Rating: Summary: Great machine! Review: This Sony is a winner! Here's the story. Started out replacing an old JVC VCR with Samsung V3500 combo ($100 on sale at Best Buy). This Samsung was a piece of junk out of the box because the VCR eject button would not work and neither did the rewind button in VCR mode. Took it back and got a Philips 750VR combo($130 at Best Buy). Mechanically a good machine but there was no thought put into this machine in terms of ergonomic design. The display on the machine itself was lilliputian in size and the remote control was a joke. No way anyone could know what button they were pressing without looking at the remote. Also, the remote was not universal and it did not play all DVD formats only +R/RW. No rew/fast forward/pause buttons on machine itself either. Bottom line on this machine is that it is user unfriendly. Took that back and bought this Sony ($180 at Best Buy). Have had it for a few weeks now. Mechanically excellent. Plays all DVD formats, good ergonomic universal remote and the machine itself has all the bells and whistles and buttons to be able to run a home theater setup, play Picture CD's, etc. Two words of advice about the Samsung and Philips machines - caveat emptor. As for this Sony - It's a Winner!
Rating: Summary: Nice Spacesaver does it all (well) at a reasonable price,, Review: I bought this combo unit to replace my recent new purchase of a similar Panasonic unit which had "seemingly poor" reviews such as this Sony unit has had here. (clumsy, unintuitive remote and user manual made the unit difficult to use as well) I like Sony products and have preferred them for many years and am one who returns products if they don't live up to my slightest expectations. I bought this unit 2 weeks ago and THEN read the few reviews here about DVDs pausing midplay and was concerned. The VCR portion seems acceptable (Timer TV recordings aren't as HQ as I would wish though) and the DVD player has worked flawlessly with burned CD's as well as movies from Blockbuster. It even does a nice job with the JPG images burned on a cd (which is a nice way to show your photos to a group) which the Panasonic choked on in random fashion. I'm wondering whether the few units which had the same DVD play problems was a MFG batch problem which has been taken care. (sounded like a firmware glitch) I like this unit! It has a nice remote which WILL also operate your TV (unlike the Panasonic) so one remote handles 3 of my ever expanding devices hooked up to the TV and Stereo. It has features such as up to 128 x fast forward on the DVD, as well as "zoom" to get a closer look at images from your digital camera or DVD movies. When you first plug it in, it automatically sets the clock AND Channels for you and retains this for 24 hours if the power goes out. The easy to read manual allows you to use the many extra features this unit comes with and the unit has done so for me without a hitch!
Rating: Summary: I can't believe I was so stupid. Review: We thought about buying the cheapest and we said no -- let's get a Sony so we don't have to worry about it. WRONG! DO NOT BUY THIS UNIT. Everything that everyone else says is true, plus now my DVD screen is divided in half with a line, mirror images on both sides, only plays black and white and there's no sound. (It's three months old.) I have to dig out the paperwork, but from what I'm reading I'm afraid there's no hope of a warrantee left.
Rating: Summary: Not usual Sony quality Review: I brought one of these in August 03. It is really picky about playing DVDs. Frequently will not play ones that look perfect to me. Now the remote control has stopped working and Sony want $55 +tax and shipping for a new one. I am very dissapointed with it. PS If your remote goes out, don't buy a Sony Universal remote, they don't control this combo unit.
Rating: Summary: Won't play CD-R copies of my CDs, and hangs on every DVD. Review: Since 80% of the other reviewers have noted the hangs when playing DVDs, I won't add much except to say that it DOES happen with brand new pristine DVDs. Almost every time.My biggest complaint is with this unit's inability to play CD-R copies of my music collection. Now that I finally have a home theater system, I want to take advantage of it, so I'm keeping some CDs next to the DVD player. Unfortunately, my kids think it's cool to pick up my CDs. To preserve my investment, I've started making copies of my CDs to play in the family room. This unit won't play them. I get an "Error" on the screen after about 30 seconds - 1 minute of action. I've tried multiple brands of CD-R, I've tried other options for recording, and as the manual says, I've made sure the CDs are "finalized". It's interesting that these CDs play EVERYWHERE else. Both auto CD players, my boom box, every computer around, my old Toshiba DVD player, and my really old Sony CD player (about 1989!). Bottom line - either this is some funky copy protection, or the unit is a piece of CRAP! Either way, I'm never buying another Sony product again. I' always loved them, but between this player and my Trinitron TV that died after 8 years, I'm done!
Rating: Summary: Avoid this unit Review: I'm forced to give this unit at least 1 star--it deserves none. I should have listened to the reviewers who posted the problems they've had with their units, but I thought, "No, way--it's a Sony." But the bad reviews are well deserved for this piece of junk. I'm very disappointed with Sony and this player. Played great for about the first two months, then little things began to happen that I thought was my fault: the DVD's would stop playing without warning; the progressive scan never worked--I kept getting a split, black and white screen whenever I tried using it and then it wouldn't turn off right away; the DVD eject wouldn't work; the opening menu wouldn't appear even though I'd hear the movie's intro playing, and the list of quirks goes on. Of course, the unit totally gives up the ghost right after the warranty expires. My advice - don't waste your time and money on this player.
Rating: Summary: Crapped out too soon Review: VCR part stopped working after 2 months. Call to Sony's 800 number got a snotty arogant droid that refused to help.
Rating: Summary: Sony Disappointment Review: Sony is a name that I always thought I could count on, but this DVD/VHS combo has me afraid to buy another Sony product. It stops on every DVD it plays - brand new, used, slightly scratched, totally unscratched, whatever. It happens sometimes early on in the movie, more often an hour into it. When the player was still under warranty, I took it in to get fixed. I should have known it was not a good sign when I explained the problem and the guy said "yeah, it happens all the time." I waited a week; they said they replaced the "DVD assembly". Well it worked for about a month and then the same problem started again. The picture freezes for 20-30 seconds on every DVD. Too bad for Sony. The good reputation it built up has now been destroyed with one bad machine.
Rating: Summary: Solid performer, mostly - but won't transfer Review: Solid picture & audio quality from both DVD and VHS side - but if you're looking to make a DVD from your videotape, this won't do it for you. You can make your wedding videotape into an IWeD at anchordigital.com - they do elegant wedding DVDs. Once you get your IWeD, the Sony SLV-D300P will play it beautifully - you can even compare with your original videotape in the same unit to see the difference!
Rating: Summary: my review Review: i think this is the best combo iv'e had yet!!who thinks it is 1 star?BIG SONY FAN!!
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