the sony S330 stinks. after playing certain dvds for after 30 minutes or so, the audio track starts to not sync with the video. Then to make matters worse, it will suddenly stop during a scene and start playing the beginning again. I too will never buy another Sony product again. They should have had a recall on this model.

Good picture quality when it works.

DOESN''T WORK

Just to echo "sony hacker" review - I''ve had my Sony 330 for over two years now and have had problems with it from day one -- "picture freezes up and then it jumps to the next chapter or it just dies). You then have to start playing the DVD again from the beginning, depending on your luck, you may be able to get pass the problems and finish up the movie. This problem has been getting worse and there is nothing I could do to fix the problem". Unfortunately I continued tolerating the problem - attributing to "rental DVD''s". Boy was I wrong - after reviewing this site and finally purchasing a NEW DVD, I now know it was the DVD Player all along. I called up Sony today to see what it would cost to fix the problem - Can you believe they quoted me $190 - For a couple more bucks I can buy a brand new DVD player. What nerve!!!! I knew Sony is a garbage product - but against my better judgement I bought it anyhow (good price at the time) NEVER AGAIN WILL I BUY A SONY PRODUCT!!!!

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My first DVD player - will look into Pioneer, Onkyo ect., anyone but Sony

Good picture quality when it works.

DOESN''T WORK

Just to echo "sony hacker" review - I''ve had my Sony 330 for over two years now and have had problems with it from day one -- "picture freezes up and then it jumps to the next chapter or it just dies). You then have to start playing the DVD again from the beginning, depending on your luck, you may be able to get pass the problems and finish up the movie. This problem has been getting worse and there is nothing I could do to fix the problem". Unfortunately I continued tolerating the problem - attributing to "rental DVD''s". Boy was I wrong - after reviewing this site and finally purchasing a NEW DVD, I now know it was the DVD Player all along. I called up Sony today to see what it would cost to fix the problem - Can you believe they quoted me $190 - For a couple more bucks I can buy a brand new DVD player. What nerve!!!! I knew Sony is a garbage product - but against my better judgement I bought it anyhow (good price at the time) NEVER AGAIN WILL I BUY A SONY PRODUCT!!!!

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My first DVD player - will look into Pioneer, Onkyo ect., anyone but Sony

Good basic model

no compnent (dont think they had component inputs back then...)

I have had this product for over two years now and it works just fine i watch prolly 2-3 DVD's a month and i have had no problems. the only reason i want to buy another player is because this unit is too old and doesnt have component inputs for my new toshiba flat screen...

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none first DVD player

see previous review, add to that great customer service :)

n/a

Lip synch update:

I returned my unit to the store, and barely a week later it was fixed with firmware 2.210. I haven't tried a full-length movie yet (just python episodes), but I assume all is well.

I would guess that if you get a player now it is unlikely to have the lip synch problem, and if it does Sony is _very_ good about fixing it (for free, of course).

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blah

nice remote, easy to use

quality control

I had some problems with the first unit (version 2.01) that I purchased in late December 1999. The power button controller (both remote and on the unit) was defective; the green light would turn on for about 5 seconds, and then it would change back to the red light without lighting the display panel. I also noticed some problems with selecting certain menu items, but when I turned the power off & on, the problem seemed to disappear.

The store where I bought this unit had just received a new shipment of the 330's and they were willing to exchange my player, but unfortunately they were also version 2.01.

I decided to try to find a player with a more recent firmware version. After a bit of searching, I found a store which was willing to open a box with the highest serial number, and it turned out to be version 2.03. I bought this one and returned the first one. No problems to report yet.

I recommend buying this unit at a store where you can check the version number before you buy. Mail order purchases may bring you grief. Good Luck.

I think the sound & picture quality is great. My system consists of Rotel electronics/Jamo Concert 8 speakers/M&K MX-70B Sub/MIT Term-2 cables and a small 20" Sony television with S-video input. I look forward to DVD-Audio.

Thank you to previous informative posts. Consumer Power!

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none

Astonding picture quality and sound

none

I purchased the 330 about 2 months ago to go along with the highly rated and well deserved Sony STR-DB930. The 930 was the result of this wonderful and informative site. I used the knowledge from this site to verify the version of my 330 and it was 2.21 - to this date I have viewed almost 30 DVD's and not one lip sync problem. This machine is a great basic player -and why would anybody need an additional DTS or Dolby Digital decoder? - If you already have 5.1 in a processor or reciever save your money and run - don't walk to the nearest audio/video store and buy this great unit. Currently the street retail price is $299 and I was lucky to find a mail order house in NYC to sell me one on 11/05/99 for the low price of $239 plus $15 shipping to California. I can afford to spend a lot more on a DVD player - but for my first one the 330 is great. When DVD Audio is accepted and more of these players become available maybe I'll upgrade and when I do the 330 will be transfered to my children's home theater system. I love this machine for its value and build quality.

