Sony Bdp-s550 V Panasonic Bd35

[Thornton Melon]

Now they are both out there,and we will all have a preference,which machine will outshine the other?

Apart from the 7.1 analogue outputs on the Sony,both players look to be outstanding performers and good value for money.

Which player will have the better.

PQ

Audio

DVD upscaling.

User friendly.

I will look foreward to some unbiased comparisons.

Cheers Thornton

[joz]

Ok, it has been covered elsewhere I'm sure but.

The 550 does ouput all the hi-def audio bits via HDMI,yes?

My 3800 will decode all the stuff yes?

I know I'm feeling a bit like a nuff atm..

[daz_dors]

Ok, it has been covered elsewhere I'm sure but.

The 550 does ouput all the hi-def audio bits via HDMI,yes?

My 3800 will decode all the stuff yes?

I know I'm feeling a bit like a nuff atm..

Not sure about the 550 but I have a 3800 and have just gotten a 35 and all sound formats are successfully bitstreamed to the 3800 and decoded beautifully. It is great to see the HD format lights for BD. Personally, if you have a 3800 I think you are better off with the 35, at least you can chip it for all regions BD playback.

Edited November 18, 2008 by daz_dors

[davep]

at least you can chip it for all regions BD playback.

As you can the S550 link

[jutta]

Both have excellent PQ for bluray with the BD35 ahead in most review comparisons (UK n USA) although very marginal.

BD35 much better upscaling SD DVD

Personally I'd buy the BD35 if u are able to decode with your AVR.

If u can't bitstream the s350 is the logical choice

[ozlooper]

I'm keep tossing up between the BD35 and the S550. My existing Yamaha receiver does not handle HDMI and has 5.1 external input. I don't plan on ever going to 7.1 due to the room layout, but I guess you never know. I have Sony CRT-based RPTV which does up to 1080i component. I was going to upgrade the receiver to a Yamaha 3900, but after discussion with Eastwood HiFi it seems that this is pretty much a waste of money until I have an HDMI TV, which won't be happening for at least a year.

For audio, I should get the S550 which has analogue out to my receiver. Assuming that it will decode the HD sound down to 5.1. Will it?

For blu-ray video it doesn't seem to matter much, but it seems that the BD35 is (much?) better at upscaling DVDs. So for video I should get the BD35. But this is only relevant if I have HDMI throughout the chain and once I have that I will have the 3900 or equivalent which will also upscale. Will the 3900 be as good as/better than the BD35 for upscaling DVDs?

Any suggestions?

[Thornton Melon]

I'm keep tossing up between the BD35 and the S550. My existing Yamaha receiver does not handle HDMI and has 5.1 external input. I don't plan on ever going to 7.1 due to the room layout, but I guess you never know. I have Sony CRT-based RPTV which does up to 1080i component. I was going to upgrade the receiver to a Yamaha 3900, but after discussion with Eastwood HiFi it seems that this is pretty much a waste of money until I have an HDMI TV, which won't be happening for at least a year.

For audio, I should get the S550 which has analogue out to my receiver. Assuming that it will decode the HD sound down to 5.1. Will it?

For blu-ray video it doesn't seem to matter much, but it seems that the BD35 is (much?) better at upscaling DVDs. So for video I should get the BD35. But this is only relevant if I have HDMI throughout the chain and once I have that I will have the 3900 or equivalent which will also upscale. Will the 3900 be as good as/better than the BD35 for upscaling DVDs?

Any suggestions?

Hi ozlooper,I have been trying to decide which one for a week now ,I have a Panasonic HDMI Plasma panel,but an older Onkyo AVR with 5.1 outs and want to play with the better audio available on Blu ray, I also want the best DVD upscaling available,BUT I just can't convince myself to buy the Sony.

I think I am going to buy the Panasonic BD35 and after Xmas get a new Onkyo THX AVR .

I'm just a Panasonic kind of guy,and it is a perfect match for my Panny Panel.

Cheers Thornton

[joz]

Aah yes , a few of us struggling with the decision.

But in the end the difference will probably SFA!!.

sigh!

