Shop RadioShack for Great GiftsSony BDP-S360
Manufacturer: Sony Part number: BDP-S360
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Sony BDP-S360 handles all the Blu-ray basics with ease, but it lacks the streaming Internet content found on competing models.
Read more
Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Your Trusted Source since 1983 |  | In stock FREE SHIPPING | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 12/08/2009 |
 PREMIER SOURCE of cutting edge electronics since 1973. | | In stock FREE Fast Shipping! Top Rated Auth. Sony Dealer w/Warra | as of 12/08/2009 | |
 Winner of Bizrate Circle of Excellence Award 2005-06-07-08!!! | | In stock FREE SHIPPING | as of 12/08/2009 | |
 | | In stock Order Now-Ships Today | as of 12/08/2009 | |
 "Your customer service is the best I have ever encountered' | | In stock | as of 12/08/2009 | |
 | | In stock | as of 12/08/2009 | |
 | | In stock Order Now-Ships Today | as of 12/08/2009 | |
| Amazon.com Marketplace | | In stock | as of 12/08/2009 | |
 | Not yet rated | In stock | as of 12/08/2009 | |
 | | In stock | as of 12/08/2009 | |
 | | In stock | as of 12/08/2009 | |
 |  | In stock | as of 12/08/2009 | |
 | | In stock | as of 12/08/2009 | |
 | | In stock | as of 12/08/2009 | |
 | Not yet rated | In stock | as of 12/08/2009 |
CNET editors' review
Sony BDP-S360 price range: $124.99 - $199.99
- Reviewed by: Matthew Moskovciak
- Edited by: David Katzmaier
- Reviewed on: 04/14/2009
- Released on: 05/11/2009
The good: Profile 2.0-compatible; onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio Essential; excellent video quality on most Blu-ray movies.
The bad: Cannot access streaming video services such as Netflix; no Wi-Fi option; no eject button on the remote; relatively slow load times; recessed USB port.
The bottom line: The Sony BDP-S360 handles all the Blu-ray basics with ease, but it lacks the streaming Internet content found on competing models.
Blu-ray may have started out as a mess, with confusing "profiles" and painfully slow load times, but beginning this year standalone players have finally gotten their acts together. Sony's entry-level BDP-S360 is typical of the new breed of Blu-ray players. It has the basics covered, with Profile 2.0 support and onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio Essential. Beyond the basics, however, the BDP-S360 doesn't offer much. Unlike its competitors, the BDP-S360 can't deliver any streaming Internet content, such as Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand, YouTube, or Pandora. And while we do like the polish that went into the BDP-S360's XMB-inspired menu system, we were disappointed to see some simple design missteps like the recessed USB port and the lack of an eject button on the remote. The Sony BDP-S360 does have a stylish exterior design and it offers reliable Blu-ray playback, but we have a hard time finding a reason to recommend it over the other options.
Design
The BDP-S360's design strikes a nice balance between the glitzy (some would say tacky) gloss of Samsung's players and the more conservative approach of Panasonic's players. The front panel is dark and translucent, giving it a glasslike look. When opening the disc tray, the entire front panel actually flips down, similar to the Samsung BD-P1600's design, but we found Sony's implementation less clunky. We also appreciated the BDP-S360's small footprint, a slim 16.9 inches wide by 2.2 inches high and 8.1 inches deep.
We usually don't have much to say about the design of a Blu-ray player's back panel, but the BDP-S360's unusual USB port is worth pointing out. The port is recessed into the unit, surrounded by black plastic, and the small opening won't accommodate some of the fatter USB thumbdrives you might have lying around.
The included remote has a great layout and simple design, but there's one fatal flaw: it lacks an open/close button for the disc tray. We're not quite sure how this oversight managed to get past Sony, but if you're used to popping open the disc tray before you get off the couch to change discs, you'll find it as frustrating as we did. Of course, you can always opt for a quality universal remote to get around this issue, as the BDP-S360 is capable of receiving an open/close IR command.
The BDP-S360 uses an adaptation of Sony's XMB user interface, which is now featured on nearly all Sony products with a video output. Not everybody is a fan of the layout, but we tend to like it and had no problems zipping around the BDP-S360's menus. If you're not used to Sony's XMB interface, it's not quite as intuitive as, say, the large icons on the LG BD370's menu system, but the learning curve isn't steep. Aside from the graphics, the BDP-S360 has a polished feel that surpasses other Blu-ray players we've tested. We enjoyed little touches like the screen fading to black when you stop a movie, and how quickly the player navigates Blu-ray Disc menus.
Features
Like virtually every 2009 Blu-ray player, the BDP-S360 is Profile 2.0-compliant, which means it's capable of playing back BD-Live features available on some Blu-ray movies. BD-Live features have to be downloaded off the Internet, so you'll need to make an Ethernet connection and also plug in a USB memory drive to store it. The BD-Live content we've used so far isn't that compelling, but the technology is still relatively new.
Soundtrack support is solid, with the BDP-S360 featuring onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio Essential. That means it can decode those soundtrack formats so they can be played back on almost every HDMI-capable AV receiver. Bit stream output is also supported, if you'd rather the decoding be done in your AV receiver. (DTS-HD Master Audio Essential differs from standard DTS-HD Master Audio in that it lacks decoding for a few legacy DTS DVD soundtracks formats such as DTS 96/24, ES, ES Matrix, and Neo:6. It still decodes all the high-resolution Blu-ray DTS soundtracks.)
The BDP-S360 includes the standard collection of outputs. There's an HDMI output, capable of outputting Blu-ray movies at 1080p, as well as upscaling standard DVDs to 1080p. If you've got an older HDTV, there's also a component video output, which will handle Blu-ray at 1080i and DVDs at 480p. There's also a legacy composite video output, which is limited to 480i standard-definition resolution.
For audio, you can use the aforementioned HDMI output for high resolution, multichannel audio. There are also two digital audio outputs--both optical and coaxial--which is a nice bonus, as many Blu-ray players are only including optical. There's no multichannel analog output, but there's a stereo analog audio output if you have an older AV receiver.
Unlike the other entry-level players from Panasonic, Samsung, and LG, the BDP-S360 doesn't offer any streaming Internet content, such as Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand, YouTube, CinemaNow, or Pandora. That's unfortunate because those services add a lot of value to standalone Blu-ray players, especially for people who don't feel the image quality leap from DVD to Blu-ray is that significant. With Sony's Bravia Internet Video Link already offering similar functionality, we're surprised it's not built into these new Blu-ray players.
Blu-ray performance
Blu-ray players tend to offer very similar picture quality--and they all look much better than DVDs--but there's definitely some variance among entry-level players. We connected the BDP-S360 to the Sony KDL-52XBR7 via HDMI, set in 1080p mode with 24 frames per second output disabled.
We popped in Silicon Optix's "HQV" test suite on Blu-ray and browsed the test patterns. The initial Video Resolution Test looked good, with full resolution and no excess jaggies on the rotating white line. The BDP-S360 also aced the next two jaggies tests, showing none of the jagged edges we sometimes see on budget players. Last up was the Film Resolution Test and again the BDP-S360 had no problems, as we could see very little moire in the grandstands of Raymond James Stadium.
Program material was up next, and the BDP-S360 performed well again. We checked some of our favorite "problem" scenes on "Mission: Impossible III," and we didn't see any moire in the stairs at the beginning of chapter 8, or on the trimming of the limo in chapter 16. "Ghost Rider" also looked good, as we didn't see any moire in the grille of the RV at the end of chapter 6. The BDP-S360 did stumble a bit on the video-based "Tony Bennett: American Classic," as we saw plenty of jaggies on the clapperboard on the beginning of the Diana Krall segment. For the strictest videophiles this may be a concern, but the reality is there are relatively few video-based Blu-ray Discs.
We also tested the operational speed of the BDP-S360. We've already commented on how the BDP-S360 is fast at navigating menus, so we had high hopes for its disc-loading performance. Unfortunately, the BDP-S360 turned out to be the slowest of the new 2009 players we've tested, loading "Mission: Impossible III" in 23 seconds with the player already on. The Samsung BD-P1600, LG BD370, and Samsung BD-P3600 all loaded the same movie in less than 16 seconds, and the Panasonic DMP-BD60 took 21 seconds. Discs with more elaborate menus systems, like "Spider-Man 3" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" loaded in a minute and 28 seconds and a minute and 56 seconds, respectively, which is about the same as the DMP-BD60. However, the players from Samsung and LG loaded these titles around 30 seconds faster.
