value

noisy

great value, much better than apex, although cannot read as many formats (only cd, vcd, and dvd). the picture is great and the sound is fantastic, the only minor problem (very, very minor) is that it can get noisy when playing, but just close the glass doors and problem solved.

Similar Products Used:

apex

Slim, every kind of audio video hook up you can think of. Menu controls on front of player better than the SONY 330 model.

Except for problems playing two out of 100 of my dvds, and no CDR/CDRW/MP3 playback, none.

I bought this player as an open box display model at circuit city back in October. I already had a 330 model that worked flawlessly for over 2 years. The only reason i bought the 360 was for the price, and the fact that it had the Red Green Blue Video jacks on the back:). It stuttered and froze and skipped ahead a couple of chapters on my South Park movie and ABYSS DVD(in longer director cut mode only). I only got the C13:00 message when accessing a trailer for the Fly/FlyII DVD that i rented. So far its been a bulletproof player. My only real gripe is that it does not play CDR or CDRW or MP3 discs, other than that its a great player.

Similar Products Used:

Sony DVP S330

Easy of use (DVD and remote)
Reasonably fast layer changes
Slim case

Poor CD audio quality
No 96Khz digital out
No Zoom
S-video Picture Quality ?

Picked up the 360 as a customer return at Sears. Saved $70 and got the player for $180. It worked out of the box with no problems at all. I tried the more "difficult" DVDs , The Matrix and MI-2 and ran without any problems. I didn't even notice the layer changes until I went back to look for them.

I have noticed that I do not see any difference between the video and the S-video outputs. A friend of mine said the same thing with his Sony 530, however we both have Sony TV's so I'm not sure where the problem would be. The picture is still good, I just can't see any noticeable difference.

As noted in other reviews the CD audio is "harsh". This is true for both the digital and analog outputs. The high frequencies are too "bright" and tend to drown out the rest of the music. It does not sound good at all, I would NOT use this player for music. I put my 15 year old Magnavox CD player back in my system for CD's and it sounds MUCH better. In retrospect, having no 96Khz digital out is not that critical.
NOTE: The previous Sony DVD players (330,530) had dual lasers, one for DVD's and one for CD's. In this series of players (360,560), Sony went to a single laser which is why they have troubles reading CD-R's and perhaps why the CD audio quality is lacking.

The audio on DVD's is good. The Matrix sounds excellent, so the player handles 5.1 without sounding "harsh". The player has some additional audio features (VES, DRC), but I don't use them since I have a DD/DTS receiver.

The remote is laid out well and the Bit Level display is pretty cool. Overall for under $200 it's a good deal for playing DVD's, just don't replace your CD player.


Receiver: Onkyo 575X
Speakers: Polk R40/R10/CS175/PS250
DVD Player: Sony DVP-360
CD Player: Magnavox CDP-520
TV: Sony 32S66

Similar Products Used:

None

Easy setup menu, sound.

Picture is soft, even blury. Setup menu not pretty.

I bought this unit after I returned the Hitachi 305U thinking "How can you go wrong with Sony?". Well you can. The Sony S306 is simply garbage. The picture is soft, even blury. As far as the noise from the machine, I couldn't hear it unless I stuck my head in my wall unit. Do not buy this player. It costs more than the Pioneer 333 and doesn't even compare.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer 333(The one I kept and love). Hitachi 305U (Returned it. Sucked completly).

Price, picture, picture, picture....

No zoom, minor detail..

I bought this DVD player after using this site as a measuring stick for a possible purchase. I was basically looking for the best DVD player for a price no more than what I paid for this ($250). I thought that Sony usually makes a decent product, even though I always say you pay an extra 20% for the Sony name. So far I have THOROUGHLY enjoyed my movie watching with this DVD player! The picture and sound produced is AMAZING! My friends come over and can't believe their eyes and ears. I haven't even tweaked the TV picture yet, as everyone says they need to do. But then again, this is my first experience with a DVD player. Overall you guys will not be disappointed if you decide to buy this DVD player. I have not noticed the noise in my player.

