Sony BDP-CX7000ES Blu-ray Disc Changer (Sound & Vision magazine Jan 2010 review link)

[HDTV1080P]

Sony BDP-CX7000ES Blu-ray Disc MegaChanger

(January 2010 Sound and Vision magazine 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. Sony does not offer a DVD 24fps feature and only upconverts 480i DVD's to 1080P/60 with 3:2 pulldown. The OPPO BDP-83 and modern Blu-ray players like Panasonic will upconvert 480i DVD's to 1080P/24. 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 does match the OPPO in video and audio performance when playing 1080P/24 Blu-ray discs according to a Home Theater review I have read. The Sony video processor is just not as good when playing 1080I Blu-ray's and 480I DVD's when compared to the OPPO.

(Jan 2010 Home Theater magazine reference link with test results) http://hometheatermag.com/discplayers/sony_bdp-cx7000es_blu-ray_disc_megachanger/index.html )

Click here to read the complete review from the Sound and Vision website

The following are select quotes from the Sound and Vision magazine review

"A Blu-ray Disc changer is what’s been needed to store growing collections, and Sony has finally stepped up to the plate, offering not one but two 400-disc-capable models."

"As part of Sony’s Elevated Standard (ES) lineup, the 7000ES features substantial build quality and a terrific 5-year warranty."

"...this bad boy won’t handle SACDs, which will undoubtedly be a disappointment to some."

"Blu-ray players have been criticized for taking too long to load discs, and while this Sony is far from the slowest, it isn’t exactly speedy. Power-up took 47 seconds in regular mode and 30 seconds in the Quick Start mode. After I pressed Play, it took 25 seconds for CDs, 35 seconds for DVDs, and 45 seconds for most Blu-ray Discs to start playing. The changer mechanism is much quieter than in Sony’s previous models; I was never distracted by any motor or fan sounds during use."

"BOTTOM LINE
Granted, $1,900 for a Blu-ray Disc player — even a top-shelf performer like this Sony one — might seem high. But when you consider that the most popular DVD manager, from Escient, runs close to $1,000 on its own, and that the price for the Escient doesn’t include the requisite changer, the Sony’s price becomes a lot more palatable. Granted, Escient’s interface is nicer and allows far more editing options, but for basic library management, Sony’s interface is well beyond adequate. If you’re looking for a way to manage your growing pile of Blu-ray and other discs, the Sony BDP-CX7000ES offers that capability with no performance compromises. "

Click here to read the complete review from the Sound and Vision website

[wessew10]

An interesting, one of a kind product. I have contemplated adding it to my system. The negatives that have discouraged me are: 1) it does not have a source direct mode for those with an outboard video processor, 2) processing of 1080i and 480i discs is not as good as some stand-alone, single play units, 3) there is no search function available in the existing software. You can categorize your collection by several variables: genre, author, title, etc. However, once so categorized, the only way to get to a disc you may want to play is by scrolling. This is tedious at best if you have several hundred discs in your collection, 4) there is apparently no daisy chaining of units provided for in the current software. If you contemplate a mixed collection of DVD's and Blu-ray discs, the combination of 3) and 4) above would seem to be a significant negative, and 5) accuracy of blu-ray identification is only about 90% from reports I have seen with a clumsy facility for making corrections.

[Hep]

Originally Posted by wessew10

An interesting, one of a kind product. I have contemplated adding it to my system. The negatives that have discouraged me are...

First of all this thread desperately needs a picture of this beast...

There are some valid concerns here, and I can give you my first hand experience to quell them to some degree.

1) it does not have a source direct mode for those with an outboard video processor.

Yes and no. Yes, you cannot set it to automatically send out the native video signal when playing a variety of sources. However, you could set a fixed output of any resolution from 480i to 1080p. My solution is to only feed my machine BDs; my unit will not stoop to performing a DVD up-scaling function , for that I rely on the Reon-HQV™ HD video scaling in my Onkyo.

2) processing of 1080i and 480i discs is not as good as some stand-alone, single play units.

First of all, the up-scaling is still very good, just not as good as some high end units. Besides, I feed this thing only BDs and give all up-scaling duties to my Onkyo (see above).

3) there is no search function available in the existing software. You can categorize your collection by several variables: genre, author, title, etc. However, once so categorized, the only way to get to a disc you may want to play is by scrolling. This is tedious at best if you have several hundred discs in your collection.

