Customer Reviews
Player stopped working after 6-weeks 
2008-02-15
My Sony Blu-ray broke after 6-weeks (it just would no longer read discs) and I contacted Sony because it was under warranty. I was extremely disappointed to find out that I have to ship the Disc player to Pennsylvania (from Arizona), pay for the shipping charges, make sure it is packaged properly and wait for up to 10-days or longer before I receive the same player back, just repaired. After something stops working after 6-weeks it should be replaced. If I wanted to buy a refurbished Disc Player, I would have and I would have saved money. Now I have payed full price for a refurbished player that I am convinced will continue to have problems. I went with Sony Blu-ray when I could have purchased an HD Disc Player. Boy did I make a mistake, I hope other consumers don't make the same mistake I did.
A Fine High-End Player 
2008-02-14
The setup manual is a bit complicated because the player accommodates so many inputs, but it works great when you get it going. It's remarkable how much it improves the appearance of regular DVD's.
A BIG Disappointment! 2008-02-10
After owning a Tosihba A3 for about two weeks I returned it and purchased the Sony BDP-S300 becuase of the wider range of movies. My first disappointmnet was the load time. This player has serious issues with how long it takes to load. My second issue was the sound which could not compete with the A-3. Finally, after two days it began freezing after about an hour of use and would not work unless you pulled the plug from the outlet for 24 hours. I do not reccomend this player. (Note, it had the lastest firmware update.)
I now own a Panasonic DMP-BD30 with which I am happy.
As for the HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray war, HD-DVD has a strong edge in features, Internet access and sound. With HD dics, I could not really see much of a difference in picture quality even with a 1080P HDTV.
Blu-ray time 2008-02-09
The war between Blu-ray and HD-DVD is over and Blu-ray is the winner. It appears fairly likely that Blu-ray will not be the BetaMax of the early twenty-first century.
So what Blu-ray player should you buy. Firstly while the proice of Blu-ray players has dropped precipitously over the last year, expect to pay $300-$450 for an entry level machine. HD-DVD players are being sold much cheaper, and while the quality of the two systems is comparable, you will ultimately need to look for a Blu-ray.
Secondly, your Blu-ray player can play your existing DVDs. My plan is to purchase new DVDs in Blu-ray, but not to duplicate any titles. Title availablity is still somewhat scarce, but expect that to change soon.
Thirdly, get an HDMI cable. It is the only way to get 1080p resolution. HD satellite has 1080i resolution. It is very good but 1080p is noticably superior. Watching a Blu-ray disk is akin to watching movies in a cinema.
The Sony BDP-300 is an excellent entry level piece of equipment. The only difference I csn tell from the Sony BDP-S301 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player BD/DVD/CD Playback is that the latter model has an HDMI cable included. There are cheap HDMI interfaces available, but I prefer the Monster HDMI 1000HD Ultra-High Speed HDMI Cable (1 meter).
Nice, but not perfect 2008-02-08
Another nice product from Sony. Which, for me, means good quality but I'm still a bit underwhelmed.
The sound quality is great, just like a DVD.
Picture quality is super, but not much better than upscaled DVD. Of course, it could just be the few movies I've watched so far. Though, the detail of animated movies is awesome.
Price is a too high, but that will probably decrease in time.
Startup time is awful; it takes at least 60 to 90 seconds to "boot". Nowadays, it seems waiting for technology is the norm - mobile phones, TVs, surround sound, video game consoles, whatever.
I was real anxious about getting a Blu-Ray player; as I've had a HDTV for a couple of years, but no HD source. Now I can say I've seen HD in my own home. It's nice, real nice.
But, this is 2008 and I would think HD quality should be fairly commonplace; instead of a premium priced upgrade/option. Oh well, I guess we all will have to remain patient while we wait...
