Sony BDP-S5000ES Blu-ray Disc Player

• High-end Blu-ray Disc player with Sony's 14-bit HD video processor plus HD Reality Enhancer and Super Bit Mapping technologies
• Full HD 1080p output for Blu-ray Discs and upconversion of standard DVD video to 1080p
• BD Live capable for accessing bonus content from BD-Live Blu-ray Discs; Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD; 1 GB built-in memory
• Outputs: 1 HDMI,1component,1 S-Video,1 composite,1analog audio 2-channel, 7.1-channel),1digital optical audio,1 digital coaxial audio,1Ethernet,1RS232
• Includes remote control and composite AV cable; measures 17 x 14.37 x 4.92 inches (WxDxH)

This player is the promise of Bluray fully delivered. As before, video is spectacular. Audio is spectacular in every codec as well. DTS master audio (not included in previous sony products except PS3)and Dolby HD are fantastic. The internal decoding and full bandwith 7.1 PCM output is a great plus for all of us that have audiophile equipment that does not include internal decoders for the new formats. This also ensures that users of HDMI version 1.1 equipment don't have to fret about having 1.3 compliant equipment to enjoy the rewards of completely uncompressed 7.1 surround. Works beautifully with my Rotel 1069 preamp through HDMI. However, best of all, the player is finally fast. For those that have owned previous generation bluray players the most annoying thing about the technology was the patience testing load times. That was the bad old days, welcome to the good days, plop in the disc and go. In my expirience, even with the fast load feature set to off it is at least twice as fast (if not faster) as my departed BDPS2000ES. The menus and additional features work seamlessly and instantly, no more "processing time" hastle. I'm using it with an Elite pro110 plasma and can attest that its video fidelity is reference quality, it simply doesn't get better than this, for any price. Build quality is impressive, the player feels like its built from a ton of bricks and its completely silent in operation, the fan is inaudible (at least I have never heard it). The internet connection is excellent, just plug and go. In fact, this player has essentially zero negatives from any performance standpoint, NONE. Its not a particularly attractive piece of gear, simply a box with a tray in the front, but that is fine. Which, of course, leads to the only negative, its price. For those that want the very best in videophile equipment, the price is justified simply because its performance is, for the time being, second to none in all parameters, better yet, it demonstrates that the technology has finally reached fruition. This player is the first evidence that bluray is now a mature technology with no performance or functional compromises. Hopefully all its funtional advantages will trickle down to more affordable players soon. BTW, anyone that dismisses this player as an expensive alternative to a PS3, has not used it, or at least has not used with gear that will plainly show the significant differences in audio and video performance. Very highly recommended.

One more thing...... The picture of the player is inaccurate that is the BDPS2000ES, Cheers!

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I just got my BDP-S5000es yesterday. I had been using Sony's original BDP-S1 in our home theater and have enjoyed its picture and audio quality for the past 2 years. I have auditioned other Blu-ray players including the Pioneer Elite series, but never really saw or heard any clear cut reason to spend $$$$ to upgrade until now.

The BDP-s5000es is an enormous improvement in both video and audio quality of any of the units that I have tried.

First, the picture. Stunning is the only way I can describe it. I am veiwing Blu ray movies through a 1080p projector on a 120" screen. If there are any problems with the image in terms of color, saturation or clarity, you'll see it with the picture that large. It is flawless. The few scenes I have been able to play so far all have better contrast, greater depth and more intensity than my previous player. In short, it looks as good as film to my eyes.

The sound is equally as impressive. Up until now, I have been using the audio processor in my Krell preamp to decode the 5.1 and 7.1 soundtracks with results that were far superior to the analog output of my older player. The downside was that I couldn't decode the Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD signals that many of the discs now have. The BDP-s5000es has and outstanding built in decoder for these HD formats and an equally impressive analog output stage that allows for the most realistic recorded audio presentation I have ever heard. The difference isn't subtle, but it is difficult to describe. An example of what I am talking about is in the the James Bond movie "Casino Royale". In one scene, James and Vesper walk out onto a terrace after losing a poker game to his rival. In the Dolby Digital soundtrack, the sounds of the city are all there in the background clear, clean and pristine a well recorded sountrack. However, when I played same scene using the Dolby TrueHD soundtrack through the analog outputs of the 5000es, it sounded like correction it felt like the walls of my room disappeared and I was outdoors. It was startling. It didn't sound like a great recording, it made me feel like I was there. The subtle spatial and sensory information that is lacking from many recordings was all there to be heard and felt.

