Sony BDP-S350 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player

T

tomdolizong

CAGiversary!
Sony BDP-S350 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player will be on sale for $179 this Thursday-Sunday at KMart and Sears.

Is this a good deal? Should I just get a PS3 instead or just wait altogether? How is the upconversion on this player?

Thanks :D
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
[quote name='rodeojones903']I would rather have the BDP-S350 because of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio.[/QUOTE]

Does the PS3 not have either?

Thanks
 
Keep in mind that if Kmart and Sears sell out, you can price match at WalMart with the ad.

I was going to jump on this deal, but I've noticed the prices for BD hardware come down in the last few weeks, so I'm just going to wait it out.
 
[quote name='tomdolizong']Does the PS3 not have either?

Thanks[/QUOTE]

I believe it decodes it, but it passes the signal as uncompressed 7.1 PCM over HDMI. Optical connection only supports DTS 5.1 I believe, but that should be the case with any HD player. It's not high enough bandwidth.

Honestly, it's not that big of a deal if you ask me. Uncompressed PCM is pretty damn good. Most players, let alone receivers, don't support the bitstream mode necessary to maintain True HD 7.1 the whole way.

I think the upcoming Amazon PS3 deals for $200 are insane. If you can score one of them, that's the way to go. Some people don't like the lack of IR, but you can overcome that with a 3rd party remote + IR receiver. A Harmony remote should run around $60 and the receiver can be had for about $10. The only thing you're missing is the power button, which bothers some more than others. You can turn the system off through the PS3 menus, but to turn it on, you have to hit the power button on the system or pop in a disc. It's better to have a blu-ray player that doubles as a next-gen console IMO.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
[quote name='spinksjinx']Walmart has had that player on sale for $198 for about a month now. So $20 off isn't a bad deal by any means but it isnt a great one.[/quote]

It must be YMMV, because my local walmart still has it for MSRP.
 
[quote name='spinksjinx']Walmart has had that player on sale for $198 for about a month now. So $20 off isn't a bad deal by any means but it isnt a great one.[/QUOTE]

Are you sure it was the 350 and not the 300? Just curious, no local stores I've seen, including Walmart, have had this for a penny under $299.
 
[quote name='megashock5']Are you sure it was the 350 and not the 300? Just curious, no local stores I've seen, including Walmart, have had this for a penny under $299.[/quote]


That I can't say. I never paid much attention to it to be honest. I know it was all black and doesnt have the blue faceplate on the front like the one being advertised.
 
Yes, the 350 is 179 on BF at Sears/Kmart.

On a related note, I just received my budget Memorex player from WOOT. Also available from buy.com for 150 shipped. VERY happy with it. Build quality is surprisingly great.
 
It's $150 with free shipping from www.sonystyle.com, with coupon code "DISCOVER50BR" which gives $50 off the $199.99 sale price. Found the deal on Slick Deals a bit ago.

It's backordered though, but you can still place an order.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']It's $150 with free shipping from www.sonystyle.com, with coupon code "DISCOVER50BR" which gives $50 off the $199.99 sale price. Found the deal on Slick Deals a bit ago.

It's backordered though, but you can still place an order.[/quote]

Sweet! Thanks for the heads-up dmaul1114. :applause:
 
hasting's also has it for $179 after a $30 MIR. The kicker for that deal is you can get $10 off any bluray disk. Makes bluray's as cheap as $4.99.
 
I did the price match thing at Walmart ( was not getting up to get to Kmart by 7am on my only day off this week) and had no problems. Did notice that the 350 was still marked at $299 on shelf but rang up at $198. Got a really nice clerk who called the six other Walmarts in my area when she found out that they didn't have one in stock at the first store I went to. She saved me a ton of driving. If you try to price match call ahead to see if it's in stock. Only 1 of 6 stores here (Cincinnati) had them in stock.
 
I briskly walked to the electronics section in Sears and picked it up. I was in Sear's at 5:00 I was back in my truck at 5:05.
 
Glad you guys got your hands on one. I'm really enjoying mine. I updated the firmware through the Ethernet port on the back. It's runs so quietly!
 
[quote name='tomdolizong']Sony BDP-S350 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player will be on sale for $179 this Thursday-Sunday at KMart and Sears.

Is this a good deal? Should I just get a PS3 instead or just wait altogether? How is the upconversion on this player?

Thanks :D[/QUOTE]
Joe Kane and Criterion use the PS3 for testing quality, according to them it's the best one.
And Dolby likes it the best for decoding TrueHD.
 
So am i just screwed on getting a good deal on this one anywhere. So far i havent seen anything good from cyber monday
 
yeah, amazon is where i bought my first blu ray player
icon_smile.gif


it was expensive back then, but it was even more expensive locally.
 
[quote name='NeoFrank1']So the $179 isn't just a black friday price? It's going to be on sale all weekend?[/QUOTE]


Well to be honest with you, this BF electronics appliances prices, are the same or better after BF!
 
[quote name='Slappybob']Hate to bump this but has anyone seen any good deals on this player today or for cyber monday?[/quote]

Costco has it for $187...at least they did on Black Friday. Note that the SKU is BDP-BX1 or something like that, but that it is ABSOLUTELY 100% the same as the BDP-S350.

