Sony's DVP-NS400D DVD player adds an integral Dolby Digital (DD) decoder to the feature set of Sony's DVP-NS300B/S entry-level, interlaced scan, 480i DVD players. Also, the NS400D adds CD-R/RW playback capability (the NS300B/S players can handle some CD-R discs).

The NS400D has a street price of $250, $50 more than the NS300B/S. Unless you need the integral DD decoder or the CD-R/RW playback capability, you'll get a better value by sticking with one of the $200 NS300B/S machines.


Cases Where the Extra Expense of the NS400D Makes Sense

Almost all new A/V surround-sound receivers on the market now have integral DD/ Digital Theater Surround (DTS) decoders which will decode the surround-sound datastream from the coaxial or optical digital-audio output of either the NS300B/S or NS400D players. If you have an A/V receiver with an integral DD/DTS decoder and either a coaxial or optical input, you can go with the less expensive NS300B/S players and still enjoy complete DD or DTS surround-sound.

On the other hand, if you own one of the older and/or very inexpensive A/V receivers, one of the so-called "5.1-ready" or "surround-sound-ready" units which have the six analog surround-sound inputs (front-left, center, front-right, rear-left, rear-right, subwoofer) but no digital-audio input (either coaxial or optical), then it would be worth it for you to spend the extra for the NS400D with its integral DD decoder and its six analog surround-sound output jacks. Keep in mind that the NS400D has an integral DD decoder but no DTS decoder.

Almost all of the A/V receivers from Year 2000 onward have internal DD (and often DTS) decoders. You just connect your DVD player to these with either the coaxial or optical digital-audio connection and the receiver decodes the DD or DTS soundtrack datastream from the DVD disc.

All DVD players now on the market have either a coaxial or optical digital-audio jack. There is no difference in sound quality between either type of connection (they transmit identical datastreams), so, in the case of DVD players which have both types of digital-audio outputs, such as the NS400D, the type of connection you choose will just depend on available inputs on your receiver and/or the type of cable you wish to use (coaxial cables, which are heavy-duty versions of regular coaxial A/V connection cables, are sometimes cheaper than optical, i.e. fiber-optic, cables).


CD-R/RW Playback Capability

The other major difference between the NS400D and the NS300B/S is that the higher model has CD-R/RW playback. While the NS300B/S has been reported by some users as capable of playing certain CD-R discs, Sony guarantees that the NS400D can play both CD-R and CD-RW discs, as well as the usual DVD-Video, CD's, and VCD's.


Other Players with More Extensive Audio Playback Options

If you want the capability of playing back many types of audio discs, you might as well go with a player that can handle CD-R, CD-RW, and MP3 playback, as well as DVD-Video, VCD's, and CD's, such as the Samsung DVD-M301, the JVC XV-S45GD, or the Panasonic DVD-RV31 (reviewed at the following URL):

http://www.epinions.com/content_16158723716/tk_~CB003.1.200



Other NS300B/NS400D Differences

Another, less-important difference between the two DVD players is that the NS400D has what Sony calls the "Picture Navigation" menu. This provides onscreen menus which let you quickly get to various chapters in a DVD. However, you can go from chapter to chapter faster by just clicking the skip-forward and reverse buttons on the remote. The "Picture Navigation" feature also lets you access multiple camera angles, though few major movies released on DVD include multiple camera angles.

Finally, the NS400D improves upon the NS300B/S by including a bookmark feature. This lets you set favorite points, to which you can later return, on as many as nine scenes on up to 200 DVD's.


NS400D Limited to Interlaced Output

The NS400D puts out an analog video signal at the 480-interlaced (480i) resolution. With interlaced resolution, each 1/30th-of-a-second video frame is divided into two fields. The first field, in the first 1/60th-of-a-second, contains the 240 odd-numbered lines of the frame and the second field, in the second 1/60th-of-a-second, contains the 240 even-numbered lines of the frame. The 480i resolution level takes advantage of the maximum display resolution available on NTSC-standard analog TV's (regular, non-H/DTV sets). The other common resolutions are 330i for broadcast and cable signals and 240i for the output of a VHS VCR. With the output of a progressive-scan DVD player (480p), all 480 lines are projected onto the screen each 1/60th-of-a-second, creating a more solid, stable image.

Most H/DTV-ready sets have integral line-doublers which will boost the 480i output of the NS400D (or any other standard, interlaced-output DVD player) up to the 480p resolution level. However, as this type of line-doubling can cause motion artifacts and other image problems, it is advantageous to use a progressive-scan DVD player, displaying its output with the TV's native 480p mode. For more on progressive scan versus interlaced scan in DVD players and TV's, see my review of the Pioneer DV-434 DVD player:

http://www.epinions.com/content_8202784388/tk_~CB003.1.288



Inputs/Outputs

The NS400D has the following types of video outputs, in order of ascending quality -- composite-video, S-Video, and component-video. You should use the best connection that you have on both your TV and the DVD player. For example, if your TV has an S-Video input jack, you would want to run an S-Video cable from that jack to the S-Video output on the player.

The composite outputs (there are two), use the standard, single-line video connection. As this multiplexes the entire video signal into a single line, it is the lowest-quality type of connection (except, of course, for an RF connection). The S-Video connection (there are two of these also) uses a single cable with two internal lines, one carrying luminance (black & white) picture information and other carrying chrominance (color) picture information.

