxes are checked

 

[aliEnRIK]

I know how to set up my equipment thanks. I even setup greyscales on tvs etc using a sensor and software. Im hardly 'wet behind the ears' where hifi and av is concerned

The files might be lossless once unpacked, but unpacking clearly makes a difference

Are you talking from experience or just what youve read?

 

[Anonymous]

u are uncompressing LOSSLESS into LOSSLESS

its not "lossless with a few differences"

U are talking subjectively and I am talking technically. Lossless digital compression means just that.There is no way it can sound different.

Now when u got from digital --> analog or if ur using non-lossless formats thats a different ballgame.

Digitial Lossles is used for a reason.

 

[aliEnRIK]

I'll re-ask

Are you talking from experience or just what youve read?

I 'read' years ago that mains cables cant possibly make any difference, and yet theyve been 'measured' to effect RFI

I read years ago that biwiring cant possibly make a difference, and yet theyve been 'measured' to make a difference

I could go on, but I suspect your just sprouting what youve read elsewhere...........

 

[bigboss]

markjaspi: I am not all together happy at the tone of this post and the way you attacked my response, must be the time of month or something.

I'm sorry if you felt that way, but it certainly wasn't my intention. If you look at my posts, they're usually short and to the point. Re-reading my post, I really can't see anything that may have made you feel that I'm attacking your post. It was just a general observation that the OP is specific about 2 points and that the debate on this forum is with regards to blu-ray picture quality. I don't see myself getting personal anywhere. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[bigboss]

aliEnRIK: I completely disagree. Theres a definite difference on my system between the PS3 decoding and my amp decoding (Same goes for the S370)

Sound is definitely better with the amp decoding.

I think it depends with the quality of the amp. You've got a superb amp, & you're definitely going to notice a difference. My Yamaha amp is definitely superior to the PS3 in decoding audio.

 

[aliEnRIK]

bigboss:aliEnRIK: I completely disagree. Theres a definite difference on my system between the PS3 decoding and my amp decoding (Same goes for the S370)

Sound is definitely better with the amp decoding.

I think it depends with the quality of the amp. You've got a superb amp, & you're definitely going to notice a difference. Maybe the other member's amp is not much better than the PS3.

My Yamaha amp is definitely superior to the PS3 in decoding audio.

Oh absolutely. Im sure there are amps that would sound worse than the PS3 too. My only point is that a half decent amp 'should' sound better

 

[TKratz]

And another 'yes' to the point that a decent amp will make a difference to the sound.

As for the pure 1080p24 picture, it is another story

 

[Ronald Archiebald]

aliEnRIK:Id have to disagree, the PS3 artificially sharpens DVDs, the S370 upscales VERY well (certainly more detail)

I absolutely agree with you!

 

[Anonymous]

the lack of understanding in these forums is frightening...

the very definition of lossless is that the decoded stream is EXACTLY the same as the encoded stream.

 

[Anonymous]

As many others, I have both a phat PS3 fitted with a larger HD (thanks Prof for your guidence on formating it!) and a BDP-S350.

On my system Bit-streaming to the Onkyo 875 amp improves the sound track with Blue Rays and to a lesser extent the picture detail using the S350.
Not that the PS3 is bad, it is a very good multi media player, but the standard has got higher with the better processing that is available. IMHO

 

[aliEnRIK]

edsib1:

the lack of understanding in these forums is frightening...

the very definition of lossless is that the decoded stream is EXACTLY the same as the encoded stream.

I think your lack of the understanding of 'decoding' is frightening.

I'll reask (Though it looks like your never going to answer)

Are you speaking from experience? Or are you just another SA?

 

[Anonymous]

@aliEnRIK

Tell me what u think LOSSLESS encoding/decoding means.

Its simply a computer algorithm run against a known input to give an known output. Thats all it is. There is no uncertainty.There is no error. There is no variance. Were are talking about digital lossless.