Yes, engineer with not much to do LOL. I went into details about the remote because quite a few people said it didn't work right out of the box, as mine didn't. I think one guy said he had to buy 3 before he got a working remote; a nuisance, having to pack the whole thing up and trek back to WM each time just for the remote. (WM does NOT like customers plugging in stuff in their stores.
) So, when something simple doesn't work, the next step is to neatly take it apart and find out why (as it turned out, that was unnecessary). I bet even the included batteries don't work lots of the time, the spacing is that critical as supplied, people will see the problem right away once they know what to look at.
Most people seem interested about the MKV/Divx capabilities, something I don't ever use and know nothing about...others say they are quite good if using standard/properly formatted files.
There is a USB port (rear only) and an Ethernet port. I didn't try either port yet, maybe tonight. The Ethernet port is ONLY for BD-Live and FW updates, not streaming. There is also S/PDIF digital audio output, both coaxial and optical...untested.
I should have mentioned I only tested 1080p HDMI video output for BD and DVD, I wanted to see the best it could do. The system the BDP will often be used in is CRT-based and will use 1080i via component, so that is my next test. But another forum member may be taking that TV soon, so it may be moot for me but it seems a lot of people do use 1080i with this player so worth me having a look anyways. Also, this Sony TV doesn't do PAL so I can check the PAL->NTSC conversion at 480p.
No S-video output, a common situation for BDPs. I actually would have used that for something if there was one LOL. There is a composite output though. Just mentioning, somebody may want one of these to sometimes use with an old cottage TV etc., cheap players often get used with older stuff. In that vein there are stereo (only) analog outputs.
I did test but forgot to mention that the HD audio formats could be converted to LPCM via HDMI if that's what you need. However, like the Oppo BDP-83 (and unlike the PS3), 6.1 formats are NOT converted properly (why I specifically tested them, d'oh), you lose the back channel in the conversion. The much more common 5.1 and (on BD) 7.1 are converted fine though. So in the first post I should have actually said it correctly HDMI bitstreams all forms of BD/DVD audio in their *native* format (which is all I normally use, but I understand LPCM is used by quite a few people).
I may have glossed over the player's "hot uneven bottom" aspect, but that is actually a problem for me with that 1080i TV and how/where I was going to place the BDP...the TV's top is plastic, and you don't want the bottom surface anywhere near plastic. My placement of the previous DVDP there was crap/stupid anyway, so now I'm spurred to find a better way...
In case people lost track of the reason this player is "interesting" throughout my verbosity, it is *only* because it can play all regions of DVD and BD (well, theoretically, I do not have discs from all regions). I am not at all suggesting it should be selected instead of one of the other name-brand BDPs in the $100-150 range, for the typical R1/A user. But if you want a BDP that steps outside of the fuzzy legal box, as stock, you pretty much need to go off-brand guts these days in North America.
Most people seem interested about the MKV/Divx capabilities, something I don't ever use and know nothing about...others say they are quite good if using standard/properly formatted files.
There is a USB port (rear only) and an Ethernet port. I didn't try either port yet, maybe tonight. The Ethernet port is ONLY for BD-Live and FW updates, not streaming. There is also S/PDIF digital audio output, both coaxial and optical...untested.
I should have mentioned I only tested 1080p HDMI video output for BD and DVD, I wanted to see the best it could do. The system the BDP will often be used in is CRT-based and will use 1080i via component, so that is my next test. But another forum member may be taking that TV soon, so it may be moot for me but it seems a lot of people do use 1080i with this player so worth me having a look anyways. Also, this Sony TV doesn't do PAL so I can check the PAL->NTSC conversion at 480p.
No S-video output, a common situation for BDPs. I actually would have used that for something if there was one LOL. There is a composite output though. Just mentioning, somebody may want one of these to sometimes use with an old cottage TV etc., cheap players often get used with older stuff. In that vein there are stereo (only) analog outputs.
I did test but forgot to mention that the HD audio formats could be converted to LPCM via HDMI if that's what you need. However, like the Oppo BDP-83 (and unlike the PS3), 6.1 formats are NOT converted properly (why I specifically tested them, d'oh), you lose the back channel in the conversion. The much more common 5.1 and (on BD) 7.1 are converted fine though. So in the first post I should have actually said it correctly HDMI bitstreams all forms of BD/DVD audio in their *native* format (which is all I normally use, but I understand LPCM is used by quite a few people).
I may have glossed over the player's "hot uneven bottom" aspect, but that is actually a problem for me with that 1080i TV and how/where I was going to place the BDP...the TV's top is plastic, and you don't want the bottom surface anywhere near plastic. My placement of the previous DVDP there was crap/stupid anyway, so now I'm spurred to find a better way...
In case people lost track of the reason this player is "interesting" throughout my verbosity, it is *only* because it can play all regions of DVD and BD (well, theoretically, I do not have discs from all regions). I am not at all suggesting it should be selected instead of one of the other name-brand BDPs in the $100-150 range, for the typical R1/A user. But if you want a BDP that steps outside of the fuzzy legal box, as stock, you pretty much need to go off-brand guts these days in North America.