The component connection (one of these) is actually a set of three output jacks, designed to take three RCA-plug cables which run to the corresponding three component input jacks on your TV. These are usually labeled Y-Pb-Pr. The component connection, like S-Video, takes the luminance signal (Y) on a separate line, but it further increases color accuracy by dividing chrominance into a yellow-blue difference (Pb) signal and a yellow-red difference (Pr) signal.

For your standard analog audio output, the player has L/R RCA jacks (two L/R sets). With appropriately-encoded soundtracks, these will also put out a Dolby Pro Logic signal (your receiver must have a Dolby Pro Logic decoder, but almost every A/V receiver has this).

The two sets of A/V outputs (L/R analog audio, composite-video, S-Video) make it possible to simultaneously output two live signals of whatever DVD you are playing, but it is hard to imagine how this would be useful. You could play a DVD on two TV's at the same time if, for any reason, you wished to do so.

For the DD and DTS datastreams, there is a coaxial digital-audio jack and an optical digital-audio jack. It is generally suggested that you use one of special coaxial digital-audio cables for the coaxial connection, though these are just heavy-duty versions of the same kind of standard coaxial cables used to connect video gear (component and composite connections, S-Video uses a different type of cable). Thus, you could probably get away with a regular coaxial cable for this purpose or, especially with a short cable run, even an audio RCA-plug cable. But the manufacturers recommend against this. The optical jack is designed to work with a fiber-optic cable. These are generally a bit more expensive than the dedicated coaxial digital-audio cable.

As with any kind of cable, premium cables are a waste of money when buying digital-audio cables. The premium cable companies take advantage of people's intimidation by digital technology to charge even more outrageous prices for digital-audio connection cables. For the digital connection cables, you'll be best served with standard models from reputable companies such as Recoton, RCA, and Radio Shack.



Options for Owners of TV's with RF-Input Only

Please note that, in most cases, it will not work to connect the SD2700 to your TV through the composite or S-Video inputs of a VCR. This is because the copy-protection used on most DVD-Video discs will cause severe signal distortion when run through a VCR. Most people consider running DVD output through a VCR because they do not have any video (i.e. composite) input on their TV. If your TV only has an RF input, you could try to connect a DVD player to the video (composite) input on your VCR while in turn connecting the RF output of the VCR to the RF input on the TV. In a few cases, this will work (depending on the model of VCR in question) but usually it will not. The most reliable solution, if your TV only has an RF input, is to use an RF adaptor which has a composite video/analog L/R audio input and an RF output. You can get one of these at Radio Shack for about $30.00. If your TV only has an RF input and you are considering purchase of a DVD player, it might be worthwhile for you to also upgrade to a new TV. Just make sure the new TV at least has a composite-video input jack (almost all the new sets do).


DVD Playback Features

Like many other DVD players, the NS400D has a simulated surround-sound mode which is supposed to increase the sense of spaciousness when playing back DVD's over a stereo sound system or through the stereo speakers of your TV. This feature is called Virtual Surround Sound or Spatializer N-2-2 on other brands of DVD players. Sony calls this feature TV Virtual Surround. Its effectiveness is quite limited.

The player also has a number of modes designed to improve audio playback with a four-speaker array. Basically, these all are slight enhancements of Dolby Pro Logic.

The "resume play" feature remembers where you are on a disc when you stop playback, even if you power-down the player. When you resume play, or power up, it automatically goes to the exact point you were at on the disc when you stopped.

The "program play" feature lets you program up to 99 DVD chapters or CD tracks, playing them back in any order. This is useful for CD's, but with DVD's you usually just want to play the chapters in linear order.

"Smooth Scan" and "Smooth Slow" modes let you scan through a DVD at a fraction or a multiple of the normal play speed.

The parental control feature lets you restrict access to up to 50 discs.


Setup Menus

The setup menus let you choose display aspect ratio (standard 4:3 screen or 16:9 widescreen), screensaver (on/off), stop mode display ("DVD" logo, Sony graphic, blue, or black), default language (English, French, Spanish, or Portuguese), audio setup, and speaker setup.



Remote

The RMT-128A remote is compact, especially by Sony standards, though not particularly well designed. It would help if it was backlit and if there were nubs, or distinct shapes, so you could easily operate the main buttons by touch. The remote will control a few functions on TV's and other video equipment.


Misc.

The NS400D measures 16-7/8 by 2-15/16 by 11-1/4 (width x height x depth). It is covered by a one-year warranty. The NS400D comes in consumer-electronics black, while the NS300B model is black and the NS300S is silver.


Conclusion

The NS400D costs $50 more than the NS300B/S DVD players and differs from those models only in that it has an integral Dolby Digital decoder and adds CD-R/RW playback capability. As most A/V receivers now have integral Dolby Digital decoders, this feature is not likely to be of much value to most people. The NS300B/S models already play back some CD-R's, so in terms of audio features the biggest advantage of the NS400D is its CD-RW playback capability. If you need to play back CD-RW's, then it may be worthwhile for you to spend the extra $50 for the NS400D. Most people will get the best value by sticking with the NS300B/S.




Consumer Alert:

When you buy your DVD player, many retailers will attempt to sell you premium-brand connection cables and an extended warranty. Avoid buying either of these. As mentioned above, standard-quality connection cables (the most economical models available from reputable manufacturers such as Recoton, Radio Shack, or RCA) will work exactly as well as the most-expensive premium brand cables. The extended warranties are highly overpriced for the amount of coverage they provide and they only make sense for people who could not afford to replace a piece of electronics equipment which breaks down. Anything you buy that works perfectly during the 30-day money-back return period is very likely to continue to work perfectly for the next several years.


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Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 249.98+tax