I know Sony doesn't get much credit with the image of their DVD players. But I feel required to give my opinion on a Sony DVD player I got recently. I needed a very small speaker set up to replace the speakers that came with my tv. I have a 65" LCD Flat screen Olevia with horrible speakers. I have been looking at the Sony IS-10 for a while knowing it would be a decent little system to fit my needs. It's a 5.1 surround system with a sub and a DVD player built it.
I have owned a Panny XP-50, OPPO 981HD, a Bravo D1 and PS3 all of which are rated pretty high in their ability to create a good image. I don't know how to say it other than the DVD Player in the IS-10 via HDMI at 1080i or 720P is the best image I have ever seen in a DVD player. Maybe it's a gimmick like added sharpness but it looked NOTICEABLY better than any of the above players I have owned, and all of those are very nice players. The image looked extremely clean, it passed blacker than black and whiter than white, it seriously looked like there was added detail, to put it simply I was BLOWN AWAY. It makes a SD-DVD look like 640P if there was such a thing, the noise reduction and dithering are the best I've ever seen, very smooth and very detailed, I just couldn't believe it. You can pick these up for about $300 off the net which includes the 5.1 surround. One thing I found very nice was the audio calibration mic, I did the set up and it made a bunch of computer beeps and blurps and then reported on screen the location of every speaker to with in 3 inch accuracy and also adjusted the gain for each speaker and it was very effective, to the point where I want that in every system I own, the surround after auto calibration was also very very nice. The speakers are nice also they are not up to par with my klipsch but they were about 85% providing very nice detail very nice highs with decent lows. But the DVD image was what blew my socks off and I didn't even buy it for that. There is a Sony IS-50 that has 1080P but my 1080i looked so good it won't be leaving the house, Too bad it doesn't have a Audio Out so I could hook it up to my sound system as I concider the DVD image alone to be worth $300-$500 considering I paid $200 for my OPPO 981 and the IS-10 trounced it. But that got me thinking what other DVD players are considered top of the line for Sony - I know this system is labeled "Bravia" and I like to buy off the net to save cash, but don't want to get into a trail and error of Sony DVD players, there should be nothing special about the DVD image of the IS-10 but there is, and if there is another Sony stand alone out there that will match it and I bet there is I want it. Maybe the pros will say OH that doesn't pass this or that test its an average player, and that may be true, but when I fired it up my jaw hit the floor - ZERO MPEG 2 artifacting, maybe because its 12 bit I don't know, But it's "Razor Sharp, Incredibly Clean, and very deep 3D image is the best I've seen, I've calibrated all of my DVD players with calibration disc so its nothing obvious like that. Anyway just my $.02 and a much renewed respect for Sony DVD players, I'm sure there are different levels of Sony players but if I find one equal to or better than this I'm all over it.
I have owned a Panny XP-50, OPPO 981HD, a Bravo D1 and PS3 all of which are rated pretty high in their ability to create a good image. I don't know how to say it other than the DVD Player in the IS-10 via HDMI at 1080i or 720P is the best image I have ever seen in a DVD player. Maybe it's a gimmick like added sharpness but it looked NOTICEABLY better than any of the above players I have owned, and all of those are very nice players. The image looked extremely clean, it passed blacker than black and whiter than white, it seriously looked like there was added detail, to put it simply I was BLOWN AWAY. It makes a SD-DVD look like 640P if there was such a thing, the noise reduction and dithering are the best I've ever seen, very smooth and very detailed, I just couldn't believe it. You can pick these up for about $300 off the net which includes the 5.1 surround. One thing I found very nice was the audio calibration mic, I did the set up and it made a bunch of computer beeps and blurps and then reported on screen the location of every speaker to with in 3 inch accuracy and also adjusted the gain for each speaker and it was very effective, to the point where I want that in every system I own, the surround after auto calibration was also very very nice. The speakers are nice also they are not up to par with my klipsch but they were about 85% providing very nice detail very nice highs with decent lows. But the DVD image was what blew my socks off and I didn't even buy it for that. There is a Sony IS-50 that has 1080P but my 1080i looked so good it won't be leaving the house, Too bad it doesn't have a Audio Out so I could hook it up to my sound system as I concider the DVD image alone to be worth $300-$500 considering I paid $200 for my OPPO 981 and the IS-10 trounced it. But that got me thinking what other DVD players are considered top of the line for Sony - I know this system is labeled "Bravia" and I like to buy off the net to save cash, but don't want to get into a trail and error of Sony DVD players, there should be nothing special about the DVD image of the IS-10 but there is, and if there is another Sony stand alone out there that will match it and I bet there is I want it. Maybe the pros will say OH that doesn't pass this or that test its an average player, and that may be true, but when I fired it up my jaw hit the floor - ZERO MPEG 2 artifacting, maybe because its 12 bit I don't know, But it's "Razor Sharp, Incredibly Clean, and very deep 3D image is the best I've seen, I've calibrated all of my DVD players with calibration disc so its nothing obvious like that. Anyway just my $.02 and a much renewed respect for Sony DVD players, I'm sure there are different levels of Sony players but if I find one equal to or better than this I'm all over it.
