Sony BDP S300 - Expert Reviews

Review summary: As one of the major players in the Blu-ray vs. HD DVD format war, we weren't surprised when Sony announced a price drop for the BDP-S300 to the relatively low list price of $500. Despite the fact that we've been wowed by Blu-ray's image quality, price has

Pros: Excellent picture quality on Blu-ray and DVD; DVD upconversion up to 1080p; HDMI output.

Cons: No onboard Dolby TrueHD decoding; slow load times, particularly unbearable on newer BD Java discs like Pirates of the Caribbean; some minor video performance issues; no Ethernet port for firmware upgrades.

Verdict: The BDP-S300 is a decent choice if you're limiting yourself to a relatively cheap, standard-design Blu-ray player, but everyone else should consider the competition.

Review summary: Earlier today we reported the major details on Sony's new Blu-ray player, and now we've received the full press release for the BDP-S300 which will be announced tomorrow at Sony's line show.

Review summary: If there's one question I get more than any other these days, it's this: "Are those new high def DVD players affordable yet?" "Affordable" is a subjective term if ever there was one, but the short answer is yes, affordable HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc players

Verdict: Although it's nothing to write home about as a standard DVD player, the BDP-S300 certainly has what it takes to deliver a superb Blu-ray experience. Unfortunately, with the same price tag as a PS3 - also from Sony - comparisons are inevitable. With networ