fchek

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $399.00 from BestBuy, Detroit, MI

Summary:
I am quite satisfied with the DVD part of this product. i have read some of the other reviews and I have not experienced the lip sync thing. the only thing I am not very happy with is the inability to read CD-R's and MP3 contents. other than that, I find this product superior in quality.

Strengths:
user friendly. good picture and sound qualities. DTS, Digital...etc

Weaknesses:
CD-R incompatible.

Price Paid:  $500.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
The Sony is definitely impressive but it does have flaws. This was my first DVD player and I fell in love with DVD movies right away. Within my first month of owning it I started to notice the now infamous lip sync problem. Honestly I just found this site and these reviews and until now I thought the Audio problems were my fault and had even gone as far as to buy a new receiver. The lip sync problem comes and goes but is very annoying. I have also noticed that the dialogue in movies is always very low compared to the other sound which makes me turn the sound way up and I get blown away when the soundtrack kicks in. I have tried everything to fix this and now I would like to know if this is the DVD player's fault. I spent a lot of money on this because I bought it when it first came out and would hate to buy another now. Overall it has good video but the audio really seems to leave something to be desired.

Strengths:
Good remote, decent picture

Weaknesses:
Damn lip sync problem

Similar Products Used:
This was my first DVD player

Price Paid:  $550.00 from C IRCIT CITY

Summary:
The only problem with this player is the lip sync. but all I do is stop the movie, then start it up again and it goes away. other than that I like the player.

Strengths:
GREAT PICTURE WELL BUIT UNIT

Weaknesses:
Lip Sync problem

Similar Products Used:
none

Price Paid:  $450.00 from Berclair Television - Memphis

Summary:
I have the Sony DVP-S550D. I loved the picture and audio quality (digital optical audio, component video out).

I had used this unit for 11 months without any problem, then I began having the lip-sync problem. I contacted Sony and arranged to have the firmware upgraded which was done at no charge.

When I got the unit back (three weeks in the shop)it just shut itself off in the middle of a movie and would not come back on. I took it to the shop and they said (after 2 weeks of having the unit)they could not reproduce the problem. They said that they cleaned the laser and charged me $27.00 (It was now out of warranty).

I got it home and it did come on, but now it takes some time for it to load a disk when you put one into the unit. It also skips sections of the movie or freezes at times. It also drops-out the audio at times (this all happens on DVDs which I have watched in the past with no problem).

If not for the 11 months of trouble free use I would have rated this as low as possible, but because it did work fine, at first, I am giving it 2 stars.

Strengths:
DTS, Component Video, Optical Audio Output

Weaknesses:
Sony. Sony. Sony. Lip Sync problem. Slow to recognize disk. Audio Drop-Outs. Video Freeze, Skip.

Similar Products Used:
Toshiba 3109, Sony DVP-S530, Sony DVP-S7000

Summary:
As my first DVD player I can say that this is a very well made DVD player. I bought this one to connect to my Dolby Digital Ready Sony Mini Hi-Fi Component System receiver. At first I had a small problem with adjustments, the sound seemed to low and weak. I thought it was the 5.1 input connexions, but actually if you want clearer more louder sound out off your dolby digital ready receiver instead of choosing "standard" under the set up mode choose the "TV mode" and I guarantee you'll get better sound out of your players inputs. You'll also get more defined sound out of your headphones in this mode as well. That is the only set- back that bothered me the most and I wish that the costumer serice centre would of helped me more on this one. The picture is extremely clear and the Noise Reduction is good. A good buy (especially since I bought a cheaper model and got this one).

Strengths:
Very clear picture and sound quality, Nice design, extremely nice remote commander remote control.

Weaknesses:
Lip sync off a little at sometimes (rarely occurs)

Similar Products Used:
sony dvp-s530, sony dvp-s560, sony dvp-s570