I have never felt the need to have a search function, no matter how it was implemented it would take longer to perform than the ultra fast scrolling of this unit. I can scroll through 400 discs in 10 seconds. No complaints whatsoever. If you want to search simply use a third party control solution (see below).

4) there is apparently no daisy chaining of units provided for in the current software. If you contemplate a mixed collection of DVD's and Blu-ray discs, the combination of 3) and 4) above would seem to be a significant negative, and...

The simple solution is to add third party control solution like My Movies or DVDLobby through the RS-232C ports; you can daisy chain up to 8 units for control through a single control solution. Right now I have two units, one for movies and one for music BDs/BD documentaries/BD TV shows. Each unit is set to a different control mode and both are controlled independently with a single Harmony 900 through RF. My components live in the basement, while my home theatre is on the main level, so this set-up is critical to maintain my lazy butt on the couch.

5) accuracy of blu-ray identification is only about 90% from reports I have seen with a clumsy facility for making corrections.

My personal experience is more like a 98% success rate, but that will vary with the amount of obscure content in your collection. Clumsy is an apt description of Sony’s onboard editing solution, but it is far from a significant concern when making a purchase decision IMO (it takes less than 1 minute to edit a title, and only a few seconds to change a genre).

Overall, I am very happy with my units. I am still deciding what control solution I will settle on, or if it is even desirable. SACD playback would have been nice, but otherwise, my set up is working like a charm.

BTW: They can be had for much less $ than the sticker price.

[Vorlx]

I wasn't going to post as I felt this was somewhat of a biased review and more of a plug for the OPPO rather than a review of the player. That being said and the fact that it got bumped back to the top I will give my thoughts. I own the Sony BDP-CX960 which is the base model unit but very similar in comparison to this unit. The key differences are the lack of analog ports, rs-232 or IP control (base model still has all the normal Ethernet features), and the ES model has slightly video processing.

The base model can be had for less than 600 dollars. I personally picked mine up for $585. It has since gone as low as 550 and as high as 600. Not sure what the story is with the price fluctuation.

I use it primarily for BD so the upscaling isn't an issue. However, I do have plenty of DVD's loaded into it and it does a fine job. Probably not as good as some designed more for that.

There isn't a search feature but I also have had no need for one. It is pretty easy to find what you are looking for.

You cannot daisy chain the lower model nor does it have RS232 support. That was one of the few lacking features in the base model that the ES one had.

My accuracy rate out of the 100+ discs I have loaded into it has been closer to 98.5% if not higher. The only thing so far that it hasn't identified have been discs beyond the main feature. (I.E Some bonus feature discs)

The majority of my stuff is main stream stuff so results will probably vary. If it doesn't find it, you can edit the information. The editing tool leaves a lot to be desired but it does work. Modifying an existing feature is very easy. I have modified many of the genres to match a better description (for me).

It does everything I could want it to do. It looks great, sounds great, and the price wasn't bad at all for what it was. It may not be for everyone but it's been amazing for me.

[Hep]

Originally Posted by Vorlx

I wasn't going to post as I felt this was somewhat of a biased review and more of a plug for the OPPO rather than a review of the player.

I got the same impression from this review and I agree with everything you have said about these players. It's funny how when discussing load times, no mention was made that the Mega Changer includes the time it takes for the player to select and load the disc, while the OPPO doesn't include the time it takes to select your movie, open the case, insert it into the player, press play, and then wait for it to load; not comparing apples to apples here.

[Vorlx]

Originally Posted by Hep

I got the same impression from this review and I agree with everything you have said about these players. It's funny how when discussing load times, no mention was made that the Mega Changer includes the time it takes for the player to select and load the disc, while the OPPO doesn't include the time it takes to select your movie, open the case, insert it into the player, press play, and then wait for it to load; not comparing apples to apples here.

Exactly. Now, don't get me wrong, it's not an instantaneous load time. It is what I would consider acceptable though. Most of the time seems to be the actual grabbing the disc from the changer part. As it varies depending on how far it has to go. However once it has the disc it is acceptable, I had a BDP-S350 so I guess I was used to the load times hah. It is tons better than that. =)

[HDTV1080P]

Home Theater magazine and most other video magazines compare all new Blu-ray players released to the OPPO BDP-83. The OPPO is a reference Blu-ray player that is overall the best player available in load times, picture quality, and a good value.

