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: S-Video output *ONLY* for DVD!
Review: I had this device hooked up for 30 seconds and decided to return it because it lacks critical functionality essential for a multi-device: the S-Video output only works for the DVD video! WHY?????? The device must have been rushed to market because this is a major design flaw. The purpose main of a combo device is to treat the entire device as a single unit: one power source, one remote, and all the video inputs and outputs should handle all of the A/V that the device can handle. Without unified A/V output, the rest of my A/V equipment must continue treating DVD & VHS playback as seperate electronic devices! So then what's the advantage of a combo device over having the 2 as seperate components? Plus, the VCR which it was replacing had S-Video output so I'd be forced to trade down on my VHS quality. Ridiculous. Almost as ridiculous as the long delay in adding DVD-R/RW support to DVD players. The second design flaw is a situation they are responsible for creating: no MP3 playback from DVD-R/RW discs. I didn't test but the booklet said this was only possible from CD-R/RW which is basically what the rest of the electronics industry imposes. A few years back settop device makers decided to be nice and throw us users a bone by unexpectedly giving us MP3 support from CD-R/RW. Now that we're used to that, it's only natural to expect the ability from DVD-R/RW discs. So why do they continue to refuse adding this feature? While the missing S-Video output might seem trivial to some people, it is a major drawback for me and is the reason the device was returned. People shouldn't tolerate bad design like this and the only way companies will knock it off is if the public stops accepting it.
Rating:
Summary: Me too...
Review: The first unit I got would not play some DVDs and would freeze playing others. I replaced it and had the same ploblem. There is clearly a design flaw here.
Rating:
Summary: Sony is not what it used to be
Review: I had the same problem as everyone else.
About 40 minutes into playing a DVD (every DVD)- it would stop for about 20-30 seconds then continue.
From reading the reviews - looks like this is NOT a unique problem!
But when I called Sony about it - they said nothing about being familiar with this problem.
I had to return the unit.
The salesman told me that even though it is a Sony. It is made in Mexico with all the other DVD players...
So what's in a name - nothing probably...
Rating: 
Summary: VCR not adequate for watching pre-recorded TV programs
Review: Two features convinced me to buy this:
1. Easy setup for recording tv programs -- which I was very satisfied with.
2. Has commercial skip (which was described to me by the salesman that it would know, from the increased volume level of the commercials, to stop fast forwarding when the regular program started to playback.) However, it DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY. By hitting the SKIP button, the VCR skips the tape for 30 seconds on the counter each time button is pressed (up to 4 times). The problem is that the COMMERCIALS last WELL OVER 2 minutes.
In addition, the FAST FORWARD has ONLY ONE SPEED -- you can't "double click it go faster (like the other 4 VCR's I've had do.)
I even called Sony customer service department and verified that it does not have two speeds. In a nutshell, if you like to prerecord your favorite TV shows and be able to WATCH THEM LATER and FASTER, this machine IS NOT FOR YOU.
Rating:
Summary: Stay Away from this Unit!
Review: Just bought mine at Wal-Mart as part of Sony's pre-packaged home theater system. I should have checked the reviews here firat. I tried 3 different DVDs and it stumbles on all of them -- pauses and pixellation. Very disappointing. Everything goes back tomorrow!
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing unit
Review: As mentioned by other users, this unit experiences difficulty in playing DVDs. Not only does it pause on occasion, but the screen also gets pixelated in the process. Interestingly though, the unit does do a good job at playing back VCDs. The VCR unit also operates flawlessly.
Rating:
Summary: sad for a Sony product
Review: Same problems as everyone else, DVD stops playing even on a new DVD. Took it back and will buy a different brand.
Rating:
Summary: do NOT buy this one!
Review: I used be (and still am) a Sony fan, but this one disappoints me.
Like other reviewers already written, this player doesn't play DVD's properly. It pauses while playing DVD's, forcing me to push the stop and play buttons again. Note that this happens even with new DVD's.
I won't recommend this one to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Bad Buy
Review: I just returned my Sony unit also. After 4 days. Every DVD I played,new as well as used had the problem of pausing. At least once, usually twice during playback. I now have a Toshiba which is working great.
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