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Matched with the incomparable STR-DB930
2 JBL ARC 8" Subs
5 2 way speakers built in walls and ceiling wired with Monster Cable
Pioneer Elite CLD-59 Laser
Sony 5 Disk CD
Monster HST 3500 Power and Line Conditioner

Separate and linked Stereo
Perreaux 350 watt x 2 Amp
Conrad Johnson PV5A Tube Pre Amp modified
Mirage M3SI Bipolar speakers
SOTA Turntable with MMT and Sumiko Blue Point Special
Kenwood Audio Purist Analog FM Tuner
Pioneer Elite PRD-99 CD recorder
Sony DAT Player and recorder
Sony Mini Disk player and recorder
Aragon D2A Convertor
Audio Alchemy DDE v1.1 and DTI with Power Station 2
Monster Cable 2.3 15' pair Bi- wire cable
Monster cable reference 1 interlink to Amp from Pre Amp
Monster cable Interlink 400 to Digital sources
Standesign 4 and 5 equipment racks
Target Amp stand
Isolation platter for CD and DAT Decks
Extra heavy duty power cords throughout

good remote

got one with lip sync.

got mine for christmas I watched five movies and the lip sync problem started,I thought for sure that the problem players would be uot of circulation by now but nope,called Sony asked if it was a player problem or software problem,they told me it was a player problem and picked it up the next day,just got it back after eight days,so far so good,I think Sony could have sent a free movie though since they scratch the back of my player up pretty good,so I'm dropping my rating down one star,otherwise its a good player.

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Remote operates other equipment

Would like to see a component video out. On-screen menus are not exactly intuitive.

I recently picked this unit up, based partly on the reviews on this site. Because of my limited (student) budget, I could only afford an entry-level player. For me, this came down to either the Toshiba SD-2109 or the Sony DVP-S330 Unfortunately, none of the TV's in our house have component video inputs, and we have no plans or money to replace them in the next several years, therefore, the component out on the Toshiba was not important to me. The reputation of the Toshiba player to have a noisy transport was a factor, since I have noticed a similar annoyance from my laserdisc player. With that in mind, I chose the Sony. I bought the player from a friend with whom I used to work at a local electronics dealer, and we checked the firmware before I took the piece home, happy to find that it was version 2.40.
I have tried a couple of discs, including Saving Pvt Ryan, and have not had any a/v synch problems. The picture quality is excellent, and has no visible video noise whatsoever, in contrast to the laserdiscs I have been accustomed to watching. Audio is very good, although I wish I had a Dolby Digital receiver, rather than my old pro-logic system. Overall, I believe this player is an excellent performer at its price point, and with the free DVD and rental offers, the value is exceptional. After having seen a few high-end players, I cannot give this player a full five stars on performance, but the bang for the buck is definitely there.
My system: Yamaha RX-V 1050 receiver
Klipsch KT-LCR fronts
Klipsch SS-1 Surrounds
Klipsch SW-15 Powered Sub
Toshiba TP48E50 RPTV
Pioneer laserdisc player
Monster Cable interconnects and speaker wire

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none

great price, has played everything I threw at it.

hard to find stereo setting but the manual says it auto-selects sound setting (I'm a bit skeptical).

I'm just running a stereo system with a small TV, so I have no need for surround anything (but maybe in the future).

Firmware 2.21 or 2.1 (don't remember and don't care to check now). Serial number is 0264xxx.

Matrix, Ronin, and all the James Bond box (the special edition releases) all work fine. Slight pause at layer change, but not a big deal because all players will do this. If the makers of the disc did a good job, the switch will be during a scene change (like Tomorrow Never Dies) and not in the middle of a scene (like the Negotiator) and you won't care because the screen is black anyway.
Another note about that: the display setting lets you watch when the layer changes, I think it's kind of interesting :)

After a dozen movies, the lip sync issue appeared during a rental Instinct, but stop-resume fixed it. I never saw it again after another dozen-plus movies.

I don't need to spend $500+ on audio/video components because I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Chances are that you don't and wouldn't either. This is a solid player at a great price.

If you're leery about going mail-order, do what I did: I spent an extra ~50 to go to Best Buy. That way I could return it no hassles if there was a problem. I would do that again, calling the $50 a peace-of-mind fee.

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considered Pioneer dv-525 but Best Buy salesman strongly endorsed Sony s330.