Bought a BR player today

[Groundbeef]

Convinced the wife that we needed to check out Circuit City today. Found the Sony BDP-S550 on sale 20% off. Picked it up for $320.

Setting it up now, pretty easy. I have network cables routed to my A/V area, so it's updating the version now to something like 7.4.

Seems to be a nice player. Now I just need to get a BR disc to play.

[Mr Peabody]

Good for you but why didn't you get a movie while you were there? They were 25% off, original retail though which got them down to about Amazon's regular price. I made an impulse purchase thoug and picked up Dracula. Nice player.

[Groundbeef]

Well, honestly, I'm more of a renter than an owner. I've updated my Netflix to BR. I'll probably buy the Bourne Trilogy though.

On a technical side. I don't have a 1080p TV in the basement. So am I better to use Component cables (Red,Green,Blue) than HDMI? The reason I ask, is that I can use HDMI to the TV. But I don't think it matters because the TV only does 1080i.

2ndly, my reciever has input for both optical (toslink) and "digital" coax. What is better? I have a 6.1 setup.

Thanks in advance.

[Mr Peabody]

I would recommend HDMI. Upconverting of standard DVD will only happen via HDMI. Plus if you ever wanted to watch something without the receiver being on then the audio is already there. On the other hand if you only use the receiver and your TV upconverts and you want to use component for video switching and convenience there's nothing wrong with that either.

I prefer coaxial digital hook ups. I have never had problems with a coaxial hook up but I have with optical. I also read a paper one time that talked about if an optical cable has to go under sharp turns or bends to get to the hook up it does cause light distortions which are audible. I just feel coaxial is more durable and dependable.

If your receiver has multichannel analog inputs they are worth the trouble for the improvement you will notice in sound. Using the MC analog you can utilize your internal decoding of Tru-HD and DTS-MA.

I prefer to rent as well but I buy stuff I really like thinking I will watch them more than once. Usually I do but I wonder if it justifies the price.

[Woochifer]

Congrats. My favorite Blu-ray title so far is Blade Runner. If you like that movie, the Blu-ray version is a must see. Other titles look cleaner, but this one looks the most "film like." I've seen the movie multiple times in 70mm, and this was the first time that I could say that a home video came pretty damn close to recreating a great theatrical experience visually.

As far as HDMI v. component, that will depend on the TV and your BD player. You need HDMI for 1080p, but you're not using a 1080p TV. Most newer TVs fare much better with HDMI inputs, but I remember that reviews of HDTVs from a few years ago often mentioned that the component video input looked better.

Also, with the DVD upconversion, the comparative quality will vary depending on the quality of the scaler and deinterlacing circuits used in your TV. Given that Pioneer is a top notch performer, you might be fine with just running a 480i signal for DVD playback and letting the TV handle the deinterlacing and upscaling.

[Groundbeef]

Thanks for the advice.

As for component vs HDMI, my reciever (Pioneer) doesn't accept HDMI but does accept component.

So, I was thinking, since my TV doesn't do 1080p, I would just use component, and digital coax. That would probably be a good combo?

If I ever can find a neighbor, to help, I might lug my newer Pioneeer Plasma downstairs. It does do 1080p. But I don't have the audio setup I like upstairs.

Thats just a matter of time and manpower.

[02audionoob]

If you do HDMI from the Blu-ray to a digital TV, the signal will not have to be converted to analog. You can just set the Blu-ray for your TV's native resolution.

[N. Abstentia]

Wow, Circuit City's 'blowout sale' brought the price down to what you can buy it for online normally..no wonder they went out of business!

But anyway, that's a great player..I love the 550. After buying it I borrowed my neighbors PS3 to see which I liked better and the 550 was the clear winner.

But you should always use the best connections you have available, in this case HDMI. There's really no reason to use component when you have something better available.

