[markelliott]

A new model which is the successor to the DVP-NS76H has been released in the US. The player is known as the DVP-NS77H, though this may differ when it becomes available in the UK, as the 76H is actually known as the 75H in America. The unit features 1080p upscaling and is available in both black and silver. Finally a black Sony!!

Looking at the style of the unit, it looks remarkably similar to the 2005 model (DVP-NS52P). Looks very smart as well.

DVP-NS77H:

DVP-NS52P:

[hardeep]

The UK version is called the DVP-NS78H. My local Sony centre claims it will be released next week at £90. Amazon have it listed at £75 with a delivery time of 1-2 months - can't find it anywhere else.

There's a fairly detailed thread on the 77H at AVSForum and the manual is here

[markelliott]

Originally Posted by hardeep

The UK version is called the DVP-NS78H. My local Sony centre claims it will be released next week at £90. Amazon have it listed at £75 with a delivery time of 1-2 months - can't find it anywhere else.

There's a fairly detailed thread on the 77H at AVSForum and the manual is here

Cheers for the update.

I have already been keeping a close eye on that thread over on AVS Forum. The reports look very promising.

[J80FAB]

That US instruction manual is a bit confusing

As with the US DVP-NS75H there seems to be no DivX playback on this newer model.

The European DVP-NS76H had DivX, so I assume that the 78H will also have DivX. Surely it would be odd if it did not ?

Not sure what to do now ! Have an Amazon 10% off voucher which ends this evening. Was going to go for the Samsung 870, now not sure if to place an order for the new Sony NS78H instead

EDIT : Guess this might answer my question :

http://www.sony-asia.com/product/dvp...ite=hp_en_AP_i

says DivX playback.

[markelliott]

Originally Posted by J80FAB

That US instruction manual is a bit confusing

As with the US DVP-NS75H there seems to be no DivX playback on this newer model.

The European DVP-NS76H had DivX, so I assume that the 78H will also have DivX. Surely it would be odd if it did not ?

Not sure what to do now ! Have an Amazon 10% off voucher which ends this evening. Was going to go for the Samsung 870, now not sure if to place an order for the new Sony NS78H instead

EDIT : Guess this might answer my question :

http://www.sony-asia.com/product/dvp...ite=hp_en_AP_i

says DivX playback.

Without a doubt, the DVP-NS78H will play DivX.

If you're in a rush to buy a new player, I would definitely recommend the Samsung DVD-HD870. I own this player, and it is superb.

[J80FAB]

Yep on the picture (not the one above !) of the NS78H there is a DivX symbol.

I wonder if the 78 is going to be as troublesome as the 76 with displaying some DivX/AVI files correctly Or perhaps the issue has been addressed this time round & rectified.

Not in a great rush but all the looking around & failed attempts of getting a DVD player makes your head hurt ! Would be nice to have a player to hook-up to the home cinema system which doesn't have one !!!

I've placed an order with Amazon for the NS78 as I couldn't make my mind up between that & the HD870 & wanted to take advantage of the 10% discount before midnight !!!

As it's a new player for £67 inc. free delivery doesn't seem that bad a price. Just curious as to when it will turn up

[caz1979]

Ok my head hurts now. I was looking at the Panny 5980 but now having seen that Sony are producing a black player I'm back to square one.

I know it's probably too soon to ask but what are the chances that this player can be hacked to multi-region? My spec list for a player was:

Preferably Sony
Black
HDMI output
Multi-region
Quiet
Cheap-ish

Having seen the Panny, the USB connection gave the X-factor to trump the Samsung HD870.

I have 3 weeks to get a player for a birthday pressie. Help!!!

[hardeep]

Originally Posted by caz1979

I know it's probably too soon to ask but what are the chances that this player can be hacked to multi-region?

Checking I noticed that the new HXD870/970 uses the same hack as the older 860 and DVP-NS76H

So almost certainly the player will be hackable via the same programmable handset method that is used for other Sony DVP-NS players and RDR-HXD recorders.

[J80FAB]

Originally Posted by caz1979

Ok my head hurts now. I was looking at the Panny 5980 but now having seen that Sony are producing a black player I'm back to square one.

Having seen the Panny, the USB connection gave the X-factor to trump the Samsung HD870.

It certainly does look like your head hurts because from what you have said you've just rolled 3 DVD players into 1 - Panasonic DVDS53, Philips 5980 & Pioneer DV400/600AV !!!

I just took a stab in the dark & went for the Sony NS78H as it's a newer model & comes in black. Need a DVD player for the home cinema amp but will only be connecting via Scart for the time being.

