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Convenient access to 400 discs. SACD and HDMI are a problem for me...
Review From: DLloyd, Jul 11, 2006
I recently purchased the Sony DVP-CX995V to replace our older DVP-CX985V. For us, the main differences between the two were the reasons for upgrading to the newer model; digital HDMI video output with upscaling of DVD movies to high-definition, the new version of Sony's Disc Explorer, and 192kHz/24-bit audio D/A converter (the same specification as the DVP-CX777ES model) for SACD playback.
Video and digital audio quality is very good (I'm using an HDMI-DVI cable for the video and a high quality coaxial cable for the digital audio). The player also plays back JPEG pictures and MP3 audio.
A few general points to note about previous and current Sony DVD/SACD changers:
- SACD (Super Audio Compact Disc) playback is analog output only.
- DVD-audio discs cannot be played.
The majority of DVD video discs do not have title information (which is displayed in the Disc Explorer menu). For this you will have to type in the information by attaching a keyboard to the player.
There are two problems I am experiencing with the DVP-CX995V:
- SACD playback.
For reasons unknown, I experience random audio dropouts when listening to SACDs. I have over 30 titles, all of which are brand new, with no scratches/dust/fingerprints.
Also, I can't get SACD surround sound, as the analog inputs on my preamplifier are two channel (stereo) only.
I really wish Sony would get their act together and make digital output standard for all SACD playback. Currently a few of the ES receivers have iLink inputs for digital SACD playback, and only a few ES models of single disc players have iLink output. Having to use analog audio connections between components is far from ideal, and vastly limits the potential of this audio format.
- HDMI upscaling.
The HDMI upscaling on my DVP-CX995V does not work, period.
The reason why ? Because it is connected to a Sony high definition screen using HDMI output from the player into a DVI input on the display. I only get 640p.