Customer Reviews

Sony DVP-NS70H HDMI Single Disc DVD Player

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Having been through the Oppo 971H and the Samsung HD941 upscaling DVD players and coming away disappointed, I came at this one a little jaded thinking upscaling technology is just marketing hype. Well this player proves it's not. From the instant I first turned it on I knew it was something special. The colors it produced over HDMI (720P) were stunning on my Sharp projector. The difference between normal 480p and 720p was significant with the upscaled resolution showing more clarity and depth. Normally fuzzy background images came into focus. There are many websites that swear upscaling technology is just not possible since the DVD's native picture is only 480p and "you can't make something out of nothing". Maybe true but you sure can sharpen up what is there and that's where this player shines.

The sound it produces is another wonderful feature. Crisp clear highs and booming lows with everything in between is what you can expect from this unit. Sony was even thoughtful enough to provide both optical and coaxial audio outputs.

Others have expressed a picture shrinkage issue with this player. They make it seem like every player has it, not true. I've read the complete forum they mentioned and several folks have said they do not have such an issue. I hate to see this great player get a bad rap because of what may be a player/display incompatibility for some folks.

I knocked a star off because Sony absolutley needs to include an HDMI cable with this. C'mon, would you buy a car and then feel good about having to pay more to get the key?

This is a great player at a great price, give it a shot - you won't be disappointed.

I've been shopping for months for a decent DVD player with HDTV upconversion. This is the first such player that didn't disappoint me right out of the box.

I would give the player itself 5 stars, but I'm knocking one off because the package doesn't come with an HDMI cable included. You have to buy one separately, which is an unnecessary nuisance that can add from about $20 to over $100 (depending on the cable brand) to your purchase. And if you forgo the HDMI connection, you cannot get the player's 1080i upconversion for HDTV - thereby leaving little reason to purchase this item, whose other features can be found in many standard players for about half the price.

But that IMHO is a minor inconvenience in light of this player's performance and overall price. The device has an MSRP of about $170, and with coupons I got mine for $115 at Circuit City - which is quite low for an upconverting player, particularly one from Sony.

So far I haven't had to endure any of the problems that have plagued other such players I've purchased and subsequently returned. For the first time in my experiences, the 1080i upconverted picture resolution is genuinely better and richer through the HDMI connection than what's available via the component video alternative. The player has a comprehensive menu of onscreen settings and a fairly clear manual that will guide you through them. The remote is designed more intuitively than most others I've used (although the buttons are a bit on the small side) and interacts with the player flawlessly even at fairly sharp angles. Along with the usual backwards-forwards scan/skip options, this player also provides an instant replay and advance feature for shorter hops back and forth. Scans at multiple speeds are relatively smooth, not choppy like many others I've seen. The menu and the remote offer numerous picture and sound adjustment options, but the standard settings have worked just fine for me.

I'm not the most high-tech person in the world, yet I think I am pretty demanding when it comes to picture and sound quality. This small but solid player delivers the goods, especially when its price is compared to others on the market. I know Sony DVD players have amassed countless Amazon reviewer complaints that they often fall apart and break down quickly. But that hasn't been my own personal experience, and I hope that trend continues for me with this one. After all too many failed purchases in this area, I think that at last I may have found a winner.

First of all I must clarify what some people are saying about having an inch above/below the picture when watching DVDs at 720p/1080i. The issue is NOT with the player. 16:9 TVs have a 1.7777:1 ratio (16 divided by 9). If you read the BACK of your "Widescreen enhanced DVDs" you will notice they are 1.85:1 what is 16:8.648. So the bars you are seeing are there BECAUSE they MUST be there. The issue is on the TV. Some people will not see the problem with their High-Definition sets because of OVERSCAN. The Sony is perfect in this aspect and it is sending what is supposed to be seen. For more information on overscan read this article.

[...]

Back to the player.

If you have an HDTV set, try to find the native resolution of the set (for example most EDTV plasmas are 480p). In this case the best signal to be sent to the TV is 480p. If you are using a projector or a DLP TV with a 1280x720 resolution (720p) set the player to use 720p. If you have a native 1920x1080 display (like the Sony Ruby) set it to 1080i (note that 720p MAY look better in some 1080p displays).

The picture in this player is very nice and extremely decent when using the HDMI connector. No noise or artifacts that I could notice. A great improvement in picture when comparing it to my old Pioneer 480p player. Giving its price I would say it is a bargain! The remote is ok (some buttons are too small for me I guess) and their menus are not as good/easy as the pioneer (plus it has less control over the picture). But still a very capable player.

I've been enjoying this new DVD player for a few days on my new Bravia 26" LCD TV. The picture is breathtaking, I was stunned to see the improvement in picture quality the upscaling feature and HDMI connection made - it has breathed new life into my DVD collection and made me fall in love with my TV all over again. Unlike some previous posts, I have had no issues at all with any image shift problems, but perhaps that's because I am using a Sony TV also. I highly recommend this player.

