Disappointed with DVD upgrade PQ. I replaced a Sony DVD upgrade type player with the BD 60. Although the Blu Ray PQ is very good, DVD PQ is mediocre. I do use component cables for BD and DVD player, since my older but excellent Magnavox TV is 720P with only one HDMI. Since 80% of my discs are standard, I unplugged the Panasonic BD and will use my Sony as my primary player. Better PQ, better remote/controls. I'll plug the Blu Ray in only for BD discs. Anyone with similar experience? Disappointed with DVD upgrade PQ. I replaced a Sony DVD upgrade type player with the BD 60. Although the Blu Ray PQ is very good, DVD PQ is mediocre. I do use component cables for BD and DVD... » Read More Disappointed with DVD upgrade PQ. I replaced a Sony DVD upgrade type player with the BD 60. Although the Blu Ray PQ is very good, DVD PQ is mediocre. I do use component cables for BD and DVD player, since my older but excellent Magnavox TV is 720P with only one HDMI. Since 80% of my discs are standard, I unplugged the Panasonic BD and will use my Sony as my primary player. Better PQ, better remote/controls. I'll plug the Blu Ray in only for BD discs. Anyone with similar experience? « Show Less
742183
Or, if I understand the problem, get a HDMI switch from Amazon....They're quite reasonable.
742184
The reason why the picture quality is poor on SD is because you don't get the upconversion feature (what you're calling "upgrade") when connected with component cables. You need to connect with and HDMI cable to get upconverted video. If your Magnavox TV has only one HDMI input, you should use it for your Blu-ray player, and use the component input for your cable/satellite box.
742185
Component does support 720p (and even 1080i) but when part of an upconverting DVD player, all players are limited to 480p on component outs when playing standard DVD. The reason for this is the movie studios don't want you to be able to upconvert DVDs in the analog component domain as one can easily make high quality copies (bootlegs) with this method. When upconverted video is sent out the HDMI cable, it has content protection, called HDCP, to keep people from making high quality copies.Now you are getting the most out of your player, good for you.
742186
Okay, I just connected it via HDMI. Big improvement. I don't understand why. I have a 720P TV and I thought component gives 720. But the HDMI really made a difference.Thanks
1099234
I encountered same problem. In June 2010 (18 months after purchase), my Sony BDP-550 stopped recognizing Blu-Ray disks. All other types of disks still work. Sony had me upgrade the firmware and reset device to factory settings. No effect. The Sony customer support people pretend that they have never heard of this problem. I sent them a dozen on-line reports by others who talked to Sony and were also told to upgrade the firmware without effect. Now, I am trying to get a written quote for the replacement of this defective BDP-550, but Sony will not provide it. They want me to mail them the player with a credit card number without ever providing written estimate.
2185024
Sony website just had the 350 for $150 yesterday, not having any fancy hookups (just using the sony front speakers) I can't justify the difference in cost. However, I appreciate the simple and clear reply given to the original question and will refer back to it when choosing a new BD player and sound setup. Espcially if trying to get more life out of our old (sony) receiver.From what I understand of the answer, if the setup is more modern, it would not make any difference which player.
2021295
Grab a Blu player , as you'll be fine with the 720p ; no downgrade in PQ as the Blu player will still output to 1080p . Just set the Blu player to 1080p (and 24fps to auto) and enjoy the picture .
287776
I have had the same frustrating experience, although I've not experimented with the same array of equipment as bwalter. Quite simply, I have a Pioneer Blu-Ray and (52") Plasma. And whether it's a Blu-Ray playing or a DVD being upscaled or a Region 1 or 2 disk, there's sometimes a video lag, but only sometimes! What I gather is that the plasma screen takes a little time to process its data, but it can be INCONSISTENT: It will sometimes shift within the same disk, which is why I've hesitated to buy an outboard audio delay controller. As bwalter asks, why is this problem not being seriously addressed, when clearly across the net there are many people posting complaints of this nature?
