The Sony BDP-S300 Blu-ray Player: Sony Quality?

This Christmas I got my first Blu-ray player, the Sony BDP-S300. I had previously only seen these at the stores and at a couple of friends' houses, so I was very excited when I opened the package. Since I love to watch movies, this Blu-ray player would hopefully be a decent upgrade from my old standard Toshiba DVD player.

Sony is a brand I have trusted over the years; including MP3 players, head phones and a stereo. I have never been disappointed, and when I have a Sony product I feel confident that it will live up to its standards. This time, however, I am not so sure.

Hooking up the Sony BDP-S300 was easy, it went very smoothly and I didn't have any problems whatsoever. It was very straight forward and there was also a manual that explained everything in detail.

I put the Sony BDP-S300 on a shelf underneath the TV, and that's when I first realized that it didn't look one bit appealing. I took a couple of steps back and looked at it from a distance, and I was filled with dismay. This player looks dull and boring! Even the little "Sony" sign didn't help its appearance.

I gave my hubby a smile and tried to seem impressed as I inserted a DVD. The player "growled" for a few seconds, and then after a much longer wait than with my old standard DVD player it started to play the movie. I assume that this is a cheap version of Sony's Blu-ray players, because so far there was nothing too impressing by this product.

The functions worked fine and the movie quality was OK. I know a friend of ours who has a Playstation 3 and I must say that the quality they get from that one is far better than I got from this player. It was an utter disappointment.

I was negative towards this player ever since I realized how unappealing it looked, so that might have something to do with it. However, the performance was not at all what I expected. When I saw that I had a Sony Blu-ray I was positive that I would be overwhelmed by its quality and features, but this product does not live up to the Sony brand name.

My hubby however thought it was a nice player, but if that was pride or reality I don't know. I had the product returned soon after Christmas and the store immediately refunded the purchase.

I would not recommend this product. It was disappointing and I don't see how Sony can put their name on something like this. The player worked OK, but when I choose to go with Sony I want more than OK, I want the top of the line. I want a product I can be confident will deliver.

It's my belief that with the BDP-S300 Sony has created an affordable Blu-ray player that has average, or slightly below average. I would not refrain from ever buying Sony products again, but I would most definitely go up a couple of notches on the quality scale.