Summary: This player is the promise of Bluray fully delivered. As before, video is spectacular. Audio is spectacular in every codec as well. DTS master audio (not included in previous sony products except PS3) is fantastic as is Dolby HD, the internal decoding and full bandwith 7.1 PCM output is ... Expand full review
Summary: This player is the promise of Bluray fully delivered. As before, video is spectacular. Audio is spectacular in every codec as well. DTS master audio (not included in previous sony products except PS3) is fantastic as is Dolby HD, the internal decoding and full bandwith 7.1 PCM output is a great plus for all of us that have audiophile equipment that does not include internal decoders for the new formats. This also ensures that users of HDMI version 1.1 equipment don't have to fret about having 1.3 compliant equipment to enjoy the rewards of completely uncompressed 7.1 surround. Works beautifully with my Rotel 1069 preamp through HDMI. However, best of all, the player is finally fast. For those that have owned previous generation bluray players the most annoying thing about the technology was the patience testing load times.That was the bad old days, welcome to the good days, plop in the disc and go. The menus and additional features work seamlessly and instantly, no more "processing time" hastle. I'm using it with an Elite pro110 plasma and can attest that its video fidelity is reference quality, simply doesn't get better than this, for any price. Build quality is impressive, the player feels like its built from a ton of bricks and its completely silent in operation, the fan is inaudible (at least I have never heard it). The internet connection is excellent just plug and go. In fact, this player has essentially zero negatives from any performance standpoint, NONE. Its not a particularly attractive piece of gear, simply a box with a tray in the front but that is fine. Which, of course, leads to the only negative, its price. For those that want the very best in videophile equipment, the price is justified simply because its performance is, for the time being, second to none in all parameters, better yet, it demonstrates that the technology has finally reached fruition. This player is the first evidence that bluray is now a mature technology with no performance or functional compromises. Hopefully all its funtional advantages will trickle down to more affordable players soon.