As far as sound, does your receiver have multi-channel analog inputs? If so, that's the way to go. That way you can get the Dolby Tru and DTS HD audio. Otherwise you're limited to regular old DD and DTS which is no better than what you get from a DVD.

[Groundbeef]

As far as sound, does your receiver have multi-channel analog inputs? If so, that's the way to go. That way you can get the Dolby Tru and DTS HD audio. Otherwise you're limited to regular old DD and DTS which is no better than what you get from a DVD.

So, if I use the multi-channel audio, that's better than either the optical or digital coax?

I'll look to see if my reciever can handle them.

[02audionoob]

If you use the multi-channel analog, the Blu-ray will convert the high-def audio to analog for all channels and send it all to the receiver, which will pass it through to the amps and out to the speakers. That's a good thing. If you use the coax or optical, the Blu-ray will send the regular Dolby Digital or DTS out to the receiver. Those are compressed audio formats. The optical and coax cables don't support the high-def audio formats.

[Groundbeef]

My reciever will accept the analog. The 550 has 7.1, but my reciever only accepts 5.1. I assume that wouldn't be a problem?

Secondly, I don't need to buy any fancy cables? Can I just use some old red/white cables that I have? I'd prefer not to have to shell out any more money.

Thanks!

[Mr Peabody]

The coaxial or optical connections ARE slightly better than what comes from DVD. The signal is still compressed but not as much as on standard DVD. For instance, DVD=Dolby Digital, Blu-ray=(optical/coaxial) Dolby Digital Plus, Blu-ray via HDMI or MC analog decoded = Dolby Tru-HD (as long as the movie offers Tru-HD).

You can use a regular audio RCA cable for MC analog. When connecting 7.1 to 5.1 just leave out the "rear surround". If you have 7 speakers I'd go ahead and use coax/optical because the other way will leave the rear surrounds silent.

You can use HDMI direct to your TV and then use whatever audio to the receiver if you wished.

[N. Abstentia]

You could use the red/white cables, but they are pure junk normally. At least get 3 sets of these....no use in cheapening out now:

http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/ACOUSTIC-RESEARCH-PR130-/58-12565

[pixelthis]

So, if I use the multi-channel audio, that's better than either the optical or digital coax?

I'll look to see if my reciever can handle them.

The multi-channel out save my receiver, the player does the decoding.
And HDMI will deliver a much better pic, also allow listening through your set
if you decide you dont want the receiver on.
But if your set isnt 1080p you might as well use component.
Congrats on your new toy, even tho you are making plans you will change them,
the quality of Blu ,once peple start watching, tends to change peoples paradigm.
I bought a new monitor just to watch 1080p.
AND my beloved SACD?
BLU audio embrasess it, really.:1:

[dax]

Congrats on the player. I had purchased the Sony BDP-S550 back in October because I required the multi-channel analog outs for my older receiver. However, when setting up the bass management using the blu-ray player it had an issue with the subwoofer level being about 10dB lower than the other channels. Other users had foundhe same. So I ended up returning it and replacing it with a different player. Hopefully Sony has had a fix for the problem since then.

[Mr Peabody]

That was a common problem amongst BR players. It would help if the player would incorporate some bass management and speaker adjustments. But since the swing is back to putting the decoding in the receiver this may become more and more a non-issue.

My ole 1200 only allows me to set the speakers to large and small, some management that is.

[N. Abstentia]

The BDP-S550 does indeed have bass management and speaker adjustments. I haven't noticed any issues with speed or with the subwoofer channel at all (my preamp is an Outlaw 990).

Back to the speed...it's faster than the PS3 I recently demoed!

[Mr Peabody]

That's interesting, according to CNET nothing is faster than the PS3. I think these guys worship the PS3. The s550 has a lot going on and at the price Sony dropped it to, makes it a good deal.

I think the software companies are out to make money though. Prices don't seem to be coming down much and many new releases even on Amazon are $23.00 and up. The new Madagascar 2 is like $27.00.