Need Help With Blu-Ray Player 400 Disc Mega Changer

Need Help With Blu-Ray Player 400 Disc Mega Changer.
I was looking at this model BDP-CX960 for $800. You will however have to be willing to forgo things like RS-232 and IR-in, as well as the ES badge. What is a RS-232 and IR-in??? Is the ES badge a mark of quality or what??? Here is the link Thank You ahead of time.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/23/sonys-blu-ray-megachanger-hits-the-streets-next-month-with-new/

The extra ports you mention are used usually for media control systems in custom home theater applications. An example is to have your changers buried away somewhere while using a controller to control several changers. The controllers are capable of multi-room distribution and can maintain a library of your movie collection. The remotes can be as advanced as two-way communication with colored touch screens. The Elevated Standard of Sony offers higher quality components, better build quality and five year warranty.

So the RS-232 will let you use advance remotes??? I am confused. IDK much about complex receivers.

"What is ...IR-in???"

It's for use with an IR redistribution system that lets you use your IR-based remote control to control things that are not in the IR beam's line of sight. Typically components in a cabinet or in another room. I use the IR port on my Oppo because it's in a cabinet.

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Alright Hot Chocolate Guy enough from the Peanut Gallery. What is RS232 since you are such a smart guy.

The changer would connect to third-party changer controllers with audio/video and rs-232 serial port or wired Infra-Red connections along with other changers (usually 4 total) and the controller controls them, switches the inputs,outputs to diffrent zones and mantains the library. The advanced remotes ,wired or wireless, access the controller and can even display the movie on its monitor. They also can control lighting, security and HVAC systems not to mention motorized fixtures such as a curtain to cover a projection screen.

Please look at the links below. I sure you will be impressed by what this manufacturer has to offer. There are others too.

http://www.elanhomesystems.com/productdetail.asp?id=44
http://www.elanhomesystems.com/touch_controls.asp
http://www.elanhomesystems.com/productdetail.asp?id=19

I hope this clarifies things better.

IR-in is so you can connect directly to an IR to RF converter, or to an IR distribution unit so you could point your remote at the same place for all your components.

RS-232 is so you can connect to your computer, or a dedicated home automation system, which would allow you to program commands, such as turn off lights 1/3/4 when playing a DVD, turn on all lights when playing music, or dim light 2 to 40% and open curtains for projection screen, you get the picture... The amount of control you get depends on how the RS-232 signals are implemented.

P.S. Although I advise people to search before asking, I'd suggest that people who don't have an answer or anything constructive to add to refrain from posting useless posts and go watch MTV or something...

Sony's regular DVD changer was a joke...be sure the Blu version comes from somewhere with a liberal return policy.

Thanks Mr. Chang and Mr. Rather you answered my questions. Mr. Change I honestly did search for my answers but could not get any replies maybe it was my phrasing.

So without IR-in you can not hide your player you have to have it in plain sight?

Rise2it this has a nice interface it used the Sony XMB and you can order your movies by title, director, year etc.

A. Milutinovich, I believe there are adaptors (or "IR Emitters") that sit in front of your components, but that's an imperfect solution, IR-in is much more reliable and "neat", so you don't have to stick a small pod in front of your player.

You can look up in Google "IR Distribution", or "RF Universal Remote". There are a couple companies/brands that are known for making these, like the Logitech Harmony, Phillips Pronto, or URC.

As for the 400 disc changer, I know everyone's needs are different, but personally I don't see the point to it unless you are ADHD with movies as well (as you know some people are with changing TV channels). Loading a disc every 2 hours ain't too bad, and although the organization is cool, it isn't worth (to me) $800. But I can see, if you have 400 discs and plan on getting a lot more, you'd probably buy 1 or 2 of these things, right? Anything under about 400, in my opinion, can be organized manually.

I hear you Mr. Chang amazon has a good deal on these for $650. Also I would buy it when the price reached around $400. It is good for when companies make bad blu-ray sets like BSG complete collection which I heard is a pain to remove them in and out plus scratches the disc.

