Remote

None

Was looking at getting a DVD from myself over the holidays and picked up one of these.

I didn't need/want a built-in decoder since the receiver I was getting later had one.

I have not had a problem at with any of the DVDs that I have played in it, 20+, and it has played CD great also.

Overall a nice solid system.

S-link(if you have Sony products)

No composite video out

I purchaced this unit in November after doing much research i felt i was well armed to get an entry level DVD player.
Oh yeah i wanted a Sony cause all my other componets are Sony.
Anyways
I knew of the lip-sync problems with firmware versions

Similar Products Used:

none (first player)

Good price, picture, sound

None so far

I have firmware 2.3 and have had no problems yet. I got the player about 3 weeks ago and have only had the chance to play a couple movies so far but have had no problem. I haven't really broken the player in yet but so far it seems like a good deal and is worth the $239 I paid for it.

Excellent Value.

None.

When purchasing a DVD player one has to make at least 2 major decisions.
The first decision is does the unit have to have a built in decoder? In my opinion there is only one reason why you would want your decoder built into your DVD player and that is because you have an older audio/video receiver that is Dolby Digital "ready" and you have no intention of upgrading soon. The place your decoder really needs to be is in your receiver and not in your DVD player. So why pay for it twice?
The second decision is what type of video output? There is component, composite, S-Video and good old RCA jack. To answer this question one need to know what kind of input your TV supports. If your TV has component (best picture quality) then you will want to make sure your DVD has this type of output. However if your TV does not have component video input and you have no plans in buying a new one in the next 5 years having a DVD with component video output buys you nothing.
In summary the Sony DVP-S330 is an excellent product for the consumer who does not want a built-in decoder and does not require component video out. This unit has an excellent picture quality and with an optical output for sound, it will sound better then 90% of the CD players on the market today, as long as your receiver has an optical input of course.

Price

No coponent out

Purchased this unit from local Sears the day after Thanksgiving for $249. After reading the negative reviews I still decided on this unit because of the reputation and ease of use of this product. Checked firmware version and found it to be 1.95. After playing 10-15 DVD's and having a few lip synch problems, decided to contact Sony for firmware upgrade. Called Sony and they picked the unit up at my house and had it fixed, and sent back within 9 days. New firmware is 2.30. I feel they should have done a recall on this model, but overall I'm pleased with it and the service to get it fixed by Sony. Still I'm giving this only 4 stars for the lack of effort by Sony on addressing this problem when it was first discovered.

Similar Products Used:

none

Great picture and sound even with RCA connections,remote has almost everything you need.

No component out, disc drive is too audible, no zoom.

I just bought this one last night at Best Buy for $269, and I am very impressed. I didn't think DVD would be much different from my high end Sony VTR. Man was I wrong. I only have Dolby Surround hooked up, but the sound has improved tenfold over the VTR. The picture quality is like night and day between the two. I have played two DVD's (The Mummy, and The Shawshank Redemption)and have had absoluely no problems. My firmware is revision 2.4, so that might have something to do with it. I'll report back to this list if I do have any problems. Since this is my first player, I cannot recommend it above any other model, but it sure does beat any other format I have used. Also, it plays music and video CD's very well. I have not tried CD-R's or CD-RW's yet though. I think those were covered in another review though.

Similar Products Used:

None.

Inexpensive, easy to figure out, even without reading the OM, Good sound and picture quality. It's a Sony

It's a Sony, no processor, limited functions on the remote.

I have firmware version 2.4 and have watched about 10 movies and have listened to about 20 audio CD's. I haven't experienced any problems as of yet. To be more specific the audio and video have not been out of sync.
To check the firmware version of your DVD first; turn off the DVD power; then, on the DVD remote, push down the "title" button; then push down the "clear" button on the DVD remote, then push down the "power" button on the remote. The diagnostic window will appear and the version number will be in the lower left hand corner.

Similar Products Used:

Denon, JVC, and Sanyo

Full 1 Year Warranty

None so far

I was weary about the firmware issue on this series of Sony DVD players, but was pleased to find out that I have version 2.4, Thanks to all for the information about the problems with this unit, it allowed me to go into the store armed with the knowledge I needed to make an intelligent decision. The most curious part of the buying experience was the fact that the salesman claimed he had no knowledge of the lip sync problem. I have tried all 11 DVD's that I own and no problems thus far...I can only hope.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer 114 PC Drive

Good picture and sound

lip sync, freezes in middle of movies, won't even start some movies until the tenth try if your lucky, and no component outs

I didn't do much research when I first bought this thing but if I did I wouldn't have bought it. Now I am going to upgrade because I am so sick of its lip sync problem, its lack of component video outs, and its freeze up problem. This is a poor machine the laser even gets "stuck" and can't find the location of the next chapter or even the start point on the disc.

Similar Products Used:

didn't use others myself but the similar one I can compare it to are jvc, pio 525, and toshiba 1200

Great picture and sound

None

I got this Sony DVD while on holidays in the US at christmas (Florida)
As it's region (1) I had it "chipped"
to multi region ,this is common in Europe as you probaly know and now it plays dvd's from any country,I'v had no
problems at all with this machine ( I't
costs approx.,65 US dollards for "chipping" )