I agree that the Sony dvd-s7000 is the best. I use component outputswith Dwin CRT and LD-5 line doubler in a dark room, 100" screen, and
color and contract are incredible. Component output is significantly
better than S-VHS with this setup, and the S-VHS output is excellent.
I understand that digital sound is better than all but the Faroujda
DVD (the Faroudja reclocks to lower jitter), and ten times less than
most other players. I use the Sony dvd with a Camelot Dragon to
reclock and reduce jitter, which results in a wonderful improvement
of the sound.

My only diappointment is that the new DTS DVD standard will not use
PCM, so at some point I will need a new DVD player to play the
upcoming DTS DVDs with my Theta Casablanca.

Well as an Audiophile, without the Bad Attitude "Brandon". I think as faras DVD players go, this is one of the best pieces that I have seen in its
price range. Very fine detail and Clear picture. Sounds like Brandon needs
to get his TV Calibrated by an ISF tech. Far from low-Fi garbage. An easy
4 to 5 stars. Heck it even sound good as a CD player.

I bought 6 of these last April. Contrary to what Brandon claims, DVP 7000's are extremely reliable. Although this is not an "ES" series unit, build quality is very good. I have experienced no problems whatsoever with any of the machines. The video quality of the Sony is top notch. The Faroudja player is the only unit I found to be better.
By the way, I did check out the Onkyo player. The video quality was unacceptable at any price. There were too many digital artifacts.

Just a remarkable piece of equipment! I have been thrilled with this since the day I set it up! The video is incredible and the CD player is the best I have ever owned. Teamed with the Sony EP9ES, I now have a home theater and audio setup I could only have dreamed of just a year ago. I recently had my family to Thanksgiving dinner and was astounded to have all of them (including my 80 year old parents) crammed into my family room, all astounded by the picture and sound on Fleetwood Mac's DVD, "The Dance." They raved about it and kept asking to see and hear more DVD's. I "only" paid $775 for it but it would be a bargain at $1500. I can never remember any pievce of equipment I have enjoyed as much.

I own this player. Yes people, it is a fine piece. But son-of-a-bitch, it is not dts compatible. Then, by next freakin' week it will be completely obselete. These jagoffs out there want to keep developing different formats every other day! I'm nervous, I have a hard time enjoying this new era of digital without wondering if my player will pale in comparision to NEXT WEEK'S player. All in all, if the above doesn't scare you and you want to invest in a DVD player, Sony is the best choice. Questions...anyone?

I would have to agree with Aaron, the build quality of the Sony is excellent , I'm surprised to hear complaints,...I sold mine because I stopped doing home-theater, but I would highly recommend it to anyone,...it's price, performance , features, operation and build are all as much or more than I would expect . The only reason not to buy this player, or any DVD player, is the shortage of Titles,...movies comming out a few at a time in DVD format ....too slow,... ,.

As an American living in Japan I was to find out that DVD movies purchased in the U.S. will not play on a player made in Japan if encoded. I then searched the net and found out about the early Sony S7000's having switches to disable macrovision and country encoding. Since it had been a year since they made this version I held little hope of finding one. However; when I went to the store the floor model was an original and had the switches so I bought it, wham, bam, thank you mamm. I put it in test mode and found it had only been used 30 hours. I was tickled pink! I paid $700 for it. I plan to hook it up to a Sony KL-43HDF (43-inch High Definition TV) which has the component color inputs. I have no other players to compare it to but my overall impression so far is good. Of course the new versions of the same model have different software and probably have fewer "bugs". I heard that the early versions have a problem with audio dropouts when using digital or cable audio hookups.

I contacted Sony about the Incompatiblity of this unit with DTS and they repliedthat they will make a external decoder that would make it compatible with the
DTS but were unsure of the release date. Probably it would happen if and when
DTS makes it.

I own this DVD player and the picture quality is superb. I haven't compared it to any other player since there are only 2 people in my town who own one. It is the best video & audio I have ever heard in my life. No CD player I have heard comes close to it. Of course, I haven't seen every CD player and hardly ANY DVD players but it sure surprised the heck out of me. It exceeded my expectations. I think it is DEFINITELY worth the money. If you are thinking about DTS, DON'T. I really think DTS will amount to a hill of beans. I would recommend not wasting my time with DTS. If you want a player without DTS, GET ONE. DTS is too expensive and I have heard it doesn't sound much better than Dolby Digital, which I have. I am VERY satisfied with Dolby Digital.

It is interesting to see the comments on the DVD-S7000...or it is rated very high or people had a terrible experience! I purchased a unit last November. After conecting the unit in my system I was impressed with the video quality in my Sony 46" RPS. However, every time I started watching video at aprox. 10 minutes into the session the picture went black and white! Every time no exceptions.... I contacted my good dealer and the unit was replaced by a new one overnight. I have never had the same problem again.
The DVD-S7000 is a high quality piece of equipment. On video (movies) I don't think there is another unit like it with the exception of the Farajouda at $2K more. I have calibrated the unit with the "Video Essentials" DVD. Makes a huge difference in the quality and color balance when compare to the factory setup. Don't touch the DVD-S7000 color controls!

On audio CD's and using the DVD-S7000 as a transport only player is among the best out there! The only regret is that this unit while it will read a 96/24 encoded CD it will converted to a 48kHz PCM stream! My setup is through an Alchemy DDE3/DTI Pro combo using the I2S terminals and both units with its own PS3. From there to a c-j PV10A and out to the new Assemblage ST40 amp, driving a pair of B&W 803 series two speakers. Interconnects are DH-Labs, Canare, and a by-wire combo DH-Labs(highs)/Audioquest Midnight for the speakers. In one word the sound comming from this setup is great....resolution, timbre and dynamics are first rate. You will have to spend a lot more money to improve further the sound from this setup.

The DVD-S7000 is one of the best buys today out there. You can get one for $750 and can be used for DVD playing and if you have the equipment, will double as a superb CD transport competing against the very best at any price!

An incredible piece of equipment....