My system:

Panasonic 3yr old 27" TV
JBL mains (waiting for the money for Boston Acoustic VR950's)
BA VR910 center channel
BA PV600 subwoofer
BA In-wall 381 rears
Yamaha RXV995 Receiver

Similar Products Used:

None, first DVD.

longevity

I first bought this 4 months ago, and used it maybe 20 times. During a movie, it started to freeze up... i would have to pull the dvd out, re-insert it, then it would play for a while, and freeze again, after about the 4th time, it wouldn't even except the dvd anymore, i tried a few different ones, and it would just say, "NO DISC".
So, off to the repair shop it went... after 3 weeks of excuses that they were waiting for parts, i finally got fed up and called sony. They would'nt replace it!!! They said I had to wait for their so called "Repair service center" to fix it. So I called the place where I bought it from, along with a Wega TV previously, and told them I wanted another one... I think they valued my business, and gave me a new one.
I had talked with one of the manager's at Sony, and told him of my ordeal, and he didn't even want to help at all.
So, In the future, I'll never buy another sony dvd player.

I bought this unit today. Since I cannot fully evaluate this product yet, I am writing this as a "buyer beware" warning re: its warranty.

Several sites, including "Best Buy," "J&R" and this site's "Product Information" link, list the warranty of the S-360 as "1 year labor and parts." However, it is currently only under warranty for only "90 days labor and 1 year parts." I verified this with Sony Customer service.

I'm not sure if Sony changed the warranty on this recently. They claim they did not, that it was always "90 days labor and 1 year parts," but I find I find it curious that at least three websites list this as "1 year labor and 1 year parts."

If you are considering this unit and can afford something in the 500 series or higher, I would upgrade as the 500 series (and I assume up) carries the "1 year labor and 1 year parts."

All around Quality, Slim Sleek Design, All the outputs you could possibly need.

Remote not compaitable with my H/K AVR 65, No CD-R, MP3 (yea right like they would)

Much higher quality than the Apex in every aspect.
Apex 600a - $179.95
Sony dvp-s360 - $201 - $50 rebate = $151 !

I got Circuit City to do a price match with one I found off the net. However, the GM added the shipping cost onto it for a total of $201. (Prick) Some Sears Stores still do price matching. YOU NEED TO CALL FIRST. Mine did! But didn't have it in stock and I'm impatient. I could of had this unit for $138 after rebate.

I can't imagine getting a better DVD player for the $$$. If you can live with no Cd-r or mp3 support this unit is for you. If you must have these features I reccomend the Aiwa over Apex. I have no confidence in the life span of the Apex. It's just kinda cheap. Mine started making noises etc the longer I had it. UGH.

Progressive Scan would of been nice but not on a unit this inexpensive. I believe there is a Pioneer as low as $300! That would of been my only other real choice.

I would say, "I reccomend spending the extra $$$ on the Sony because of quality/durabilty over the competition in its class." But...with the rebate its the least expensive AND best in its class!!!

I Hope this helps any newbies that are looking to buy their first DVD unit.

Similar Products Used:

Apex 600a, and 660

Ease of use & setup, slim build, sound quality, picture, price.

Remote is OK but could be better.

I have to say that I am very happy with my purchase of this unit, especially when Sears matched my dot com price of $189. That's the only way to go! I cannot say that I have found any real weaknesses with this model as of yet. The first night I popped in Gladiator and the film played without a hitch. I could not hear the disc spinning like others had mentioned and the sound was awesome through the digital audio connection. The most popular complaint that I read regrading this player was the softness of the picture. I found the picture to be pretty crisp, maybe it is the component video hook ups.

Overall I would recommend this player, if your receiver had DTS decoding built in.

Similar Products Used:

First DVD player

Sound, Picture, Menus, Decent remote

A little slow loading...

I recently bought this player after my Pioneer started giving me problems and some additional research on my part revealed to me other people were experiencing similar reliability problems with the Pioneer. This player was very easy to set up, and when I had it ready to go I gave it a real test by playing the same MI-2 DVD that my Pioneer kept freezing up on half way through...the Sony made it through without a problem...

The picture and sound quality are quite good...I am using an optical cable to connect to my receiver and S-video connections in case any one is interested. I have played about 6 or 7 movies so far..not too many yet, but I haven't had any problems. It's true that it dosen't play CD-R's but that's not a major concern for me as I can just play them on my CD player, but some people claim it can play CD-R's so maybe I'll experiment some more. It does play VCD's just fine.

I bought this player at Sears after reading that they price match from another reviewer on this site. It turns out their price of $249.00 was the same as all the chain stores around here (6th Ave, The Wiz, etc) and Sears was the closest. When I bought it they evidently had an unadvertised special and I got it for $229.00. I hope the reliability will prove to be better than the Pioneer after some more use, but I'll have to wait and see, but overall given the better picture and sound quality, remote, and small footprint, I have to admit that I prefer this machine over the Pioneer, and I think the Pioneer will be listed on ebay when it finally returns from the land of warranty repair.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer DV-333