Here is the low down from SONY on the the bad batch of S530Ds. The following serial numbers should be avoided. The serial number IS located on the back of the unit. I am not sure if it will be on the outside box itself. I went to CicuitCity and Sears and they both helped me check units for the bad numbers. HERE ARE THE SN:

10001 thru 119840
80001 thru 953000

Good Hunting!

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JVC 511BK

Picture, sound, remote

Lip sync

I bought an open box from Sears for $282. I have experenced the lip sync problem twice while watching True Lies. I stopped and started again and it cleared up the problem. I bought it full knowing of this problem, but I wanted a great picture while watching movies in widescreen. Also I think the remote is great. I would not have paid $400 for it but at $282 it's a great first DVD.

Sound, Picture, Remote, AC-3 Decoder built in.

So far none. Just hoping Lip Sync problem does not occur.

So far I could not ask for a better unit. The sound is Great and the picture is razor sharp. I have heard about a Lip Sync problem and I am going to keep my fingures crossed that it does not happen to me. So far I have watched The Matrix, The Mummy and Jumanji (don't remember how to spell it). These are all excellent movies and I did not notice any problems. Over all I have to say so far this is a great unit.

I would give it 5 stars but with all the lip sync problems reported this unit is not perfect so 4 stars and if you get a unit that never gives you the lip sync problem 5 stars.

AC-3 decoder. Solid build. Friendly remote.

Inconvenient on-screen menu. VSS not boosted.

I paid 399 for it (excluding audio cables) and tried with this system:
- Panasonic 32' Stereo TV
- Aiwa Dolby Prologic DD-Ready Mini Theater System
- DVD's Life is beautiful, Saving Private Ryan

The dolby digital sound is super. However, the Virtual surround sound is not as good as advertised.

The picture with S-video is very sharp, though I found it a little bit yellowish compared to A120.

Great remote. Easy to use. The commonly used buttons have different sizes that help me to locate without looking at it. The on-screen menu is somewhat inconvenient. Since it covers all the screen, I have to pause the movie to use the menu so that I would not miss the scenes. The menu does not show all the current setup at the first glance; I need to step to one item at a time.

My player is made in Japan and looks solid and handsome. When all audio turned off, I can hear the spinning noise especially when skipping from chapters to chapters, but this noise is not noticeable if the volume is at the normal level.

I have to admit that this player has more features than I can think of. It can turn off the LCD display. Headphone output, CD-text, screen saver, and the remote can be used with Sony TV, to name a few.

If you have a DD-Ready surround system, want to enjoy the Dolby Digital sound, and could get it lower than $350, this will be a perfect buy. If you already get an AC-3 decoder or no surround systems at all, this could be a waste.

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Panasonic DVD-A120

DTS, excellent price for features, quiet

no jog shuttle on remote

Fortunately my firmware revision was the latest so I
haven't encountered any problems so far.

Watched over 40 movies and no problems yet. Great sound and video. Excellent match w/ Sony XBR 36" Wega Trinitron TV.

DTS movies come to life w/ this player.

You HAVE to see these DVDs w/ this player:
FACE/OFF, BLADE, MATRIX, HEAT (gun showdown after bank robbery scene), WALKING WITH DINOSAURS

VALUE BUY ALERT!
Excellent DVD player, highly recommended!

digital outs, remote

on-screen programing, audio

I've had this DVD for a while now and no problems with anything. Great picture, All the outputs you would want, fast 2nd side "flip" time. The remote is EASY to use even in dark while watching movies. I use this DVD for Movies only(I have a dedicated CD) and find it works great with HT.Nut the on-screen program leaves something to be desired. Also I have tried it with audio and well, If your buying it for DVD only it works great. If your buying it as a CD also...you decide.


I'm rating this product a 4. I don't think it is perfect but it does work perfect for my use,HT

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fill in the blank

Price, DTS

DTS Hookup?, Lip Sync Problem (firmware fixed by Sony), C-13 lock-ups (solved by clening disks)

Thanks for the reviews. Y'all definitely helped me with my purchase decision. I'm having a problem getting it to work in DTS mode. I have a Yamaha HTR-5250 receiver that also has a DTS decoder. When I choose to play a disk in DTS audio mode, I get no sound. I connected the dvd 5.1 outputs to the receiver's ext. decoder inputs and set the dvd DTS setting to ON. All dvd speaker settings are on. What am I doing wrong? Overall review will be 4 stars, if this problem can be resolved. Thanks.

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My First Player

Muy simple de usar. La calidad es excelente. La salida óptica provee un audio de muy buena calidad. Y combinado con la salida S-Video, se obtiene un resultado estupendo. Lo recomiendo a todos.

No ofrece ciertas funciones que otros DVD tienen, pero la verdad es que no me interesan mucho. No es multizona, pero por US$180 se puede convertir en multizona.

Excelente combinación entre precio y calidad. Es un muy buen equipo. Se los recomiendo a todos.

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Pionner 535.

Excellent picture and sound

random skipping

I bought the 530D 12/16 and I am very impressed with overall performance. But I've had two discs freeze and then restart on an earlier chapter; both discs were new and not scratched. No lip synching after viewing 20-30 discs, but the random skipping has me a little concerned (ver 2.21, serial #135xxx). Great deck and I would recommend it as a entry level deck to anyone.

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PC-DVD

Great Picture and Sound

DOESNT PLAY CD-R!!!

This is a pretty good DVD player. I havent had any lip-sync problems with it yet. It sucks bad that it doesnt play cd-r though.

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Pioneer 525