Costco just gets a special SKU from Sony for it for a couple of reasons:

#1 - to avoid price comparison/matching purposes

#2 - it INCLUDES a 1.5 meter HDMI cable

#3 - it has a better/light up remote.

I went to a Sears at like 9 am to see if they had any of the BDP S350's left, of course not. So I go next door to Costco and see they had stacks and stacks of them there. Plus I got it tax free since I am a reseller.
 
Got mine for $130 at Circuit City by simply wheelin' and dealin' with the sales guy. Try talking to these sales guys - there's life beyond codes and lightning deals.
 
Amazon has used for $199 and new for $222.97 currently. Is it supposed to drop back down later this week?

[quote name='Example']Got mine for $130 at Circuit City by simply wheelin' and dealin' with the sales guy. Try talking to these sales guys - there's life beyond codes and lightning deals.
smile.gif
smile.gif
[/quote]


Circuit City online has them for $299 currently so that's a no go. Was there a sale going on before you wheeled and dealed, or did you talk them down from retail?
 
[quote name='Example']Got mine for $130 at Circuit City by simply wheelin' and dealin' with the sales guy. Try talking to these sales guys - there's life beyond codes and lightning deals.[/quote]


Prove it
 
[quote name='Example']Got mine for $130 at Circuit City by simply wheelin' and dealin' with the sales guy. Try talking to these sales guys - there's life beyond codes and lightning deals.[/quote]

Yea never works for me. No way they are going to knock $160 off the price unless he is a friend of yours.
 
Not to thread jack, but I just picked up the Panasonic BD35 for $152 off of ebay using the 30% Microsoft Live discount.
 
I grabbed one at sears along with the sharp 46 inch lcd for 899. At the store at 3am. Doors opened at 5 and I was at the pickup area to load tv by 5:10! I have a 60 gb ps3 upstairs but could not justify buying a second ps3 for downstairs. Does anyone know if this sony is upgraded to blu 2.0 or do I need to do that
 
[quote name='Slappybob']Yea never works for me. No way they are going to knock $160 off the price unless he is a friend of yours.[/quote]

He wasn't a friend, but it was a manager on his last day with the company - Black Friday. He slashed everything, an Onkyo 7.1 receiver for $300, $50 for a 6 ft. HDMI cable, and then the Blu-Ray for $130. It helps with the negotiating when you're willing to buy more than just that one item, and I should have mentioned that, but that's the price I paid!
 
Guy that paid 50 bucks for an hdmi cable, You basically ended up paying 170 for your BDP S350 instead of 130.
 
[quote name='Captain_Insano16']The Sams Club version of this player is 197.xx right now. It is the same as the s350, but comes with a HDMI cable and a backlit remote control.

http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=406651[/quote]

That's the same one as at Costco...yep, BDP-BX1. That's the "special" SKU Sony came up with for the warehouse clubs. Same exact Blu Ray player as the BDP-S350, but along with the great price ($187 at Costco, $197 at Sam's Club) you get the backlit remote and an HDMI cable bonus.
 
[quote name='karkyco']That's the same one as at Costco...yep, BDP-BX1. That's the "special" SKU Sony came up with for the warehouse clubs. Same exact Blu Ray player as the BDP-S350, but along with the great price ($187 at Costco, $197 at Sam's Club) you get the backlit remote and an HDMI cable bonus.[/quote]

I originally went to costco to get it the other day, but the one here still had it for $277.xx. I even took it up and had them scan it to be sure. They said it was on sale for the Black Friday weekend, but had gone back up.

So I ended up getting it at SAM's since it was cheaper than anywhere else at the time.
 
[quote name='Captain_Insano16']I originally went to costco to get it the other day, but the one here still had it for $277.xx. I even took it up and had them scan it to be sure. They said it was on sale for the Black Friday weekend, but had gone back up.

So I ended up getting it at SAM's since it was cheaper than anywhere else at the time.[/quote]

DOH! Sorry. They never had it listed in the Costco Black Friday coupon/ad book, so I assumed that was the every day price. Sorry about that.
 
Got mine today and just finished getting everything set up.

Had to re-arrange the TV stand a bit and put the 360 back on the floor (hardwood) where it was before I got rid of my PS2 and Wii to make room for it as it was bit thicker than the upconverting Sony DVD player I had in the stand. I could have dropped the middle shelf a notch and fit it in, but I didn't want to put that shelf that tight on top of my receiver as it gets pretty hot. No biggie.

Otherwise I updated the firmware/software with the ethernet cable, and got my Harmony Remote set up to operate it and watched a couple scenes of The Incredibles DVD to make sure everything was set up properly. The DVD looked great, maybe a little sharper than on the Sony DVD player I had hooked up before) (watched the same scene before unhooking it so I could pseudo compare). For another plus, it loads DVDs much quicker than my old DVD player did. I was worried it would be slow as my brother's HD-DVD player is slow as hell loading discs (never paid attention to how long it took BRs on his PS3).

No Blu Ray's to test it on, but have one coming from Netflix tomorrow and can't wait to check it out! Very impressed to get it so quickly, especially since it initially showed up as backordered when I placed the order.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top