Standard DVD performance
Most home theater fanatics have amassed a significant library of DVDs, so we put the BDP-S360 through our standard DVD test suite. It passed the initial resolution test, clearly depicting all of the resolution in the test pattern, but we did notice some image instability. The next video-based tests didn't quite pass muster, as we noticed plenty of jaggies on a rotating white line, as well as on three pivoting white lines. On the upside, the BDP-S360 did pass the 2:3 pulldown test, with no moire visible in the grandstands as the racecar drove by.
Next we looked at actual program material. We started off with "Seabiscuit" and the BDP-S360 held its own on the difficult opening sequence. It didn't look quite as good as the Panasonic DMP-BD60--we could still see some minor jaggies on the very first black-and-white photo--but it looked substantially better than the LG BD370. We switched over to "Star Trek: Insurrection," and the Sony did a good job with the introduction, depicting the curved edges of the boat hulls and bridge railings without any jaggies. Unless you're really picky about DVD playback, the Sony BDP-S360 will do the job.
User reviews
-
-
GREAT BUT EXPECTED MORE!
by Cadssdac on June 27, 2009
Pros: The Sony bdp-s360 is an excellent bluray player if you are looking for a solid great looking player with execellent bluray quality play back and built in Dolby True-HD & DTS Master Audio through hdmi. No lipsync issues, jaggies, or other.
Cons: Standard DVD playback quality is good but not the best. I compared it to my previous Toshiba HD DVD A35 player, also my Xbox 360 and both were superior to the 360 when it came to dvd quality playback. Remote has no eject feature and minor functions.
Summary: The Sony bdp-s360 is a great bluray player, but with all the competition out there that offers more bells & whistles it's hard to recommend it. However, if you ...
Summary: The Sony bdp-s360 is a great bluray player, but with all the competition out there that offers more bells & whistles it's hard to recommend it. However, if you are just looking for a solid, great looking player with excellent Bluray video quality, great sound, good dvd upscale quality, and no eject feature on the remote then this player is for you. I personally prefer Sony movie disk players thats why I made the purchase. I WOULD HAVE RATED THIS 5 STARS, BUT IT ONLY GOT 4 STARS DUE TO THE BASIC REMOTE CONTROL WITH LACK OF THE EJECT & MUTE BUTTON(S).
From now until July,6 2009 amazon offer free Sony Blu-ray Player with Purchase of Select Samsung HDTVs
credit : http://review-samsung-lcd-tv.blogspot.com/2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
Nice Player!
by djdk2121 on June 25, 2009
Pros: Blu-ray image quality, it works, nice on-screen interface, no unnecessary features.
Cons: The remote, DVD upscaling could be better.
Summary: Fantastic player! I don't think that it was given a fair rating. Am I the only one who buys a blu-ray player to play blu-rays? While it may be ...
Summary: Fantastic player! I don't think that it was given a fair rating. Am I the only one who buys a blu-ray player to play blu-rays? While it may be a nice idea to include all sorts of streaming features, it would seem as if none of the manufacturers can get those players right. If you research, you will find that Panasonic's players, while really nice, will randomly pause movies for 5 to 10 seconds. Samsung players have to be unplugged and plugged back in to keep the Netflix streaming working, and so on. If you're looking for a nice blu-ray player that just works, you should check this one out!
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
Sony still is top brand of Blu-ray Players
by GK-Kenny on May 11, 2009
Pros: with excellent video quality on Blu-ray movies, Sony and Samsung Blu-ray players are both excellent Blu-ray player choices. I recommend you to check out http://www.squidoo.com/best-blu-ray-player for information on the best and cheap Blu-ray players.
Cons: It didn't have the streaming video function.
Summary: Sony is still my top choice of Blu-ray player along with Samsung.
Summary: Sony is still my top choice of Blu-ray player along with Samsung.
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
HDMI output is not backwards compatable
by PaulNeb on November 20, 2009
Pros: Good price, Small profile, Easy menu navigation
Cons: No eject button on provided remote, HDMI output is not backwards compatable
Summary: Overall, for my first BD player, I'm mostly satisfied. The player is small, easy to hook up and easy to setup. The picture quality is exceptional (as I expected) ...
Summary: Overall, for my first BD player, I'm mostly satisfied. The player is small, easy to hook up and easy to setup. The picture quality is exceptional (as I expected) and things are good. Once I got everything hooked up and working, that is.
