One other less surprising connection compromise ï¬nds the S350 devoid of 7.1 analogue audio line outs. But the reality is that such outputs seldom, if ever, ï¬nd their way onto entry-level Blu-ray decks, being saved instead as a key way of tempting people to buy models higher up a brand's range. In Sony's case, this means the upcoming S550.

Fast and furious

While there appears to be a number of physical compromises slowing down the S350, ultimately it's what goes on under the bonnet in performance terms that matters the most. And in this respect things look pretty rosy.

The S350 features a Quick Start mode that allows it to ï¬ re up and be ready for action in under six seconds. This really is a monumental improvement on Sony Blu-ray players of the past.

It's also thrilling to ï¬nd a Blu-ray deck as wallet-friendly as the S350 that lets you ï¬ne-tune its performance via such options as MPEG block noise and mosquito noise reduction, and an audio delay circuit. That said, you may never actually use the various performance tweaks for the simple reason that the S350 is a seriously accomplished performer right out of the box.

Superior Blu-ray pictures

I ran it side by side with a PlayStation 3, and it quickly became obvious that the S350 is the better picture performer in three key ways.

When it comes to ï¬ne detail resolution, for instance, the S350 delivers a noticeably more textured, crisper image. During There Will Be Blood (Blu-ray), the amount of extra pore and hair detail visible during all Daniel Day-Lewis's scenery-chewing close-ups is really quite striking.

The second ace up the S350's sleeve is its colour ï¬delity. There Will Be Blood's skin tones are intense and believable, while switching to the colour-rich animated favourite Ratatouille shows the S350 pumping out startlingly rich saturations.

The ï¬nal area where the S350 outguns the PS3 is with its motion handling. As the glorious opening credits sequence of Casino Royale glides across the screen in 1080p24, the S350 produces a clearly smoother 'glide' that makes subtle details in the graphics clearer.

Audio abilities

Turning to the S350's upscaling capabilities, they're actually very good. Standard DVDs certainly look
sharper – provided you stick with 1080i over 1080p, oddly.

Given that it outperforms the PS3, just how does it compare with my existing budget BD favourite, the Panasonic DMP-BD35? Here, it struggles somewhat. The Panasonic's PH4 Unipher processing gives it an edge in the ï¬ne detail and colour resolution departments.

Given the S350's rather flimsy construction, I didn't expect much from its audio. But actually it surprised me. CDs are surprisingly transparent and musical, with good timing and none of that mid-range mushiness that characterises many relatively cheap DVD and Blu-ray decks.

Movie soundtracks are wondrously dynamic. The player is actually a great match with the brand's STR-DG820 receiver, although cosmetically the pair appear to have been produced a continent apart.

Badge hunters may be annoyed that there's no internal decoding for DTS-HD Master Audio into LPCM
– but it can at least bitstream these soundtracks over HDMI.

Almost there, Sony

The Sony BDP-S350 still isn't the ï¬nished Blu-ray article. But there's no doubt it's a big step in the right direction for a company which has been strangely ineffectual when it comes to standalone BD players.

The sheer quality of its picture performance, and its seductive price tag, make the hassle of potentially adding a memory card and having to upgrade the deck to BD-Live seem much easier to bear