The Sony DVP-NS70H is a great progressive DVD player, but that doesn't necessarily make it a good deal. On my Sony Bravia LCD HDTV, I got better results with this player using a component cable (480p resolution) than a HDMI cable (720p or 1080i), neither of which is included. That means there is really no advantage over a good quality progressive player. I also observed that words on a black background had a slight ghost on them when using HDMI. That means in some cases, your image quality can actually drop using upcoversion.

So what's going on? Well, all HDTVs use DSP chips to upsample 480 line video to their native resolution. They have too. The more expensive brands (Sony, Samsung, Toshiba, Sharp) usually do a better job at it than the cheaper brands (Olevia, Westinghouse, Phillips, RCA). Upconverting DVD players take over this role, upsampling the images, and then sending the higher resolution stream to a 720 or 1080 line tv. If your tv already does a good job upsampling, you won't notice any improvement over a plain progressive player. If your tv doesn't have a good upsampler, then you may benefit from this player.

Having just purchased the Sony Grand Wega SXRD XBR 50" HD TV (and LOVING it!!!)I sat there scratching my head wondering why my DVD movies just looked "ok" on it. I checked around and read up on some reviews of these so-called upscaling players and figured the Sony one would be the most logical choice.It worked very well with it's upconversion abilities and all my movies look much better now than before.For example all outside scenes in particular have much better clarity and depth.The setup and remote are a snap to work with. Having the choice of desired resolution is fun and easy as well.I have had several DVD players including other Sony models and this one is by far the best of the bunch.I know everyone is crying foul over a lack of a pack-in HDMI cable but you can find a reasonably priced one at any superstore.I am no pro audio/videophile by any means but my eyes are really appreciating the image put out by this player.

Take care and I hope this review helps anyone out,

Steve.

I have tested the DVP-NS70H (with an HDMI cable and upsampling to 720p) against a Sony DVP-NS575P DVD player (with a component video cable and 480p), using a Sony Bravia KDL-V40XBR1 LCD TV to examine the results. A good-quality DVD movie appears to have more vivid color and less noise with the DVP-NS70H than with the DVP-NS575P. A lower-quality DVD, such as an annual release of a TV series, does not demonstrate the differences between the two DVD players.

I do not know whether the HDMI cable or the upsampling is responsible for the improvement, but I suspect that HDMI may contribute to the improvement because HDMI bypasses the TV's A/D convertors. If you purchase the DVP-NS70H for an HDMI-compatible TV, do yourself a favor and buy an HDMI cable from Amazon for less than $20, which is a lot less than the $80 to $100 that you will pay at your favorite electronics retailer.

I am very pleased with this product.

I found this DVD player, when compared with other cables and DVD players provides an excellent picture - near perfect. My only not too serious complaints are (1) It takes about 10 seconds for a DVD to load; and (2) A couple of times, after loading for about 12 seconds, it says there is no disc. When I reloaded them, they were fine.

I would definitely recommend the player for the picture is wonderful, but the two quirks mentioned above have me buffaloed. By the way, I have not experienced any black bars other than what is expected when a 1:2.35 disc is loaded.

I have to say, after reading all the recent reviews of sony firmware problems, cheapness etc,etc.. I *was NOT* a fan of overpriced name of sony equipment.... Sooooo I did not get this player on the first round, even though everyone has stated the image was superior. Instead I purchased the Samansung 850 Upconverting dvd player. The picture on the samsung was terrible when using HDMI, I tried 2 diffrent units and finaly just bit my tounge and returned it for the Sony DVPNS70H.

I have not used any connection on this player other than the HDMI so I cannot vouch for the component output. With HDMI I plugged it in, set the player for my tv and BAMMM the image was instantly way better than the samsung, I threw in unleashed, Lord of the Rings etc, the image on my week old 61" LCOS screen was phenominal. I would highly recomend getting this player. I had zero problems getting it going, the menus are the same old sony stable scheme so if you have ever used a sony, you will have zero problems navigating. All you do is plug it in, set the output and your done.

The only downside to the sony is no included HDMI cable so expect to spend $50 - $115 for a cable... quick tip, go to walmart, they have good quality cables for $48.

Other than that, get the best dvd player you can, cause having the latest and greatest display don't mean diddly if your using a poor upscaling dvd player..

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!

I received my unit yesterday and hooked it up this morning using the HDMI interface on the Sony and my Philips 42" plasma HDTV. After a 30 second setup, I popped in the U2/Vertigo 2005 DVD and WOW!, what an incredible picture (getting ready to see U2 live tonight). This blows away my Toshiba DVD player using the component video connection. The picture clearly rivals DirecTV channels like HBO and HDNet and OTA broadcast HDTV from the networks.

Unlike some of the early reviews, my picture is edge-to-edge on my HDTV. As usual, Sony has lived up to the hype and provided a quality product at an affordable price.