As for the setup, it was very quick and easy. There was one small quirk that I noticed. Because I am using the players decoder and analog outputs, I needed to go into the audio setup of the Sony to adjust speaker levels and positions. The setup process went quickly enough as I was able to match all of the speaker levels up or down in 1/2dB increments except for the subwoofer. I needed to boost the output to the sub by 1.5dB but the Sony would only allow me to turn it down, not increase the level. I had to start over using the sub's output as the reference level and match the other speakers to it. Not a big problem, but a bit strange.

The network connection went without a hitch. I plugged in the cable and it immediately checked to see if there was an update for the firmware. This is an important reason to consider Sony when making a purchase. As I mentioned, I have the original Sony Blu Ray player and after 2 1/2 years, they are still offering software improvements which allow it to work flawlessly with the latest BD titles. I have updated that machine at least 7 times (from v1.1 to v4.2), all for free, and each time the machine works faster and better. There are not many companies out there that continue to support their products with free upgrades and for such a long period of time. Most just want you to buy the newest model rather than improve your current one.

Also, I saw a previous review about the loading time and thought I'd respond. There is a setting in the setup menu that decreases the time to boot up and load a disc dramatically by leaving the machine in kind of a standby mode. I didn't time it, but I'd say the few discs I've tried to play so far loaded in under 10 seconds with this mode turned on. The downside is that the unit uses more power to do this because it keeps the fan and processor running even when the power switch is off. My guess is that the previous reviewer has not turned that feature on (the default setting for this feature is "off").

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I can share that for my situation the video enhancement of the BDP-S5000s was very real. My raw video material was from a Canon XH-A1s used to shoot an orchestral performance. Adobe Premiere, Adobe Encore, Verbatum blank DVD discs, and a new LG burner were used to make a 1080p/24 Blu-Ray DVD. When my resulting DVD wouldn't play on my Sony BDP-S300 player, I went to a Sony Store to compare new players.

What I cared about foremost was image quality. The short answer is that players absolutely are not the same. However before I get specific I hope you will please indulge me in a little background theory. Blu-ray encoders compresses video by approximately 50x, which the players then need to uncompress (decode). Encoding at a studio can be slow and methodic, however decoding in a DVD player needs to happen in real time, which invites compromises. If the player has a powerful processor as does the 5000s, a beautiful video stream more free of artifacts will result when you play a DVD.

Compared to the 5000s, the lesser DVD players I tried at the store sacrificed some image quality when the picture moved; i.e., they would pixelate to various degrees. For example a person's face would become slightly blotchy for a fraction of a second and then resolve itself. With the lesser players this would happen even on slowly moving images, and I would expect the problem to be more pronounced with fast moving scenes such as with sports. A related shortcoming is that the lesser players had some noise in their images. For example a dark suit that appeared smooth when the person sat still would become grainy when the person moved slowly. Neither of these defects were apparent on the 5000s.

These shortcomings of the lesser players would probably never be noticed by a casual viewer who rightly thinks that any Blu-ray just looks pretty fabulous no matter what. Nonetheless, there is a curse in knowing what to look for, because it is easy to see, and certainly doesn't require a "golden eye". Whether or not they are objectionable is up to the individual. I'll remark that I have no reason to suspect the other video (and audio) claims to not be accurate. In summary, the 5000s player employs a very powerful image decoder, and it buys you playbacks that are seemingly free of artifacts.

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I have owned several high end blu ray players from the likes of Denon, Marantz and Pioneer. I thought they we all solid performers until I bought the 5000ES. This Blu ray player is by far the most solid built and best performer I have ever owned. Video is crisp, great color with lots of tweeks and adjustments at your disposal, with audio via HDMI or Analog the best I have encountered. If you can find one of these beasts still around, I would not hesitate.

I'm a huge analog guy always have been. I never bought into the HD craze until one fateful trip to the Sony store. I saw a big beast sitting sadly in a clearance bin it was marked down to $50; the heft and many connectors on the back quickly caught my eye and held my interest. I felt sorry for it and thought it would be an upgrade to my PS2 which I had up till then been using to play DVDS. Something told me to GET IT, GET IT NOW... so I bought it and took it home. I had a smallish Trinitron and had been using it for awhile when I was bitten by the HD CRT bug using this player on my Trinitron almost felt like using a Ferrari to go to the corner store and back, almost like the player deserved better.

So, a $35 Goodwill acquisiton for a 34" Panasonic CRT HDTV, and an HDMI cable later it was like a window to the world. I just wanted to keep watching things over and over because the video quality is second to none. I've seen cheaper bluray players at friends and family's homes and I really do feel sorry for them. If you have a big set, you need THIS player to do it justice. Even SD content on regular DVDs, the player has an odd way of cleaning up and making look spectacular.