The problem with this model (and others, I suspect) is that the HDMI 1.3 implementation in the player is NOT backwards compatable. When I connect the player to my 2004 built HDTV (reported to use HDMI 1.1), the player does not even recognize that an HDMI capable device is connected to it. No video is displayed on the screen except for the power-on splash screen, which disappears as the player initializes.
When I connect a slightly newer LCD TV (possibly HDMI 1.2) to the player, it recognizes the TV as being connected, but does not display any video other than the initial power-on splash screen. It does follow any changes in the output mode of the player. 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i and 1080p signal inputs are all reported by the TV, but there's no video.
Since Sony is one of the creators of the HDMI specification, I am perplexed why they would make a player that does not have the backwards compatibility that is reported by every HDMI site I have visited. Fortunately, my TV does have component video inputs, so I can still get 1080i video (the best this TV will display) and I'm happy with it. I just am tired of "built-in obsolescence" when it's not supposed to be there.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
In the dust!!!
by showbear on August 31, 2009
Pros: I like very little about this machine. I had a Sony BDP S300 for more than a year. This 3rd-generation model is not much better. It is smaller and lighter and a little bit faster, but it's still agonizing waiting for it to get going.
Cons: Still GLACIALLY slow to start up and load disks. It's only just noticeably faster than the first-generation Sony BDP S300 that it replaced.
Summary: My main complaints WERE the ones above but now, after less than two months, it is refusing to play most of the Blu-ray disks in my library while it plays ...
Summary: My main complaints WERE the ones above but now, after less than two months, it is refusing to play most of the Blu-ray disks in my library while it plays DVD's without complaint. Yes, they're all official releases, and yes, I upgraded the firmware to the latest version yesterday. I just HAD to come here and tell anywone who will listen how PISSED I am at Sony, the originators of Blu-ray, making two such DISMAL products and convincing me to buy them!
I bought an LG for about the same price today (sorry, I forget the model). Honest, I don't work for them or have anything to gain from promoting them. But their machine is MILES ahead of the 360, no contest whatsoever! The several movies I've tried (startup only) have been in progress within about 1/3 to 1/4 of the time the Sony takes!! This is the way it SHOULD work, with performance close to the DVD player I used to have. Plus with a network connection the LG plays YouTube videos, very cool, and has software that lets me serve pictures and videos from any computer on my network.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
Improvements with new Firmware
by AmericanCliche on July 28, 2009
Pros: New firmware ALLOWS for internet video streaming (YouTube and Netflix). Video quality is excellent (I'm using a Sony XBR TV). I didn't mind the recessed USB port, my run of the mill Kingston thumb stick fit without issue. Auto-updates its firmware.
Cons: No eject button on the remote. Ironically, the remote for my Sony TV (which is designed to work with multiple external inputs) also lacks an eject button. The load times could be faster, but they are tolerable.
Summary: Great BD player. Its major flaw (maybe an issue Sony has on a larger scale) is the lack of an eject button on the remote. I'm happy with my ...
Summary: Great BD player. Its major flaw (maybe an issue Sony has on a larger scale) is the lack of an eject button on the remote. I'm happy with my purchase.
1 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
This player already able to support netflix
by kwkong00 on December 2, 2009
Pros: overall performance consider not bad.
Cons: Abit bulky .. but most of the BD player in the market is bulky too.
Summary: looking forward to have some moving visualization function during usb mp3 , wma play back . Some thing like in window media player.
web browser is an intresting feature to be in ...Summary: looking forward to have some moving visualization function during usb mp3 , wma play back . Some thing like in window media player.
web browser is an intresting feature to be in home video product now. -
Would not buy!!
by Bonanza-vtail on October 2, 2009
Pros: Has good picture quality
Cons: Slow, and to get some Blu-Ray discs to play you have to keep manually reloading the disc after each time it says cannot read the disc, eventually it will play. Contacted Sony tech support they said cause it is new tech it is to be expected Huh???
Summary: The player is just ok with major flaws be it the fault of new technology i.e. Blu-Ray, producers putting out movies with non standard code, or Sony's way ...
Summary: The player is just ok with major flaws be it the fault of new technology i.e. Blu-Ray, producers putting out movies with non standard code, or Sony's way of either blowing off the consumer, or inability to stay up to speed with technology. My suggestion is to steer clear of this unit, look at Samsung or LG!!
