Had my 530 for about a month now and watched about 15-20 DVDs, mostly from video rental shops. So far... no problems, everything works as advertized.
Local Sony dealer assures me he has had no other units returned with lip sync
problems. On a couple of disks, I have noticed very short period of audio drop out, but this has only happened once or twice and it may not be the player.
Overall, sound is incredible. I bought a couple of DTS disks and they are
truly spectacular. So far, I'm totally satisfied with my purchase.
Must give top rating of 5 stars.

Okay, I have tried a few different players within the last 90 days(pioneer525, jvc701, sony530, pana120). The verdict is, they all have some drawback.We, as consumers, are expected to pay good prices for 'not ready' equipment.
The same thing happens in the computer industry(OS, drivers, hardware flaws, etc.). Call me a "tire kicker", but I will not settle for any thing less than a what I pay for. As far as features are concerned, the 530 is better than most at the price range. However, I fell victim to the 'lip sync' problem and was not impressed with Sony's response. I returned the pioneer unit because it was defective out of the box, the retailer was out of stock and I did not get to try another unit. The jvc was a good unit with plenty of options. However, it was not worth the retail price I paid for it=$489. I am now 'auditioning' the pana120u. So far, it seems comparable in both sound and video performance. However, it has nowhere near the features of the Sony530. Were it not for the 'lipsync' problems with Sony models 330-550, they would easily be the best unit in the range. almost worth a 5* based on performance/features/value. However, with Sony's lack of promise on the sync problem being resolved, it earns only a 4*.
As for me, I will probably keep the pana120 as an entry level piece. considering I have a Sony ES reciever, digital dss, and cd player, I will hope to look for an afordable sony solution for DVD in the future. But with exception of their 7700, they have issues that need resolved.

I bought this product last Friday even though I had heard about "lip sync" problem. I had hoped Sony would have fixed the problem by now. I tried ~ 6-7 DVDs and encountered problems on 4 of them. Three of these DVDs have been tried by many reviewers on this site. Lip sync problem was most noticeable in "Lost In Space" after Robinson's had just fought off the "spiders" and were back in the ship. The problem off course goes away if the movie is stopped and re-started (pausing doesn't work).
I had contacted Sony and they know the problem and have a potential solution. However the tech. could not tell when did Sony fix this on their mfg. line and suggested I get my unit fixed at their service center. Since this is a brand new unit I am opting to return it. I am seriously looking at Toshiba 3109 or even Denons. I am losing faith in Sony's ability to provide a quality product. It is not that any customer have unrealistic expectations from this unit, but if it can't even play a movie properly, it is not a marketable product! Sony is doing their product testing using innocent customers and that is unacceptable.

Since the problem is very re-producible and Sony can't even tell me what batch does not have this problem, I am giving it VERY low marks. Just one speaker. Any reasonable product is expected to do what is advertised.

PS. This unit also downconverts 96KHz PCM digital audio stream to 48KHz output, per their spec.

Clariy, audio, color

none

I have had this DVD player for about two weeks now and have noticed no lip synching problem. Other than that, this unit is great.

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none

Features, audio/video outputs, looks

lip-synch problems

I bought this player on a Saturday and returned it the next Tuesday. I was very dissappointed to see lip-synch problems with this player. I expect so much more from Sony. Every component in my system is from Sony and it works beautifully. I watched Mercury Rising and noticed that the audio was slightly off from the video! I was in dis-belief. If it wasnt for that major problem, I think this would be a fine player. The build quality if far superior to any competitor and has plenty of features. I am now looking at the Toshiba 3109 or maybe i'll wait and buy an updated 530.

Features, Remote, Value

None other than it doesn't play CDR's

Picked this player up at Sears on sale about a week ago for $315. Great price for a damn good player. I think Sony got their act together on this one and finally got it right. I brought in the serial numbers posted below (by Jeff Crowder...Thanks!) and the salesperson at Sears found me a player well above the upper range. I think as long as you get a newly made player (post Sept 99) you shouldn't have any worries. I bought the Matrix and Saving Private Ryan and they are flawless. I also went to Blockbuster and rented a few discs that seem to have caused problems for some (ie. Ronin, Titanic, True Lies and a few others) and all ran without a hitch. I now feel very confident in recommending this player. 5 stars.

PS - I'd like to thank all those who came before me and ended up with "duds" and went through all the returning and dealing with Sony, etc. Its's thanks to you people that I have a properly working player.

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Great picture ....user friendly interface/remote

LIPSYNC HISTORY

I BOUGHT MY 530D ABOUT 1 WEEK AGO . AFTER PLAYING FLAWLESS AT FIRST,IT NOW HAS STARTED THIS LIP THING. RATS!!!! WHAT A PAIN IN THE REAR TO HAVE TO BOX IT UP....DO WITHOUT...AND WAIT FOR SONY REPAIR.THIS IS MY 1ST DVD PLAYER AND I WOULDN'T BUY FROM SONY AGAIN.

Excellent Audio & Video, Great Downconversion of WS movies

Lip sync (Repairable)

I bought my DVDS530D in July and I was very impressed from the start. DVD's that are "Enhanced for Widescreen" otherwise known as "Anamorphic" need to be "downconverted" to be played on a conventional TV and the Sony's do a great job of this. Far superior to the Toshiba in this respect.
Excellent Dolby Digital decoding as well. As DVD players are still quite new (3rd generation) they still have a lot of bugs and one of these is a problem known as "Lip Sync" where the Audio doesn't match the video perfectly. This problem afflicts many brands and models and early production runs of Sony 330, 530, and 550 models are among them. But the good news is that Sony is aware of the problem and they have a fix available. Amazingly given the complexity of DVD players manufacturers such as Sony, Panasonic and Toshiba only give their products a 90 day warranty for labor. I would therefore recommend you buy an extended warranty from a reputable company. I have only noticed this "lip sync" problem on one disc as I rarely watch a movie all the way through without pausing. That is all you have to do to make the machine "re-sync" itself. New machines do not have this problem so make sure the dealer sells a lot of DVD players or at least doesn't sell you one made before August 1999.
I would recommend it to anyone. Buy the 330 if you already have a Dolby Digital decoder in your surround sound receiver.

sound,picture,smooth scan and frame by frame back and forwards(YEAH!)

crappy looking menu and no zoom feature

I cant beleive this is seen as a "troubled" unit. I have had nothing but joy from this player. No lip-sync trouble; always played every disc I put in it-including the Matrix. If you can get this one for $125 grab it!

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great picture

none yet

well i got this one today this is my second sony dvd player.Checked the version got 2.201 hope this resolves the lip sync issue , i opted for this unit over the 550 one because i couldent find one in the good range of serial no.`s also i dont really use the sony remote and when i did have the shuttle ring on the remote i rarely used ,the glow in the dark keys are worthless,and i dont really need the video filters the 550 provide.this unit works every bit as good as my old 550 only no lip sync problems THANK YOU JEFF CROWDER . follow jeff`s instructions and you cant go wrong with any of the sony`s

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dvp550,