"Rise2it this has a nice interface it used the Sony XMB and you can order your movies by title, director, year etc."

Glad to hear it...may give one of these a try one day, once the collection grows large enough to justify it. Their original DVD changer had a ton of problems - slow menus, add a new disc and it had to scan and read ALL of them again (ka-click...300-400 times, etc - I don't think they ever released an upgraded version.)

"The CX7000ES's built-in RS-232 port allows the MegaChanger to be managed by audio / video control systems for full integration into a custom installed audio / video system."

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665925651#features

Sony has a web site.

From what I've heard of those that own them, the XMB was not well implemented this time, and most are relying on a 3rd party (usually Escient's next update to the VS-100) for a better controller. In addition to the extra audio-outs, you may also get a better build, but it sure is hard to pass when the lesser model keeps dropping in price almost every-day on here.

Rise2it, not sure how old your changer is but my Dvp-995v changers menus were quick and can start and stop the loading at any point on the turntable without having to do the whole library.

Someone was saying the review section on Amazon you can start your load data search from anywhere in the collection.

Sony is supposedly coming out with one of the changers with the "ES" badge on it with a price tag of $1800. Personally, I would avoid it unless they have really worked to improve on the DVP-CX777ES DVD changer (which I used to own). I got rid of a Sony CDP80ES 5-disc CD changer and a DVP-S7700 DVD player (one of the best ever made) to switch to the 400 disc changer so that our (at the time) really young boys wouldn't ruin our DVDs. And it was the biggest mistake I made as far as our AV equipment is concerned. I took a couple of steps down in video quality from the 7700 and didn't have a dedicated CD player. The changer mechanism also scratched most of the discs while in the changer--GRRRRRR. Want your BDs scratched? I thought not. So if you're hell-bent on one of these Sony units you better hope that problem was resolved.

The last ES piece of gear Sony made that was worth a damn was the STR-DA777ES A/V receiver. We've had ours for ten years now--what a tank!!

Anyway, for blu-ray movies I will stick with my Panasonic BD-55 in the living room and the BD-60 in our bedroom. It will be a long time before I own 100 BDs let alone 400. By then something better will have come out anyway. Best of luck in your decision.

[Deleted by the author on Oct 30, 2009 7:21 PM PDT]

I bought a cx960 and it couldnt read 90% of my Blu Ray discs. What a pile of garbage. Stay away!

Sounds like you got a lemon. That does happen from time to time. I just took my Panasonic BD-55 in for the second time in a month for the same problem (freezing, when it un-freezes I have no audio). Is the whole product line crappy or did I get one that came out of bad production run (which is more likely)? We'll see. I suspect my CX777ES had an unlikely problem that a few others had, too.

Pile of garbage, huh? Pretty strong statement. I saw a review last night for something here and the guy blasted it for a problem out of the box. I seriously doubt he exchanged it for another one to give a good unit a chance because that takes entirely too much work. A couple of months before I bought our Sony STR-DA777ES receiver I had purchased the Harman Kardon AVR7000. I sent it back for another one because the first one had a problem. #2 had the same problem. #3 had the same problem. #4 had the same problem. Then I got the Sony. Was I frustrated? Sure. Did I have high expectations? Yes, but not unrealistic ones. This was a $1500+ receiver ten years ago. But I was at least willing to give the product (and a reputable manufacturer) another chance. I wish more people would, too. It's easy to get something in a different brand and publish a negative review about the one that got replaced. It's sometimes trying and difficult to get the same model and give it another shot because it takes work in the instant-gratification-world we live in.

The person I talked to at Downtown Radio (the repair shop in Denver) said that he sees a pretty equal distribution across brand name BD players with issues. According to him, no one brand sees more than its share of broken-down players. BTW, if you do need to get your BD player repaired, expect to send it to a manufacturers facility because your local shop isn't allowed to service BD players. It seems manufacturers don't want anyone messing with the laser systems in these players. Mine is getting sent to California again. Sigh...

Maybe I'll get a BD-80 out of this yet.