great picture and sound quality. Fast track/menu access

none

The reference standard. Superb build quality. A truely high end piece of gear.

Very sexy sliding front panel to reveal loading tray and controls. Access time is very fast making easy to zip through menus.

Picture quality is first rate. Great interpolation of anamorphic material into letterbox mode without any artifacts. There is no better player.

Excellent picture

Rewinding and fast-forward on the remote is awkward

Excellent player. Recommended, but price is a little high. Have used it since June with no problems. Menus are quickly loaded. Remote is ok, but a little awkward. Any universal remote would do the job.

Supurb picture quality, especially with widescreen format, solid construction, great remote (from Sony?? yeah!)

None that I can find (maybe the price in Canada)

I purchased this bad boy in June of 1999 after researching it heavily. I heard nothing but great things about it, and having been a loyal Sony lover for years, could make no other choice. It wasn't cheap, though. I payed under the Canadian MSRP of $1499, but it was still over $1000. I was originally going to buy the 7000 model, but figured I'd go all the way. This truly is a beautiful piece of equipment. It is built solid, looks great and gives you everything you could ask from a DVD player. The duel optical pick-ups are a neat idea, although I don't play CD's in it that much. The picture quality is unbelievable. Very clear. Advancing is very steady and smooth. As for sound, I'm playing through a Sony STRDA555ES DD/DTS receiver, Paradigm Legend's with built-in subs, and Paradigm's 170 Center/Surround series. 5.1 digital is very impressive. Although I haven't tried a DTS-capable DVD yet, DD discs sound just fine to me. They say your system is only as good as your weakest component... well it's definately not the DVP7700. The remote is great, which is a suprise. Usually Sony remotes are ridiculously ackward and frustrating, but this remote, which I believe is standard for Sony's entire DVD player line, is very functional. The fast track advancing takes some time to get used to, but is easy once you get the hang of it. Some people think the drop down face panel is a bit excessive, but I have no problems with it. If you want to spend a little money on a great player, I highly recommend this masterpiece from Sony.

very, very good picture,nice clearity. Great remote with jog wheel, High WAF with a "porno" motorized front.

Price, a bit to expensive in Denmark

Best picture/sound over all, in this price range.

Similar Products Used:

Denon dvd-3000

Great picture and sound quality, built well

Expensive, remote could be better

I've purchased this unit after realizing that my A110 will not play some of the newer discs (including SPR:DTS and The Matrix). While I was not originally thinking of purchasing this unit, due to its high price, I'm glad that I did. First of all, many people believe that there isn't a significant difference between a entry-level DVD player and a higher end player. There is a world of difference. The picture and sound quality are superior to the A110. The sound is cripser, sharper & smoother, with both CDs and DVDs. This unit has excellent DACs, so it can easly be used as a CD player as well. Altough I have not compared this unit to the Pioneer DV-09, and the Denon 5000, which most people claim have superior picture quality, the Sony has outstanding quality. Some people claim that the picture on the Sony is soft; it is definantely not as sharp as some other units, however it's very film like with excellent colors and image quality. I highly recommend this unit if you can afford it. A true video/audio-phile will debate the "reference" qualities of this player to the Pioneer Elite and Denon units, this unit is the best there is for under $1000. And now with prices of around $700 on the net, it's practically a steal.

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic A-110

Excellent build quality. Sound is clearer than on any model I've had and that includes a Sony 725 which I last upgraded from. The picture is as good as I've ever seen on a DVD player and perhaps the best strength of all, there are no inherant flaws. No lip-synch error like its younger brothers in the ?25 range, very quick and smooth title switching and layer changes. Its as perfect a machine as there is out there in my opinion

I would have to also quote the price. It cost me £700.
No inbuilt DD decoder but mine is external anyways. Menu's are very basic compared to some models. Lack of features but, hey, its got it where it counts.

This is the best DVD player out there bar none which has unparalleled reliability. The next generation of players might just be hitting the market and in particular DVD-R. But I'd take one of these over them anyday just to get a player that hasn't got a single problem. It was painful paying £700 but if you're serious about DVD, this is the model for you. I tend to think of it as the purist's model. No flash menus or features, just great build quality and unbeatable picture and sound.

Similar Products Used:

Samsung 807, Samsung 709, Sony 725

Very good value for this level of quality. Very refined sound quality. Audio filters to tinker with. Superb construction.

Picture is not as sharp or color-saturated as it could be. Not enough picture adjustment options. Lacks the ultimate audio resolution of ultra-high-end CD players.

