Sony NS 700P is going back! (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Koch]

Hi everyone. Perhaps you can shed some light on this problem. I wanted to upgrade to a better dvd player so I purchased the Sony NS 700P from the Good Guys yesterday. I don't have a progressive scan television yet but I figured I'll have the player when I eventually upgrade my televison.
Currently I'm viewing everything on a Sony 27" XBR manufactured in 1995. It's an excellent set with superb resolution. I connected the new Sony player with the S video connector, switched all settings on the player to interlace and noticed the following:
On all anamorphic discs EVERYTHING HAS SOFT FOCUS!!! Anything that is not anamorphic looks fantastic and is as sharp as a razor. I contacted Sony and they said my cables were bad. I've gone through all the menus, played with all the settings and still I get the same results: Anamorphic dvds look soft and non-anamorphic dvds are beautiful and sharp. Am I doing something wrong or is this a problem I'm going to have until I purchase a new television? My old Apex 600 produces a better picture than this new Sony player. Any suggestions before I return it to the Good Guys? Thanks for your input.
Jeff

 

[Stacey_V]

Jeff....

I'm taking a stab at this one, I may be wrong.

The Sony DVD players are well known for their soft anamorphic downconversion. The image produced will be softer than that of either a Panasonic or Toshiba. The other side of this, is that the Sony does not exaggerate the "jaggies" like the Toshiba does. It becomes a trade off....which can you live more with? I am on my second Sony player, and I've never minded the image from these players. This could very well be because I didn't know what other DVD players offered visually. I've only known the image on my Sony players. Having said that, my recent DVD player(DVP-570D) is connected to my 53HS10 RPTV which accepts the full anamorphic image. I no longer have to downconvert.

Hope this helps somewhat.

Stacey

 

[Jim A. Banville]

What's so sad is that a WidescreenReview magazine review of this player said it no longer had the typical Sony-softness on anamorphic downconversion. Wrong!

 

[JeffreyH]

Tomorrow I'm hoping to pick up the dvp-ns500v which is very similar but drops the progressive scan for SACD playback.

Do you think I'll have the same problem running component cables to a new 32 inch Panasonic?

This will be my 3rd dvd player in two weeks, I don't want problems with another one.

Maybe I should just get the NAD t-531?

 

[Stacey_V]

Jeffrey...

If you are asking whether or not you'll notice a soft image through component to your Panny, I would say....maybe. I had not heard that the newer Sony players were supposed to be 'sharper' with their downconversion, as mentioned above by Jim. Your best bet, is to try the player out in store, through component, on a TV of equal caliber to your Panny. Make sure that the player is set up for 4:3 TV, with downconversion. Check the picture quality on a DVD you are familiar with, and then base your decision on what you see.

If this will be your 3rd player....what else have you tried?

Regards,

Stacey

 

[Ryan Spaight]

If you don't like the downconversion of the 700, I doubt the 500 would be any better. I'll bet they use the exact same downconversion routines.

Ryan

 

[JeffreyH]

I had the Denon avr-1500, it's has some lip sync problems, bad remote and a really loud transport.

I now have the Marantz dv-3100 which I'm having some dot crawl problems with, other than that I like it.

Both those models are no longer current so I got a good deal on them. So now I'm looking at this Sony as well as the NAD t-531 which seems to be based on the Dv-3100 Marantz. Same remote, menus, display, and back panel. So I'm wondering what else is the same and if I'll have the same problems I've had with my Marantz.

This is the first negative thing I've heard about these new Sony models, so now I'm thinking if it's the right choice.

I'm sure the salesman will hate seeing me come into the store after my third player!

They had the NAD hooked up for me to watch and mess with but it was hooked up to a Pioneer Elite HDTV! That does nothing for me.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Jeff Koch]

Thanks so much Stacey, Jim, Jeffrey and Ryan for your input. Stacey, I can't live with the downconversion problem, it's just too soft on all anamorphic discs. My cheap Apex produces a much better picture than the Sony. The only reason why I purchased the Sony was for even better picture quality, or so I thought. I was prompted when I read about the 700 in the latest Perfect Vision magazine, Janurary/February 2002 issue, page 24 under Editor's Choice Awards. They're calling it a "videophile's dream product."
I contacted Sony again today (800-222-SONY) and spoke to another customer service person in dvd. He told me that the NS700P needs a firmware upgrade and that I would have to ship the player to a Sony service center for the free upgrade. I don't want to go through this hassle with a brand new player I just purchased. The customer service person also told me that they're coming out with a new batch of players in February that should already have the firmware upgrade. I'm going to return this player to the Good Guys and wait for the next batch of players. Hopefully I'll have better luck with the downconversion problem.
Jeff

 

[JeffreyH]

That sucks! I called from work today and the dealer isn't ordering the 500 until Monday, but now I'm wondering if I should wait.

I wonder how you can tell the new batch from the old?

Manufacturing dates?

I think I'll check out the NAD again tomorrow.

 

[Mike Pattee]

I hope this doesn't come off as too dumb of a question. Does the downconversion problem only applies when used with a 4:3 tv? I have a 46" mitsubishi widescreen rptv and have been considering buying this dvd player. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Mike

 

[JackS]

I don't know if this applies to your problem or not, but I have owned three Panasonics, beginning with the first gen A100 then the infamous A110, and now the RP65. I also own a Sony DVP Changer. My impression has always been that the video performance of the Panasonic is the standard by which all other standard players aspire to. I have only used one other player (Pioneer 525) and could never say for sure that the video was as good as my Panasonic. This is a big assumption, since I have no experience with other brands, but still beleive everything is apples to apples except for Sony. Sony is an Orange. A great picture in its own right. The Sony produces a softer more colorful display than (I beleive) anything else. I don't like the Sony better, but I do appreciate the difference. Fans of Technicolor or animation would propably prefer the Sony over other players. If I had to choose between them, I'd take the Panasonic. On the other hand, the Sony is a full featured changer with its own addictions. Really glad to own both. My TV is a 31" RCA, maybe if I had a larger screen, the choice would be simpler. Jack

 

[Dmitry]

Mike, downconversion only applies when DVD player is set to 4:3 mode. I have this player hooked up to a Sony 32" XBR400 that has anamorphic squeeze and my player is set to 16:9 mode. I don't think the resulting picture is soft.