I did try out the NS76H before which drove me a bit nuts as there was no auto-sensing via Scart to change to the AV channel on the TV automatically & when Scart was set to output RGB it never did when you turned the machine on. Only pressing buttons on the remote or 'play' would switch on the RGB signal

If it's the same with the NS78H I don't really care as I've had enough trying to find a DVD player, and whatever you go for there's bound to be some sort of niggling issue

[caz1979]

Lol my bad - it was a Philips. Told you my head was turned!!

I haven't even looked at the Pioneer and to be honest I probably won't as it will confuse me too much.

The Philips certainly looks tempting with having a USB connection, being black, hackable to multi-region and having hdmi. The only thing that puts me off is the make as I was hoping to get a Sony to match the Bravia TV.

Ignoring all other makes and models then ... Philips 5980 or the Sony NS78H?

[J80FAB]

Well this model has a Sony Bravia Theatre Sync control via HDMI (see p.19 of the above link to US manual).

It may therefore be worth the while buying the Sony if it is to be hooked up to a Bravia TV set.

With the Philips 5980 it depends if you are really going to use the USB facility

One thing I can say about the previous Sony NS76H is that it played a Flash Player video clip which I saved from YouTube, converted to a video clip (must have been AVI format) & stuck onto a CD-RW disc.

Having played the same CD-RW on players with the Vadis 888 chip (not sure what the Philips 5980 has) the above clip did not want to play properly as if it was corrupt.

One thing which you have to watch out for which was present on the NS76H and will probably be on the NS78H is that you can play discs with mixed content but with limitations.

If you have JPEG, MP3 & DivX/AVI on the same disc then the JPEG & MP3 files won't play, or it's the other way round.

The Phililps 5980 doesn't have such a limitation.

[caz1979]

I'm afraid I'm not that advanced! I tend to just watch avi's on the PC and only use the DVD player for store bought DVDs and not any home movie type things

I'll try to get the Sony arranged then but I'm wary of buying from some website seeing how they like to charge extra carriage to Northern Ireland (e.g. mrmdvd.com wanted £25 minimum postage!). If anyone has bought one from Amazon could they please let me know what the delivery date was otherwise I may have to buy locally to get it on time.

Thanks in advance.

[J80FAB]

The order status for mine from Amazon is showing delivery estimate: 30 Aug 2007 - 2 Oct 2007

But this could be much earlier as I've seen this sort of thing on Amazon before where they say 1 - 2 months & then when you look a few days later they have have them in stock !

I think the general consensus is that if there is something wrong with your purchase & your order has come directly from Amazon then there is a straight forward no-hassle returns procedure.

I've only ordered from Amazon once before & that was some speaker cable. The order was fulfilled by Amazon & came well packaged, and it was free delivery because the total was over £15.

I also prefer to buy in-store if you can find it cheap, but seeing that the DVP-NS78H was £67 with free delivery from Amazon I bought it from there.

[hardeep]

Well I got one today from my local Sony Centre and to be honest my thoughts are a bit mixed. (Bear in mind I already own a DVP-NS76H so my comments will often compare the two.)

Firstly the player's GUI and remote are the same as the 76H which is no bad thing. Playback is no different in terms of quality etc. compared to the 76H. 1080p makes no discernable difference on my PX70, (but I did have an eye test today so maybe I'll see something when I get my new prescription ) But overall more than happy with what I'm viewing.

Bad points: less connectivity - whereas the 76H had an optical and coxial digital output the 78H has only the coaxial. The player is also missing some user picture quality adjustments - BNR and MNR. (Almost certainly they are employed but just not adjustable by the user unlike the 76H.)

Multiregion hack: the player uses the same remote hack as the 76H. I did mine using a OneForAll remote from Argos.
Overall I'd have to say it's not as good the 76H - mainly due to lack of optical output and removal of user settings.

As an aside: the player has Bravia Theatre Sync so I tried using this feature with my Panasonic PX70 (Viera Link) and Samsung LE37R8 (Anynet+)

The Samsung was OK - pressing the play button on the TV remote switched the DVD on and changed the TV to the correct channel. Turning the TV off than also switched off the player. Unfortunately Anynet+ didn't allow any other control like pause, FF etc. (However the remote is programmable.)

The PX70 was poor. It recognised that there was a HDMI-CEC device present but said I had to use the devices remote! Reading the manual this seems a deliberate decision by Panasonic - basically Veira link will only work with Panasonic's own equipment. There seems little point in Panasonic using an industry standard then chosing to be incompatible with the rest of the industry.

Finally not all HDMI leads will work. My freeby SkyHD HDMI lead didn't support HDMI-CEC and neither was one of my QED leads - so check the leads compatibility.

