Strengths: Better price point, plays CDs, Dolby TrueHD

Weaknesses: No memory for resume when unit turned off, slow loading, no remaining time display

Summary: Sony has finally come out their second generation Blu-ray player at half the original price of the original! The BDP-S300 is priced at $499.00 which looks like a bargain compared to their previous BDP-S1 model. Besides the cost benefit, what else do you get with this player? Unlike the previous model the S300 can play CDs in addition to DVDs. This player has Dolby TrueHD capability installed. In addition, it seems to load slightly faster than the previous model.Most of the weaknesses are shared by the previous model and Sony has not made any effort to improve on them. Specifically, when you turn the unit off, all memory has disappeared so that when to turn it on next time, you have to find where you left off. Very time consuming! A high-end product such as this should have memory for at least 6 discs.The other complaint is that I would expect Sony to have a remaining time display in addition to elapsed time and total time displays. Sony offers this feature on most of its lower end DVD players, so why is this feature not possible on a high def player?All in all, the BDP-S300 delivers what it promises. If it would correct some of these problems, it would be a first class product. The best improvement on this player is that Sony has reduced the price to make it affordable to more people wanting to get into Blu-ray technology.

Strengths: Blu-ray picture quality, easy setup, well built machine

Weaknesses: slow load time on Blu-ray Java titles, remote is not back lit, no HDMI cable included

Summary: I received this player last week and hooked it up to my 40V2500 Sony Bravia LCD via HDMI. Setup was very quick and easy. Load times are similar to other HD players. Power up takes about thirty seconds and loading Blu-ray discs and DVDs takes about another thirty seconds. The load times on the two Pirates of the Caribbean Blu-ray discs took almost two minutes each and navigating through their menus was a little slow. I watched Pirates 1 2 Blu-ray discs without any problems and the picture and sound quality was great. The picture quality on Pirates 1 2 is in the top tier of any HD disc released so far. I tested a few other Blu-ray discs, DVDs, and CDs and they all played fine. I could not tell any real difference in the DVD upconversion between the BDP-S300 and the HD-A2. Sound quality was also good although I am not using a receiver or surround sound speakers.This player is not really a great value at $500, but overall, I am happy with the purchase. The player is very solid and Blu-ray discs look great. The player came with firmware 2.0 already installed, but hopefully a future firmware update can fix any slow load times with the advanced Java titles. I suspect many Blu-ray promotions, discounts, and new players are on the way so you may be better waiting until the fall to buy a player; however, if you are impatient like me, this seems to be a very good player.

Strengths: mutliple advanced features

Weaknesses: none

Summary: With this Blu-ray DVD player you will be able to enjoy movies in full 1080p format, the way how they were meant to be seen; wast of additional options that this DVD is offering will make that viewing session even more enjoyable

Strengths: Excellent picture and build quality. Excellent upconversion capabilities.

Weaknesses: Long startup time (from powerup) and more than usual load time.

Summary: I bought the Blu-Ray player to go with my new Sony 50" 1080p Rear-projection TV. I have watched about 4 blu-ray movies so far (Superman Returns, Open Season, Mission Impossible Fugitive) and have been blown away by the picture clarity. I have watched the Fugitive about 5 times already but I was able to see little things that I never noticed before in a regular DVD. I also threw in couple of DVDs that I own (Die Hard 3, Independence Day) and once again was impressed with the excellent job this player did to upconvert it to 1080p. Highly recommended.

Strengths: None

Weaknesses: does not play dvds. Locks up all the time.

Summary: I bought this blue-ray player today, and I'm taking it back first thing tomorrow. It started to play one DVD well, then I paused it for a phone call. That was a mistake. After 15 minutes trying to get it to play I gave up. Then it played Kill Bill okay, but lots of skips. After over an hour trying to get it to play other DVDs, I gave up permanently. I tried several different ones and the best I got was 4 seconds worth of the menue option. Then just a blank screen. I hooked it up with a HDMI cable to the reciever and kept switching ports. I rebooted several times, switched cables, etc... Bottom line: Save your money! This is the worst piece of crap ever made. To bad all the major studios are going Blue-ray, because sony is supposed to be the best. And if this is the best they have, we are in a world of hurt. This is a defective product. I picked it up today shipped directly from the manufacturer. It will be going back tomorrow. Buying this product is no different than someone putting a knife to your throat and robbing you of $500. Trust me.

Strengths: Blu-ray is awesome. Picture is the best with surround sound.

Weaknesses: Upconverted Player is very weak. The picture is shaky.

Summary: I am very disappointed in the upconvert player of this blu-ray combo DVD player. The blu-ray is great. Installation is easy. The size of the box is good compared to the older version. I used this player to play the picture I took with my HD camera.

Strengths: Picture Quality

Weaknesses: Power on Time, Boot up Time, Selection of Blu Ray titles, Price

Summary: I held off purchasing this until the price was below $400. Amazon had a special with free shipping. Setup up was easy, just HDMI to TV, power cord, and left right audio outputs to my surround sound.First movie was Pirates of the Caribbean, great detail however it was only marginally better than my Panasonic S52 upscaling DVD player. The biggest difference was the lack of blurring during fast moving sequences or when the camera panned quickly. 2nd movie was transformers on regular DVD, again no major difference from my $89 panasonic player. 3rd movie was Bridge to Terabithia, this movie was not shown in wide screen but filled up the entire 40" Sony Bravia LCD. This picture was the best I've seen yet, you lose a little of the frame from left to right but gain much more picture overall.Went to Sony's website and updated the firmware (quite easy to do with a DVD burner). Watched Premonition on blu ray, at 52 minutes in the screen froze. FF, rew, stop, etc had no affect, had to power the unit down. Skipped to the scene and this time had not issues. Later on in the movie more skips. Not sure if it was the disc or the firmware upgrade I performed. I'll update later if I continue to have the problem, if I do I will contact tech support and try to undo the firmware upgrade.I'm only giving this satisfactory due to the disc skipping. If the trouble is a bad disc I'd raise it to 4 stars.Turns out my problem was a bad blu ray disc, I've not had any skipping problems since.

