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Rating: 
Summary: Not a good buy
Review: I purchased this DVD/VCR combo and for a few months it worked fine. After this it became a nightmare, first the picture would break up, then it would just stop working and turn itself off. After a couple of days of this, I called for service to Sony. Getting it serviced under warranty was even worse. This is why if you want to buy a DVD/VCR combo I suggest you find another brand that will make itself responsible for it's product.
Good Luck
Rating: 
Summary: Why a DVD/VCR Combo?
Review: In years to come, we will look back at VHS tapes much as we do 8 tracks today. Big, clumsy and slow by today's standards, in twenty years we have gone from seeing them as miracles to third rate technologies.But here is the problem. We have lots and lots of those third rate technologies in our houses with everything from the kid's first birthday party to that Alaska trip for which you even haven't finished paying. And there is still no easy, cheap transfer medium. So that means the old VCR needs to be around, but the stack of TiVOs, Satellite receivers, digital cable boxes, and DVD players fill up the space under the TV with bulk and wires. A combination makes perfect sense. And if you get one, get a good one, because the reality is the good ones don't cost that much more than the cheap ones. Progressive scan is a must, and so is 5.1 Dolby. Remember that the main thing you will watch on this is DVDs. As to the VCR side, you may want VCR+ which this model has, but who do you know that actually uses it? If the problem is that VCRs are too hard to program, how does a feature that takes half a day to program for the technically savvy help the VCR illiterate?
Rating:
Summary: Why a DVD/VCR Combo?
Review: In years to come, we will look back at VHS tapes much as we do 8 tracks today. Big, clumsy and slow by today's standards, in twenty years we have gone from seeing them as miracles to third rate technologies. But here is the problem. We have lots and lots of those third rate technologies in our houses with everything from the kid's first birthday party to that Alaska trip for which you even haven't finished paying. And there is still no easy, cheap transfer medium. So that means the old VCR needs to be around, but the stack of TiVOs, Satellite receivers, digital cable boxes, and DVD players fill up the space under the TV with bulk and wires. A combination makes perfect sense. And if you get one, get a good one, because the reality is the good ones don't cost that much more than the cheap ones. Progressive scan is a must, and so is 5.1 Dolby. Remember that the main thing you will watch on this is DVDs. As to the VCR side, you may want VCR+ which this model has, but who do you know that actually uses it? If the problem is that VCRs are too hard to program, how does a feature that takes half a day to program for the technically savvy help the VCR illiterate?
Rating:
Summary: NICE UNIT
Review: These combo units are nice. Save space and wires and still meet your needs. Ive had the 550 now for two months. It comes with a standard "F" connector cable and and RCA cable for composite outputs. The back of the unit has componet,composite and "S" video outputs for tv hook-up. Also ther are 2 seta of audio outputs (RCA type). The VCR side was a pleasent surprize to me. I tape stuff in "EP" mode and the picture was pretty good. It rewinds at a lightning speed and plays rentals fine too. The DVD part is what we will use the most though. It has a zoom feature that I like alot. When a movie has black bars I zoom into the center to get rid of them. You lose the sides of the picture a little bit though. Its a progressive scan dvd player so if or when you get a hi-def t.v. you will get a great picture. I use the interlaced mode and It is very good on my 32" t.v. Layer changes lag a little as do switches between menus on the disc. It is almost silent when running. My only gripe so far is with the remote. I have to be careful to aim it directly at the combo or no command will register. This is getting to be a hassel when I jump arond on a disc. CD's sound very good through my stereo, much better than my regular DVD player. The menus for setting up the player are kinda bare. Initial set-up was as basic as Ive ever seen. There is a sub-menu on the DVD side that gives you more options for picture modes and black levels. Good video cables help the picture also. For some reason they did not include internal DVD to VHS dubbing. Why I dont know, you cant copy new discs anyway so why leave this out?? Overall though it was the best of the combos I looked at. It also has digital coax and optical audio outputs.
Rating:
Summary: not bad
Review: This piece is working fine. But it does not have much features particularly PICTURE MODES.
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