Customer Reviews

Sony DVP-NS400D DVD Player

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I own three other DVD players and am familiar with a friend's, and none of them have performed for me quite so well as this one. Its sheer number of options in almost all aspects of DVD (and CD music) enetertainment along with flexibility in terms of control and viewing make this a great deal all on its own. Having had so much experience with other players, I had soon put this one through its paces.

The remote control is large and solid, its weight comfortable to the hand and reassuring of the quality that went into its making. The buttons are intelligently placed rather than just shoved on where they would fit and the are all of high quality and comfortable to press. After only two days of use I can already find most of the options without having to search for them, which is good since there is no sort of backlighting or glow in the dark plastic.

Advancing to different tracks on the DVD is very fast, no slow down when trying to access the next scene like I have sometimes seen with cheaper players. The rewind and forward buttons are part of the flexibility I previously mentioned. There is the option to SCAN the disc with multiple speeds x3 as well as a push and release SEARCH for when you just want to scan back a few seconds. This way you aren't bothered pressing the SCAN button then rushing to press the PLAY to stop it. Just press and release when done.

I won't go into all the features, but it includes everything you'd expect a DVD player to have. Slow motion with multiple stepped speeds similar to the SCAN in both forward and reverse. Angles and subtitles and audio options along with shuffle, repeat, and programmed playback for listening to CDs. Time and chapter searches, noise reduction (for DVDs that tend to pixilate) and a picture sharperner/softener. The only oddly lacking feature would be the absence of a zoom button.

A nice feature that my previous DVDs didn't have is the automatic saving of settings for the DVD you're viewing. The player will save your settings for up to 50 DVDs automatically. Once you get past 50 it just overwrites the oldest one saved so that any you watch on a regular basis will always be set how you like. This way you don't have to mess with menu and audio/picture options everytime you sit down to watch a movie. There is also a 9 screen splitscreen option that you can use to speed up searches during playback, view scenes from each chapter if the DVD doesn't offer this on the menu, and view all the different angles available at once.

Audio options are many and varied, allowing not only for the selection of the number of speakers and types (front, back, center, subwoofer) but also for the size of the speakers and the distance of each from the viewer for optimal sound performance. In addition to this there are various sound setups for theater quality sound in a variety of styles. There's even an option to make your music CDs sound like you're in the best seats at a concert hall in Venice. There is even a setting for viewing DVDs at night which will keep you from having to constantly adjust the volume during the loud scenes.

There is also a DTS converter of some sort, I haven't figured out the logistics of it yet... but apparently you can achieve DTS sound without the need of a receiver that will supply such. There are also S-Video hookups for ultimate screen performance as well as YPR connections for an even better picture and more accurate colors.

There is only one thing I can really find against the player. The menus are big and rather ugly. The saving grace here is they are very easy to manipulate to do what you want quickly and get them off of your screen.

All in all this is a great DVD player, and I am very glad that the folks I talked to got me to buy this one instead of the one I had in mind. I haven't even begun to touch on all of the other keen things this player can do, but if you're not convinced by now... well, there's nothing I can do but invite you over to see this thing in action in person. You won't be disappointed.

This SONY DVD Player is AWESOME! I just want to rate this NEW SONY DVD Player (DVP-NS400D) which is a AWESOME DVD player! I just replaced my SONY (DVP-S560D) for this model which is the new player that replaced my last years model. They are almost the same except for this one looks more futuristic plus a few little extras nothing major. I am a SONY guy and i can truly say after researching other DVD Players in comparison to this SONY model, This one blew the competition away! The first thing is the Built in Dolby Digital Decoder which gives your surround system that Awesome Movie Theater Sound, if you have a system with 5.1 Dolby Digital outputs. Now be sure your surround system has DOLBY DIGITAL otherwise you are spending more money on a DVD player that can only experience true Theater 5.1 (Dolby Digital) Sound with a DOLBY DIGITAL Receiver. Now i did not know what the big differance was but than i started researching the differance between DOLBY PRO LOGIC and DOLBY DIGITAL and i discovered DOLBY DIGITAL is the latest technology that the Movie Theaters use. The differance is amazing. Now dont get me wrong even if you do not have a DOLBY DIGITAL receiver you will still get Awesome sound. This SONY model does have more features such as Virtual 3d Surround, which allows you to choose different sound modes (Normal Surround, Enhanced Surround, Virtual Rear Shift, Virtual Multi Rear, Virtual Multi Dimension) to give your movies a different effect. A very important feature, even if you do not have a surround system because this Feature Gives Your speakers on your tv the effect of Virtual Rear Speakers, which simulates a surround sound system. It also has a feature called DVE (Digital Video Enhancer) as the value increases from 1-3 the outlines of images on your TV become Crisper and more defined. For those True MOVIE DIE-HARD Fans who are wondering if this has DTS outputs for the best possible and that exact theater sound, Yes it does. These are just some of the stand out features that i really appreciate! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this SONY DVD Player, it will AMAZE you with the PICTURE and SOUND Quality and all the Extra features and you don't have to pay an arm and a leg for it either! BUY this DVD Player you will not regret it!

This is my first DVD player, but could never justify buying one to play on my 25" TV. I finally bumped up to a Sony Wega 32", which is also SWEET. This Sony DVD player is packed with features and tweaks. Having a built in Dolby Digital decoder is great, but what makes it stand out is that you can actually tweak all the six speakers. I already had a digital ready Sony receiver so the setup was pretty simple. The sound and picture that this player produces is amazing and sometimes scary. I picked up the phone a couple time, and I swear my doorbell rang:) With excellent sound production and an amazing picture, makes it a great buy at a good price.