Strengths: -Nice looking.

Weaknesses: -Slow-Pricey-No Dolby True HD and DTS-HD1, and HDMI 1.3-No SACD

Summary: For this price, it needs to be much faster, and address all audio codecs. I'm sure Sony will eventually provide a killer Blu-Ray console that is affordable, but it's not here yet. Probably not till after Blu-Ray 2.0 specs are pushed. Wait a bit. In the meantime, just get a PS3.

Strengths: Easy to use. Great Picture.Rental places like Flixster send Blu-Ray discs out that have less use which means more reliable.

Weaknesses: Not all DVD rentals are available in Blu-Ray format.

Summary: I hope Blu-Ray wins the battle in the DVD market.The picture quality is exceptional. The response time on the eject system is a little slow. Great buy and value overall.

Strengths: excellent picture

Weaknesses: none

Summary: Very good picture quality. I have it set up with a Pioneer 60" Kuro plasma TV along with a Yamaha receiver with JBL wall mount 7.1 speakers. The picture is impeccable along with the best sound I have ever heard.

Strengths: Great picture and sound, lots of conectivity opotions.

Weaknesses: none yet

Summary: Truce! With the help of recent price drops I was able to grab this unit for just $256 at a local Military Exchange to go right along side my Toshiba HD-A3 (Black Friday $179) Now I have both formats for just over $400 not to mention 15 free High Def movies! In comparison to the HD-A3, the Sony player is way bigger and has more connectivity options, including a full set of 5.1 surround sound analog outputs. But as far as picture quality they're undistinguisable. The Sony also has the advantage to fully integrate with some Sony HDTV's as far as control is concern. But this matters little to me since I don't have a Sony TV. Overall a great buy for those who want to explore the HD world without braking the bank.

Strengths: Plays Blu-Ray Discs, upconverts standard DVDs. Full 1080p output. Good array of audio outputs.

Weaknesses: No Dolby TrueHD onboard decoding, no Ethernet port. SLOW LOAD TIMES.

Summary: This player had promise--more reasonable price point, full 1080p Blu-Ray playback. However, this player is fraught with problems. The first thing you'll notice is the LONG LOAD TIMES. Blu-Ray Discs can take upwards of 2-3 minutes to reach the title screen, even after loading the latest firmware. While we're on the subject of firmware updates, the lack of an Ethernet port is completely UNACCEPTABLE when every other player in its class has one. The lack of this port means that you must download the update from Sony, burn it to a disc, and then load it in the player. What a joke.Other than that, the player works fine. Blu-Ray playback is great once you get it loaded....the problem is getting there. This player would be a good option if it was $200. The player can generally be found for $400 or less, but this is just too much for a slow player with no Ethernet port.

Strengths: Picture quality, remote control, several audio-outputs

Weaknesses: S L O W loading, NO Dolby-HD or DTS-HD decoding.

Summary: I bought mine from WalMart.com for $ 350+ tax. Very easy out the box setup. Rather big and heavy unit. I bought HDMI cable from Amazon for $ 5. I upgraded the firmware to v3.3 and eventually to v3.7. No increase in loading and boot-up speed noted (with BD disks). It becomes annoying after a while. Anyway, great picture quality and integration with SONY Bravia TV. Remote has several functions and allows menu selection while DVD is playing - without exiting the movie. Has several audio outputs. Mine started giving trouble a week into using it. The player would drop video and audio output randomly and this got worse, requiring the player to be returned. Also, this player does NOT suppot DVD-HD audio decoding - which Samsung does support. Overall a decent player for $ 300-350. It appears to be a "first generation" BD player and hopefully better (and faster) BD players will be released soon. I am planning to purchase this again soon. This time I will buy extended warranty!

Strengths: Don't care

Weaknesses: Tick tock tick tock

Summary: A year ago I would have told you that you would be crazy to buy Blu instead of HD justlooking at the price. My friend spent $1200.00. You believe that? Later I got my HD playerfor the XBOX 360 for $200.00 and said "Oh Yea"! Then I started to try to buy movies thatI hadn't already bought on SD-DVD.(1200+) Well, I ended up having to duplicate a littleand learn patience. Things started to look brighter as the choices started to grow.But after a while I got really frustrated that a lot of movies I wanted to own, were not going to be on HD. So, while I was at Best Buy shopping for Xmas gifts, low a behold,There lies a Sony Blu-ray player for!$299.00!. And on top of that, it was 20 bucks offmore for an open box. And since someone gave me a $50.00 Gift Cert. There was reallyno choice. I had to buy it. That was before Warner Bros. switched sides. I finally made atimely decision that I wouldn't regret.But remember that friend of mine. I felt so bad that he couldn't see any HD versions,That I got him and HD player for Xmas. "D'OH"!In summation, I owned Betamax, LaserDiscs, Hi8 and Advantix cameras. You know as well as I do, that 5 years from now we(I) will be in the same situation. Screwed nomatter what we do.

Strengths: Nice picture

Weaknesses: Movies Skip, takes a long time to load, terrible tech support

Summary: This is the worst BD player out there, It can not play a movie without skipping at the beginning or end. You cant access special features, the unit freezes at certain times, no wonder they dropped the price, they cant get rid of them. A word of advice, check out Samsung, LG or Panasonic, but stay as far away from the Sony.