Sony MHC-ZX70DVD

TaylorC · 29-12-2001, 17:12

Has anyone had any experience of this player, I received one for christmas and i`m not convinved about the quality of the DVD picture (using S-Video). Not sure if its my imagination but some discs appear grainy , i`ve tried comparing against my LG3200e but i`m still not overly happy as it is hard to see any differences (i`ve tried looking close up at the screen). Is it my imagination? or am I just expecting too much from this system?
Any advice/ opinion would be much appreciated.

Mark Hughes · 30-12-2001, 02:43

If you can't tell the difference between the same disc on the two players, I suspect it's a problem with the transfer on the disc being grainy, rather than anything the player is doing.

I'd imagine the sony over the LG would probably give better dynamicness in the picture - deeper blacks, less "banding" in areas of fine shading, tighter defined details, that sort of thing. But that really is a guess based on nothing but assumptions of the build quality. I've certainly seen budget players which in picture quality terms can rival the absolute best. And of course, as with most DVD players/discs, you're at the mercy of the quality of the disc. Try using a reference quality disc like Gladiator to do your comparisons.

Mark

TaylorC · 30-12-2001, 13:42

Thanks for the reply.
I suspect that I am just being overly fussy as I watched Rush Hour 2 last night and that seemed fine, however I will try Gladiator as suggested to test the theory and hopefully set my mind at ease (I don`t want to upset the wife as it was her £500 that was parted with).
again many thanks.

FluffyBunny · 30-12-2001, 13:50

I only paid £140 for my DVD player and I think in terms of quality, it rips bits of other more expensive players. Sorry, but IMO I would sooner go without than fork out that kind of money for something that is available a lot cheaper and probably offers the same quality. Maybe mine is a little bit sparce in terms of features and playability such as CD-R, VCD etc but I'm not complaining. It works and that's all I care about

TaylorC · 30-12-2001, 14:10

It was £500 because the system is a 5 disc DVD/CD changer with multi channel (Dolby 5.1) output using 5 speakers (plus optional sub). It also has tuner, twin tapedeck and all the other associated bits.
My missus killed two birds with one stone as she wanted a new stereo and I was after a Dolby 5.1 system to compliment my LG player. The only other system that she found was a similar Technics model but that cost £600 (bit of a skinflint she is!

)

Mark Hughes · 30-12-2001, 14:17

Sounds okay - I'd be interested to hear your opinions of the sound quality.

Mark

FluffyBunny · 30-12-2001, 14:20

ok enough said

Obviously showing total lack of product knowledge on that one. Would seem like you got a very good system then? Sort of makes my crappy player pale in comparison

TaylorC · 30-12-2001, 14:33

So far I have been very pleased with the overall sound quality, When outputing 5.1 it is tremendous.
My only complaints are that when outputing Sky (Pro-Logic) the rear speakers can be overpowered although I suspect that is due to the output volume on the tv (JVC- with tv speaker disabled) being too high thus swamping the Sony amp. I`m still tweaking with this at the moment to find the best volume level. My other gripe is that the system does not support DTS, suppose I will have to either live without it or get a DTS amp at a later date.
Is it worth upgrading to DTS? A bloke that I work with reckons that you cannot tell that much difference between 5.1 and DTS (He has a top of the range Sony setup!)

wicket · 30-12-2001, 16:26

You can tell the difference between 5.1 and dts, IMO dts sounds the best. However, I wouldn't go out and get an amp just for dts sound when you have 5.1 amp, I would wait till this broke before upgrading and then you will probably be looking at DD 6.1 and DTS 6.1 system.

Mark Hughes · 30-12-2001, 17:34

Yeah. I've done some comparisons, and my opinion is that in movies, the extra sound quality is nice but in no way absolutely neccesary. For music titles however, DTS really makes a huge difference. The "Eagles: Hell Freezes Over" in DTS is truly one of the nicest sounding things I've ever heard in any format, it really is amazing.

Mark

TaylorC · 31-12-2001, 10:02

Thanks for the info on DTS,
I probably will wait a while before upgrading as it is only the missus who listens to music in the house (mines in the car).

Cheers

Carl.

