Sony BDP S5100

[kamalnv]

I got this new BDP Player from a friend coming down from US after i sold my 6 months old Marantz UD5005. It's like coming out of Jail !! lol.... total freedom for the features i was looking for .. i will propably summarise the one's i use may be in a day or two but i am really struggling to find out the difference in Video Quality... for some reason i "Percieve" the video quality to be better in this BD Player on my Panny (yet to test it on Projector) than on Marantz UD5005.

I simply went for this player as it's best on paper specifications at the cost / Segment, it's a surprise for me as i am getting more features, better performance (disk load time etc) at 1/3 rd the price of the most popular/recommended player - Marantz.

 

[kamalnv]

Evidently there is no other feedback i could find for Sony BDP S5100 in india hence this long post, I believe S5100 is a succesor for BDP-S590.

I am unable to edit the above message May be it's time limited hence a reply post...

Note 1 - SACD - I am used to hearing music in Stereo. so Multi channel Music is the first time i am hearing borrowing a disc from a friend. It's Great to hear Multichannel Music . . But limited by the titles and media availability i am not a great fan of it. Coming to my setup Denon 1911 failed to decode the DSD Signals I believe this is a feature only available on high end Recievers (3X and 4x series) as it requires a Sony DSD Chip, so the decoding of DSD is done on BDP S5100 and Denon recieves it as Multi Channel Audio. Surprising 'cause my Car DVD Player supports SACD(Yes its a Sony !! ). Again all this is done on HDMI only cable (no digital cable connected). Overall SACD is seamlessly supported on the BDP but limitatin of my reciever, Sounds great would use it if have the media but will not go hunting for it.

Note 2 - HDMI CEC - I somehow seem to like CEC concept as it enables communication between equipments and unified control irrespective of the manufacturer, W'll that seems only on the paper anyway .... I have enabled CEC on my Panny, Denon and BDP S5100... Panny and BDP seem to sync well with CEC as i can control Volume, Power and menu navigation of the BDP using Pannyd TV Remote without any programming. But doesnt seem to work with Denon,... reciever can only control "Power State" switch on/off the TV and does not sync with the BDP, had similar issues on Marantaz BDP As well. Overall I believe there is a limitation in the CEC Implementation of the Reciever and does not seem to be a issue with BDP., CEC works well with Panny allowing me to use TV Remote to control the BDP S5100 (ps - all my devices are connected to denon via HDMI), For now i have programmed the Sony Remote code on the Denon Remote which also seems to work.

Note 3 - Media Playback - Connected 1TB disk through USB Easily recogises without any problem on the rear USB Port (5100 has 2 USB Ports one at the rear and in the front), it does not upscale the 720p media to 1080p.. I thought it does ......I believe it also does 3D but i am not very sure as i do not have 3D Capable TV or Projector. tested FLAC, MP3, MKV, VOB & AAC plays very well, navigation to media is easy (though i cannot navigate when when playing content). One thing i observed is when i choose music and navigate on the folders if there is a "Music Video" it fails to recognise the file , so i have navigate to the same folder by choosing video from the main menu to play the video. same thing applies for Pitcures as well ... SRT files are NOT supported through media so no subtitles. Decodes DTS, Dolby Digital from the Media.

Note 4 - Firmware Updates - I dont seem to get firmware updates as it gives out an Error .. My guess is S5100 is not yet launched in india hence the firmware updates are not available on the indian sony support site, the BDP is auto detecting the location (india) and populating contents more relative here like big flix. Although i keep getting popup's that the firmware needs to be updated for the latest content. Manual firmware update cannot be done through USB and should be done only through Disc. So i have to manually download, burn the disc ... Awww !!! Finally got the firmware update through manual process using CD. !!!

 

[kamalnv]

Note 5 - iPod - I connected my iPOD nano to BDP Player, recognises as a USB Mass Storage device and is able to play the Music stored on it. But the issue is ipod uses non standard naming convection of the Folder / Files on it making it impossible to select the songs you want to play, for some reason the folders are auto created by itunes with folder names as F00, F01 etc.. (Dont know why "F" and music file names in some random order of text, hence we jsut dont know which song it is unlesss you play it.. This isnt the story when the iPOD is connected to the USB Port on the Denon Reciever, it instantly recognises as an iPOD and you will be able to navigate using common filters like Artists, Albums, Song name etc....also when it's connected to reciever the ipod display shows "DENON" on it's screen, so a seamless understanding between ipod and reciever exists. I Guess this is a good feature of ipod "Awareness" missing on the BDP S5100.

 

[netant]

Note 3 - Media Playback - Connected 1TB disk through USB

have you connected powered USB or non powered USB ?

 

[Vinod.R]

I think you may have to update the firmware on the US website of Sony, as it is a Sony US player.

It is generally best to update firmware from the site the player belongs to.

 

[Dushie]

It is a good player, with loads of reviews and costing under 100$ in US. i am also planning to buy the same.

 

[kamalnv]

have you connected powered USB or non powered USB ?

