Sylvania NB500SL9 1080p Blu-Ray Player with HDMI Cable: Review and Manual

Just got a Sylvania NB500SL9 1080p Blu-Ray Player. It came with a high quality HDMI Cable, which is still not to be taken for granted. The price was right - $150 at Costco. At this point in time this is an excellent price and this purchase allowed me to cross over into the world of HD movies. Now I don't have to think twice about buying a movie. I just get the Blu-ray version!

Even on a 1080i Sharp SH12U the picture quality is truly impressive and better than I used to get from simple upconverting of regular DVDs. One particular feature I like a lot is noise reduction which can improve the quality of old grainy footage. But don't over do it! Shrek's skin can easily become smooth as a baby's bottom with very low level noise reduction.

It takes a little bit of time to load the BD videos. My guess is that this is caused by the heavy bandwidth requirements of Blu-ray DVDs and I expect that probably even better models have some issues in this area. I was able to connect the coaxial digital audio to my Philips HTS3544 home theater with great results.

One thing that this player was unable to do is play PAL DVDs (regardless of the zone). Not a very big problem for me, because I have other options and don't realy have a lot of PAL movies.

Sylvania NB500SL9 1080p Blu-Ray Player

A little Sharp SH12U tip

When I pop in a DVD I usually immediately have to look for the TV remote, so I can change the input to HDMI. Well, Sharp SH12U has buttons on the top right side (hidden by the front panel). The right most button is power, and the button next to it is INPUT. This button is round to the touch, so you can be easily assured that you are not pressing the POWER button. A little time saver, because the TV remote is not always where you think it should be...

You have to know your TV, people!

Sharp TV remote speed dial of sorts.

I discovered that when my TV is switched to input 4 (HDMI cable from the home theater) or, I am sure, any other input, in order to get back to the TV channels I only have to punch in the channel number or use one of the predefined colorful channel buttons (A,B,C,D). It remains to be checked if it is somehow possible to assign the HDMI input to one of those buttons.

Audio lag problems unnoticed before

Here is an odd thing. Ever since I have installed my Philips HTS3544 and discovered that the digital audio from TV broadcasts needs to be synced with the video I started to notice that the audio lag is present in many programs even when I simply view them on my Sharp SH12U. Even on the analog channels! There is a chance that somehow this is a problem with the television, but I don't think so. Apparently, home theaters really amplify, so to speak, the lagging by channeling the sound through surround speakers.

HDMI cable - cheap and dirty

My Sharp LCD does is only a 26 inch unit, so I do not really gain much in terms of quality because of using the upconversion feature in the home theater. However, it was nice to get rid of a bunch of wires!

It has been noted by many that retail stores are running a very successful scam, selling HDMI cables for no less that $30-$40. I got mine at Buy.com. It's a 6 inch Belkin cable, which means that I still managed to get a decent brand. It only cost me ten bucks. It works perfectly. I just cannot yet figure out why I don't have an easy way to disable the sound input from the home theater to the television. After all, the home theater is perfectly capable of rendering the sound using its own speakers!

Regardless, this is a total 'buyer beware'. Do not pay $50 or so for a cable that you can get for $10 or $20. It's just wrong!

Sony Bravia DAVHDZ235 home theater and Sharp SH12U

Here is one thing to consider when choosing the size of your new TV. A bigger TV, especially if we're talking smaller sets, will be very likely to have more connections. I learned this the hard way. My Sharp SH12U, even though the screen size is quite sufficient for me, does not have an analog audio out jack. It only has digital audio out with Dolby or PCM. Because digital channels that I get over QAM do not have a loud enough audio signal I started looking around for a way to boost the sound. If only I had analog audio out on the TV! Like a headphone jack or something... I would have gotten a Logitech X-530 or Logitech X-540. This last one even has a 'matrix' feature that creates surround sound when there is not 5.1 source. Unfortunately, I now have to look for a more expensive (which is fine) and space-consuming (not fine!) option. Costco has a Sony Bravia DAVHDZ235 home theater for $170, but it is obviously bigger than a Logitech speaker system. All the speaker components are significantly larger and then there is the set-top box. I understand that this give you more power, but I just don't need that much power! Frustrating.

Sharp SH12U

This is a 26-incher. They seem to be sold at Costco and similar places. When I compared it to a similar Westinghouse the difference in the quality was quite visible to me. I've read that Westinghouse keeps their prices low because the brand is now owned by an LCD manufacturer. Well, I did not like the quality of the LCD. At the store, while the demo HDTV signal was displayed I could see the difference in the areas that were supposed to be a certain pure color. Red, for instance. On the Westinghouse unit I could see some pixelation even when I was not standing close to the screen. I mean, it's ok. You can probably get used to it. But Sharp simply looked better. I have been reading some reviews later and it appears some of the Sharp's units are really among the best. Visually it is certainly true. I would say that there are only two nuisances about it. I don't think the speakers are loud enough. I very much dislike loud sounds, but I think that in the summer, when the air-conditioner is on, this TV will have to be set to the highest volume possible. So, it is a huge plus if you have some kind of separate sound system. Also, it takes a second or two to go from channel to channel. And it takes a few seconds to warm up when you turn on the TV. But if you are not a channel flipper you'll be just find. The good news is, however, that you can see both digital and analog channels on the same remote, so to speak. Ordinarily I would not think twice of it, but after having seen a Mintek LCD/DVD combo I appreciate this feature. On the Mintek you would have to switch constantly between digital and analog channels!

This LCD TV has a QAM, as well as a terrestrial HD tuner. This is nice, because if you have standard cable chances are that you can get all the free HDTV channels available off the air in your area.

• Screen Size: 26"
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9
• Resolution: 1366 x 768
• Contrast Ratio: 1200:1
• Brightness: 450 cd/m2
• Response Time: 6ms
• Lamp Life: 2 60,000 hrs.
• Viewing Angles: 176°H x 176°V
• Tuning: NTSC/ATSC/QAM
• Stand: included
• Limited Warranty: 1 year parts, 90 days labor
• Dimensions (w x h x d) (in inches): 26-5/16 x 17-3/4 x 4-9/16 (TV only) 26-5/16 x 19-11/16 x 9-9/16 (TV and Stand)
• Weight (lbs): 25.4 (TV only), 28.4 (TV and Stand)