# Sony BDP-S550 issue



## johnp37 (Sep 14, 2006)

O.K. just got done set up of my new Sony BDP-S550 Blu Ray player. Popped in Blu ray disc of Starship Troopers. Loaded, indicated on screen BD ROM> then display showed the 0000 counter and then ._. ._. ._. ._. Would not play. I know I did set up correctly. Anyhow, I picked up The Dark Knight blue ray disc and it played beautifully. Awesome. I took the Starship Troopers back to BB and it played fine. Any thoughts or suggestions? Am I missing something?


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## Yoda-DBSguy (Nov 4, 2006)

johnp37 said:


> O.K. just got done set up of my new Sony BDP-S550 Blu Ray player. Popped in Blu ray disc of Starship Troopers. Loaded, indicated on screen BD ROM> then display showed the 0000 counter and then ._. ._. ._. ._. Would not play. I know I did set up correctly. Anyhow, I picked up The Dark Knight blue ray disc and it played beautifully. Awesome. I took the Starship Troopers back to BB and it played fine. Any thoughts or suggestions? Am I missing something?


You may need to update the firmware on the player in order to get some new titles to run. That is most likely your issue. Just because it's "new" doesn't mean it has the latest firmware released at the time of purchase.


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## johnp37 (Sep 14, 2006)

I should have mentioned that. Yes I did update the firmware from .007 to .015. Still no luck. Any chance it's just a bad disc? Any other ideas?


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## dave29 (Feb 18, 2007)

This may sound weird, but some discs just won't play in some players, while they will play in others.....
I would hang onto the disc, with a future firmware update, it will probably play.


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## STEVEN-H (Jan 19, 2007)

Have you tried a regular DVD to see if it will play or just the Blu Ray?


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## johnp37 (Sep 14, 2006)

Played several of my non-blu ray dvds and play o.k. We'll see if a future fimware update makes the problem go away.


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## STEVEN-H (Jan 19, 2007)

I have the Sony 350 and have had no problems playing the 8 Blu Ray DVD's I have.


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## dettxw (Nov 21, 2007)

johnp37 said:


> O.K. just got done set up of my new Sony BDP-S550 Blu Ray player. Popped in Blu ray disc of Starship Troopers. Loaded, indicated on screen BD ROM> then display showed the 0000 counter and then ._. ._. ._. ._. Would not play. I know I did set up correctly. Anyhow, I picked up The Dark Knight blue ray disc and it played beautifully. Awesome. I took the Starship Troopers back to BB and it played fine. Any thoughts or suggestions? Am I missing something?


No problems here so far, but then haven't tried that particular disc.


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## smiddy (Apr 5, 2006)

I have had mine since Chirstmas and have only had two issues: the component video wiring I put it had a cruashed pin, removing and replacing the component cable fix that; the front right channel would not work in analog, again another cable issue, replaced cable and all is happy. I have not had any issues playing any BDs. I was considering buying Starship Troopers since the original on DVD was pretty good, but I haven't. I may have to rent it to see. I'm also on .015 firmware, I created a CD for the update since the website wasn't available at the time the firmware was.


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## dnero (Feb 12, 2008)

I have the same player but have not issues yet have rented that movie yet either. But I have noticed the disc needs to be very clean for it play well its error handling is not as good as my standard def Sony.


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## johnp37 (Sep 14, 2006)

johnp37 said:


> O.K. just got done set up of my new Sony BDP-S550 Blu Ray player. Popped in Blu ray disc of Starship Troopers. Loaded, indicated on screen BD ROM> then display showed the 0000 counter and then ._. ._. ._. ._. Would not play. I know I did set up correctly. Anyhow, I picked up The Dark Knight blue ray disc and it played beautifully. Awesome. I took the Starship Troopers back to BB and it played fine. Any thoughts or suggestions? Am I missing something?


 I purchased Batman Begins blu ray disc today and it played no problem. My Starship Troopers blu ray disc however still will not play even after the firmware update. Yes ,it is clean not scratched. I also played a number of my non-blu ray dvds and all played fine. I can only surmise that ST is in some way faulty. Unfortunately Best Buy will not take it back either for exchange or refund because it played ok at the store. Very strange.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Please note that I am *NOT *a big Sony Blu Ray player fan - I prefer my Panasonic units. I've played over 150 BD disk movies without a single issue.

That said...the 550 unit is indeed a fine Blu Ray device. Almost any review will be highly positive.

The common issue with this unit tends to revolve around something that has nothing to do with the unit itself - cables.

