1000es VS s570. PQ

[bigbull2984]

I am looking for a blu ray, player for the bedroom. Would there be a difference in PQ between these 2 units. I really dont care for the widgets on the S570.

[Jim L]

Well, well, well. You're in luck because I just happen to have tested both.

I have gone through 7 new blu-ray players in the last month or so (4 different models):

• Oppo BD-83 (x2)
• Sony BDP-S570 (x3)
• Sony BDP-S1000ES
• Sony BDP-S370

This was to replace my old Panny DMP-BD55 and Sony 5-disc CD/SACD changer.

I was planning on keeping the Oppo because I wanted the best picture & sound quality and I really needed SACD playback.

I was attracted to the Sony BDP-S570 because of its feature set (wifi, Gracenote and SACD) for such a cheap price ($200) compared to the Oppo ($500). The Oppo puts out excellent quality audio and video and plays all disc types, but is fatally flawed by poor control software that freezes on some movies and SACDS, inaccurate time display, and clipping of audio tracks on CDs. That's totally unacceptable for $500, so I just sent back the second of 2 units this week.

I critically compared the Oppo to the Sony BDP-S570 and there was no denying it that the Oppo had the edge over the Sony in blu-ray playback. It was very subtle, but contrast and detail was ever slightly so much better. I was disappointed with the Oppo however because of its bugs.

Recently I had read so many rave reviews of the Sony BDP-S1000ES that I felt I had to check it out. For the price ($200) the S1000ES does definitely match the Oppo in blu-ray picture quality (which definitely beats the Sony BDP-S570 in PQ). The S1000ES has that extra depth, contrast and detail of the Oppo that I was missing on the cheaper Sony BDP-S570. The Sony BDP-S370 is the same as the S570, with a couple of features removed (wifi and 3D).

Long story short, I ended up with both of the Sonys for about $350 and had 2 dedicated players to meet all my needs:

1. The Sony BDP-S1000ES: for blu-ray and DVD playback. It has wifi which I use for firmware updates. And best of all -- it has a 5 year warranty!
2. The Sony BDP-S370: for CD playback (with the great GraceNote feature) and SACD playback. It has inferior PQ, but I don't care. However, it is always available as a backup BD player.

[bigbull2984]

Thanks Jim.

Have you compared the PS3 against the oppo and 1000es in PQ

[Jim L]

I haven't really compared them to the PS3 (which I also have) because long ago I just decided to use the PS3 for occasional gaming, streaming from a media server and a few other things.

All my recent tests were done using my projector with a 106" screen setup. Differences that aren't visibly on a 58" plasma are like night and day when blown up to front projection size.

On the plasma, I have always felt that the PS3 lacked the detail and had more black crush than my old Panasonic player. By analogy I would say it probably is not as good as the Oppo or Sony S1000ES. I have not yet done any critical comparisons yet, so I would not draw any conclusions yet.