So - I get this blu ray player...

[timm]

My wife lets me know she got a blu-ray player for christmas. It is the sony bd350 ... a $299 model. It passses the higher rez thru the hdmi - but nowhere else (no built in decoders).... I told her I didn't want one because of connectivity / old processor issues.... and did not want to spend 2K on one that sent the signal out of the 7.1 analog outs.... So - here is my dilemma:

My big screen in the basement (where the good stuff is) is only 720p w/ a DVI connection. My processor is a sunfire TGIII with 7.1 analog inputs. So, if I put the player down there - I don't have 1080p/nor do I have a processor that can take an hdmi connection. But the screen is a 60" sony xbr.

In my living room I have a 40" samsung (1080p) but, it is hooked to a Bose system (please...it came with the house... )and a receiver that can take coax (no hdmi in the receiver)

any recommendations? take it back? just keep it - and one day maybe I'll have the processor to handle the hdmi stream with a bigger screen for the 1080p? what to do what to do......

 

[RUR]

There are now a number of Blu-ray players which decode internally and send 7.1 audio via analog outs. If it were me, I'd exchange the 350 for one of those. A comprehensive list of Blu-ray players and their associated specs may be found here: http://www.blu-ray.com/players/

Edit: Here are some suggestions for about the same price
Sony BDP-S550 may be found for ~$300
Samsung BD-P2500 price ???, but it may not be far off $300
Panasonic DMP-BD55 may be found for ~$350

 

[DTB300]

If your processor only has one set of 7.1 (5.1) inputs and you need more, you can use a Zektor switch to handle multiple inputs. The Sony 550 ($305 on Amazon) is getting some great talk about picture quality for both Blu and DVD

 

[timm]

I think tht you will find that the Sony 550 will NOT send the dolby HD signal thru the analog outs.... Can any of you confirm this? If that is the case - I still think that to get a player that sends the new formats thru the analog outs is a 1900 dollar option....... If this is not true please let me know...

Thanks for the input on this ..... I'll go check out those other links... tim.

 

[RUR]

timm, a quick perusal of the owners thread on AVS would seem to indicate that the S550 will, indeed, decode True HD and DTS HD MA and send via analogue. What have you heard/read which would indicate otherwise?

 

[timm]

timm, a quick perusal of the owners thread on AVS would seem to indicate that the S550 will, indeed, decode True HD and DTS HD MA and send via analogue. What have you heard/read which would indicate otherwise?

Oh-my friend... thank you so much for that thread... It is 40+ pages worth - but it looks like the 550 would not send DTS HD over the analogue outs several months ago - but apparently that has been fixed....If you go thru the forum on the 550 - the first 20 or so pages are people arguing the point - then around page 30 or so - it looks like things worked out. So - the 550 would be a way better option for me....Secondly, the sony store told me the same thing about a month ago - that their flagship was the only one that would do it (for 1900) - but there is a lot of confusion on the topic.....But as you said - it appears as if the lossless audio with come thru with the sony 550.... thx.... tim

 

[timm]

Just a quick update -- I went and swapped out the 350 for the 550....I have to wait till christmas to open it! Just another way this forum has made my life a better one!!

 

[FISH_MAN]

don't sweat it man. you will still get better sound out of it than a regular player hook it up downstairs and be happy. you will still love it my sound does not come over the HDMI and it sounds great in my system

 

[Craig]

Your friends may have been confusing the Sony BDP-500 with the newly released Sony BDP-550. The 550 will decode the higher rez blu-ray audio formats and output through the analogue outputs. This new BR player gives new-life to the older pre-pros and receivers with 5.1/7.1 inputs.

Swapping out the 350 for the 550 was a good move.