Price Paid:  $200.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
I bought this DVD/CD player to replace the Sony DAV-C900 Dream System DVD player. I'm amazed at how great this thing is. I thought the dream systems were supposed to be top of the line, but this DVD player is spoiling me. It has so many options. Standard Dolby Digital and DTS of course. BNR (Block Noise Reduction) to make the picture clearer, custom picture mode lets you tweak the picture more, and digital video enhancer also gives you a better picture! The end result is picture and sound quality that is noticeably better than my old dream system DVD player. Supposedly plays mp3's but I haven't given it a try yet. I've read in other reviews of DVD/CD players that play mp3, and they usually get errors or don't play at all. It has something called TVS which lets you customize the sound. Obsolete if you have a reciever, though. It has 2 video outs, and fiber optic and coax cable outs for the DVD. 2 S-video outs. The manual is pretty thick, but it is easy to read and has many diagrams. The setup menu has so many options, you can customize it to any TV or listening or viewing style you might have. One draw back to all the options, though, is that if you don't set the right setting, you'll never get sound or picture, so make sure you go through all those carefully (I didn't get sound once because I didn't set the amplifier setting to "digital output"). It is a progressive scan DVD so if you have a digital TV the image is better. For $200 this DVD isn't bad at all. It beats the heck out of the old dream system DVD/reciever that's for sure. You might even be able to find it cheaper online.

Strengths:
It looks awesome, nice silver and slim! A lot of image and sound customizing options. Progressive scan. GREAT picture. More options in the display menu than you can shake a stick at.

Weaknesses:
Takes a while to set up at first. Remote control only learned to turn on my TV (Mitsubishi).

Similar Products Used:
Sony DAV-C900 DVD player/reciever.