Sony DVP-NS700H/B 1080p Upscaling DVD Player, Black
by Sony
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List Price: Our Price: $24.99 You Save: $55.00 (69%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sony DVP-NS700H/B 1080p Upscaling DVD Player, Black
Customer Review: Sony DVD NS700H/B
Summary: 5 Stars
This is such a user friendly DVD player. Simple and has great picture quality.Customer Review: The Average Guy's Quest for HDTV
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm not quite ready to step up to flat screen and blu-ray as that will probably cost a small fortune + the expensive DVDs + the redecoration my better half will likely impose on me....maybe in a year or two. But, I needed something to tidy me over and I found that in this great DVD player from Sony. I figured I would always have a use for a DVD player as I can always find a use for it in a spare bedroom or somewhere.
This player's biggest selling point is that it advertised that it upscales DVD signals up to 1080p. I'm a fairly technically competent person so connecting this DVD up to my relatively simple setup was a snap, aside from having to turn a 250lb television and deal with the myriad of cables from the receive box, the Bose, the TIVO, my little girls' computer, the XBOX, and an old VHS -- that can create quite the tangle. All in all it took me 15 minutes to plug in but since I don't have an HDMI output, I had to plug in via YPrPd. The results are FANTASTIC! My HDTV television has never looked so good - there is clarity in my DVD movies that was never visible before.
PROS
- Very Cheap DVD player (thanks to Blu-ray which is depressing DVD player prices)
- Great Sony Quality (everything works perfectly)
- Great Sony remote control (they pay attention to how people use remotes)
- Easy Setup (nice menus on screen and easy navigation)
- Easy plugging in to the TV
- Lots of connector options in the back (RCA Video, Component, HDMI, Optical, S-Video)
- Great Video Quality
- Its very thin
CONS of the Player
- Its not quite HDTV (good quality but not HDTV), can't blame the DVD player, you just don't have enough information stored in the disks to rev up to 1080i that I have on my TV
- Its upscaling is to the HDMI cable only so, if you plug in via any of the other analog connectors, you're going to get 480p or something like that in quality (which is what I think I have)
- Its thin and shallow so doesn't sit square on top of my Tivo...there should be some standard on making these things shaped in similar dimensions so that they look aesthetically pleasing.
- Doesn't have a coaxial input or output (I know the industry has moved on but sometimes that's nice)
- Doesn't come with an HDMI cable
- Doesn't come with Component cables
- Only comes with RCA cables
Overall for the Player
- This is a great DVD player (not Blu-ray quality - close but not quite)
- If you buy this DVD player and are looking for upscaling, consider if your TV has HDMI connector so that you can take full advantage of the upscaling (not quite to 1080p but good, if you can get to it) - most older HDTV sets don't have HDMI or don't have the right version of HDMI.
- I found the video quality to be very very good and far superior to my Bose 3-2-1 DVD player
Customer Review: Don't waste your time
Summary: 1 Stars
I was very disappointed with this dvd player. I hoped that Sony would make a better quality dvd player. This one lasted about 3 weeks of light usage before it started to freeze up and skip on even new dvds. On top of that, when we returned it to amazon they did not refund the purchase price. Apparently it costs $13 to restock these pieces of junk to sell to another sucker. Please do not waste your time on this one.Customer Review: wow!
Summary: 5 Stars
wow, this 1080p upscaling dvd player is great! i wasn't sure that it would make a noticeable difference in the picture quality of my dvd's- seeing is believing! i bought this to use with the sony bravia television that we ordered from amazon( love it too)and the movies are super clear. it also plays cd's ,which is great...if anyone is thinking of buying a new dvd player, spend a little more money and upgrade. its well worth it. thanks amazon- for good prices/ selection and fast shipping!Customer Review: Enjoy 1080p playback of your DVD collection!
Summary: 5 Stars
From the moment you turn the DVD player on and the brilliant blue LED lights up, you will know this is something special. The real joy is watching standard DVD's in 1080p up scaling. Yes, they really do look better and sound fantastic. I had another Sony DVD player with component video and progressive scan but the difference in quality on the same television is at least 25% in modern DVD movies. Additionally, the remote works flawlessly with my coworker's Sony Bravia W-Series KDL-52W4100 so you could expect similar results with your Sony television too. While the rest of this review is technical, read on and see why this cheap DVD player upgrade gets my enthusiastic two thumbs up rating!