[Thornton Melon]

Aah yes , a few of us struggling with the decision.

But in the end the difference will probably SFA!!.

sigh!

SFA,yes,but don't we love the chase,and what else would we be doing right now.

Cheers.

Thornton

[cwt]

For audio, I should get the S550 which has analogue out to my receiver. Assuming that it will decode the HD sound down to 5.1. Will it?

For blu-ray video it doesn't seem to matter much, but it seems that the BD35 is (much?) better at upscaling DVDs. So for video I should get the BD35. But this is only relevant if I have HDMI throughout the chain and once I have that I will have the 3900 or equivalent which will also upscale. Will the 3900 be as good as/better than the BD35 for upscaling DVDs?

Any suggestions?

Looking at the long term ozlooper ; if you get the 3900 which looks to have very good abt video processing ] a pio 51 outputting source direct would be perfect so the avr can deinterlace and scale. It also has 7.1 analog out [which can be downmixed to 5.1] as the sony does as well. The wolfsohn 8740 dac's are a cut above too.

The latest firmware upgrade for the pio gives very good sd upscaling by all accounts if not using source direct

[John_Melbourne]

With the inclement weather in Melbourne yesterday I got a chance to put my week old S550 and my day old BD-35 to the test.

TV : Sony Bravia 40 inch 'X' series LCD.

AVR : Pioneer VSX-LX50.

Test Discs : Tropic Thunder , Queen Live in Montreal , Kung Fu Panda, The Matrix, Incredible Hulk

Set-up : HDMI - AVR : HDMI AVR - LCD.

Both players are out-of-the-box with respect to updates. No BD-Live enabled on either unit during playback.

Nothing to choose from them in the PQ/AQ stakes. The purists out there will no doubt consider my effort in comparing the two inadequate as they were not run side by side to two LCD's but I really couldn't tell the difference and I consider myself to be of average eyesight and intelligence.

Still have my reservations on both however as I'm still sure my S500 outperformed both in the PQ - crisper and cleaner! Go figure.

Draw!

The BD-35 is a little lower in profile but a little deeper than the S550. You wouldn't kick either of them out of bed for a wet fart.

Both look very nice in the entertainment unit - ROFL have them both sitting in there at present - indulgence or what!? Draw!

The BD-35 remote has an excellent layout, feels nicer in the hand but the Sony isn't too bad and the backlight is a very welcome feature. BD-35 edges it!

The Sony unit is way out in front with respect to the user interface. It's smoother, faster, easier on the eye and much more intuative than the BD-35. I don't dislike the BD-35's mind but I thought the days of sluggish response to remotes had gone out the window with my S500. Very impressed with the Sony here! Sony wins by a few lengths.

Start-up and disc loading times are noticeably faster on the Sony - note it has a fast start-up feature which I imead. switched on so I'm possibly doing the BD-35 an injustice on start-up time!

Will post some timings when I can as I couldn't find the old Casio! But as they were noticeably faster on the Sony (power-up and disc loading) I'd be willing to bet there's a good few seconds on each.

Once again, very impressed with the Sony and it wins at a canter.

In summary..

Overall I must say both rigs are perfectly adequate and functional but in all honesty I'm a little more drawn to the Sony purely due to it being smoother and faster.

But...

At current retail prices favouring the BD-35 (unless you look at the 10 disc bundle from the Sony Central outlets and consider thay Sony throw in a 1GB mem stick) combined with the ability to (reasonably inexpensively) chip the BD-35 to all regions I think the Panasonic is the better value unit.

At the end of the day my feeling is it's horses for courses - if you want a lightning fast rig and the 7.1 analog connections and aint fussed about the modding then the Sony will not disappoint.

Edited November 23, 2008 by John_Melbourne

[Thornton Melon]

With the inclement weather in Melbourne yesterday I got a chance to put my week old S550 and my day old BD-35 to the test.

TV : Sony Bravia 40 inch 'X' series LCD.

AVR : Pioneer VSX-LX50.