-
Great Blu-ray player for the Price
by www.arthursiew.com on May 18, 2009
Pros: Quiet Operation, Nice Design, Good Value, BD Live Capable, Onboard DTS TrueHD and MA, Compact, PQ and AQ
Cons: Loading times are just OK, No Eject button on Remote, Sluggish performance on more complex menus
Summary: For $250, I thought that this player was inexpensive and carried a good value. The player was ready for BD Live out of the box and had Onboard decoding for ...
Summary: For $250, I thought that this player was inexpensive and carried a good value. The player was ready for BD Live out of the box and had Onboard decoding for DTS TrueHD and MA which the S350 didn't have. I also found that the player was smaller compared to the S350 and had a nicer design. It was also extremely quiet compared to my PS3. The PQ and AQ was quite impressive.
This player also had some problems. The PQ and AQ's performance was impressive, but one thing that Sony failed to deliver was the loading times. The loading times were just OK, but pretty slow compared to my PS3. There was also no eject button on the remote, but that can be easily resolved by borrowing or purchasing a remote from the S350. Navigating through more complex menus was also a little sluggish, but simple ones were fine. Overall, I thought that this player was great for the price and I recommend it for anybody looking for an affordable BD player with impressive PQ and AQ. -
Excellent player from Sony
by romcecil on May 5, 2009
Pros: Incredible performance on BluRay discs and also on regular DVD's. Upscaling regular DVD's is great and surpasses my other regular DVD player. Great Sound and very fast loading time for HD discs,also very reasonable priced.
Cons: Looks not as well built as my SP-300 and lacks analog 7-1 outputs.
Summary: I like the player a lot and do not care for streaming capabilities or internet connection. I use these player for playing movies in my home theatre
Summary: I like the player a lot and do not care for streaming capabilities or internet connection. I use these player for playing movies in my home theatre
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Sony
- Part number: BDP-S360
- Description: The revolution continues with the BDP-S360 Blu-ray Disc player. Watch Blu-ray Disc movies in Full HD 1080p and upscale your existing DVD collection via HDMI to near HD quality. In addition to a superior picture, this player supports Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD audio codecs for up to 7.1 channels of high-definition sound. There's even quick start-up mode which begins operating your Blu-ray Disc player in approximately six seconds from the time it is powered on. Featuring BD-Live compatibility, you can take full advantage of the Bonus View feature of select Blu-ray movies as well as acquire the latest features and updates as they become available. And navigation of the player's menus is a breeze thanks to the icon-based Xross Media Bar (XMB) menu system.
General
- Product Type Blu-Ray disc player
- Form Factor Tabletop
- Width 16.9 in
- Depth 8.1 in
- Height 2.2 in
- Weight 4.6 lbs
DVD
- Media Type CD, DVD, BD-R, CD-R, BD-RE, CD-RW, DVD+R, DVD-R, BD-ROM, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, DVD+R DL, DVD-R DL
- BD Profiles Profile 2.0 (BD-Live), Profile 1.1 (Bonus View)
- Video D/A Converter 12bit / 148.5MHz
- Built-in Audio Decoders Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD
- Media Load Type Tray
- Upscaling Yes ( Up to 1080p )
- Supported Digital Video Standards AVCHD
- Supported Digital Audio Standards MP3, PCM
DVD Features
- Parental Lock Yes
- Additional Features JPEG photo playback, Progressive scanning, x.v.Colour technology
Audio System
- Sound Output Mode Stereo
- Digital Audio Format DTS digital output, Dolby Digital output, DTS-HD digital output, Dolby Digital Plus output, Dolby True HD digital output
Remote Control
- Type Remote control
- Technology Infrared
Connections
- Connector Type 1 x Audio line-out ( RCA phono x 2 ) - Rear, 1 x SPDIF output ( RCA phono ) - Rear, 1 x Component video output ( RCA phono x 3 ) - Rear, 1 x Composite video output ( RCA phono ) - Rear, 1 x SPDIF output ( TOSLINK ) - Rear, 1 x HDMI output ( 19 pin HDMI Type A ) - Rear, 1 x Ethernet ( RJ-45 ) - Rear
Power
- Power Device Power supply
Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & Support 1 year warranty
- Service & Support Details Limited warranty - Parts and labor - 1 year
Manufacturer info
- Sony
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Sony products on Shopper.com
-
- Website: http://www.sonystyle.com
- Address:
16765 W. Bernardo Dr., San Diego, CA 92127 - Phone: 1-877-865-SONY
- Email: contact@sel.sony.com
- Fax: 941-768-7790
