PAL/NTSC Playback of DVD Video, Audio CD, Video CD
Dolby Digital / MPEG 5.1 built-in decoder with DCS modes, Virtual Enhanced Surround modes, DTS stream out
Strengths: Looks neat with matching STRB1070
5.1 cross compatibility
Nice GUI
Feature rich
Buy it if all you want is mid-quality all rounder.
Weaknesses: Doesn't work (small drawback)
MTBF is poor
SNR and THD is average.. induced noise to rear channels
Disk seek noisy
Disk spin vibration rattles audio cabinet!
No CDRW etc
Model evolution compatibility
Bottom Line:
The unit was sweet enough... for a few weeks. It then began to lock up between DV frames, requiring power off restart to release disk. With a total use of 75 hours it has been back for 3 repairs and had 3 new lasers fitted (apparently).
Stated(Sony)MTBF (mean time between failure) on laser for this unit equates to just over 3.25 hours per week over 2 years. A relatively short shelf life. Having just got the unit back from last repair, the unit powers up and immediately shuts down. Eventually escalated the problem to Sony Senior Management (took 4 mths) who agreed to replace the unit, however Sony's standard model replacement for this unit is DVPNS700VS... (not QS, lacks same features).
Start asking for higher MTBF. It is a product competitive differentiator, and if the market demands it future DVD player reliability will improve.
Submitted by
rodney
a Casual Listener
from amsterdam, holland
Date Reviewed: January 9, 2002
Strengths: excellent picture, good sound.
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
very good picture, specialy when compared with other sony's ( 335/336 & 535/536 ), very good sound. got this one region-free, for $100,- xtra. Works perfectly. Good looks aswell!
Submitted by
Matthew Beeching
a Audio Enthusiast
from Lancaster, United Kingdom
Date Reviewed: January 3, 2002
Strengths: Picture, sound quality - DVD's and CD's
Weaknesses: Drive noise
Bottom Line:
As a student, purchasing this player was a significant investment - and one which thankfully paid off. This is in fact my second DVD player, and once again I opted for a Sony. This lies not in my brand loyalty, but the fact that under comparison other brands can't seem to effectively compete. Sony's players feature incredible menu screens which put those on other players from top manufacturers such as Panasonic to shame. And although I initially found them a little daunting due to the number of features I had no problem navigating them.
Picture quality as with all Sony players is impeccable, with the most notable improvements in the higher model being the accuracy of flesh tones and the depth given to darker areas of the picture. To really make the most of this player I would highly recommend utilising the RGB output to guarantee a truly stable picture with no visible colour bleeding.
Due to my limited budget I chose this player with a view to it also becoming my main CD player and here unlike most DVD players it does not disappoint with all genres of music coming across beautifully. Sound quality in films naturally sounds brilliant and this is further enhanced by the ability to play higher quality DTS soundtracks contained on films such as Gladiator.
The player itself puts others to shame purely on aesthetics, encompassing a gorgeous aluminium front and slim construction. Whilst the front also features a gorgeous array of blue and orange LEDs which never come across as gimmicky, rather further enhancing the look of the player. The player feels appropriately solid and substantial, whilst rear terminals are also gold plated adding to the feel of quality.
The remote control is a joy to use, whilst also boasting a large number of glow in the dark buttons which really helps since the best way to watch a film is in the dark. Other notable features include the jog wheel; making this an excellent player for the movie aficionado, such is the ease of access. I'm also particularly fond of the remote's ability to be programmed to also control your amplifier and television.
Depending on your views the player has a couple of drawbacks which may or may not affect your purchasing decisions. This machine will not play CDR's or CDRW's. However my own tests reveal that you can indeed play a CDRW as long as it is silvery blue to the eye. Other people may find the fact that this machine is not multi-region out of the box, means it does not cater to their needs. But then this is a Sony, you will find exactly the same with the Panasonic range of players. Take note that PAL offers a superior picture to the American NTSC counterpart. MP3 is also a no no.
In conclusion I would say that this machine has a lot to offer the DVD purist and I have no personal regrets with my choice of player. I would highly recommend it, make your friends and neighbours jealous today.
And yes, I was robbed blind when it came to the price of the thing. Dixons, a company which employs a price matching policy messed me about and basically refused the price match when I found it at Parent company Curry's cheaper five days later. Luckily my four year warranty enables me to run this player to the ground and claim £450 of credit at some point in the future (as I did three times with various mini-disc models)
*Note: To access service menu input following code on the remote. [title] [clear] [power on]
Here you can do a number of things; check total laser usage times, destroy your player, generally fiddle - no indepth personal research done due to fear :o)
Similar Products Used: Sony 325dvp, Panasonic RV20
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Pete Tiley
a Casual Listener
from Bristol, England
Date Reviewed: December 21, 2001
Strengths: Picture, sound, features,looks and build quality
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
Having upgraded to my fourth generation DVD player, I decided to go for a mid to higher end machine. well, what a difference. I must have watched Gladiator one hundred times this year. Viewing it on this machine allowed me to notice things that I simply have not seen before. It handles the backgrounds as well as the foreground incredibly well. The sound is crystal clear. I particularly like the built in video equilizer. This allows you to adjust picture parameters from the disk, you dont have to fiddle with your TV settings ever again. once changed, the machine memorises these settings per disk. Oh, and it lookes fantastic..!!!
This is probably the slickest DVD-player yet on the market. It's so small that you could probably smuggle it into a concert without getting noticed. Ok, first of all, the reason why I paid $670 for this baby, is that A. I'm from Denmark in Europe (every hifi-hardware costs at least 25% more in Europe, than it does in the US) B. It is codefree, which means that I can by American Region 1 movies, before they are released here in Europe.
So when that has been said, I think that this is a superb player, there's nothing to complain about, only this little weird thing: Before I had this player I owned a Sony DVP-725, and both machines do the same thing sometimes, only on some DVD's, but when you select "play movie" in the DVD menu, the movie doesn't start but a commercial for another movie does. I've tried this a couple of times and it's quite annoying, but I wouldn't say it's a problem because it's not everytime, and you can just go back to the menu and press play movie again, and then it'll work. Anyway I guess it's kind of a weakness. I've seen a couple of viewers on this machine saying that the machine is weak because it doesn't play CD-R/RW MP3 etc. But I think I have the answer: SONY is a record company! Why would they make their machines mp3-compatible??? Hmm, I don't think I have to answer, and if you look at Sony's other DVD-players you'll find out that they can't either play MP3's. By the way, that answers your question, why do I have a CD-player, when I have a DVD-player? Because the CD-player is CD-R/RW compatible. Ok, all in all a superb product, which you won't regret buying.