I own a Sony NS77H HDMI dvd player and have told several friends and coworkers about its performance. To my surprise my boss, found the other DVD player review and purchased this model for himself. He then asked me to help him pick out a television and we settled on a Sony 52" LCD with 120Hz refresh rate. When the products came in, we drove over to his house and setup the new equipment. I was very nervous the entire time because my technical knowledge was on the line. Any wrong choice of product or cable would have meant a lengthy delay. Luckily, I ordered two extra HDMI cables and a fiber optic link cable in case we had any issues. I encourage you to do the same; the minimal investment will ensure a fast setup.
You need to know that any device sending an HDMI signal must have a compatible television in order to get the best video and sound quality. While using a standard analog television could give you a small increase in visual effects, only a true 1080p display can showcase the features discussed in this review. Several retailers are offering specials on high definition televisions for the 2008 holiday shopping season. If you do not have yet, I encourage you to get one so you will be ready for the HD transition in the year 2009.
Packaging And Setup
My coworker's DVP-NS700H/B came in a large rugged cardboard box. Foam padding protected the hardware inside from damage so you should have little worry about receiving a mistreated product. Out of the cardboard box came a utilitarian looking, black plastic and metal box measuring 17"W x 8.2"D x 2"H with a rounded dark blue faceplate on the front to give a modern look to the unit. I plugged in the unit to Monster brand 3,000 joule power strip and the player powered right up.
Next, I connected a male to male HDMI cable to the back of the DVD player and connected the other end to a HDMI jack on the back of his Sony STR-DG800 unit in the DVD in slot. The STR-DG800 has an HDMI output jack labeled display and this was used to make the link to his new Sony Bravia W-Series KDL-52W4100. All you would have to do now is switch inputs on the supplied remote until you find the blue Sony welcome screen. While purchasing this product from Amazon, we also picked up two 3ft HDMI cables for $6 a piece which was a great deal when compared to the same length Monster Cable sold at the local Sears for $100!
The only problem with the configuration was that the DVD audio was not coming through the HDMI cable for some reason. We had to use a set of stereo male to male RCA cables to transfer the sound between the DVD player and the STS-DG800 receiver.
Configuration
The DVD menu accessible through the DISPLAY button on the remote has a wide range of custom settings to tune your viewing experience. The Language setup section features the selection of OSD, menu, audio and subtitle settings in over 4 languages. Additionally, the menu language option will allow the selection of 16 languages. More importantly the DVD player has a built in parental control feature with a 4 digit password to help control who uses the DVD player. My favorite feature in the HDMI DVD player menu is the audio setup menu. Within the audio menu, you can adjust Audio AH, Audio DRC, Down Mix and Digital Out. For example you can set the PCM output between 96Khz/24bit and 48Khz/16 bit. For owners of high definition surround sound systems you should become familiar with this setting to get the most out your DVD experience.
Remote Control
The RMT-D175A, Sony DVD remote control is a powerful integrated unit. The remote is made of grey colored plastic and is 8 1/2"L x 2"W x 1"D. Using two AA batteries, you can expect at least one year of use from NiMH batteries. I was very lucky to find that the Sony Bravia W-Series KDL-52W4100 television can be controlled from this remote with no need for time consuming programming. The remote however was not able to control his home theater receiver, the Sony STR-DG800. We decided to put the remote away for storage and instead use the powerful Sony RM-AAP008 which controls the DVD player, TV and receiver without the need for reprogramming! If you can find the remote it will let you control all the features of this DVD player.
Video and Sound Quality
First, when comparing the video quality of any digital television signal you will hear people mention the term digital artifacts. Digital artifacts are visible defects in a video picture with are specifically caused by the digital encoding process. Several factors come into play in the setup discussed as part of this review: DVD itself, DVD output, HDMI cable quality and the televisions ability to display the signal real-time. Here in late 2008, the setup my coworker has is arguably the best available for standard DVD playback.
To test out the video performance of the newly configured entertainment system we decided to watch a few scenes of the animated movie Over The Hedge. The quality was so impressive on the 52 inch LCD television that we had to get to within a foot of the screen to see digital artifacts around the corners of the animated characters in the movie. My eyes still have near 20 20 vision without glasses, so you have to believe me that the picture is good.
The audio quality was very good over the Sony home theatre system and gave me the impression of surround sound even though I had to use the RCA outputs on the DVD player.
Power Consumption
Using a Kill-A-Watt power consumption meter, I analyzed the NS77H for two hours with the following results:
10 watts in HDMI mode with DVD playing
4 watts in HDMI mode with DVD paused
0 watts when power is switched off
Summary
Loaded down with output connections, the Sony DVP-NS700H/B is a wonderful bargain in this world of overpriced home video equipment. The best part of all is the minimal power consumption which results in a significant utility bill savings every month!