Can anyone confirm whether or not the BD-35 has DIVX playback capability?
If it does - this would probably then be the one for me, cos I've had my eye on that one, but DIVX is a must for me.

I've been able to test out the new Sony BDP-S550. Started out with The Incredible Hulk and it looked terrific. I even think it looked a tad bit better than it did on my old Panasonic DMP-BD30. The player is faster powering on as well. As far as load times, I only counted from inserting Hulk into the player until I saw a load screen. Took about 25 seconds. I also tried out the upconverting and again, it seems to do a better job than the Panny. Bitstreaming to the Sony STR-DG820, the Hulk's dts HD MA track sounded just as impressive as it did on the BD30.

Sorting through the menus on the Hulk was pretty smooth. I want to test that out on The Descent and see how it handles that java-heavy menu.

As far as build quality, this is one heavy duty machine. It is a very solid, sleek looking unit. It's one of the heavier units I've owned. The heavier, the better in my opinion.

Overall, it is a great machine and I'm glad I own it. The only thing I haven't tried out is the network features, which I will at some point.

Everything I have read says that the 35 does NOT have DIVX capability. For that you will need the 55.

Yep, there was also an official Panasonic spec sheet somewhere that listed Divx only on the 55.

Amazon.com has the Panasonic DMP-BD55 for $344. Supposedly, the price has dipped down to $318 at times...

Have you tried any DVD-R or DL discs?

The Sony BDP-S350 has dropped to $219.99 on Amazon.com. With the 4 (GoodFellas $16.95, Speed Racer $19.95, Batman Begins $17.95, & 300 $14.95) blu-rays and $100 off the final price is $189.79.

...Ok....

If you are an LG 200 owner you may want to contact LG in regards to adding BD-Live (2.0). It was promised in their press release and they have yet to offer it. Apparently, LG is calling customers and offering a $75 check for their troubles.

Wow, that really sucks. I'll cross that one off the possible list of players worth upgrading from the BD30.

Still a great plater that does not only BD, HD and DVD but region free for BD, DVD and plays PAL DVDs. Overall a nice player and worth the $200-$250 tag.

Looks like my itchy fingers will be buying the Sony S550 from Amazon.

What 4 Blu-rays and $100 off?

Edit:NM, found the link in the "One & Only HD bargains thread."

Holy crap, it includes the PS3?

Yep. You can snag an S350 anywehre from $185-210 depending what titles you choose. However, the promotion does not work for Prime members...Gonna have to call Amazon for them to get it through for me.

Maybe the Samsung P1500 is getting DTS-HD MA afterall.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10080379-1.html

Where can you find it for $200-$250?

Some Best Buys are clearancing them out between $215 - $399.

http://panasonic.jp/support/global/c...5/bd35_na.html

Firmware 1.5 for the Panasonic DMP-BD35. 1.5 was also released for the 55.

Improvements: "Playability and Stability"

Really? I'm pretty sure I registered mine online when I bought it. Honestly, I'm not concerned about the BD Live stuff. I have the PS3 for that connected Wi-Fi. I wouldn't run a cable to my living room for this. It is a solid 1.1 player and is region free so I have no complaints, but I will take a $75 check if offered.

New to this so forgive the basic question. If one has a HDTV ('60 Sony LCD) and a Blu-ray player, does the receiver need to upconvert or convert any signals? I am wondering if I need to get a receiver that is supposed to be good at converting signals or will the Blu-ray player be good enough for that? I am currently deciding between the Sony 350, 550 and PS3 for my first player. Thanks.

You'll need a receiver that can play all the audio the player gives it. Just because it has HDMI doesn't mean it can output DDplus, TrueHD, etc.

If you don't have a receiver, as appears to be the case, you can buy pretty much any HDMI capable receiver and pair it with a Blu-ray Disc player. In most cases you would send the HDMI to the receiver and then hook the HDMI out from the receiver to your display. The receiver will strip out the audio and pass on the video signal. No converting of any kind is necessary.

Until you get a receiver and surround system, you can hook the HDMI directly to your display and use the HDTV stereo speakers.

With a new HDMI capable HT receiver, you have two options: you can let the player decode the audio format and output it as PCM to your receiver. Or you can have the player send the undecoded audio as a "bitstream" to an HDMI 1.3 receiver, if it has the ability to decode the new "lossless" audio formats: Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio. The first method has the advantage that the player can mix in menu sounds and PIP commentaries, which can not be heard if using bitstream. But some people like to bitstream lossless audio so they can see their receivers light up the "Dolby TrueHD" or "DTS-HD MA" indicators. Go figure. There is no difference in audio quality between the two methods, for reasons I won't get into here.

As to the players you mention, the best one for the money for your purposes would be the Sony S350. If you purchased a new HDMI capable receiver, you wouldn't need the S550; that's for people like me who use older receivers that have only analog inputs and no HDMI. If you are a big gamer, you might want to consider the PS3 but be aware that in addition to being much more expensive (the S350 will be available for $180 soon) the PS3 has advantages and disadvantages. There are other players, such as the Panasonic DMP-BD35, that might also suit your needs.

If you do already have an older HT receiver that is not HDMI capable but does have six, seven, or eight channel analog inputs, you can use a player like the Sony BDP-S550 or Panasonic DMP-BD55 to decode the lossless audio codecs and send them to your receiver as analog. In that case you would just hook up the HDMI output from the player directly to your HDTV.

I hope this answers your questions. If I have misunderstood what you were asking please try again. If you haven't already read the first post in this thread, check it out: it has a glossary that tries to explain some of the jargon used here.

The operating manual for the Panny DMP-BD55 and DMP-BD35 can be found at the Canadian Panasonic site:

http://www.panasonic.ca/PDP/Operatin...-55-oi-eng.pdf

I was thinking about getting the PS3 bundle for $488...is this a decent deal?

PS3 80gb
Blu-Ray remote
DUALSHOCK 3 wireless controller
2 games (I am thinking about NBA 2K8, Madden '07)
4 movies (thinking about A Few Good Men, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Donnie Brasco, Big Fish)

I consider that to be a great deal. Last Saturday, I purchased a PS3 80gb at Walmart for $399, and with the purchase was also given a $100 gift card. I used the gift card to buy the Blu-Ray remote, a Dualshock controller and Resistance Fall of Man 2 for about $105 total (Resistance was a misprice at $29).

You'll still need to pick up the cabling depending on your setup, so figure that into the cost.

I would say it's only OK if there are some movies and games in that selection that you really want. From what I can tell online, the controller is just the one that comes with the system, not an extra one. If it's an extra one that changes the math. Assuming you have to pay tax, which most people will, and ship to home the total will be $525-540. I'd prefer to get the PS3 and remote from Amazon for about $420. They currently have a deal where you get 2 free Sony Blu-rays if you buy a PS3 and 2 other Sony movies, so for about another $40 you can get 4 Sony Blu-rays. That puts you at $460. They also will bundle the PS3, remote, and an extra DualShock controller for $460, so for about $500 you get all that plus 4 movies. Considering the game selection that Walmart had, my preference would be the Amazon deal.

Do you have a link to the Amazon deal? I'm not seeing it when I look. Thanks.