I've had this dvd player for about 2 months now. In my opinion, this is an excellent choice. It works beautifully, the remote is easy to figure out, and hooking it up was simple. I'm an electronics idiot, so you know it had to be easy (I just figured out how to set the time on my vcr). I just can't say enough good things about this model. I've yet to come across anything I don't like. This is certainly not the only dvd player in the world, and I'm sure that many of the other models are just as good. I looked at several models (all were about the same price) and I selected this one. To be fair, I picked it because it was a Sony, no offence to any of the other fine electronics brands. It's a sweet deal, it works great, it's easy to use and of course the picture and sound are simply stunning. What else could you ask for (within reason). I'm sure that I haven't put this player through the paces and tried everything on it. All I do is watch dvd movies, and it does that perfectly. Don't hesitate to buy one of these sight unseen. I think that this is a popular model so if you want to see one in real life just go to an electronics store. If you buy one, you won't be sorry.

My wife and I were recently given a "hand-me-down" Nakamichi receiver. The receiver is in good shape and has great sound quality, so it was too good to pass up. Unfortunately, it is about 4 years old and lacks Dolby Digital 5.1 decoding. The logical solution was to find a DVD player that would decode the audio before it gets to the receiver, and after a bit of online research we converted part of our tax return into a Sony DVP-NS400D.

We have had this unit for almost two months, and have watched a number of different movies and listened to many CD's on it. So far, the results have been impressive in terms of video and audio quality, as well as ease of use. However, there are a few things anyone looking at this unit should consider:

1) This DVD player is a great match for anyone who has an older receiver that lacks Dolby 5.1 decoding, but the decoding feature is basically useless if you have a newer receiver that already has decoding capabilities. In this case, a cheaper dvd player without this feature would probably work just as well for you.

2) This DVD player WILL play CD-R's and CD-RW's, but it can be picky. For best results, use decent media and do not try to burn them at full speed.

3) This DVD player does NOT support SACD's or mp3's. Since there are almost no SACD's out there yet and the poor quality of most mp3's is even more apparent on a good sound system, these do not seem to be very important omissions. However, consider yourself warned.

If you have a high-end television that would benefit from progressive scan or a newer receiver that can do it's own Dolby decoding, then you should look elsewhere. Otherwise, I highly recommend the Sony DVP-NS400D as a good performer for a reasonable price.

After looking for the right DVD player for quite a while, I finally decided for SONY's DVP-NS400D. It was enough written about how easy and intuitive the initial setup routine is. Actually, it's so simple, that you will hardly need 10 minutes to get familiar with all the setting possibilities and variations, but still, a very large number of parameters can be set up and controlled. The picture is absolutely clean (I never needed the built in picture improving tools), the still picture frame doesn't show any noise and the entire visual field matches the highest standard. The sound is really very good and the decoded 5.1 signal turns the room into the real cinema. Being quite sensitive for the audio quality, I have highly appreciated the functionality of finetuning the parameters and location of the speakers, which finally led to my full satisfaction.
For those, who are looking for DVD player with built in decoder, clear picture, good sound and nice design, this one could be the right choice. If I had to make the choice once again, I would go for the same player.

I received this DVD player as a Christmas gift, and after 2 months of use, I am still completely satisfied with this product... I don't know much about the technical aspects ... but I do know that the picture and sound quality is excellent, even though I don't have any fancy dolby surround system hooked up to my tv... the menu is easy to understand and the remote control is easy to use, although I wish the remote control had "channel" keys... it has volume keys, but no channel key... that's no biggie though... also, i haven't had any problems playing rental DVD's... all in all, it's a great product...

I recently purchased this dvd player after doing quite a bit of
research. My budget was approx. 200 $. I wanted a player that
has built in dolby digital 5.1 decoder so that I can hook it
to my Yamaha receiver (4 years old) and still enjoy latest
Dolby Digital effects.
I must say that it works beautifully on my flat screen TAU panasonic TV and Yamaha receiver + Energy speakers and sub.
Picture and sound effects are crystal clear.
We saw "Shrek" and I was blown away by the picture and color details as well as sound effects.
I had seen the same movie on VCR and must say that I was quite
impressed by the added viewing/listening pleasure offered by
this DVD player.
DVD player has long feature lists. I have not used even 20% of
what you can do with it.
I love "resume from current location" feature.
(i.e. it remembers the location where you stopped your CD/DVD
and resumes from there)
Another feature I like is the way you can set up 5 speakers plus
a subwoofer using test tones thro' DVD menu. You can adjust gains
for individual speakers to match your room acoustics.
Remote is very functional. I can control on-off for my TV as well
as volume for my receiver.
Moreover, most of the functions you tend to play with (such
as choosing audio tracks on DVD, subtitles, surround effects
) have separate buttons on remote (instead of access
thro' on screen menu)
There are no real negatives in this DVD player
from my perspective (especially if you consider the price
at which you get it)
I highly recommend it!

I just got the player today so I can't attest to its durability, but we watched a Blockbuster DVD tonight and it played perfectly. I put on a couple of CDRWs that wouldn't play on my previous CD or DVD players. Both said, "No Disc." They play on the Sony. The on-screen display is pretty cool too. With the TV on, you press DISPLAY and all the stuff pops up. All you need are the up, down, right, left and OK buttons to make selections.
I needed the on board Dolby Digital decoder, btw. My amp has 6 channel inputs. No decoders.
So - I'm happy with it. I'll get back to you if I have reliability issues.

I just got this and it's great. My favorite feature is the Precision Scan. My old Sony DVD player would not read some of my Video CDs, but this one, thanks to Precision Scan, can read them perfectly. If you're looking for a great DVD player that will not only play CDs and DVDs, but Video CDs, this is the one.