[jamesaevans]

Originally Posted by hardeep

Well I got one today from my local Sony Centre and to be honest my thoughts are a bit mixed. (Bear in mind I already own a DVP-NS76H so my comments will often compare the two.)

Firstly the player's GUI and remote are the same as the 76H which is no bad thing. Playback is no different in terms of quality etc. compared to the 76H. 1080p makes no discernable difference on my PX70, (but I did have an eye test today so maybe I'll see something when I get my new prescription ) But overall more than happy with what I'm viewing.

Bad points: less connectivity - whereas the 76H had an optical and coxial digital output the 78H has only the coaxial. The player is also missing some user picture quality adjustments - BNR and MNR. (Almost certainly they are employed but just not adjustable by the user unlike the 76H.)

Multiregion hack: the player uses the same remote hack as the 76H. I did mine using a OneForAll remote from Argos.
Overall I'd have to say it's not as good the 76H - mainly due to lack of optical output and removal of user settings.

As an aside: the player has Bravia Theatre Sync so I tried using this feature with my Panasonic PX70 (Viera Link) and Samsung LE37R8 (Anynet+)

The Samsung was OK - pressing the play button on the TV remote switched the DVD on and changed the TV to the correct channel. Turning the TV off than also switched off the player. Unfortunately Anynet+ didn't allow any other control like pause, FF etc. (However the remote is programmable.)

The PX70 was poor. It recognised that there was a HDMI-CEC device present but said I had to use the devices remote! Reading the manual this seems a deliberate decision by Panasonic - basically Veira link will only work with Panasonic's own equipment. There seems little point in Panasonic using an industry standard then chosing to be incompatible with the rest of the industry.

Finally not all HDMI leads will work. My freeby SkyHD HDMI lead didn't support HDMI-CEC and neither was one of my QED leads - so check the leads compatibility.

Hi hardeep, thank you for posting you commets. Can I ask you how the dimensions of the 78H compares to the 76H. I think I read somewhere that it was a bit smaller?

If so this would be ideal as I need to position my dvd player on a narrow shelf in my bedroom. There should be just enough room for the 76H, but if the 78H is a couple of cm narrower (front to back) then this would help.

[hardeep]

Height and width wise it is identical. Its depth however is 26.6mm less so that would seem to suit your requirements.

[Black20VT]

I've just got myself a NS78H and I've one really frustrating problem I can't solve, but I'm hoping someone here can help.

Basically, when I switch on the DVD Player, the TV (Panasonic) doesn't change to the scart connection for the DVD Player, this has to be done manually with the TV remote.

This is really strange, as ALL previous 5 DVD Players I've had on the TV switch the channel, yet with the same leads, connections etc, this one won't. I've even tried changing the scart lead.

Anyone any idea, as this is a real pain, as the TV remote has been in the drawer for the last 3 years, I don't want to bring it out just to watch a DVD.

[Bolander]

Have you tried waiting till a disc starts to play - some machines don't send a signal to the TV until then?

[J80FAB]

Originally Posted by Black20VT

I've just got myself a NS78H and I've one really frustrating problem I can't solve, but I'm hoping someone here can help.

Basically, when I switch on the DVD Player, the TV (Panasonic) doesn't change to the scart connection for the DVD Player, this has to be done manually with the TV remote.

This is really strange, as ALL previous 5 DVD Players I've had on the TV switch the channel, yet with the same leads, connections etc, this one won't. I've even tried changing the scart lead.

Anyone any idea, as this is a real pain, as the TV remote has been in the drawer for the last 3 years, I don't want to bring it out just to watch a DVD.

I had the same thing with the NS76H, and it happened with 2 different players - you turned on the player & nothing. Even when you started playing a disc it would not auto-change to the AV channel via SCART. Basically you would have to change to the AV channel on the TV's remote control !

Don't know if you've noticed somethibg else, but when I set the NS76H to output RGB, everytime you switched the player 'off' & then 'on' again it would output composite instead !!! It would only then switch to output a true RGB signal if you pressed 'Play' or some other button on the remote control. Does this also happen with the NS78H ?

[J80FAB]

Originally Posted by hardeep

Bad points: less connectivity - whereas the 76H had an optical and coxial digital output the 78H has only the coaxial. The player is also missing some user picture quality adjustments - BNR and MNR. (Almost certainly they are employed but just not adjustable by the user unlike the 76H.)

That's a bit rubbish

Obviously the info present on the Sony Canada & Asia website must be incorrect for the DVP-NS76H (unless there are some slight differences for these markets) as they quote it has both coax & optical outputs. The US variant NS77H instruction manual also states both optical & coax output, though the US product bulletin says it only has coax output - how confusing !

