Sony BDP-CX7000ES Blu-ray Disc MegaChanger (January 2010 Home Theater review link)

[HDTV1080P]

Sony BDP-CX7000ES Blu-ray Disc MegaChanger

(January 2010 Home Theater review link)

The $1,900 Sony BDP-CX7000ES BLU-RAY player is ideal for consumers that want to store 400 BLU-RAY, DVD, or CD discs in a MegaChanger. For those that do not care about storing 400 discs into one machine an OPPO BDP-83 BLU-RAY player or other standalone BLU-RAY player with a better video processor would be a better choice. The OPPO BDP-83 also plays SACD and DVD-Audio discs which are niche audiophile formats.

The Sony BDP-CX7000ES lacks 1GB of internal memory for use with BD-LIVE. An external USB memory needs to be purchased in order to use BD-LIVE. The video processing on the Sony MegaChanger does not have as good as video processor when compared to the OPPO BDP-83. The Sony failed both the 3:2 and 2:2 tests. On the positive side the Sony player does have a legacy 480I S-Video jack for those consumers that are interested in connecting the display to an older CRT TV from the 90's that has S-Video. Load times are also slower on the Sony MegaChanger when compared to the OPPO BDP-83. To be fair load times for all MegaChangers will take longer to load discs compared to single disc standalone players. Being able to hold 400 BLU-RAY movies inside one player is a unique feature that some consumers will really enjoy. The Sony BDP-CX7000ES has lower picture quality when playing 1080I BLU-RAY discs like concert videos do to video processing quality issues. Players like the OPPO BDP-83 handle 1080I BLU-RAY discs properly. The Sony does match the OPPO in video and audio performance when playing 1080P/24 movie discs according to the review.

Click here to read the complete review at the Home Theater website

The following are select quotes from the Home Theater review


"Solid build quality"

"Average load times"

"Each of the 400 slots is numbered. Slot 1 is reserved for rentals, and a convenient Rental Slot button on the front panel queues up the appropriate slot."

"Sony is currently the only manufacturer of Blu-ray Disc changers on the market, so if you’re in need of one, your options are limited to the ES model or the lower-priced BDP-CX960 ($800). Compared with many current video server products, many of which start at $5,000 and go up dramatically from there, this MegaChanger is a bargain."

"The rear panel includes one HDMI 1.3a output with support for 48-bit Deep Color and x.v. Color (not currently supported by either DVD or Blu-ray). It also includes an Ethernet port (required for Profile 2.0 players), a component output, 7.1-channel analog outputs, and more, including a recessed USB port to add the required 1 gigabyte of memory (not included) for BD-Live features. I’m surprised a player in this price class doesn’t have the onboard memory that’s required for BD-Live, something that many lower-cost players include."

"The player internally decodes Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio and outputs them over HDMI as PCM or analog from the 7.1-channel output. For newer AVRs and surround processors with onboard decoding, the player can send raw bitstreams from its HDMI 1.3a output"

"Unfortunately, there isn’t a Source Direct option for the video output as there is on other Blu-ray players. This feature is a must if you use an external video processor so the player can output the native resolution on the disc to have any video processing take place in the external scaler."

"Next up is disc loading, which is time consuming. If you load a single disc, it takes the player about 45 seconds to access Gracenote’s online database to download the box art and title information (based upon the metadata stored on the disc)."

"First up in my tests was 1080i deinterlacing, and the results weren’t great. While it passed the motion adaptive tests (important for AVCHD material), it failed both 3:2 and 2:2 tests. Granted, there aren’t a lot of 1080i discs on the market—in fact, in the U.S., they’re mostly relegated to concert discs. However, for a player in this price class, high expectations for video processing are a given."

"On standard-definition material, the player failed 2:2 content but passed both 3:2 source and edge-adaptive tests with ease."

"Java-intensive discs are slow—as they are with most players—but only the occasional disc seemed to trip up the player. For example, disc one of Lost: The Complete Fifth Season took 86 seconds to load, versus 50 in an OPPO BDP-83."

"I compared the Sony’s 1080p/24 video output with my reference OPPO BDP-83, and I couldn’t detect any difference in picture or sound quality. Both were excellent."

"If you don’t care about the storage and are willing to leave the comfort of your couch to change discs, better video processing is available in other players."

Click here to read the complete review at the Home Theater website

[shoptomcom]

Thank you OP, I am enjoying my 960!