Official 2012 Sony BDP-S790 Thread - Page 4

My S790 just arrived! Will report back as soon as I get a chance......

Congratulations. Looking forward to hearing your observations and those of others. I will not be able to get mine until the end of the month.

Please let us know if the dual core processor helps with the performance of the apps at all.

This Sony vs Panasonic BDT 230 or BDT 500? Which one is the best?

Also, this has 2 HDMI outputs right?

All I can say so far is !!!

More to come shortly.

Quit teasing us JoeRod!

Aye!

My S790 arrived this morning. (Also have the S590 and have tested the S390 for over a week too). The S790 is a bit heavier and the construction is certainly improved over the 590/390. Just feels more solid. The illuminated buttons on the top is a nice touch too. The remote control is also improved over the 590/390, with a bit of feedback in the button press.

Other than that ... since I don't own a 4K projector/display everything else appeared to be as the S590. Certainly the IP noise pro setting has more adjustments over the regular one on the S590. The video settings have more customization for BD/DVD/DLNA as well ... the owners manual doesn't exactly make it clear what "direct" and "auto" really do ... so be interested to hear other folks experiences with these settings.

One more thing. THis is a odd one. The SEN portal on the 790 seems to be in full 1080p resolution. With the 590, it appeared to look lower resolution. What does this mean in practice? Absolutely nothing, other than looking visually nicer ! Its the same apps as before .. and those look no different.

First thoughts .... s590 v 790 based on a $100 difference. Tough call. Think I'll need to use the player for a while to note the subtle differences.

Absolutely no difference.

Is this good or bad? Anyway; waiting to see your review on this. I am looking to get one at the end of the month.

So, how does this compare to the Panasonic series?

+1

Could "direct" be Source Direct for displaying content in it's native format, a high-end feature sought after by those with external video processing. You could probably test it by playing a DVD and seeing if the output is 480 rather than the typical upconverted 1080.

Main thing I'd like to know is how it performs with your VW1000 projector: i.e., are 1080p BluRay disks rendered in 4K better by 1) sending 1080p from the BD player to the VW1000 and letting the latter do the 1080p => 4K upconversion, or 2) having the BDP-790 do the upconversion and sending 4K to the projector.

PS Preliminary reports have suggested that (1) is better.

Setting Direct when playing a regular 480 DVD didn't do anything to change the output resolution to the display. Similar to the 590/390, the only way this can be achieved is if you change the screen settings > HDMI output resolution to Original rather than auto (or 1080p for example).

No, my feeling of "Direct" is simply that it bypasses this video settings feature completely. Probably just turns it off, and no effects are applied to the output video.

Using "Auto" certainly has an effect on DVD though. Some may think that it works miracles to the picture .. but its the old tricks of applying smoothing and noise reduction. Some folks like that, other don't ... so if you're all about that, this player gives you endless settings to manually change, or you can leave it up to the player to figure out .. with the auto setting.

I left it on Auto for now. See how it goes.

I am getting excellent results using the new Sony 790 to upscale my Blu rays to 4K! I will be playing all weekend with this but so far going back and forth the 790 does a damn good job. Maybe the more info sent the better from an already good source (Blu ray 1080p/24 upscaled to 3840 X 2160)? I am waiting a call back from a source at Sony to learn more...

As for the S790, it is THE Blu ray player to get. Bar none. Review on that coming soon.

Oh and before anyone freaks out over the screens shots they were taking quickly with my cell...

Of course there is no such thing as a free lunch. In 1080p you can adjust the image while in 4K you cannot. Being able to tweak makes all the difference in the world. Especially with the 790's settings. Super Resolution, Smoothing, Contrast Remaster and Clear Black to name a few make the image more crisp with adding extra depth. I am not sure yet whether Sony's Super Bit Mapping is on during 4K yet. Purists may like the 4K upscaled better and I will admit the jury is still out for me. I will keep playing.

On a side note. It is a pain to switch it out of 4K and 1080p. You have to turn the Resolution from Auto to 1080p but also toggle the 790's HDMI Control On and Off as well as the Link to TV setting On and Off. Ugh!
__________________

Can't you just change Screen settings > 4K Output to off ?

I will try that. I have been going into the menu and just changing resolution. Which then when I want to go back to 4K it is a pain so far going back. I will try that and hope it works.

The last I will say here (for now) is that I am loving the image. The Clear Black is cool and the other adjustments also seem to "boost" the image even higher. I just had the Panny 320 here and of course an Oppo 93 (still here) so I will get to work... I have a crazy feeling the 790 is going to stay right where it is at. It kinda reminds me of when I first got the 5000ES and then the 1000ES. I never really had this "upgrade" in image feeling with the 780. Now it's back with the 790.

joerod,
After you have time playing with the S790. Can you tell us how it compares to Pan 320. I'm looking at upgrading from my Sony s1000es player thanks.

That sounds promising. Thanks Joe

Will do. I will say the image is overall better. I still think there is a plus to having two HDMI outs. I also was not a fan of the 320's remote interface. Kinda tough to navigate in a dark room. I mainly use my Harmony 1100 but still. I prefer the GUI and remote (I am using a Sony lighted Remote from the 770?) of the Sony a lot more. The Sony seemed to find my internet way faster and so far the apps run smoother. I better save some for the Review...

Since you own both, can you give your opinion on how the Netflix app on the 790 stacks up against the one on the Oppo? Especially in the area of responsiveness. Also, is Amazon VOD an existing app for the 790? From the early reports definitely sounds like I might be trading in the Oppo 93. Oh yeah, how about noise from the player versus the Oppo? That's one big advantage it has with its fanless design. Thanks.

No problem. My Review will be out later this weekend...

Amazon VOD is on the 790 and it's identical to that of the 780. It is able to output Dolby digital bitstream.

Netflix on the 790 uses the 1080p streams with Dolby Digital plus. The oppo is still crippled with the lower quality 720p streams. Responsiveness of the Netflix app on the 790 is excellent.

Took the words right out of my mouth!

I don't have a 4K display, this question is purely academic:

I have an Onkyo A/V receiver with 4K upscale which could potential add picture settings (haven't tested of course, just giving a possible example) but wouldn't 4K out of the 790 successfully past through any 1.4a receiver (maybe even lower HDMI 'versions') and still get to a 4K display without issue? I think it would and that would be cool.

Nice "The Ring" pics.

I have an Onkyo (818) here and an Integra 80.3 which I can test. I was told it would not pass thru. I will still test it. As for comparing there is no contest. The 790 blows both of them away doing 4K. You wouldn't need to go thru your Receiver or pre-pro anyway since the 790 has Dual HDMI outs.