Sony BDP-S5000ES Blu-ray Disc Player Review
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").
Sony BDP-S5000ES Blu-ray Disc Player Feature
- 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, 1 component, 1 S-Video, 1 composite, 1 analog audio (2-channel, 7.1-channel), 1 digital optical audio, 1 digital coaxial audio, 1 Ethernet, 1 RS232
- Includes remote control and composite AV cable; measures 17 x 14.37 x 4.92 inches (WxDxH)
Sony BDP-S5000ES Blu-ray Disc Player Overview
BonusView and BD-Live (1GB Flash Memory Included). Full HD 1080/60p and 24p True Cinema Video Output. HD Reality Enhancer (14 bit video processing). Super Bit Mapping (Smooth color gradation). Precision Cinema HD Upscale. Dolby TrueHD / DTS-HD bitstream out via HDMI ver.1.3. Dolby TrueHD / DTS-HD decoder built-in. 7.1ch Analog Audio Output. Quick Start Up Mode. BRAVIA Sync (HDMI-CEC). Xross Media Bar. Ether port for Network Update / BD-Live. Back Lit Remote. RS-232C/IR IN.
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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jan 21, 2010 00:13:27
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