Netant,

I have connected both 1TB Powered USB (Basically my TVIX Media player acting as an external powered USB Drive) and non powered 1TB Seagate Portable USB Drive and i have played movies with about 20GB size on the Portable (non powered) with DTS HD MA and have no issues with it.

But be carefull there are lot of drives out there which has lower RPM internal drive which provides lower IOPS (Throughput), We need a drive which has good cache so it can provide good bandwidth on continous "Read".

Typically(not mandatory) external Powered drives use "Desktop HDD" while portable USB drives use "Laptop HDD" inside, i dont have statistics to say Desktop HDD's are generally better but i believe that's the trade off on Laptop HDD.

 

[kamalnv]

I think you may have to update the firmware on the US website of Sony, as it is a Sony US player.

It is generally best to update firmware from the site the player belongs to.

Hi Vinod, I did that as i had no other choice, Indian Sony site still does not carry the firmware exclusively for S5100 and US site has the latest version anyway.

eitherway when you get connected online the content automatically populates based on your location / Country (Guess it uses some kind of ip lookup of your ISP).

 

[netant]

....... and non powered 1TB Seagate Portable USB Drive and i have played movies with about 20GB size on the Portable (non powered) with DTS HD MA and have no issues with it.

great, thanks for confirming.

 

[Dushie]

Hi Vinod, I did that as i had no other choice, Indian Sony site still does not carry the firmware exclusively for S5100 and US site has the latest version anyway.

eitherway when you get connected online the content automatically populates based on your location / Country (Guess it uses some kind of ip lookup of your ISP).

Ordered the player today from Sony Canada for 121$, should come in January.
If you want to do firmware update from US server, just use US DNS that should help in getting the job done. Then it should detect the country as US and do the firmware update.

 

[kamalnv]

Thanks i already updated firmware thorough CD....& Congratulatoins !!!

OH BTW - I Just discovered that this player does not play content in .iso files, it does not even recognise it... i also believe it's a common issue on Sony Players... not sure though.

 

[netant]

Thanks i already updated firmware thorough CD....& Congratulatoins !!!

OH BTW - I Just discovered that this player does not play content in .iso files, it does not even recognise it... i also believe it's a common issue on Sony Players... not sure though.

is you player region locked ?
if not, will it be locked after firmware update ?

 

[Dushie]

I think the US players are region locked and Sony cannot be hacked. Probably existing users can shed more light on the same.

 

[just4kix]

1. There is no need to change DNS and other such settings, e.g., proxy for firmware updates. Just connect to the network. If the network update is set to AUTO, it will automatically connect to the US website. If set to MANUAL, then you will have to select UPDATE option manually. If the device resident firmware is older, it will automatically update. I have a US imported Sony and can confirm the above.

2. Sony players are region locked (as are all from other manufacturers). They are most difficult to make region free. There is no region-free firmware for this. The only option is a hardware mod. Since the player is fairly recent, I doubt whether a h/w mod is available right now. Refer this thread: The Quest for a Region-Free Blu-Ray Player

 

[netant]

I think the US players are region locked and Sony cannot be hacked. Probably existing users can shed more light on the same.

2. Sony players are region locked (as are all from other manufacturers). They are most difficult to make region free. There is no region-free firmware for this. The only option is a hardware mod.

i discovered mine 4100 is region fee out of the box. also, under the hidden stickers discovered it was imported from Germany.

 

[just4kix]

i discovered mine 4100 is region fee out of the box. also, under the hidden stickers discovered it was imported from Germany.

Are you sure that it is region free for DVD as well as BD - I mean tested? Region free BDP is not sold by generic stores.

 

[Dushie]

I feel it may be region free for DVD, but Bluray would be Zone specific.

 

[netant]

Are you sure that it is region free for DVD as well as BD - I mean tested? Region free BDP is not sold by generic stores.

tested DVD only.
no bd from different region donate some for testing

 

[kamalnv]

is you player region locked ?
if not, will it be locked after firmware update ?

Yet to test it ... the BD Media i have is either region free (bought in india) or in the US - Region A... so havnt had the issue yet.

Note 6 -

- I borrowed a 3D BD media to test only to find that the 3D to 2D Conversion is missing, i couldnt watch the movie as i see Side by Side format on the screen. Note - the other way around 2D to 3D Conversion feature is available. Not sure if there are any controls to play 3D movies on a 2D Format on a 2D TV/Projector.

- Another thing i had my Samsung Wave 3 Mobile connected to Wifi, The BD Player automatically detected it . I was able to play everything on my Phone through the BD Player, Though video's buffered a lot !. Suprisingly it doesnt happen on youtube.. Audio was more than perfect, One Step beyond is Wave was able to detect as a BD Player and was infact able to remote control it over the network without any Additional software and using the built in Allshare.. (samsung DLNA S/w on Mobiles).

 

[Dushie]

Another Feather in the cap of Sony, for getting the best Blu Ray Budget player from What Hi Fi for Dec 2013 awards for model S4100. The S5100 hundred has been a top performer globally as has not been launched in India.