Sony ES BDP-S2000ES 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player

If you want the top on the line blu-ray player the Sony S2000ES is the one to get. Extremely well made…there is a reason why the ES line has a 5 year parts and labor warranty and others are just 1 year. Having owned other Sony ES line players I have always been impressed with the picture and build quality. I have always found the ES line worth paying more for and this player is no exception.

I have a high end HDtv and Standard Definition (upconverting using HDMI) of the Sony ES2000 is beautiful….I have played some SD DVDs that look better than some HD blu-rays I have seen. And remember SD DVDs will be around for a long time and that is most of what you will be viewing until more and more titles come out in HD.
Do not buy if you do not have an HDMI input in your TV.
It would be like buying a Ferrari and just driving it to the Super Market.

The picture quality of this player is outstanding. However, on first purchase it had some distortion in the sound of one channel, wouldn’t load discs on occasion, and very slow. We sent it back, got it serviced.

We got the machine back and a couple months later it completely quit working. We returned it again and Sony sent us a refurbished unit. This one is starting to skip now when playing CDs.

Oh Well, Guess we’ll try again. It’s only a $1300 machine.

I had no idea what “perfection” of “perfect” would be, but after years of using blu-ray on sub-par players like the Samsung and the Playstation 3 (not a bad player, and it doubles as a great game system, to boot!), I was looking for a player that was faster, cooler, and did not use Bluetooth as a remote (like the PS3…nice in some situations, not nice for integrating into a home theater system), I found a great deal on this player, and I have been blown away by both its’ build quality and its’ picture. It IS markedly more accurate and “lifelike” than the PS3, and is on a completely new level from any of the other players I have tried, even though most of them “get the job done”. The player is a simple joy to use, although I’m concerned about the lack of an Ethernet connection on the back for easy updating…here’s hoping sony will release updates as downloadable disc images WITHOUT CHARGE. The PS3 was so easy to update when connected to a network on the internet. So far it hasn’t been needed, but we all know how these things turn out. Also, the remote is not backlit, which isn’t a big deal for me given that it’ll be integrated into my Universal remote system, BUT, c’mon now, this is a $1000 plus player!

Those few gripes notwithstanding, this player is truly the best Blu-Ray out there. I have a huge Blu-Ray library, and it plays them all with ease, booting them very quickly and is very responsive to remote commands. The HDMI setup is quite simple, and I’m blown away by the sound and picture, even when compared to other Blu-Ray players. If you’re looking for the best, then this is it. If you want a very very good player and wouldn’t mind having some “game”, then the PS3 is a very close second. Just be sure to mount the PS3 in the open air…it gets MUCH MUCH hotter than any player I’ve ever used, and doesn’t work well in a rack system. I’ve had no trouble to date with heat and this machine, however.

Sony, being the creator of the Blu-Ray format and all, knows what they’re doing, and this player is certainly the pinnacle of their Blu-Ray successes. The format beats out HD in almost all cases with everything else being equal, and this player really takes advantage of the wonder that is TRUE high definition. This player doesn’t get in the way of the film’s experience, and that’s the true measure of a great, not just good, piece of home theater equipment.

One caveat that probably need not be mentioned: this player really shines at its’ best on a top-notch video system, but still because of its’ high build quality and fast response, I’d recommend it for any system. Just compare it to other players and you’ll see what I mean.