Test Discs : Tropic Thunder , Queen Live in Montreal , Kung Fu Panda, The Matrix, Incredible Hulk

Set-up : HDMI - AVR : HDMI AVR - LCD.

Both players are out-of-the-box with respect to updates. No BD-Live enabled on either unit during playback.

Nothing to choose from them in the PQ/AQ stakes. The purists out there will no doubt consider my effort in comparing the two inadequate as they were not run side by side to two LCD's but I really couldn't tell the difference and I consider myself to be of average eyesight and intelligence.

Still have my reservations on both however as I'm still sure my S500 outperformed both in the PQ - crisper and cleaner! Go figure.

Draw!

The BD-35 is a little lower in profile but a little deeper than the S550. You wouldn't kick either of them out of bed for a wet fart.

Both look very nice in the entertainment unit - ROFL have them both sitting in there at present - indulgence or what!? Draw!

The BD-35 remote has an excellent layout, feels nicer in the hand but the Sony isn't too bad and the backlight is a very welcome feature. BD-35 edges it!

The Sony unit is way out in front with respect to the user interface. It's smoother, faster, easier on the eye and much more intuative than the BD-35. I don't dislike the BD-35's mind but I thought the days of sluggish response to remotes had gone out the window with my S500. Very impressed with the Sony here! Sony wins by a few lengths.

Start-up and disc loading times are noticeably faster on the Sony - note it has a fast start-up feature which I imead. switched on so I'm possibly doing the BD-35 an injustice on start-up time!

Will post some timings when I can as I couldn't find the old Casio! But as they were noticeably faster on the Sony (power-up and disc loading) I'd be willing to bet there's a good few seconds on each.

Once again, very impressed with the Sony and it wins at a canter.

In summary..

Overall I must say both rigs are perfectly adequate and functional but in all honesty I'm a little more drawn to the Sony purely due to it being smoother and faster.

But...

At current retail prices favouring the BD-35 (unless you look at the 10 disc bundle from the Sony Central outlets and consider thay Sony throw in a 1GB mem stick) combined with the ability to (reasonably inexpensively) chip the BD-35 to all regions I think the Panasonic is the better value unit.

At the end of the day my feeling is it's horses for courses - if you want a lightning fast rig and the 7.1 analog connections and aint fussed about the modding then the Sony will not disappoint.

Hi John,just curious,but why buy both players.

Cheers.

Thornton

[John_Melbourne]

Purchased the S550 as a direct replacement for my S500. I simply wanted the DVD-HD-MA that the 500 didn't have and an upgrade was a more than easy decision to make with the SC 10 disc offer making it an attractive buy. I knew with what I'd get selling the 500 and the 10 discs that I'd not be out of pocket - and indeed I'm actually a few dollars in the black with three discs added to the collection.

The BD-35 was purchased through the group buy.

I purchased that simply because I wanted it region free modded - which was done today BTW - am very happy with the results. Modding the Sony wasn't going to happen.

My commitment to the GB came after I'd already put down a deposit on the S550. My initial thoughts were (when I committed to the GB) was to sell on the S550 unless the BD-35 turned out to be a POS in which case a region free BD player was going to find it's way onto feebay - have watched many go for a whole lot of dollars so at the end of the day I was never going to be left out of pocket.

I'm presently having second thoughts about that idea - one never knows when one may need a spare and although it's overindulgence to say the least, I do get a little fed up with the amount of time the kids utilise the BD player and am more than happy to move it through to the eldests bedroom when required!

Very happy with both players. Ecstatic with the region free mod on the BD-35. Got some BD player time when I need it. Nuff said.

[momaw]

if you get the 3900 which looks to have very good abt video processing

I cringe everytime I see someone saying to let the AVR do the upscaling. Sure they buy the fancy name chipset, but they don't buy the full package.

[Thornton Melon]

Purchased the S550 as a direct replacement for my S500. I simply wanted the DVD-HD-MA that the 500 didn't have and an upgrade was a more than easy decision to make with the SC 10 disc offer making it an attractive buy. I knew with what I'd get selling the 500 and the 10 discs that I'd not be out of pocket - and indeed I'm actually a few dollars in the black with three discs added to the collection.