I knew I should have put my Amazon 10% off voucher towards the Samsung 870 or 1080p7 - drat, & double drat !

Not sure if to cancel the order for the NS78H now as Amazon still do not have it in stock

[Black20VT]

Originally Posted by J80FAB

Don't know if you've noticed somethibg else, but when I set the NS76H to output RGB, everytime you switched the player 'off' & then 'on' again it would output composite instead !!! It would only then switch to output a true RGB signal if you pressed 'Play' or some other button on the remote control. Does this also happen with the NS78H ?

Just tried it 3 or 4 times here and it kept the RGB setting as soon as it's switched on.

[Black20VT]

Originally Posted by Bolander

Have you tried waiting till a disc starts to play - some machines don't send a signal to the TV until then?

Ah ha, I was being inpatient, all previous players switched immediately when turned on, appears this Sony switches when a DVD is recognised. I was also trying it without a DVD present. So it does work

Thanks for the guide!

[J80FAB]

Originally Posted by Black20VT

Just tried it 3 or 4 times here and it kept the RGB setting as soon as it's switched on.

Did you turn it on & off and then on again without any discs in the tray so that the jacket just appears on screen ?

If it is not outputting RGB straight away when you do this you can usually tell because the picture is slightly sharper & fizzy - characteristic of composite.

[Black20VT]

Originally Posted by J80FAB

Did you turn it on & off and then on again without any discs in the tray so that the jacket just appears on screen?

I'll give it a go when I get home later and post the results.

[J80FAB]

Originally Posted by Black20VT

I'll give it a go when I get home later and post the results.

Can't wait !

When you do switch it on for thee Sony background jacket to appear, if you press 'play' on the remote & the quality of the picture evidently changes then my guess is that the NS78H also has this 'quirk' of not immediately outputting RGB via SCART even when it is set to do so. Actually after turning it on if you go into the menu & then press 'play' (don't put a disc in the tray !) a change in the PQ (if it does happen) from composite to RGB will be more apparent as there are more icons & writing in the menu setting.

It should in reality auto-switch to the appropriate AV channel when it is turned on like every other kind of DVD player I have seen/used. Perhaps Sony have employed a different SCART voltage switching - or haven't employed one at all ! - for RGB output and auto-sensing when the player is turned on & off which may not be picked up by some TV sets

Does it really only have the digital coax output ? Unblelievable !

[Black20VT]

Originally Posted by J80FAB

Can't wait !

Well, just got home and checked it out and there's no problem. RGB signal from switch on, clearly noticeable by the image quality and the fact the TV states the signal is RGB.

As you said, could be TV specific?

Originally Posted by J80FAB

Does it really only have the digital coax output ? Unblelievable !

Does seem strange to only provide digital coax rather than both with optical aswell, but lucky for me, not an issue

Now just need to find time to sit down and actually watch a DVD on it, looks like Sunday it is

[Moriath]

are you sure about the no optical cause the usa version has optical i dont see why one would and the other wouldnt

[Black20VT]

Originally Posted by Moriath

are you sure about the no optical cause the usa version has optical i dont see why one would and the other wouldnt

Lol, I've one here in front of me! I'm 110% sure. I can take a photo or a scan of the manual if needed.

Trust me, there's no optical just:

1. HDMI
2. Digital Coaxial
3. Line Out (L/R)
4. Line Out (Video)
5. Line (RGB)
6. Component

Unless my particular machine is different, there is no optical digital. Seems the USA model is different...

[J80FAB]

Originally Posted by Black20VT

Does seem strange to only provide digital coax rather than both with optical aswell, but lucky for me, not an issue

Well that is really poor.

The American NS77H variant certainly has both - optical & coax - & this appears so in the on-line instruction manual. I think the manual also refers to BNR & MNR picture quality adjustments which as stated earlier seem to have been left out on the NS78H.

What makes things interesting is that the NS78H as advertised by Sony Canada & Sony Asia apparently has 1 optical & 1 coaxial output.

This therefore begs the question as to whether Sony has changed the spec at the last minute for the 78H leaving out optical, or whether it has left it out on the 78H being sold in Europe.

Anyway whatever the case may be, certainly makes the DVP-NS76H look like a better machine feature-wise despite not being 1080p and only available in silver.

Still not sure now whether to cancel my Amazon order before the unit becomes available via Amazon & to look for something else

[J80FAB]

Hope no one minds.

Thought I'd start a sort of 'official' DVP-NS78H thread :

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showt...76#post5342876

Did a bit of digging & managed to find a downloadable instruction manual for this model