The connectors on the 550 are top notch and designed to be snug with cable ends.

Cheaper or defective cables will end up causing problems - as a few folks here have reported. Also, there are still a few production defects in BD disks themselves, but those are becoming more and more rare.

If you get and connect up good cables, you should enjoy the Sony 550 for years to come.


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## johnp37 (Sep 14, 2006)

johnp37 said:


> I purchased Batman Begins blu ray disc today and it played no problem. My Starship Troopers blu ray disc however still will not play even after the firmware update. Yes ,it is clean not scratched. I also played a number of my non-blu ray dvds and all played fine. I can only surmise that ST is in some way faulty. Unfortunately Best Buy will not take it back either for exchange or refund because it played ok at the store. Very strange.


I contacted Sony Support and explained my issue. They will be sending me a replacement disc in exchange for my "unplayable" ST disc. Hopefully this one will be o.k.. In any event, I purchased several other BluRay discs and all played perfectly.


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## ibglowin (Sep 10, 2002)

Starship Troopers was authored in a way such that it requires some sort of memory in your player to write to for the BD live feature even if you are not interested in BD live.

I have the Panasonic BD-35 as well as Starship Troopers on BD. This disc would not play at all until I bought and inserted a SD memory card into the machine even though I did not access any BD live features.

If the Sony has a memory card slot for BD live features, fill it with a card and I bet it will play just fine after that.


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## smiddy (Apr 5, 2006)

ibglowin said:


> Starship Troopers was authored in a way such that it requires some sort of memory in your player to write to for the BD live feature even if you are not interested in BD live.
> 
> I have the Panasonic BD-35 as well as Starship Troopers on BD. This disc would not play at all until I bought and inserted a SD memory card into the machine even though I did not access any BD live features.
> 
> If the Sony has a memory card slot for BD live features, fill it with a card and I bet it will play just fine after that.


Excellent find! I don't know if he has tried that, but the S550 comes with a memory card. I installed mine prior to turning it on...

It does seem silly though to preclude a movie from running if you can't download the BD stuff.


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## WestDC (Feb 9, 2008)

Ethernet port provides connectivity to a home network with broadband connection so you can download network updates and bonus content2.

IF you have an HRX plug a patch cord into the bottom RJ45 and hook it the BDP- and you should also be good to go.


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## WERA689 (Oct 15, 2006)

Just as interestingly, I have a Panny BD10-AK, which has no BD Live capability at all. It has had no issues playing any BD that I have thrown into it, including many (Hellboy 2, Pirates 1,2 and 3; etc) that include BD Live features...

I'm not sure how this info will factor into the problem being reported, but it does make me question the stated "need" for available memory in the player.


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## Game Fan (Sep 8, 2007)

I've had mine since the first of the year. I only play disc's I purchased. I put the memory card in the back and d/l'd the latest firmware. I haven't had any issues at all. It's a great machine. You have to have a bad disc. Nice to know Sony is sending you a new one. They are doing the right thing.


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## johnp37 (Sep 14, 2006)

smiddy said:


> Excellent find! I don't know if he has tried that, but the S550 comes with a memory card. I installed mine prior to turning it on...
> 
> It does seem silly though to preclude a movie from running if you can't download the BD stuff.


Thanks for the info guys. I just wish I had known that from the get go. It would have saved me some minor aggravation and concern(did I get a defective player?). If my replacement disc has the same issue I know what to do now. I'll post an update once the replacement disc arrives and I check it out.


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## smiddy (Apr 5, 2006)

johnp37 said:


> Thanks for the info guys. I just wish I had known that from the get go. It would have saved me some minor aggravation and concern(did I get a defective player?). If my replacement disc has the same issue I know what to do now. I'll post an update once the replacement disc arrives and I check it out.


Try both the memory card and the network connection. Let us know how things turn out. I've yet to get a copy of Starship Troopers though to try.


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## johnp37 (Sep 14, 2006)

I have finally received my replacement Starship Troopers disc. As I suspected, it would not play. But, I did what ibglowin suggested, I inserted the memory card that came with the player and behold, it played beautifully. To anyone holding back on purchasing this disc, go ahead. Memory card info: Sony 1GB/GO under Part# USM1GH/T2. Amazon.com has it as well as 2,4, and 8GB capacities. IMPORTANT NOTE: I cannot stress this enough, excercise extreme care when inserting the card. Straight in, do not force. Push in with care till it seats. Approx. 5/16" or slightly over should protrude when fully seated.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

johnp37 said:


> I have finally received my replacement Starship Troopers disc. As I suspected, it would not play. But, I did what ibglowin suggested, I inserted the memory card that came with the player and behold, it played beautifully. To anyone holding back on purchasing this disc, go ahead. Memory card info: Sony 1GB/GO under Part# USM1GH/T2. Amazon.com has it as well as 2,4, and 8GB capacities. IMPORTANT NOTE: I cannot stress this enough, excercise extreme care when inserting the card. Straight in, do not force. Push in with care till it seats. Approx. 5/16" or slightly over should protrude when fully seated.