Someday another brand and model of Blu-ray player most likely will be better quality then the OPPO BDP-83 overall. When and if that day occurs Home Theater magazine and other professional reviewers will use another player as a reference. Most magazines still use the discontinued 2008 Pioneer plasmas screens as reference displays to compare all new displays too. There always needs to be a reference product to compare new products. Some of the new products by some companies are so good that they become reference equipment to compare other equipment too.

I have owned many Sony products also. Back in 2008 I purchased two Sony BDP-350's. At the time the Sony BDP-350 was a good BLU-RAY player for reliability and price. It was Sony's first standalone profile 2.0 (BD-LIVE) player.

Hopefully more companies will make 400 or 500 disc BLU-RAY changers in the future. Changers are a niche product and should be compared to other models and brands of BLU-RAY changers. Of course a single player will have faster load times when compared to a changer. In the future hopefully more reviews will compare changers to other changers. Sony also keeps improving on their products. Some of the new 2010 Sony Blu-ray players will have 1GB of memory built in just like the OPPO BDP-83. Hopefully the new Sony 2010 BLU-RAY players will also have a improved video processor that is more comparable to the OPPO BDP-83.

[Hep]

Originally Posted by HDTV1080P

Home Theater magazine and most other video magazines compare all new Blu-ray players released to the OPPO BDP-83. The OPPO is a reference Blu-ray player that is overall the best player available in load times, picture quality, and a good value....

Hopefully more companies will make 400 or 500 disc BLU-RAY changers in the future. Changers are a niche product and should be compared to other models and brands of BLU-RAY changers. Of course a single player will have faster load times when compared to a changer. In the future hopefully more reviews will compare changers to other changers. Sony also keeps improving on their products. Some of the new 2010 Sony Blu-ray players will have 1GB of memory built in just like the OPPO BDP-83. Hopefully the new Sony 2010 BLU-RAY players will also have a improved video processor that is more comparable to the OPPO BDP-83.

I understand the comparison to a “reference player” but that is not what makes the review disingenuous. A mega changer and a standalone player can easily be compared after the physical disc loading is complete; after that point it is all about how fast the hardware engine can plough through the software demands. In direct contrast to your statement above, there is absolutely no reason a Mega Changer can’t perform the same as any standalone player, since all we are talking about at that point is hardware.

The testing error occurs when they start the watch at the time they hit the play button, allowing the carousel to rotate around before physical loading occurs, but don’t take into account the equivalent process (time it takes to open the BD case, eject the tray, load the disc on the tray, and close the tray) with the standalone player; they are not comparing the same processes, and the comparison itself is meaningless. Essentially they are including the selection activity in the Mega Changer times, but not in the standalone player. Of course the whole point of a Mega Changer is quick and easy access to your entire collection, and common sense suggests that the process of selecting and loading the physical disc itself is faster with a Mega Changer.

As for the memory, I was initially disappointed with the fact that I had to provide my own memory for the player, but now I see the usefulness of this feature. My newest player is now sporting 16G (overkill ) of memory, and I can expand that at any time; not something a fixed memory player can boast.

[dib2]

I know this is an old thread but the player is on sale on amazon for ~$733. I got one just because I am getting sick of finding places to stick shelves in my room to hold all the cases.

[seakle81]

I was looking at getting a megachanger such as the Sony BDP-CX7000ES. As it looks, these megachangers have been discontinued and there are only a few left in existence that can be had for about $1k. Is anybody else aware of any other megachangers, or does somebody have any info if Sony plans of releasing another model anytime soon? Do you think $1k is still a good deal for one of these players? Thanks ahead of time for your help.

[lucv13]

Originally Posted by seakle81

I was looking at getting a megachanger such as the Sony BDP-CX7000ES. As it looks, these megachangers have been discontinued and there are only a few left in existence that can be had for about $1k. Is anybody else aware of any other megachangers, or does somebody have any info if Sony plans of releasing another model anytime soon? Do you think $1k is still a good deal for one of these players? Thanks ahead of time for your help.

I have the Sony BDP-CX960 paid $650 for it a year ago you should be able to find one now in the $500-600 range probably cheaper in the US...

[Themoth]

Originally Posted by lucv13

I have the Sony BDP-CX960 paid $650 for it a year ago you should be able to find one now in the $500-600 range probably cheaper in the US...

Found the cx7000es for 599 open box with warranty. Is this a good price