Sony DVP-FX970 DVD player

• Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 2 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars

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• 9 stars

  Even better than the FX 820, mostly.

  by 62mike on May 3, 2012

  Pros: (vs the FX820) 9 inch screen, improved contrast ratio and sound quality, less mechanical noise, input from flashdrive works reasonably well.

  Cons: Zoom function distorts picture, integral battery may be expensive to replace.

  Summary: the shortcomings of the mostly great fx-820 have been dealt with in fine style; contrast ratio, sound quality and mechanical noise - all noticeably improved. a possible problem is the ...

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  Summary: the shortcomings of the mostly great fx-820 have been dealt with in fine style; contrast ratio, sound quality and mechanical noise - all noticeably improved. a possible problem is the internal battery; not user replaceable, may cost nearly as much as a new player to have it replaced. the ability to play several movies (with no mechanical noise at all) from a 4G flash drive is nice, but there are a few glitches. the one disappointment: the "zoom " mode. not a true zoom; it distorts as well as expands the picture.
  
  first; the picture. playing the same dvd side by side with my 820, the 970 is the clear winner. the excellent color fidelity, balance of the 820 has been largely retained but with improved contrast ratio; the brightest and darkest parts of the picture appear more naturally lit with the 970. contrast ratio improvement also extends to detail; i notice things in the picture that weren't obvious with my 820. it's almost like having more pixels, somehow. the 970 has neutral sharpness; the 820's amped up sharpness may have been an attempt to compensate for detail lost to low contrast ratio. the picture quality alone makes the 970 a very good deal for this price.
  
  when i saw "zoom" in a menu, i rejoiced; i thought sony had listened to my, and doubtless other user's comments regarding the 820. alas...it's not a true zoom; the picture is expanded but distorted; the aspect ratio changes. i was hoping to be able to expand those older letterboxed "widescreen" dvd's to use the entire 16:9 screen for best resolution. in case i was doing something wrong, ( no special zoom instructions in the manual) i contacted sony, no help. apparently it's supposed to work this way; an amazing design screwup in a generally well thought out gadget.
  
  the audio bandwidth of the 970 has been extended downward ( vs. the 820 ) resulting in more natural sound for voices and some instruments. a useful feature is the "dialog" setting which improves intelligibility of voices tho it gives music a somewhat harsher quality. whether the improvement was electronic or acoustic - the 970 has a larger effective soundbox in it's screen section - the result is a more natural, easier on the ears sound. also, the vibration isolation possible with the deeper, integral battery lower section may have something to do with the quieter operation; the various whirring, grinding, twittering sounds from the drive are muted compared to the 820.
  
  the 970 battery holds it's charge in the off/standby mode much longer than the 820 which kept it's remote sensor active. the 970 consequently has no power on function on the remote, but you don't lose 1/3 charge every 10 days "off" as with the 820. the advertised 6 hours at min. backlight is probable accurate; i got nearly 5 hr. at 2 to 3 backlight after the first few "conditioning" charge cycles. i suppose when the battery dies , i'll use it as a tabletop, plug-in player, assuming it lasts that long; the servicenter replacement cost is probably outrageous.
  
  so far i've found one program - handbrake - which generates .MP4's that the 970 will play; others just produce data error or resolution not supported messages. (i use handbrake in the normal or classic modes, 2 pass variable bitrate. specifying average bitrate or file size both works well, a typical movie takes a GB or less, looks ok at that size. "constant quality" is constantly low, 2 pass looks much better. fast forward, fast reverse functions work, sort of, with .MP4's but at very different speeds than in dvd mode. occasionally the picture freezes while sound continues for 1 or 2 seconds; not sure why; doesn't happen at the same points in a movie, lowering bitrate as suggested in the manual doesn't help. won't play video in .AVI format from any program i've tried so far tho some users say it does. as expected battery life is noticeably longer when playing movies from a flashdrive. this capability seems to have been an afterthought; that part of the manual is mostly warnings about what won't work, even possible speaker damage (!) with some files. no problems with JPEG's.
  
  incidentals: the small 820 remote works on the 970 for all functions common to both players; the 970 remote uses 2 AA batteries and is therefore klunkier. despite the larger screen, the 970 is actually a bit lighter than the 820. the 970 uses an integral plug/ac adapter, thoughtfully turned sideways so it doesn't take up more than one outlet. the 820 used a small brick with a big, stiff cord. though the 970 adapter has a lower current rating than the 820 brick the voltage, connector are the same; i use it on the 820 when the battery is disconnected, no charging load. it doesn't get noticeably warmer, no problems so far.
  
  Updated on Sep 26, 2012

  full review for the newer fx-980 coming. in brief, too many corners were cut with this design. it's a step down from the 970 in picture quality (some very odd color effects), 4 vs 6 hour battery spec. and especially increased mechanical noise. i recommend a 970 if you can still find one at a reasonable price; for the 980 bring a familiar movie and try before you buy.

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• 8 stars

  Very nice portable for less than 150...

  by kailuaruggs on November 21, 2011

  Pros: LCD. Wide screen. 9" LCD Screen. Rotating screen. sd card capable.

  Cons: non as of yet.

  Summary: Bought this just for plane trips since I live in Hawaii and frequently make trips to the mainland this makes time fly, being able to watch movies. Great for long ...

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  Summary: Bought this just for plane trips since I live in Hawaii and frequently make trips to the mainland this makes time fly, being able to watch movies. Great for long layovers also. Wonderful picture, 9" lcd widescreen is very nice. Paid less than 150.00.

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