The BD-35 was purchased through the group buy.

I purchased that simply because I wanted it region free modded - which was done today BTW - am very happy with the results. Modding the Sony wasn't going to happen.

My commitment to the GB came after I'd already put down a deposit on the S550. My initial thoughts were (when I committed to the GB) was to sell on the S550 unless the BD-35 turned out to be a POS in which case a region free BD player was going to find it's way onto feebay - have watched many go for a whole lot of dollars so at the end of the day I was never going to be left out of pocket.

I'm presently having second thoughts about that idea - one never knows when one may need a spare and although it's overindulgence to say the least, I do get a little fed up with the amount of time the kids utilise the BD player and am more than happy to move it through to the eldests bedroom when required!

Very happy with both players. Ecstatic with the region free mod on the BD-35. Got some BD player time when I need it. Nuff said.

It all sounds good to me john.

I cannot buy on impulse,I must do the research,and I for various reasons have rejected the Sony.

This means I must buy either the panasonic and a AVR,or the Pioneer.

I think the Pioneer will win out, and a new AVR next year.

Cheers .

Thornton

[scarecrow420]

oops, double post... see below

Edited November 23, 2008 by scarecrow420

[scarecrow420]

Im also tossing up between these two models. I have an Onkyo 705 AVR and currently a Samsung BD-P1400 bitstreaming everything to the 705. But im now looking to upgrade to a latest generation player. Given that my AVR has HDMI 1.3, im not interested in analogue connections obviously, and although i will be using bitstream for audio most of the time (as i already do on my 1400), having a player that can internally decode all formats gives options/flexibility and is an upgrade over my existing player, so thats why the BD35 and S550 are on my shortlist (and not the Sony 350, since it cant internally decode everything, thus isnt an upgrade from my current player, in that regard).

The AQ and PQ generally seem to be on par, as id expect really... and im sure the upscaling will be as good or better than my current Samsung 1400, which i find to be fine. Aesthetics wise, i personally prefer the look of the Sony player, and as people have said, the user interface Xross media bar is nice/slick to use too. The quick start mode also sounds appealing... particularly as my 1400 is so damn slow to start up and load movies etc. So all of these things tip me towards the Sony - However the price difference is a bit of a killer! I did a quick run to a few shops today and best prices were roughly $400 for the Pana, or $550 for the Sony. $150 more for the Sony is a fair whack... Sure, it has multi channel analogue outs etc, but since i wont even be using them, its hard to justify that much extra coin. So i guess the question is, whether the user interface and faster start up etc is worth that much of a price difference.

Are there any other distinguishing elements between the 2 players? Do they both play burned discs, mp3 files etc? Does either play DivX files or anything like that? If you have to go into the menu to adjust settings, do you have to stop the movie to do so? I assume you do, as thats how my 1400 works, but if one of these players doesnt, that would certainly be a little feature worth having. Another thing that annoys me about the Samsung is that it stops a disc after 5 minutes of pause, which on most blurays, stopping the disc means you have to load/start from the beginning again. Id be interested if either of these 2 players has a similar annoyance - ie not letting you pause for very long...

JohnInMelbourne, since you own both could you provide any more insight into a few more of these type of things? Thanks for your comments so far too, by the way

Also, regarding chipping for region free BD - im pretty sure you can get chips for the S550 as well, so thats not something the BD35 has over the Sony

Thornton - which "various reasons" have seen you reject the Sony S550?

[cwt]

I cringe everytime I see someone saying to let the AVR do the upscaling. Sure they buy the fancy name chipset, but they don't buy the full package.

Normally agree with you Mo ; especially yamaha ;but this is the first avr to contain the abt 2010 chipset . This means it has a top abt deinterlacer and seperate scaler [ like certain oppo's ]. Older yamahas's had the abt scaler but neglected the deinterlacing entirely . It will be interesting to see how well its implemented ; it even has PREP for blu players that louse' up the progressive conversion of 1080i/30 material .