Underwhelming performance overall.... 2008-06-01
I received this as a gift last Christmas, and am using it with a 50" Panasonic LCD TV (can't remember model number at the moment). One of the first things I noticed about this unit was how long it takes to load a disc. The fastest I've ever seen it load with any kind of disc is about a minute. For Blu-Ray discs with more elaborate menus and such, it can take 3 or 4 minutes to load the menu. I also found out within a couple of weeks of owning it that the player does not support either Dolby TrueHD or DTS HD Master audio, only Dolby Digital plus. A bit of a disappointment, to say the least. Also, performance on standard DVD's is no better than any $30 player you can get at Best Buy. My $200 Oppo blows it away for standard DVD's. Another annoying thing about the player is that, if you hit stop while watching a movie (to answer the phone, for example) it does not save your place in the movie so when you go back, you have to wait 3 or 4 more minutes for the menu to load, then try to find where you were in the movie. Very poor design. I tried several times to download and update the Firmware, hoping it would help with some of these problems, but Sony's web site always tells me "the page can not be displayed" when I try to download this particular firmware. E-mailed their support, and they were not at all helpful. Blu-Ray movies DO look great (once you buy your own HDMI Cable which, for some reason, is not included) but the other issues of this player make it a poor buy.
Read The Small Print 2008-04-24
A very big disappointment. On the box, you see 1080 Full HD printed all over it. There is one small line which says, "HDMI capable HDTV with 1080p display required, Image quality and upscaling results will very." I have a 1080 HD Projector, but it does not have an HDMI input. No problem I thought. I can use the component output jacks on the Sony BDP-s300. I connected everything and turned it on and when the movie finally started to play, my projector told me that I was only getting a 480i picture from the Sony Box. After reading through the instruction manual, I learned that the player can only produce a full 1080 HD signal from the HDMI output. I called Sony Customer Support and asked if there was a way to work-around this problem using some kind of special cable. They informed me there was no special cable. If I wanted a 1080i picture, I would have to buy a new TV. I told them my TIVO Series 3 Hi-Def recorder could produce a 1080 picture using component video output. I told Sony I would take the player back for a refund. I am very disappointed that Sony did not make a better effort in warning the buyer about the limitations of this player with some types of HDTV's.
Nice player.....A LOT OF PROBLEMS!!!!!! 2008-03-09
I purchased the BDP S300 after buying a 52" XBR4. It does have some minor issues, but nothing I could not live with. Overall I was happy with the player.
The main problem came when I tried to update the Firmware that Sony has available on their website.
I had the thing for about a month when I downloaded the Firmware update from Sony's website. The 3.8 version froze up my player. I got the message "Incomplete, Need Disc". I could not shut it off, or eject the disc. This was after I got the message that the download was successful.
I fortunately purchased the item from Circuit City who was wonderful! I was 4 days over their 30 day return policy. The let me exchange it for a new one. I got home, and attempted to download a version of the 3.7 Firware that I knew worked since I had upgraded the old plaer. The same thing happened again!!!! I contacted Sony's support, who were not helpful. They wanted me to pay to have it shipped to PA for repairs. After I spent $4000 on a T.V., and $400 on the stupid player. I feel that this is a slap in the face by Sony. Especially when I have been loyal to Sony for 20+ years!
I returned this second player. Like a fool, I will probably get screwed over by Sony again with the new player.
I asked the Sony rep. to send me the upgrade disc from them rather than downloading it from the internet. He assured me that this issue will not happen again.
If this freezes up with the disc that Sony sends me directly, I am returning the player and going with another company!!!
BE VERY CAUTIOUS WHEN PURCHASING A BD PLAER!!!!!
As another reviewer mentioned. The technology is too new at this time. Spend the money on the extended warranty from the store, NOT SONY. They will screw you over.
1080p is awesome 
2008-03-03
Very happy with it. Makes my 52" Aquos LCD look awesome. VERY slow loading times though. Perhaps this will improve with time. Haven't compared to any other units though. All in all a good unit other than slow boot up and play times.
Blu Ray 2008-02-28
Very good arrival time. Product arrived as expected and is exactly what I wanted. Thanks, dave
