Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony DVP-NS78 - DVD Player With HDMI & 1080P Upscaling

What a great piece of kit and a great upscaling HDMI DVD player .
I run this through a Sony HDMI Cinema system with a HDMI switcher and with a Sony 40" LCD X series LCD TV . It was very easy and quick to set up . Looks Classy too ... I especially like how the little blue light comes on when your correctly running through the HDMI output . I was staggered at how impressive an upscaled DVD looks ... It upscales most standard DVD;s to 1080P . Star Wars Revenge of The Sith upscaled looks every bit as impressive as a true HD tranmission . This to me is a really good compromise before I make a decision between HD or Blu ray .. at the moment Id MUCH rather spend £70 on this than £500 for a Blu Ray player !!
Its completely revitalised my DVD collection ..

Took delivery of my DVP-NS78 just over a week ago after reading about upscaling DVD players for the first time in a Sunday newspaper supplement. Having read the reviews on Amazon I thought "Well, if it doesn't actually work it's only £50 down the drain".
All I can say is very impressed indeed - in fact even my wife says she can tell the difference and she's half-blind and almost totally indifferent to new technologies! The best way I can describe the picture is like I'm looking through a window that has just been cleaned and everything is crystal clear (relative to how it was before anyway). I bought a HD-ready LCD TV just over two years ago but I do not yet have any HD service such as Sky or Virgin so it was great to be able to see what the TV is capable of - a Toshiba 32WL56P for anyone who is interested. Furthermore, I have now tested the player with my Infocus X1 projector (after a quick firmware upgrade) and oh, my god! Predator has never looked so graphic....or gory.
I'm really pleased by this purchase. I feel I've got great value for money. I haven't been able to programme it for region-free yet but I think my One4All is playing up so I need to take that up with One4All support.
However, whether region-free or region 2 only I still think I've got a bargain. If you have a TV that's HD-ready but no HD service you might want to consider buying one of these to get an idea of your TV's potential.
By the way, this is the first time I have felt compelled to review any purchase in my life - that's probably the best indication of how impressed I am.

This DVD player is proof for me that Sony are back at the top of their game.

Slim, stylish and well laid out, this is a classy looking machine although there is a little hint of similar Philips machines about the reflective front fascia. Unlike some reviewers here I like the look and feel of the remote, it will also control the basics on many makes of TV.

With a good HDMI cable this DVD player delivers superb upscaled DVD quality to my HD LCD TV. This has a dramatic effect on recent DVD releases but also (surprisingly for me) old BBC DVDs such as Blakes 7!

This player I understand is multiregion capable. That does not mean that it is Multiregion already when you buy it from Amazon, it means that should be possible to make it multiregion by entering a code with a remote control such as a One For All remote. Please do take note of this as 'multiregion capable' could be misleading.

Recommended.

True bargains are few and far between but this really is one! This is a beautifully made DVD player with a wide but not very deep profile which is finished in black (the latter not being clear from the description on this page). The picture quality is outstanding and genuinely "upscales" normal DVDs to a level that is very close to the "real HD thing" in terms of picture quality. There are a huge range of playback and sound options and the default for HD upscaling is automatic - this means the player comes up with an optimum "HD upscaling" setting according to the disc you feed it. The remote is also comprehensive and can also be programmed to offer control over many makes of TV. However, this DVD player is a natural companion to the Sony Bravia series - mine is paired with a Bravia KDL20-S4000 TV and both visually and sonically the TV and DVD player produce excellent results together. For all but the most demanding users I don't think it gets much better than this - the price/quality ratio is fantastic - unreservedly recommended.

Having read all the reviews, I went for this player and I'm not disappointed with the picture quality. What frustrates me at the moment is that having connected it via HDMI to my LG HDTV, the One-Touch facility does not work. It's really frustrating having to change the input after switching on the DVD player, particularly when this worked when connected to my old Panasonic player via a Scart. I've even tried connecting the Sony via Scart. Doesn't work either and would have defeated the object of buying a HDMI player. It does work with SKY+ and the PS2. I'm also unable to programme the remote to control the TV even though LG appears in the manual. I've contacted LG and they can't help and Sony customer service have failed to respond. Has anyone else experienced similar problems?