Sony DVP-NS700/S

Have had this DVD player in black for 5 months now. The picture and sound quality are excellent, even on my 10 year old stereo Sony television. The DVD player comes with built in DTS/Dolby Digital decoders which I thought I could hook up straight to some surround speakes. Unfortunately, after reading the manual (which is very good for non-techies like me) it suggests connecting the DVD player to an amp for a surround system. It also plays CDR, CDRW and SACD. I cannot comment on the sound quality from CDs as I seem to get distortion on the bass, even at mid volume, but this is probably due to the speakers on my TV. Overall, I have made a wise decision in purchasing this little unit. Feels solid, and the controls on the front panel are easy to use. Rear panel has 5.1 connections for DTS, scart for TV if required.

The remote control can be a bit daunting with numerous buttons, but once setup, shouldn't need to change menu settings.

The Sony DVP-NS700 is now (Oct 2002) not the newest DVD plaver on the block, but is selling for a great price in many specialist stores and, I think, offers terrific value for money. The DVP-NS700 is more than a DVD player - it also handles all the rewritable CD formats, plays CDs and MP3 Discs, and SACDs too (if you have such a thing! I received a complimentary one with the player). Picture and sound quality are very, very good - it is in the Sony QS range - and it has lots of high end features. It includes DTS/Dolby Digital decoders if you're looking to rig it straight to a sub/sat speaker system without a separate amp in between. NB when setting up with any separate home cinema system, you need to go into the Audio Setup menu and reconfigure it appropriately (so that the digital output is switched on and the decoders are or off, according to your need). It is low profile and looks very attractive in brushed silver. Good Sony remote as always, although the minor buttons look a bit daunting for non-tecchies.

It's a buyer's market so by wheeling and dealing a bit you can get a new boxed multi-region version for as little as £150, which I think is a pretty good deal. Even though there are some fantastic new entrants from e.g. Pioneer and Toshiba at this price level, the versatility of the DVP-NS700 makes worth looking at, especially if you're looking for the core of a complete home entertainment centre.

I bought this DVD player to replace a rather old and battered LG3200e I needed integrated DTS/DD as my amp although powerful had no DTS/DD decoder. I'd heard a lot of opinions on this but I am happy to say that the sound quality is fantastic. As for the picture quality, it made my LG3200e look bad. Hey it makes my m8's Tosh look bad which is a bonus. All in all an excellent purchase and outstanding value considering the SACD support. Nice one Sony.

Had the DVP-NS700S DVD player from Sony for about 3 weeks now. Like the picture and sound quality. Also sacd replay is great(wish there were more titles available).

Lots of options for fiddlers.

Do not like the low sound output-requires the volume on tv to be turned too far up (okay if you remember to turn it down before switching back to normal tv).

Far too many buttons on remote.

All in all not a great player but still a good one.

This Sony DVP-NS700VS replaced a defective Pioneer DV444. Didn't think the picture on my Sony XBR450 could be any better then the Pioneer, but I was wrong! The colors and sound are much clearer and crisper, and for the money it's the best bang for the buck.

This Sony DVP-NS700VS DVD player was an upgrade from a unit that was only 2 years old so I wasn't expecting much of an improvement.... however the first DVD that I played soon changed my expectations for this mid priced unit.. it has now completely replaced my DVD & CD player in one single unit....

The picture qulity is as sharp or soft as you want it and the sound can be modified to make superb noises even on the most basic of televisions. As soon as my STR-DB870R amp arrived along with my sub-woofer the world never quite sounded the same again... to improve on this quality audio and visual reproduction you need to jump up to the £1000 mark so it's also great VFM for what it offers..

Downside [as with most Sony products] the manuals are somewhat ropey and disjointed when it comes to the complex setup for sound fields, and the on-screen display options are endless!!.... but this doesn't mean you need a degree in rocket science to set it up... even the most ludite of users will have it working less than 10 minutes after opening the box.

The SACD feature is a nice touch and will become extremely desirable as titles become available by mainstream artistes... at the moment it is a bit limited to Sony music with most SACD's being of the classical persuasion!!

Excellent sounds, great imaging, SACD compatable and looks beautiful in brushed aluminium finish.. about as far as you can go before you start to spend 'silly money'!!!