After reading about Sony BD players and their colourspace conversion issues, I replaced my older Sony S350 with an accurate Panasonic. What follows is my assessment of the issue:
Please note, my player may be an older Sony, but the issue seems common to all Sonys e.g. http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/blu-ray-players/1318-sony-bdp-s580-blu-ray-player-for-the-home-theater.html?start=3In the case of a TV like my Panasonic V20, without a meter, there would be no way in which to correct for the errors the Sony produces (this assumes the TV is reasonably balanced by default). I found that my basic picture settings (sans cuts and drives etc.) remained exactly the same for both players.
I'll start with the impact the Sony's performance has on picture quality as it pertains to those who don't go beyond your regular THX test patterns and setup discs. The video black level setting across both players remained the same, but I found that as you move up the greyscale, the Sony reduces the picture's dynamic range. 100% white when measured on the Sony came in at 83cd/m2 whereas the Panasonic gave me 90cd/m2. When viewing test patterns, this resulted in visible banding on gradients in comparison to the Panasonic. Also, when comparing BD playback, the Sony's visuals were noticeably less punchy.
Comparing the colour resolution of the two players using the chroma zone plate found on DVE Basics, there was a stark difference. The RGB colourspace setting on the Sony offered the highest colour resolution of the options available but still produced strong dark gradients along the sides of the pattern. In contrast, the Panasonic remained clear and bright across the entire screen.
Moving on to measurement details. Greyscale could be dialed in correctly for both players via the V20's menu, but the actual settings differed quite a bit between the two, therefore the Sony can not be relied apon to accurately set greyscale for your set overall.
While gamma was reasonably uniform between the two up until the 80% mark, the Sony begins to rise sharply in brightness from there. So the difference in dynamic range is even more dramatic than the cd/m2 measurements would initially indicate (I guess explaing why the banding was as noticeable as it was).
Colour accuracy takes the biggest hit on the Sony. On my calibration with the Sony I struggle to get my secondaries in line, with magenta posing the biggest problem (delta E of 9). When calibrated with the Panasonic, I found my colour adjustments were pulled back remarkably close to their defaults, with maybe only one or two clicks here or there to either side. Primaries and secondaries proved far more uniform on the Panasonic.
To compare, the Sony came in at
R: 0.4
G: 3.0
B: 4.0
The Panasonic at
R: 2.1
G: 1.9
B: 2.8
This indicates that not only is the colour overall incorrect, but that each individual colour also differs in the degree to which it is in error.
If you're not such a stickler for image quality, and features are a big part of your buying decision, these errors aren't really that big a deal. However, if your primary concern is getting as accurate a picture as possible, I wouldn't recommend going for a Sony.
