Sony DVP-NS90V HDMI/SACD 1080i Upscaling DVD Player
A Top-Notch Universal DVD Player
There's no need to take anybody else's word for specs on this Sony DVD player when you can view or download, for free, the user's manual at [...] I've been running this Sony DVP-NS90V player through a Sony widescreen HDTV and a Pioneer amplifier/receiver for several days now, and I find almost none of the problems and limitations mentioned by previous reviewers. One, for example, states that there is \\"no bass management,\\" yet you can (a) route more or less signal to the subwoofer by selecting \\"small\\" or \\"large\\" for the front speaker size (see page 76 of the user's manual), and also (b) increase or decrease the bass from -15 dB to +5 dB (see page 77 of the manual). Whether you prefer analog to digital audio, or you think SACD's are tops, is a matter of opinion, taste and choice and not an objective evaluation of a playback unit. I, for one, prefer DVD-Audio, and I mention this for an important reason: Some product ads and the user's manual clearly warn that this unit \\"will NOT play DVD-Audio discs.\\" Happy surprize: it most certainly will! For my DVD-A's that have optional Dolby 5.1 and/or DTS tracks, the player simply ignores the primary DVD-A format (normally output via the 6 analog cable connectors) but still plays the Dolby or the DTS via the digital audio (optical or coaxial) connectors. For \\"pure\\" DVD-A's (without Dolby 5.1 or DTS tracks), it conveniently outputs the audio BOTH via the 6 analog AND the digital connectors. And in all cases above, the audio is full multi-channel surround, and not downmixed to 2-channel PCM, nor Prologic pseudo-surround. The only DVD-A function it lacks is the video slideshow often included on DVD-A's, and so displays only the \\"jacket image\\" onscreen. The Quick Setup allows any DVD newbie to be up and running in a short time. And the Custom Setup is so detailed with so many fine tweaks and trouble-shooters that it's bound to please even the high-end audio-video geek-freaks. In short, you'll find this to be a superior universal player, provided you read the user's manual (all 84 pages of it!), follow it, and connect equally high-quality, compatible equipment capable of exploiting its many fine features.