Good to hear you are squared away....but this is indeed a bizarre requirement to have to use the unit.


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## dettxw (Nov 21, 2007)

Maybe this has already been mentioned, but this Blu-ray player comes with the requisite memory card. So shouldn't be a big deal.


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## johnp37 (Sep 14, 2006)

dettxw said:


> Maybe this has already been mentioned, but this Blu-ray player comes with the requisite memory card. So shouldn't be a big deal.


 Yes, that's quite true as owners of this machine already know. They may not have known about the availability of higher capacity cards which is why I mentioned it. Personally, I could care less for BD LIve. Bizarre requirement indeed.


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## smiddy (Apr 5, 2006)

johnp37 said:


> I have finally received my replacement Starship Troopers disc. As I suspected, it would not play. But, I did what ibglowin suggested, I inserted the memory card that came with the player and behold, it played beautifully. To anyone holding back on purchasing this disc, go ahead. Memory card info: Sony 1GB/GO under Part# USM1GH/T2. Amazon.com has it as well as 2,4, and 8GB capacities. IMPORTANT NOTE: I cannot stress this enough, excercise extreme care when inserting the card. Straight in, do not force. Push in with care till it seats. Approx. 5/16" or slightly over should protrude when fully seated.


Sorry I hadn't looked back here in a while...I am so glad it is now working however. I will have to see if I cana pick this puppy up today to try it. It is also good to know there are larger cards that can be used too. I wonder if there is a way to copy the contents from one to another one?


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## smiddy (Apr 5, 2006)

johnp37 said:


> Yes, that's quite true as owners of this machine already know. They may not have known about the availability of higher capacity cards which is why I mentioned it. Personally, I could care less for BD LIve. Bizarre requirement indeed.


The BD content has been lackluster at best on all the movies I own. Disney's interactive BD Live content seems to be the best out there, but it is more of a way to get teh user to spend more money...it reminds me of all those commercials you'd see on VHS tape, when all you really wanted to do was get to the movie and that was it. I suspect BD Live content adds to the increased time it takes to load a BD, which is painfully slow, especially when you have a near 2 year old screeming for WALL-E. Oh well, enough *****ing, I hope you were finally able to enjoy your movie!


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

I just haven't seen much value in the BD-Live stuff, but then, that is just me.

Disney seems to be one of the content providers who are really embracing BD-Live right now and later through this year with a number of re-releases on Blu Ray of their classics.

The Ethernet port seems to have more value-added appeal, because you can at least use it to download firmware updates, as opposed to the burn-a-cd route (although I've done a ton of those, and its relaly not a big deal either).

All that said - the 550 unit continues to get alot of praise as a fine unit...so those of you with one...enjoy!


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## dave29 (Feb 18, 2007)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> The Ethernet port seems to have more value-added appeal, because you can at least use it to download firmware updatesQUOTE]
> 
> Agreed, I like being able to download firmware and install updates thru the player. I'm just not that into the BD live stuff yet.


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## MurphieNB (Sep 13, 2006)

smiddy said:


> Excellent find! I don't know if he has tried that, but the S550 comes with a memory card. I installed mine prior to turning it on...
> 
> It does seem silly though to preclude a movie from running if you can't download the BD stuff.


I have the Sony S350, and have had similar results with respect to installing the memory card. I rented *Shooter*, and it would not play, came back as an unrecognizable disk. Got a replacement, and the same thing happened. Even though this is not a blu-ray live enabled title, I installed the memory card, and was finally able to watch the movie.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

This memory card thingy needing to be in place....Sony always seems to do things differently than the rest of the (technology) world...

Weird, but I guess not a show stopper.

I'll stick with my Panny BD player....but I respect that Sony's 550 is a good unit too.


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## johnp37 (Sep 14, 2006)

Strange thing is the(lack of) memory card just seemed to impact that one particular title. Every other disc played fine without it in place. Anyway I reinstalled it just so I won't have the no play issue again.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

johnp37 said:


> Strange thing is the(lack of) memory card just seemed to impact that one particular title. Every other disc played fine without it in place. Anyway I reinstalled it just so I won't have the no play issue again.