The sony 7700 is quite a piece of gear. You can find it new on the net for about 700.00. Right out of the box, it easily outperforms CD-only players or transport/DAC combos in the 1000-2000.00 range--- hands down. I compared it to my Rega planet/Meridian 518/MSB Link combo and was just floored. The sony was *much* more detailed and resolving. It provided a better soundstage (incrementally) and noticeably better imaging. Strings sounded especially airy and "right". The name of the game is detail retrieval though, with the 7700. And not in a cold, hard way.The sony still manages to have all the sparkle and sweetness one expects fro good digital. I won't lie, though. It doesn't beat out ultra-refined players (like Wadia, Blue Lazer or Meridian 508.24). It just doesn't have the bass defintion and musicality of those giants--- but those are all 3 or 4 times the price. Bottom line here is that if you are shopping for CD player in the 1k-2k range, why not buy the sony 7700? It'll sound as good or better than most specimens in that range... plus it does a damn fine (if not quite state-of-the-art) job of playing movies.

The picture from the 7700 is not as clear or sharp as that of the Pioneer dv 09. It's more similar to the Cl-20--- I suspect this may be a matter of preference, as some say the sony is more "film like". I don't know. I think it's just a little more blurry. I liked the video from the pioneer better, but the sony cost me about half what the dv 09 would have.

The sony sounds great with DVD's and the Chesky DVD Video audio discs. I mean as a player, not as a transport. This could very easily be all the digital front end you need.

Similar Products Used:

CAL CL20, Pioneer DV 09, Sony DVD 330, Pioneer DV 414, Rega planet/Meridian 518/MSB Link DAC combo.

First rate picture, terrific audio, nice operation. Solid build. Remote easily controlled Sony TV and Yamaha DD/DTS receiver.

For the price, the DVP-S7700 should have progessive scan outputs, be able to pass PLUGE, have nicer menus and a classier screen saver.

I purchased the Sony DVP-S7700 after reading the excellent reviews here. Just about everyone seems to love it. The Sony replaced my totally unreliable Panasonic A-110. In terms of the video and audio quality, the DVP-S7700 seems to be a step up from the A-110, but not a leap in video and audio quality. It is dead quiet, which the A-110 was not. The Panasonic had a slightly nicer menu system and screen saver, but who wants a piece of junk that craps out after less than two years? I am hoping for better endurance and more reliability out of the Sony. So far, I have been more than pleased its operation. This is one fine DVD player. If it had progessive outputs and passed PLUGE it would be the ideal DVD machine.

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic A-110

Build quality, reliability, audio and video performance

The remote control

This is a very well built, sturdy DVD player. It's video and audio performance are excellent. It functions very well as a CD player as well, as I have no desire for extraneous functions like random shuffle found on a dedicated CD player. Performance as a CD transport via the digital output, or as a CD player via the 7700's internal 24/96 audio DACs and analog outputs, has no problems competing with my high end CD playback system, consisting of a DDS-Pro transport, AA Pro-32 Resolution enhancer, and Camelot Technologies Uther outboard DAC. This player has tracked and played every single disc, CD and DVD, I have ever given it, with no glitches whatsoever, even discs known to cause problems on other machines, such as The Matrix. It has performed flawlessly, and recently, the price has dropped considerably. I've seen it for as little as $600 on the 'net. For DVDs I am using it via component video outputs to a front projection system displayed onto a large 115" 1.78:1 widescreen Draper M2500 Clarion screen. Access time is quick. Layer changes are almost instantaneous. I hate the remote, and the fact that it's not backlit, which is a constant annoyance and distractor for a front projection HT system as such a system requires lack of ambient light. If the Remote were back-lit, then I'd have no complaints at all, and would rate this product 5 stars in value and overall. Despite this, as a player, the DVP S7700 is suberb, and I give it a high recomendation, detracting one star in overall rating only because of the remote control's primary deficiency.

Similar Products Used:

Sony DVP S7000, several separate CD players and transports

Component video, DTS, an excellent remote with jog shuttle, ease of operation, s-Link capability

Pricey (but worth it)

I can't say enough about this unit. I picked this up for around $900 from Soundcity in New York (actually a great price, as this unit retails for a small fortune), and I purchased an XLO component video cable. The unti is connected to my Sony XBR200 flatscreen TV, and it is just flawless. I mean absolutely crystal clear. And the sound is fanominal, especially when listening to a THX or DTS DVD. Well worth the price! No matter what DVD player you buy, get one with component video, the difference is definitely "visible".

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer DV-05