Its a bit like equating the dvdo edge to a vp50 pro . The edge lacks some of the facilities of the 50 but still does a great job for its core functions imho . Nothing wrong with a reon chip ;even though its a cut down version of a realta

[bbar]

With the inclement weather in Melbourne yesterday I got a chance to put my week old S550 and my day old BD-35 to the test.

TV : Sony Bravia 40 inch 'X' series LCD.

AVR : Pioneer VSX-LX50.

Test Discs : Tropic Thunder , Queen Live in Montreal , Kung Fu Panda, The Matrix, Incredible Hulk

Set-up : HDMI - AVR : HDMI AVR - LCD.

Both players are out-of-the-box with respect to updates. No BD-Live enabled on either unit during playback.

Nothing to choose from them in the PQ/AQ stakes. The purists out there will no doubt consider my effort in comparing the two inadequate as they were not run side by side to two LCD's but I really couldn't tell the difference and I consider myself to be of average eyesight and intelligence.

Still have my reservations on both however as I'm still sure my S500 outperformed both in the PQ - crisper and cleaner! Go figure.

Draw!

The BD-35 is a little lower in profile but a little deeper than the S550. You wouldn't kick either of them out of bed for a wet fart.

Both look very nice in the entertainment unit - ROFL have them both sitting in there at present - indulgence or what!? Draw!

The BD-35 remote has an excellent layout, feels nicer in the hand but the Sony isn't too bad and the backlight is a very welcome feature. BD-35 edges it!

The Sony unit is way out in front with respect to the user interface. It's smoother, faster, easier on the eye and much more intuative than the BD-35. I don't dislike the BD-35's mind but I thought the days of sluggish response to remotes had gone out the window with my S500. Very impressed with the Sony here! Sony wins by a few lengths.

Start-up and disc loading times are noticeably faster on the Sony - note it has a fast start-up feature which I imead. switched on so I'm possibly doing the BD-35 an injustice on start-up time!

Will post some timings when I can as I couldn't find the old Casio! But as they were noticeably faster on the Sony (power-up and disc loading) I'd be willing to bet there's a good few seconds on each.

Once again, very impressed with the Sony and it wins at a canter.

In summary..

Overall I must say both rigs are perfectly adequate and functional but in all honesty I'm a little more drawn to the Sony purely due to it being smoother and faster.

But...

At current retail prices favouring the BD-35 (unless you look at the 10 disc bundle from the Sony Central outlets and consider thay Sony throw in a 1GB mem stick) combined with the ability to (reasonably inexpensively) chip the BD-35 to all regions I think the Panasonic is the better value unit.

At the end of the day my feeling is it's horses for courses - if you want a lightning fast rig and the 7.1 analog connections and aint fussed about the modding then the Sony will not disappoint.

Good review and thanks.

Agree re menu navigation seems a bit sluggish on Panny. Did not remember to include in my Panny review.

Re load times...Agree that Sony will Power up quicker when u use the Fast boot option..i.e. it is not in full standby and uses more power.

I had thought load times from disk closed were supposedly about the same between the two though. If u can, can you try loading same disc after bootup in both and provide the load time. Would be real interested.

Thanks,

Bryan

Edited November 23, 2008 by bbar

[Thornton Melon]

Im also tossing up between these two models. I have an Onkyo 705 AVR and currently a Samsung BD-P1400 bitstreaming everything to the 705. But im now looking to upgrade to a latest generation player. Given that my AVR has HDMI 1.3, im not interested in analogue connections obviously, and although i will be using bitstream for audio most of the time (as i already do on my 1400), having a player that can internally decode all formats gives options/flexibility and is an upgrade over my existing player, so thats why the BD35 and S550 are on my shortlist (and not the Sony 350, since it cant internally decode everything, thus isnt an upgrade from my current player, in that regard).

