Midrange Sony Player Proves It Delivers the Goods (Sony DVP 536)

Member Name: JavaSkunk

Product:	Sony DVP 536
Date:	05/07/01 (316 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent quality sound and vision, Onboard DD5.1 decoder, Attractive slimline looks

Disadvantages: No MP3CD support, Not multiregion, Slow layer change

The DVP 536 is basically a silver version of the popular DVP 535. I personally opted for this model as I thought it suited my current setup better than a black player, and I find the finish makes it look very distinguished.

Coming from a large brand like Sony, and costing £330 (June 2000) you expect it to be able to deliver a quality experience and have enough features to warrent paying the extra price. Socket wise, it doesn't disappoint - as well as the standard CoAx and Optical outputs for decoding Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks, the Sony also has an onboard Dolby Digital 5.1 decoder, meaning those of us with ProLogic amps can enjoy the full 5.1 soundtrack without having to update our current setups.

Also included is an extra scart socket, which is very handy when hooked up through a large home entertainment system. The only feature which some newer players include is a component video output, but only a small percentage of televisions use these anyway.

Output wise, the Sony will only display an NTSC image (through the RGB scart) if the disc has been coded to NTSC, whilst some players offer a PAL50/60 output. This keeps the picture looking as good as the original, but means users without RGB compatible TV sets will be unable to view non-PAL films.

But the most important thing - what is the quality of the sound and picture. Quite simply its superb. Colours come out very rich and various cinema modes can help discs that aren't as high in quality as others. Soundwise, coming from Sony you can expect a clear and vibrant sound and it does exactly that. The player offers many virtual surround modes, but if you have a good A/V setup, its best to leave these alone.

The only other thing marring an excellent player is the slight delay during layer change - it is considerably worse than the older model Sonys and some of the newer players, but don't let this put you off a purchase.

In conclusion - whilst som
e newer players offer gimicks such as the ability to play MP3 CDs etc, there is no substitute for pure quality, which is exactly what the Sony delivers. A fantastic player which is definitely worth the slightly high price tag.

Summary: