Sony DVP-NS700H/B Review:
Breathe new life into your DVD collection with the Sony DVP-NS700H/B in both black and silver. Enjoy your DVD collection now upscaled to 1080p via the HDMI connection. Plus with BRAVIA sync, you can easily power on and synch the inputs of compatible Sony AV devices connected to the players via HDMI for hassle-free enjoyment.

Upscaling to 1080p via HDMI makes the single-disc Sony DVP-NS700H/B DVD player from Sony the perfect way to enjoy your DVD library on your new HDTV. Video-processing technology upscales the 480i resolution of your DVD content to hi def 1080p. BRAVIA® Theater Sync™ makes integration of the Sony DVP-NS700H/B into your Sony system seamless. Also, Precision Cinema Progressive™ and a Precision Drive 3 let you keep watching your old favorites, even if the discs have gotten a little scratched and worn.

Sony DVP-NS700H/B User Review:
PROS: Sony DVP-NS700H/B has every hook up you could want on a player - including the digital optical audio output. Many players are ditching this output (including the next model of this player) because they think everyone has the money to drop cash on a HD TV and use the the HDMI cables. This forces you to buy two HDMI cables and route the signal through your reciever to get digital quality audio (this is true for all players. I don’t think any of them allow you to use your optical out and HDMI out at the same time even when they do include these connections). Anyway, I have been using an optical out to my reciever for the best audio signal and simply haven’t had the money to get an HD TV. This is one of the few players that allows you to have digital quality sound without the HD TV… bravo. Some other players have coaxil digital outputs, but hey, I bought the optical because it was better, faster signal and now most the companies are ditching it. Kind of annoying. Anyway, the versatility of the differnt hook ups allows buyers who are in the middle of converting all of your compenents to make this work with just about any set up. Other machines (including the next generation of this one) requires the buyer to pretty much upgrade your whole system at once in order to benefit from certain features - IE: I can’t get digital quality sound unless I go out and buy an HD TV, too.)

Enough about that. Sony DVP-NS700H/B also supports DTS and 24-bit sound. I guess what I am saying is that the sound output is awesome on this machine.

As for the upconvert I can only speculate. All I know is that it did make my DVDs look better even at 480p with a tube television.

Sony DVP-NS700H/B is thin and sleek. Looks nice and doesn’t take up a lot of space.

CONS: The menu interface is the antithesis of intuitive. Sony must’ve thought that using really tiny graphics that have nothing to do with what is in the submenu was a great way to organize things. You have to read the manual if for no other reason than to reference their graphics index to figure out which menu to select for the feature you want. What was wrong with just using words like - “display” and “audio”?

There are like three different display menus that all have different things in them. (Which is probably why the previous user thought there was no 4:3 support). Why they didn’t put these all in one place and create more sub categories I will never know. Some of the set-up menus will not allow you to access them unless you stop the DVD you are watching. Also, the manual assumes a certain level of techinical knowledge which a regular user may not have if they do not keep up with all of the HD TV and digital lingo. Bottom line, the menus are confusing, but if you read the manual, you’ll be fine if you have a reasonable amount of technical knowledge.

This is a small complaint, but neither the remote nor the buttons on the Sony DVP-NS700H/B itself have a backlight. If you’re like me, you watch your movies in the dark. On the machine, they didn’t even paint the button icons on there. They are engraved in the button and left black. Even in a dimmly lit room I have to get a few inches from the machine to tell which button is which. Eventually, I’ll memorize them… A small gripe for a great player.

Sometimes the remote is a little touchy. You really have to tap the buttons.

The bottom line for me is that this was a perfect machine for my situation. I can’t afford to drop $3000 on a new HD TV and a reciever that will accept HDMI to get all the features I want. I wanted to continue getting digital quality sound (via optical connection), replace my dead DVD player, and future proof my video capabilities by getting an upconverting player. Sony DVP-NS700H/B hit a home run on those particular points so I am willing to accept the other small issues.

By Rachel L. Harry

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