1082378
all players come with remote control's and manuels, if they are brand new, if you buy used like on ebay it's a 50/50 chance on both, rebuilt is also a 50/50 chance on remotes and manuels. in my opinon get a sony blue ray bdp-2185/bx18 I have had no trouble with it. I told myself I would never get one, when it dropped down in price at walmart or amazon I couldn't refuse the price. but you have watch, there are normal blue rays and 3d blue rays. it's a decision you have to make shop around, but make sure on any dvd player or dvd burner it plays dvd-r and dvd +r and dvd-rw and dvd +rw and dvd +dl and dvd-dl and same way with blue rays. all players come with remote control's and manuels, if they are brand new, if you buy used like on ebay it's a 50/50 chance on both, rebuilt is also a 50/50 chance on remotes and manuels. in my opinon get a sony blue ray bdp-2185/bx18 I have had no trouble with it. I told myself I would never get one, when it dropped down in price at walmart or amazon I couldn't refuse the price. but you have watch, there are normal blue rays and 3d blue rays. it's a decision you have to make shop around, but make sure on any dvd player or dvd burner it plays dvd-r and dvd +r and dvd-rw and dvd +rw and dvd... » Read More all players come with remote control's and manuels, if they are brand new, if you buy used like on ebay it's a 50/50 chance on both, rebuilt is also a 50/50 chance on remotes and manuels. in my opinon get a sony blue ray bdp-2185/bx18 I have had no trouble with it. I told myself I would never get one, when it dropped down in price at walmart or amazon I couldn't refuse the price. but you have watch, there are normal blue rays and 3d blue rays. it's a decision you have to make shop around, but make sure on any dvd player or dvd burner it plays dvd-r and dvd +r and dvd-rw and dvd +rw and dvd +dl and dvd-dl and same way with blue rays. « Show Less
1441760
Thank you, Matt. I'll be hooking the player up to the internet today will do the update straight away. I've only had the player for a couple of weeks but so far no problems and I love the difference in the picture. I really hadn't expected such a large difference. Haven't tried non Blu-Ray yet.
1289824
Laurence, I've been doing a lot of research on these various Sony models (S,V,W, etc) and it appears that the S models do not have 120 hz refresh - only 60 hz - may be reason why they are the least expensive of all the models. Also, this 24p compatibility apparently only functions with Blu Ray players! Interesting. jm
571139
Can anyone with this DVD player answer Keith's question? I'm interested in buying it but only if it upscales with component cables and not just HDMI
1905989
I encountered same problem. In June 2010 (18 months after purchase), my Sony BDP-550 stopped recognizing Blu-Ray disks. All other types of disks still work. Sony had me upgrade the firmware and reset device to factory settings. No effect. The Sony customer support people pretend that they have never heard of this problem. I sent them a dozen on-line reports by others who talked to Sony and were also told to upgrade the firmware without effect. Now, I am trying to get a written quote for the replacement of this defective BDP-550, but Sony will not provide it. They want me to mail them the player with a credit card number without ever providing written estimate. I encountered same problem. In June 2010 (18 months after purchase), my Sony BDP-550 stopped recognizing Blu-Ray disks. All other types of disks still work. Sony had me upgrade the firmware and reset device to factory settings. No effect. The Sony customer support people pretend that they have never heard of this problem. I sent them a dozen on-line reports by others who talked to Sony and were also told to upgrade the firmware without effect. Now, I am trying to get a written quote for the replacement of this defective BDP-550, but Sony will not provide it. They want me to mail them the... » Read More I encountered same problem. In June 2010 (18 months after purchase), my Sony BDP-550 stopped recognizing Blu-Ray disks. All other types of disks still work. Sony had me upgrade the firmware and reset device to factory settings. No effect. The Sony customer support people pretend that they have never heard of this problem. I sent them a dozen on-line reports by others who talked to Sony and were also told to upgrade the firmware without effect. Now, I am trying to get a written quote for the replacement of this defective BDP-550, but Sony will not provide it. They want me to mail them the player with a credit card number without ever providing written estimate. « Show Less
2125418
Not me but I am using hdmi cable with a samsung 46" LCD LN46B640. It was definitely near HD quality. Watched a regular dvd of inglourious basterds and district 9 this week and the picture quality was nothing short of amazing. In district 9, the helicopter shot over the alien camp was so crystal clear that it looked like 3-d. I'm gonna have to rent the blu-ray version to compare them. I've been happy with the upconversion. I also have a regular sony dvd player (dvp-ns700h/b) that got great reviews and I still use in my bedroom. Is that the one you have? You could even see my 5/14/08 amazon review of the sony dvd player to see how much I love my sony dvd player (dvp-ns700h/b). The Sony dvd player does an amazing job of upconverting. Probably the best outside of an oppo. Maybe even slightly better than the panasonic blu-ray player. Not really sure though because I have been really impressed with dvds in the panasonic. Maybe I will set up both with my television and really compare them. I do suggest you to connect an hdmi to your television though. That may fix your problem. Maybe the sony converts better than the panasonic with the component cables but the panasonic may convert equally well with an hdmi.
