Sony DVP-NS700P

Sony's DVP-NS700P is among this year's crop of moderately priced progressive-scan DVD players--a category that's growing increasingly competitive by the month. Like other Sony DVD decks, this player stands apart from the crowd in the look-and-feel department, and it also includes numerous well-implemented features. At same time, however, it lacks a couple of key features, and videophiles with wide-screen TVs may not be completely satisfied with its performance.Sony's DVP-NS700P is among this year's crop of moderately priced progressive-scan DVD players--a category that's growing increasingly competitive by the month. Like other Sony DVD decks, this player stands apart from the crowd in the look-and-feel department, and it also includes numerous well-implemented features. At same time, however, it lacks a couple of key features, and videophiles with wide-screen TVs may not be completely satisfied with its performance.

Silver bullet
There's no denying the appeal of the DVP-NS700P's sexy lines and distinctive silver face. The angled drawer opens quietly, and a disc spinning inside makes no noise to interrupt quiet movie passages. A convenient jog/shuttle dial on the front panel for fast-forwarding and rewinding is a nice touch, but it would have been better placed on the remote.

And while we're on the subject of the remote, here's more: even without a jog dial, it's excellent. The buttons are thoughtfully laid out, and we appreciated that the ones that control key functions glow in the dark. The onscreen menu system is also among the best we've seen, with clear icons and context-sensitive text that make it easy for the user to make adjustments. For example, while many players have you reach around back to switch between interlaced and progressive-scan modes, with this player you can make the switch from an onscreen menu.

When many features aren't enough
And why would you ever want to switch playback modes? Because most progressive-scan TVs lock into an anamorphic (wide-screen) picture when they receive a progressive-scan signal. Though that's not a problem with anamorphic "enhanced for wide-screen" DVDs, with nonanamorphic discs, the picture stretches, making everyone appear short and fat. Some progressive-scan DVD players can change aspect ratios internally to get around this problem, but the DVP-NS700P cannot.

Some users will also be disappointed that this deck won't play MP3-encoded CDs, although it handles standard music CD-R/RWs well. Another positive: you'll find settings for contrast, brightness, and so forth in addition to five picture presets, four simulated surround-sound options, four Dynamic Picture modes, and three settings of noise reduction. The jack pack around back is similarly well endowed, with a second pair of A/V outputs, two S-Video outputs, one set of composite outs, and both coaxial and optical digital-audio outputs. Hide Review