The AQ and PQ generally seem to be on par, as id expect really... and im sure the upscaling will be as good or better than my current Samsung 1400, which i find to be fine. Aesthetics wise, i personally prefer the look of the Sony player, and as people have said, the user interface Xross media bar is nice/slick to use too. The quick start mode also sounds appealing... particularly as my 1400 is so damn slow to start up and load movies etc. So all of these things tip me towards the Sony - However the price difference is a bit of a killer! I did a quick run to a few shops today and best prices were roughly $400 for the Pana, or $550 for the Sony. $150 more for the Sony is a fair whack... Sure, it has multi channel analogue outs etc, but since i wont even be using them, its hard to justify that much extra coin. So i guess the question is, whether the user interface and faster start up etc is worth that much of a price difference.

Are there any other distinguishing elements between the 2 players? Do they both play burned discs, mp3 files etc? Does either play DivX files or anything like that? If you have to go into the menu to adjust settings, do you have to stop the movie to do so? I assume you do, as thats how my 1400 works, but if one of these players doesnt, that would certainly be a little feature worth having. Another thing that annoys me about the Samsung is that it stops a disc after 5 minutes of pause, which on most blurays, stopping the disc means you have to load/start from the beginning again. Id be interested if either of these 2 players has a similar annoyance - ie not letting you pause for very long...

JohnInMelbourne, since you own both could you provide any more insight into a few more of these type of things? Thanks for your comments so far too, by the way

Also, regarding chipping for region free BD - im pretty sure you can get chips for the S550 as well, so thats not something the BD35 has over the Sony

Thornton - which "various reasons" have seen you reject the Sony S550?

Hi Scarecrow,I have always owned Pioneer DVD players and have found them to be very good,I have a Panasonic Panel which is very good,and would suit a Panasonic BD35 BD player.

The BD35 reviews are exellent and compare favourably with the Pioneer BDP 51 which costs almost twice as much .

The Sony is also a good player,but the DVD upscaling reviews are not as good as the BD35 or Pioneer BDP51,and has some bass adjustment issues.I did concider it for its 7.1 Analogue outs.

If I buy the Panasonic I will need a new AVR,so the Pioneer BDP51 looks like a good option.

Cheers.

Thornton

[scarecrow420]

Hey guys just to update you, i ended up going with the S550 for $500 - pretty happy with that price. I could have got the BD35 for $380, but i found the Sony way nicer/faster to use. More details in my post in the S550 thread, if any one cares http://www.dtvforum.info/index.php?s=&...t&p=1212684

Edited November 29, 2008 by scarecrow420

[Thornton Melon]

Hey guys just to update you, i ended up going with the S550 for $500 - pretty happy with that price. I could have got the BD35 for $380, but i found the Sony way nicer/faster to use. More details in my post in the S550 thread, if any one cares http://www.dtvforum.info/index.php?s=&...t&p=1212684

Hi Scarecrow,I bought the Pioneer 51 through the Bbar GB,great BD player and great price.

I am sure we will both enjoy our new toys.

Cheers.

Thornton

[Muaddib]

Hi Scarecrow,I bought the Pioneer 51 through the Bbar GB,great BD player and great price.

I am sure we will both enjoy our new toys.

Cheers.

Thornton

The 51 is a real cracker.

It outguns the XE1 and is the first BD player that does DVD and bluray justice.

[momaw]

The 51 is a real cracker.

It outguns the XE1 and is the first BD player that does DVD and bluray justice.

no better than the BD30 for blu-ray after I compared the two. Don't think much of the BD30 for DVD though, hence I have other options for DVD. I wouldn't buy a BD player for it's DVD capabilities anyway.

[Muaddib]

I wouldn't buy a BD player for it's DVD capabilities anyway.

Agree. I've had the Pio 989 (and PS3 at times) then the XE1 and now the XDE500 which I think is better than the Pio 51 though I'm yet to watch a full DVD which I'm very familiar with on the 51.

My first impressions are that the 51 has a picture slightly better than the XDE500 on purely upscaled images with no XDE magic but it really is slight. With the XDE on the Toshiba is to my eyes much much better. I watched Spiderman 3 yesterday on the XDE and it's easy to forget its not Bluray. I'll probably write more on the 51 as I get more bluray titles. None of the ones in the box interest me and will go up for sale.