There's no question that a DVD will look great on a widescreen HDTV, especially if your player happens to be a progressive-scan model. But with razor-sharp high-definition movies regularly showing on cable, satellite, and even broadcast TV, DVD has started to lose a bit of its luster. Still, if you're looking to squeeze every last drop of image quality out of your DVDs, you can now get a player that “upconverts” standard DVD video to a high-def format and then sends a digital signal to your TV through a DVI or HDMI connector. And with players like this selling for around $300 — the price of Sony's DVP-NS975V — it's an affordable option.
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Sony's newest player is the first we've reviewed with an HDMI output, or High Definition Multimedia Interface. This state-of-the-art connection carries video in digital form. More important, unlike its predecessor, DVI (a.k.a. Digital Visual Interface), HDMI can also carry a multichannel digital audio signal along with the video — that's right, six-channel surround sound. So what's the big deal? Two things: better potential image quality and a simplified connection between your DVD player, your HDTV, and even your A/V receiver, assuming they all have HDMI connectors (many new high-def TVs do). But if your TV has only DVI, you can use an HDMI-to-DVI adapter cable to make the hookup.
The NS975V offers more than just an HDMI connector. It also plays Super Audio CDs and handles a slew of other disc formats (see table left). And it has a polished, high-end look, with only a handful of buttons on its front panel. Around back you'll find all the standard A/V jacks plus a set of six analog outputs that connect to a compatible A/V receiver's inputs for listening to SACDs. I should mention here that the only way to tap the player's high-def upconversion capability is via the HDMI output — the component-video connection is limited to “enhanced-definition” 480p.
The small remote control is packed with buttons, none of which are backlit. On the bright side, the ones you'll use most are grouped near the bottom of the handset where you can quickly find them. One highlight is the smooth playback you get during fast-forward or reverse searches.
SETUP Since I wanted to watch movies and play SACDs, I had to connect six audio cables between the Sony player and my receiver and then dash to the store to buy an HDMI cable. I paid $80 for a 2-meter run — and that was a cheap one! With the wiring complete, I made use of the player's extensive setup options for its analog multi-channel audio output, including bass management and distance compensation for all five speakers and the subwoofer.
Getting the video to look right took a little maneuvering. Sony offers five picture presets plus a custom memory setting, with the Standard preset serving as a default. But the contrast range looked flat with the Standard setting, so I created a custom setting to improve the picture. The upconverted images from the HDMI output had a color-balance problem that made skin tones look too yellow and washed out. But this can be compensated for on some TVs (see “in the lab,” next page).
MOVIE PERFORMANCE The Sony performed very well when I used its component-video output in progressive-scan mode. Any switches between film- and video-based programs were glitch-free, with the Sony automatically optimizing the playback for best performance.
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I was also impressed by the leap in image clarity when I switched over to the HDMI output. In a scene from the recent remake of The Stepford Wives, I could see all the detail in Matthew Broderick's tweed coat. And in the scene where a realtor shows them an empty home, plenty of detail was visible in the light splashing around on the wood and glass surfaces of the kitchen. Shadow detail was also very realistic, with a fine gradation of dark tones spilling out from deepest black.
MUSIC PERFOMANCE Testing the NS975V gave me a chance to check out some new SACDs of favorite old albums I'd recently picked up, including Roxy Music's Avalon. This disc sounds great in plain old stereo, but the multichannel surround version is a truly wild ride. Listening to “The Space Between,” I could feel the amazing energy and drive of the bass and drums — it really propelled the song forward. The synths and guitars had a full, detailed presentation, and Bryan Ferry's butter-smooth vocals seemed to slide around the room, trailing from speaker to speaker. Exciting stuff overall, and a vast improvement on the stereo mix.
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BOTTOM LINE Besides looking slick and being a pleasure to use, Sony's DVP-NS975V offers both SACD playback and high-def video upconversion for your DVDs — quite a bargain for its asking price. What more could you want, except DVD-Audio compatibility? (Fat chance on a Sony!) Real high-def DVD is still a year or so off. But if you need a versatile player to pinch-hit in the meantime, this one will fill the slot nicely.
In the Lab
DVD-VIDEO PERFORMANCE
Maximum-white level error.............. –2 IRE
Setup level............... +7.5/0 IRE (switchable)
Horizontal luminance response
3/4/5 MHz....................... –0.35/–0.72/–1.1 dB
6/6.5 MHz (DVD limit)................. –1.9/–2.6 dB
Onscreen horizontal resolution..... 540 lines
In-player letterboxing......................... good
AUDIO PERFORMANCE
Frequency response (20 Hz to . . .)
Dolby Digital.............. 20 kHz +0.19, –0.02 dB
SACD......................... 61.6 kHz +0.36, –3 dB
CD.......................... 20 kHz +0.16, –0.026 dB
Noise level
Dolby Digital (16-bit signal)............... –70.5 dB
SACD/CD (stereo)............. –85.1 dB/–75.4 dB
BASS MANAGEMENT
Main-channel high-pass filter response
Dolby Digital/CD: 12-dB/octave rolloff below 120 Hz
SACD: 15-dB/octave rolloff below 120 Hz
Subwoofer output low-pass filter response
Dolby Digital/CD: 12-dB/octave rolloff above 130 Hz
SACD: 12-dB/octave rolloff above 120 Hz
Subwoofer maximum output level
3.4 volts, 0.09% THD+N
Compared with the component- and S-video outputs, the HDMI measured more than 25% low in the green on the Avia color-decoder-error chart. With some TVs you may be able to correct for this problem by selecting a standard- rather than high-def color setting for the digital input, or by using the advanced color adjustments in its setup menu.
Except for the slight rolloff in luminance response, the player’s analog video outputs were pretty much dead on. And the component output provided excellent progressive-scan playback, with fewer jagged diagonal edges on moving objects with a Silicon Optix test disc and slight-ly less “noise” than with many other players.
In audio terms, the player was substantially quieter with SACDs than with CDs, which should be the case but often is not, and it also applies speaker-distance compensation to SACDs, an extremely rare and valuable feature. The slight measured differences in bass-management behavior for different disc types are insignificant.
— A.G. and David Ranada