Sony vs Panasonic blu-ray

[lcd4ever]

I am looking to upgrade my Sony Playstation by getting a dedicated Blu-Ray player.....the 2 candidates in my price range arte the new Sony BDP-S350 and the Panasonic DMP-BD 30......the reason I am considering the BD 30 rather than the newer 35 is that I know the 30 has 5.1 analogue connections allowing me to experience HD audio via my 'mature' Sony Receiver; while the Pana BD 35 and the Sony both just have optical/coaxial connections for the older receivers.... So then which is better.....another factor that was 'niggling' me was the quality of upscaling for DVD...I have a Panasonic DVD recorder and the 1080p upscaling on this machine is not nearly as good as my Playstation. I guess what it comes down to is whether there is a significant dofference in audio between the HD and 'ordinary' 5.1/Dts.....

Any thoughts welcome

 

[Anonymous]

While I cant really help, I am also struggling with the same decision and want to understand the audio benefits of HD.

Question though, do LPCM optical outputs not work with Dolby Digital receivers? It says here that the LPCM outputs decode the HD formats....hmmmm??? :ª/

from http://whathifi.com/Review/Sony-BDP-S350/
"For sound, the player can output HD audio in bitstream form, or if you want to do the decoding in the player, it can convert everything to LPCM apart from DTS-HD Master Audio. "

Will this help?

 

[Anonymous]

For me the sony the better bet for no other reason than it remote hackable for region free DVD playback! if thats not a concern for go pana! ive just got home with a shiny new sony bdp 550 for £270 quid and im impressed

 

[lcd4ever]

AAAARRRRRGHHHH !!!!!!! Now I'm more confused....so I can get HD sound through my optical cable.....????

I'm thinking I will now go either Pana BD 55 or Sony BDP-550(garethwd......where did you get this player for £270 ?????)

Both have analogue inputs......so which has the best picture ?

More confused than ever....

 

[professorhat]

lcd4ever:so I can get HD sound through my optical cable
No, you definitely can't do that. I'd go for the BD55 - since you'll be using the audio decoding and outputting via the analogue multichannel outputs, I think the upgraded audio circuitry in this player will be a big benefit to you.

 

[lcd4ever]

Anybody any comments viz the picture quality of the BD55 vs the BDP550 esp wrt dvd upscaling......

 

[Anonymous]

What's your budget? You can get the BDP-S550 for £257 delivered now. I doubt anyone can compare the Sony and Panasonic machines, because the Panasonics appear to be vapourware that the moment. Someone on another popular AV forum compared the Sony 550 and the Panny 50 (not 55) on the basis that all the Pannys use the same chip for SD scaling/deinterlacing (I can't confirm that, but he works in AV sales). His conclusion was that the Sony was much better in video mode and a fair bit better in film mode (2-3 cadence detection). He used the word appauling when describing the Panny's DVD deinterlacing.

With regard to BD performance, I would expect the picture quality to be virtually identical bar some very minor differences. You can tweak the picture settings on the Sony, or use one of the presets, so any review that doesn't state what modes or settings they used on each player isn't going to be much use when forming an opinion. At this price-point I wouldn't expect much variance though.

From the figures I've seen quoted, the Sony appears to be quicker in operation (loading, navigating) than the Panny, but again this isn't something I've been able to substantiate. I made my decision based on both price and performance. So far the cheapest I've seen the BD55 for is around £350 and that was pre-order. With the 550 available now, I guess the question you have to ask is whether you want to wait and pay almost £100 more for something that may or may not be better.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Mentasm:
I doubt anyone can compare the Sony and Panasonic machines, because the Panasonics appear to be vapourware that the moment. Someone on another popular AV forum compared the Sony 550 and the Panny 50 (not 55) on the basis that all the Pannys use the same chip for SD scaling/deinterlacing (I can't confirm that, but he works in AV sales). His conclusion was that the Sony was much better in video mode and a fair bit better in film mode (2-3 cadence detection). He used the word appauling when describing the Panny's DVD deinterlacing.

Well we have tested all the Sony and Panasonic player comparatively, and we DON'T work in AV sales....

...and they're all great Blu-ray players for the money, but firmly believe the Panasonics have the edge and are worth their slight premium

 

[lcd4ever]

I am using the Sony 52 X2000 lcd TV as my display.....will this influence picture quality any......

 

[Gerrardasnails]

garethwd:For me the sony the better bet for no other reason than it remote hackable for region free DVD playback! if thats not a concern for go pana! ive just got home with a shiny new sony bdp 550 for £270 quid and im impressed

Gareth, how are you finding the upscaling? Each time I watch a new BD I am shocked at the quality. How much better can it get!

 

[Anonymous]

i havnt had time really to give a proper test as ive been working late :-( but i did give the start of sunshine dvd a blast and it looks pretty dam good so far! Ill report back tomorow night after ive had more of play!

 

[Anonymous]

Clare Newsome:Well we have tested all the Sony and Panasonic player comparatively, and we DON'T work in AV sales....

Are suggesting his comments weren't impartial? Having read his posts first hand I can say that isn't the case. He sells hardware from both manufacturers and was simply giving his opinion after testing the players with the HQV benchmark disc.