Sony DVP-S360 DVD Player - Unusual "Entry Level"
Written: Dec 23 '00 (Updated Mar 07 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Excellent picture and sound, a lot of inputs, looks good, features, reliable, universal remote
Cons: No backlit buttons on remote, remote is somewhat big.
The Bottom Line: SONY DVP-S360 is impressive. It looks good, performs flawlessly and has excellent feature content for the price.
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| dkozin's Full Review: Sony DVP-S360D DVD Player |
The Sony DVP-S360 is SONY's entry-level DVD player. And what "entry-level" it is!
It has 2 S-Video outputs, 2 composite video and 2 analog audio outs! It also has a component video out, digital coaxial and optical outs (Dolby Digital and DTS compatible). Is it impressive or what?
The player and remote both look very nice – SONY was always ahead of competition in this department. The S360 is also very slim and lightweight (just 6 lbs. 3 oz - 2.8 kg).
Sometimes, I criticize SONY for overpricing some products and poor assembly quality, poor reliability. Fortunately, this is not the case with their DVD players (just look at the number of satisfied reviewers). This fact makes me happy.
The player plays DVD-Video, CD-Audio and Video CD, supports DVD-Text and CD-Text. Frame-by-frame, SmoothScan and SmoothSlow (three speeds for high-speed and two speeds for low-speed search in both directions) allow you to study your favorite movie fragments.
S360 also features repeat mode (disc, A-B), shuffle (random play) and you can also program the order in which the tracks will be played (even for DVDs). A standard for modern DVD players "resume" function is also present along with advanced parental control (can be set individually for 50 discs!), Digital Cinema Sound modes, Virtual Enhanced Surround Sound (simulates surround sound using just 2 speakers).
Additionally it has a screensaver (to preserve your TV screen) when idle, layer indicator (rare feature), supports standard DVD features (soundtrack select, menu language select (English, Spanish, French, Portuguese), subtitle select, 4:3 and 16:9 support (4:3 pan and scan, 4:3 letterbox, 16:9 widescreen), multiple camera angles, etc.).
The picture and sound quality is impressive. The picture does not loose detail even in dark areas. Even when connected through the composite out, the picture is great, but S-Video and component out improve the edge definition and contrast.
The remote control allows you to control different brands of TVs and receivers. And you can control menus from the front panel, so there is no need to use your remote every time you have to do something. Small annoyance – the remote has a "Power" button that is located in the upper right corner, whereas majority of manufacturers place it on the left side (and make it red, not green as in this case). In addition, the remote could have backlit buttons.
Unfortunately, there is no headphone jack, but how often do you use your headphones? The player comes with an RCA-type composite video/analog audio cable, but with no S-Video cable.
SONY DVP-S360 is impressive. It looks good, performs flawlessly and has excellent feature content for the price.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
dkozin
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 in Electronics |
 - Top 10 |
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Location: California
Reviews written: 838
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About Me:
I love to push buttons on electronic (audio and video) equipment. It makes me happy.
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