Sony launches a new Blu-ray player at Rs. 9,999/-

[srinisundar]

Atleast there should be one opponent...

You are being Adamant now.....

 

[S.P.KRISHNA]

Please compare the Audio specifications of this BDP S370B with that of costlier models BDP-S1E & BDP-S300 . Did sony compromised with audio to reduce the price?

Regards

 

[hemantwaghe]

This is just the beginning!!!

 

[venkatcr]

Sony never did well in DVD Players, so I would look at this with a pinch of salt. And as Srini says you get much better models from Panasonic and Pioneer for about the same price in Dubai and Singapore. Of course getting it in India is an issue, but I would any day go with Pioneer or Panasonic.

Cheers

 

[adder]

Might be cheaper in the grey market.Still waiting for blu ray player prices to drop to around 5k to 7k ,which i think is the price of decent dvd players here in india.Suprised to see a japanese maker,to be the cheapest here in india was expecting the lg or philips who usually have the price edge..

 

[KDM]

Sony never did well in DVD Players, so I would look at this with a pinch of salt. And as Srini says you get much better models from Panasonic and Pioneer for about the same price in Dubai and Singapore. Of course getting it in India is an issue, but I would any day go with Pioneer or Panasonic.

Cheers

I disagree with your statement.

The thing is that Sony swept the What Hi-Fi BD player awards last years, with their players giving the competition a sound beating. Sony never cared for DVD because it wasn't their tech. I doubt it's the same for blu-ray which is theirs.

Also, this is what What HiFi has to say about the model Sony is now selling for Rs. 9999/- in India:

The bar has been raised
But for all its strengths, the problem for this deck is that Panasonic not to mention Sonys own BDP-S370 has significantly raised the bar.

Such new machines display a marginally cleaner picture with even sharper edges.

The BDP-S760 still sounds very revealing, especially in the midrange and treble, but rival machines now highlight a slight leanness in the bass.

Compared to the likes of the Panasonic BD85 and even Sonys own S370, the S760 now sounds a little insubstantial.

At the time of launch last year, the BDP-S760 was a clear step up over everything else in the budget
and mid-range sectors of the market.

But such is the array of talent on offer from the latest models, this former Award-winner has to drop a star.

http://www.whathifi.com/Review/Sony-BDP-S760/

 

[svenkateshsmart]

Hi,

With all the gimmicks to protect copyright, etc., I doubt people would be inclinded to buy Sony unless they come up with region-free players.

I had BD-360 for a brief period of time and it is a real pain when region-locked.

Also, I guess firmware mod chips are available for this model (370); refer stegen's website.

Cheers!

 

[gobble]

Damn! And I had to buy an Oppo for 15K recently!! Thats 5K extra gone!!

Cheers

 

[KDM]

Hi,

With all the gimmicks to protect copyright, etc., I doubt people would be inclinded to buy Sony unless they come up with region-free players.

Cheers!

Well, if you compare the region coding for Blu-ray discs with the region coding for DVD you'll notice that the region coding for DVD is draconian when compared with region coding for BDs. I have a Region C PS3 and have had no problems, so far, with BD's region coding.

 

[bansal98]

Hi,

With all the gimmicks to protect copyright, etc., I doubt people would be inclinded to buy Sony unless they come up with region-free players.

I had BD-360 for a brief period of time and it is a real pain when region-locked.

Also, I guess firmware mod chips are available for this model (370); refer stegen's website.

Cheers!

I agree. I am not going to buy any Blu-ray player which is not region-free. And if such a thing never materializes, no worries. I have my POHD

 

[svenkateshsmart]

Well, if you compare the region coding for Blu-ray discs with the region coding for DVD you'll notice that the region coding for DVD is draconian when compared with region coding for BDs. I have a Region C PS3 and have had no problems, so far, with BD's region coding.

Hi,

Do you mean to say taht you are able to play all DVDs and BDs in your Region C ps3?

Having a region C player with majority of the BD titles in Region A, of course a handful of Region free, I definitely feel there is a problem, especially if you go for a dedicated BD player which is intended for watching blu-ray movies.

Cheers!

 

[srinisundar]

U will not regret when see the feautures and capability of Oppo side by side with sony.

Unless otherwise if you compare the BD player with latest 3D feautures, oppo will be good buy for 15K.

Damn! And I had to buy an Oppo for 15K recently!! Thats 5K extra gone!!

Cheers

 

[venkatcr]

The thing is that Sony swept the What Hi-Fi BD player awards last years, with their players giving the competition a sound beating. Sony never cared for DVD because it wasn't their tech. I doubt it's the same for blu-ray which is theirs.