29-12-2001, 17:12	#1
TaylorC Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Birmingham Posts: 243	Sony MHC-ZX70DVD Has anyone had any experience of this player, I received one for christmas and i`m not convinved about the quality of the DVD picture (using S-Video). Not sure if its my imagination but some discs appear grainy , i`ve tried comparing against my LG3200e but i`m still not overly happy as it is hard to see any differences (i`ve tried looking close up at the screen). Is it my imagination? or am I just expecting too much from this system? Any advice/ opinion would be much appreciated.

30-12-2001, 02:43	#2
Mark Hughes Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Somewhere near London Posts: 2,936	If you can't tell the difference between the same disc on the two players, I suspect it's a problem with the transfer on the disc being grainy, rather than anything the player is doing. I'd imagine the sony over the LG would probably give better dynamicness in the picture - deeper blacks, less "banding" in areas of fine shading, tighter defined details, that sort of thing. But that really is a guess based on nothing but assumptions of the build quality. I've certainly seen budget players which in picture quality terms can rival the absolute best. And of course, as with most DVD players/discs, you're at the mercy of the quality of the disc. Try using a reference quality disc like Gladiator to do your comparisons. Mark

30-12-2001, 13:42	#3
TaylorC Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Birmingham Posts: 243	Thanks for the reply. I suspect that I am just being overly fussy as I watched Rush Hour 2 last night and that seemed fine, however I will try Gladiator as suggested to test the theory and hopefully set my mind at ease (I don`t want to upset the wife as it was her £500 that was parted with). again many thanks.

30-12-2001, 13:50	#4
FluffyBunny Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Somewhere Posts: 2,208	I only paid £140 for my DVD player and I think in terms of quality, it rips bits of other more expensive players. Sorry, but IMO I would sooner go without than fork out that kind of money for something that is available a lot cheaper and probably offers the same quality. Maybe mine is a little bit sparce in terms of features and playability such as CD-R, VCD etc but I'm not complaining. It works and that's all I care about

30-12-2001, 14:10	#5
TaylorC Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Birmingham Posts: 243	It was £500 because the system is a 5 disc DVD/CD changer with multi channel (Dolby 5.1) output using 5 speakers (plus optional sub). It also has tuner, twin tapedeck and all the other associated bits. My missus killed two birds with one stone as she wanted a new stereo and I was after a Dolby 5.1 system to compliment my LG player. The only other system that she found was a similar Technics model but that cost £600 (bit of a skinflint she is! )

30-12-2001, 14:17	#6
Mark Hughes Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Somewhere near London Posts: 2,936	Sounds okay - I'd be interested to hear your opinions of the sound quality. Mark

30-12-2001, 14:20	#7
FluffyBunny Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Somewhere Posts: 2,208	ok enough said Obviously showing total lack of product knowledge on that one. Would seem like you got a very good system then? Sort of makes my crappy player pale in comparison

30-12-2001, 14:33	#8
TaylorC Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Birmingham Posts: 243	So far I have been very pleased with the overall sound quality, When outputing 5.1 it is tremendous. My only complaints are that when outputing Sky (Pro-Logic) the rear speakers can be overpowered although I suspect that is due to the output volume on the tv (JVC- with tv speaker disabled) being too high thus swamping the Sony amp. I`m still tweaking with this at the moment to find the best volume level. My other gripe is that the system does not support DTS, suppose I will have to either live without it or get a DTS amp at a later date. Is it worth upgrading to DTS? A bloke that I work with reckons that you cannot tell that much difference between 5.1 and DTS (He has a top of the range Sony setup!)

30-12-2001, 16:26	#9
wicket Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: NE England Posts: 3,096	You can tell the difference between 5.1 and dts, IMO dts sounds the best. However, I wouldn't go out and get an amp just for dts sound when you have 5.1 amp, I would wait till this broke before upgrading and then you will probably be looking at DD 6.1 and DTS 6.1 system.

30-12-2001, 17:34	#10
Mark Hughes Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Somewhere near London Posts: 2,936	Yeah. I've done some comparisons, and my opinion is that in movies, the extra sound quality is nice but in no way absolutely neccesary. For music titles however, DTS really makes a huge difference. The "Eagles: Hell Freezes Over" in DTS is truly one of the nicest sounding things I've ever heard in any format, it really is amazing. Mark

31-12-2001, 10:02	#11
TaylorC Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Birmingham Posts: 243	Thanks for the info on DTS, I probably will wait a while before upgrading as it is only the missus who listens to music in the house (mines in the car). Cheers Carl.

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Sony MHC-ZX70DVD