When it comes to solid yet stylish technology Sony are a brand that delivers but they are rarely associated with an entry level product such as the DVP NS330, this is a DVD player squarely pitched at the new DVD convert, sure you can buy a DVD player in Tesco's for £30 but is that a sound investment?

The Sony DVP NS330 offers a raft of features to enhance your DVD viewing and we'll get onto those but first we need to check it does what it says on the tin, the precision 2 driver mechanism offers an accurate and stable image which when coupled with a good screen provides first class picture quality free from some of the poor decode artefacts from some of the bargain basement DVD players.

The DVP NS330 is capable of replaying multi regions DVD's so you can use those nice cheap US imports without issue plus the Sony can also cope with CD-R / RW / Data CD with MP3's and SVCD, in terms of DVD compatibility it can also read DVD-R/RW and +R/+RW so your should be able to watch DVD's made on your PC. Control of the Sony DVP NS330 is very much in the Sony style with an intuitive user interface including a playback dial that allows easy skipping through tracks or even frame by frame searching, the on screen displays lead you through each feature with consummate ease even enabling the browsing of MP3 discs.

Compared to our old Yamaha DVD player the Sony DCP NS330 is simply streets ahead, image quality and audio reproduction on our favourite discs was excellent given the relative low cost of this machine, we did find some artefacts on the darker scenes but nothing that really detracts from the overall viewing experience and nothing that we couldn't forgive an entry level machine. The unit itself is well built and surprisingly light to handle, controls on the front panel operate well enough but then they are really used by most DVD viewers its the all important remote that matters and here Sony have done an OK job some of the buttons are a bit close together and this is the area that Sony show that this is the budget model.

Audio reproduction was a strong point for the budget Sony the sonic performance was above its price level, with a detailed midrange sound with an acceptable bass reproduction if not a little woolly, it copes well with most genre of DVD but you may be a little disappointed if this was to be your main CD player as well, MP3 replay is good but then the compressed music format doesn't exactly stress many players.

Overall the Sony DVP NS330 is a competent performer, sure it has some flaws but at £80 this entry level machine from Sony can be forgiven some rough edges yes you can get cheaper but it doesn't come with that Sony style and great UI, we were impressed with a good all round performance and a smattering of useful extra features this is certainly one to consider for your first DVD player or a cheap 2nd or 3rd!

Buy it Now - Sony DVP-NS330 Multi-region DVD Player