Irrespective of what anyone says, the fact is that Sony has never had any success in the area of players whatever it may have been - CDPs, DVDPs or whatever. In CDPs they had a few gems but that was at the very high end costing quite a lot. In DVDs they were a complete failure. This is quite strange as some of the best transports for CDPs are still manufactured by Sony, and their DVD R/W drives for PC are quite good. I suppose it has to do with their market strategy. Sony was never interested in the niche market of audiophiles or videophiles. They made their money from the mass market in which they are quite good.

To give you an idea, the Sony drive on my PC has been working without any issue for three years. The Sony drive on my 2-in-1 has to be repaired once every 4 months. My two Pioneer DVD drives have been working without any issues (Touch wood) for the last 5 odd years.

Cheers

 

[spirovious]

Sony borrows many things in IT market.It is said many of good optical drives are remake/copied from BenQ.So Sony has less efferts in making the drive ,but good at adding features.
I can see panasonic chip in my DRU-820A.

 

[sam9s]

Damn! And I had to buy an Oppo for 15K recently!! Thats 5K extra gone!!

Cheers

There is no comaprision of Oppo with this player......unless you already knew that ... you made a safe bet....

 

[sqvare]

My two Pioneer DVD drives have been working without any issues (Touch wood) for the last 5 odd years.

Cheers

I second that, venkatcr. Never even cleaned the lens on my cheapo Pioneer DVD player in 6 years. The front display panel went kablooey about 2 years ago and shows random info, but I don't care as CDs and DVDs play perfectly and for status there's the OSD.

 

[venkatcr]

It is said many of good optical drives are remake/copied from BenQ.So Sony has less efferts in making the drive ,but good at adding features.

I would very much doubt that. BenQ is a relatively new company and Chinese companies do not make any investment in R&D. I very much doubt what technology BenQ could provide that could interest Sony. Sony has been working for a long time in optical drives R&D both for players and for their professional AV equipment in which they are world leaders. many of the formats of optical drives we are familiar with have been introduced by Sony.

I can see panasonic chip in my DRU-820A.

Cross pollination of technology amongst major players is quiet common. Given the level of specialisation, it does not make sense for every company to invent every technology. Yamaha was pioneers in DSP, but when TI took the lead, many Yamaha system started using TI DSP chips. Again TI are the world leaders in DLP technology and is used in every projector in the world. Similarly whatever Panasonic chip Sony is using must have some value in terms of technology that Sony does not want to re-create.

Cheers

 

[reignofchaos]

Sony borrows many things in IT market.It is said many of good optical drives are remake/copied from BenQ.So Sony has less efferts in making the drive ,but good at adding features.
I can see panasonic chip in my DRU-820A.

A few old sony drives were rebadged Benqs which were really nice writers. However their current gen comes from Optiarc which is a JV between Sony and NEC and almost the entire technology comes from NEC.

NEC burners are a testament of quality. My 6 year old NEC 8x dvd burner still works beatifully and produces no coasters.

PS: Benq is Taiwanese - a subsidiary of Acer.

 

[longshanks]

^ Yes, NEC = great quality and specially amazing reliability.

 

[KDM]

Hi,

Do you mean to say taht you are able to play all DVDs and BDs in your Region C ps3?

Having a region C player with majority of the BD titles in Region A, of course a handful of Region free, I definitely feel there is a problem, especially if you go for a dedicated BD player which is intended for watching blu-ray movies.

Cheers!

I have region B/C and a number of all region discs, so no problems for me, at all. They work well with my PS3.

Irrespective of what anyone says, the fact is that Sony has never had any success in the area of players whatever it may have been - CDPs, DVDPs or whatever. In CDPs they had a few gems but that was at the very high end costing quite a lot.

Sony's ES range of players, CD, SACD, BD and DVD were very, very good indeed - many of them had very positive reviews.

In DVDs they were a complete failure. This is quite strange as some of the best transports for CDPs are still manufactured by Sony, and their DVD R/W drives for PC are quite good. I suppose it has to do with their market strategy. Sony was never interested in the niche market of audiophiles or videophiles. They made their money from the mass market in which they are quite good.

It wasn't their technology, so they didn't care much about it. Their ES series is made for Audiophiles and Videophiles.

I second that, venkatcr. Never even cleaned the lens on my cheapo Pioneer DVD player in 6 years. The front display panel went kablooey about 2 years ago and shows random info, but I don't care as CDs and DVDs play perfectly and for status there's the OSD.

I have a Sony DVDP bought more than 5 years ago - going on the sixth, this year, and so far, it hasn't given an iota of trouble, still works and looks like new - mind you, I've used it a lot. My DV-525, on the other hand, refused to read CDs after two years. I don't think much of Pioneer's cheapo players.