I was using it at my business (a screening room) and I would definitely
pop for an Oppo for this important use but it's annoying that Oppo will
not let one suppress on-screen nonsense. There's been much discussion
among technicians and several of us have even contacted them about
including this on a firmware update but they have told us all that they
will not. I don't want to spend that much on something that gives an
inferior presentation which it will if there is on-screen BS. They've
lost a number of sales over this issue.

I haven't decided if I should get a better model player (stopping short
of the Oppo as noted) for the business or just leave my other (lesser)
Sony there (along with a super cheapo "Digix" as backup) and get a low
end machine for home. I did in fact bring home the cheapest Sony from
Sam's Club (1100 or something like that) the other day but returned it as
the blacks were more milky gray.

If I do go the cheap home player route I will still want it to have an
audio out of some sort, not just via HDMI as I still want to be able to
use it at the business in an emergency and I've got no way to pick off
audio out of the HDMI which goes right into the the digital cinema
projector via an HDMI to DVI cable. I'm sure there's a pass-through box
that can do that but it's simpler just to get a better player with a coax
or optical out.

William Sommerwerck wrote:

"Steve Kraus" wrote in message
m...

I've owned the same player for more than five years and have had no
trouble. NO DISK suggests a weak laser. It's also possible you're
inserting the disks "crookedly" (though I doubt it). $110 is less than
a repair, but I leave it to others to decide whether the odds are in
your favor.

One of this player's strong points is that it outputs lossless Dolby
True HD and DTS Master Audio as analog. It was one of the last players
from any company to do this. Most later players depend on the system
controller to handle these formats via HDMI, eliminating one or two
expensive chips from the player. /This alone/ is justification for
fixing it -- unless you're about to buy an OPPO.

By the way... Be sure the External Memory stick supplied with the
player is installed. Some disks (such as "Starship Troopers" and
"LotR:Fellowship") won't play without it. And if you have a 6- or
7-channel setup, and don't hear the two extra channels, look at p49.
Change BD Audio Setting from Mix to Direct.