Hey John, how does that player upscale regular DVDs? One of my Costcos has a new Sony, but I don't think it's a 550 and costs $299. Been watching a lot of standard DVDs on my Sony upscaler and my Panny says it's receiving a 1080p signal and most of the DVDs look great. I only paid $70 or so for the upscaler and have been thinking of getting a BD player, but don't know if I really need one. Do the BD players upscale better?

Still no joy on the 23s at either Costco, by the way. You?

Rich


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## johnp37 (Sep 14, 2006)

rich584 said:


> Hey John, how does that player upscale regular DVDs? One of my Costcos has a new Sony, but I don't think it's a 550 and costs $299. Been watching a lot of standard DVDs on my Sony upscaler and my Panny says it's receiving a 1080p signal and most of the DVDs look great. I only paid $70 or so for the upscaler and have been thinking of getting a BD player, but don't know if I really need one. Do the BD players upscale better?
> 
> Still no joy on the 23s at either Costco, by the way. You?
> 
> Rich


 Personally I would stick with the upscaler if you are happy with the improvement in picture quality. If memory serves me correctly, you are probably referring to the Sony BD-BX1( or maybe the 350?) which I saw at my Edison Costco. I purchased my 550 online at Sony Rewards website when they had a promo deal that if you signed up for the Sony credit card you would get the 550 for $100 off + another $100 off after 6 weeks. As it turned out they applied the 2nd $100 credit before I even received the card. So I got mine for $99. Don't know if it is still going on. Love the 550-awesome picture. Great job of upscaling my standard DVDs.
I'm still holding out hope for the HR23 showing up at retail. My current boxes still no issues.


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## dave29 (Feb 18, 2007)

johnp37 said:


> I'm still holding out hope for the HR23 showing up at retail. My current boxes still no issues.


I'm pretty sure you can order it from www.valueelectronics.com for $199

EDIT, nevermind, they say "coming soon"


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## johnp37 (Sep 14, 2006)

I would be willing to bet once VE has it it would be in general release and Costco would have it for $169. A no brainer. Although people who know me will tell you I am not known for my patience, 30 bucks feels better in my pocket than the other guy's.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

johnp37 said:


> Personally I would stick with the upscaler if you are happy with the improvement in picture quality. If memory serves me correctly, you are probably referring to the Sony BD-BX1( or maybe the 350?) which I saw at my Edison Costco. I purchased my 550 online at Sony Rewards website when they had a promo deal that if you signed up for the Sony credit card you would get the 550 for $100 off + another $100 off after 6 weeks. As it turned out they applied the 2nd $100 credit before I even received the card. So I got mine for $99. Don't know if it is still going on. Love the 550-awesome picture. Great job of upscaling my standard DVDs.
> I'm still holding out hope for the HR23 showing up at retail. My current boxes still no issues.


Yeah, it was the BX1. Almost bought it, but figured I'd wait and see what the reviews said. Now, let me go to the Sony site.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

dave29 said:


> I'm pretty sure you can order it from www.valueelectronics.com for $199
> 
> EDIT, nevermind, they say "coming soon"


Benefit of buying from Costco: If you buy it and it won't go thru the booting up process fully prior to activation, you can return it to Costco. Started to order one from Value and then thought about it and think I'll wait until Costco has them.

Rich


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## dave29 (Feb 18, 2007)

rich584 said:


> Benefit of buying from Costco: If you buy it and it won't go thru the booting up process fully prior to activation, you can return it to Costco. Started to order one from Value and then thought about it and think I'll wait until Costco has them.
> 
> Rich


Yeah, their probably $30 cheaper at costco as well.(if history repeats itself)


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Obviously, the 550 firmware looks on the Blu Ray, sees if it is BD Live active, and if so, goes to verify if a memory card is installed (to hold downloaded contents)....that is the only explanation for this bizzare requirement.

Whoever wrote the firmware forgot the "if then else" code to bypass is a card is not inserted. :eek2:


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## ibglowin (Sep 10, 2002)

I don't think they like the if/then else programming statement on their products!


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

ibglowin said:


> I don't think they like the if/then else programming statement on their products!


:lol: :lol: :lol:


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

dave29 said:


> Yeah, their probably $30 cheaper at costco as well.(if history repeats itself)


$169, but they only have the 22-100s.

Rich


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