440890
I have this same issue with an earlier model (BDP-S350). For me the problem began when my blu-ray player automatically updated its firmware last spring. Even blu-ray disks that played fine earlier stopped playing, although many of the new disks that I've tried work fine. Sony appears to be oblivious to this issue not providing any meaningful customer support. There are several possible solutions posted on the SONY website and on various discussion forums for other models (e.g, turn off the Internet access, clear the USB jump drive memory, unplug the unit from the AC power for a minute or two). None of them worked in my case. I finally gave up and bought a new Panasonic player; out of principle I persisted in trying to 'fix' my Sony blu-ray player for quite a while and eventually decided to pay a few buck to buy my way out of the aggravation). Bye, bye Sony products, hello Panasonic (They also burned me years ago for discontinuing support [e.g., driver updates] for one of their expensive Vaio computers.).
571138
Brian, I did purchase this DVD player and it will not upscale through component, only through HDMI. I guess I have to live with 480p for now until I get a TV with HDMI inputs.
1506759
William: As far as Blu-ray picture quality is concerned, it's doubtful you'd see a difference between the Oppo and any other Blu-ray player that isn't a piece of junk. And yes, $500 it a lot of money to spend, so the Oppo will NEVER become a best-seller. And since you already own an Oppo upconverting player, there is no need to purchase this unit (unless you have a lot of SACDs and DVD-Audio discs). However, the Oppo loads a Blu-ray disc faster than almost any player out there, except for the PS3.A. Franco: While I don't own the PS3, I have read that the Oppo upconverting capability is second to none. You might check with the AVS forum, I'm sure there are detailed discussions of these two premier products. William: As far as Blu-ray picture quality is concerned, it's doubtful you'd see a difference between the Oppo and any other Blu-ray player that isn't a piece of junk. And yes, $500 it a lot of money to spend, so the Oppo will NEVER become a best-seller. And since you already own an Oppo upconverting player, there is no need to purchase this unit (unless you have a lot of SACDs and DVD-Audio discs). However, the Oppo loads a Blu-ray disc faster than almost any player out there, except for the PS3.A. Franco: While I don't own the PS3, I have read that the Oppo upconverting... » Read More William: As far as Blu-ray picture quality is concerned, it's doubtful you'd see a difference between the Oppo and any other Blu-ray player that isn't a piece of junk. And yes, $500 it a lot of money to spend, so the Oppo will NEVER become a best-seller. And since you already own an Oppo upconverting player, there is no need to purchase this unit (unless you have a lot of SACDs and DVD-Audio discs). However, the Oppo loads a Blu-ray disc faster than almost any player out there, except for the PS3.A. Franco: While I don't own the PS3, I have read that the Oppo upconverting capability is second to none. You might check with the AVS forum, I'm sure there are detailed discussions of these two premier products. « Show Less
2139909
Am I crazy, or is it more than a bit offputting that, after buying a machine, you then have to start getting upgrades for it just to be able to play newer discs? My machine's about two years old, and the last disc I bought wouldn't load. Seems like a rip-off to me. And it's not like blu-ray sales have been strong enough to justify this sort of customer fleecing.
487646
I recently purchased the Sharp set you are considering. I'm not familiar with the Sony but the Sharp is 1080p capable so you'll never need to upgrade it when broadcast HD goes to full 1080p. Blue Ray and HD DVD also are either 1080i or 1080p capable now. I've been an admirer of the Sonys from what I've seen in the stores but my Sharp with 1080p is awesome.
1065518
Note to Nestor: Recommend you not put anything on or under your BD player that would tend to make it run warmer. All BD players run hotter than DVD units given what they're being asked to do. My Sony has a fan that goes on and off after it runs for long periods.