I just can’t wait anymore. As promised last week, I'm raring to put some BD players through their paces. For once, companies have been unusually cooperative and sent us their products pretty quickly; though with strict instructions. We know these devices are valuable, but let’s see just how good the new (in Indian terms) technology actually is. At Tech2.0 it’s first-come first-reviewed, so Sony takes pole position as it was the first to supply us with its BD players: the BDP-S1E and the BDP-S300.
BDP-S1E
This is Sony's flagship product currently available in India. A good-looking, sturdy player, it has an aluminum colored faux finished chassis, with a sleek front panel comprising two horizontal strips: a thin glossy black one on the top, and a broader electric blue strip making up the lower part.
The tray is located in the center of the black strip, with tiny round black buttons lined up horizontally on the right end. The top left corner of the front panel sports a futuristic looking power on/off button, while the symmetrically equal left corner has the eject button. The ubiquitous Sony logo is in the centre of the blue strip. Overall it looks very classy, even if the electric blue can seem a bit too bright for some. If your room has a wood-oriented tone and your sound system is retro-looking, the player may not match the decor.
BDP-S300
This one looks a little different from its bigger, more expensive brother. It's slimmer, and while the façade still consists of a dual tone scheme, this time the blue strip is darker, and looks better in my opinion.
The top edge slopes down slightly, and consists of two semicircular black buttons on the extreme edges, as in the S1E. The chassis is black, with a mild metallic luster – this again is a more aesthetic option to the aluminum.
Features
Both players have a simple set of connections at the back, namely one HDMI (1.1) out, a single set of analog 5.1 audio, an optical, coaxial audio, and component video out. It’s well-arranged and easy to access. No Ethernet port is present, as these are profile 1.0 only (let’s not expect too much).
These profile 1.1 players play BD ROM, DVD video, DVD-/+RW, audio/MP3 CD, JPEG and AVC HD discs. The S1E also plays rewritable BDs, called BD-R/RE discs. For more on profiles check out this feature.
You get 24p output at full HD (1920 x 1080), which is the closest to the actual movie recording. The players support x.v.Color, which means that the color set conforms to the xvYCC standard, approved by the IEC. They have a 192kHz/24Bit A/D converter, and support DTS/Dolby true HD. Dolby and DTS 5.1 decoders are present and feed through the analog outputs mentioned.
The spec sheet also claims separate circuits for audio and video, but sadly high-end audio like SACD or DVD A aren't supported.
Performance
As you turn the players on, a simple setup option comes up and takes you to the system menu, where you specify the video output. I chose 1080p at 24 frames (yippee!) and slid in a Blu-ray demo disc with lots of HD video content and trailers of movies such as Spiderman 3, Ghost Rider, Surf’s Up. 300 Blu-ray disc was up next, so hang in there...
We used two full HD TVs to make sure display quality is not an issue while checking these high-end sources. The menus at the beginning of the disc look strikingly crisp and clear, with accurate lines and borders. I saw a set of slow-moving still life scenes, to experience full HD resolution bliss, and I was not disappointed in any way. Colors too were excellent on both players. Indeed, so far both players put up more-or-less equal performance.
Motion scenes were another matter. The BD-S1 was spectacular here, with minimal judder, jaggies, moiré patterns etc. Way lesser than anything I've seen; the lower-end BDP-S300 and the PS3 included. This is what you're paying for: ultimate clarity. Brightness/contrast levels could have done with a boost, though this I’m sure was the TV’s fault. Ghosting and slight dot trailing was evident, though this was less of an issue than with normal DVDs and upscaled stuff.
Conclusion
Both players are amazing, though if you are into games the PS3 makes more sense than the BDP-S300, which costs Rs 29,500. The BD-S1E is in another league, and costs Rs 59,500. But I'm sure prices will fall once the competition takes off. Still, those who can afford it can pull out their wallets right now. Oh, and I’ll probably be reviewing an LG next, so do stick around.
Source : Tech2
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