Reggie, please be aware that ALL dvd players will pass the new dts signal from dts cd's, but will not all pass signals from dts dvd's.Given the fact that no one seems to be having problems with this particular dts demo disc leads me to believe that it might be formatted as a cd in it's audio tracks. I hope i'm wrong since I have a sony300, but currently no dts capabilty yet in my sustem. Let us know when you get one of the first round of dts dvd's!

I bought this player for $450. I have not had any problems with any discs I played thus far, no audio dropouts, no problems with CD's, nothing. The picture is great, sound for DVD's are awesome. The CD part is kinda bright for my tastes but hey this is a DVD player so doesnt really matter to me. I think this a great product..

i've gotta say i like this dvd player. i bought it about 8 months ago. it was my first dvd player purchase as well. i'm hooked. great picture and sound. it's worth the extra money for some of the reasons i list below:
PROS: built-in AC-3 decoder
shuttle jog on face and remote
plays those damn scratched rental discs!
separate lasers for cd's and dvd
face lights can be completely turned off
nice set up menu
coax and optical inputs

CONS: the BRIGHT dolby digital light that lights up
while playing a 5.1 disc
not DTS compatible, but then again, not many
discs are DTS encoded

overall...a great player.

Well, I just got the new preamp with DTS all hooked up, great speakers all around and the Hell Freezes Over DVD. I didn't really know that the Eagles DVD was encoded in DTS until I finally found it. I then questioned whether my Sony S500D would be able to handle it. It didn't have any DTS markings etc. So I asked one of the pimple faced blonde boys at the local Best Buy if it would work. Oh sure! Can I bring it back if it doesn't? Oh sure! (perhaps in an Oh sure loop) As I thought about buying it I thought well maybe he's right. Perhaps the Sony just doesn't have the decoder on board but will still pass the signal.Oh woah is me. It does not pass the signal. Perhaps it would from a CD but not from a DVD. Pro Logic is the best that the Sony can do with this DVD.
All-in-all I think that this DVD is pretty good. I guess my only real argument would be with the fast forward/reverse which are pretty awkward. Sony seems to have a knack for abusing the shuttle jog interface. (Hey Sony, pay me $100k and I'll show you how to do it!)
The lack of DTS is not really very bothersome. I don't think I'll be missing much. DVD-Audio where are you? I'm waitin!
I actuality, I don't believe that it is all that hard to make a good DVD player. And they surely shouldn't cost as much as they do. Digital is what's buying you the audio & video qualities not Sony! Only 4 stars - sorry.

I bought this unit as a display model for $275.00 at my local A/V store.It was on clearence because of the 530D and 550D's being the new models.

I have had the unit for a week and its performance has been flawless. The only
let down is that it does not pass DTS, but I don't mind that for now..since I
do not have a DTS decoder yet. The setup menus are easy to understand and use.
The remote, although not backlit is nice with the jog shuttle.

The player has had no problems playing scratched rental discs. The picture is
crisp, bright and clear. There are some digital artifacts in the backgrounds and this is noticable using S-Video and the componet video outputs. Sound quality is great all channels are very clear with no problems. I have used both the digial out, coaxal, and the RCA 5.1 analog outs and they all perform well. Though it does sound better running it with the optical out.

I have had NO problems with Lip-Sync or any downconversions. I also tried playing regular CD's and although they played rather well they were a little top
heavy with little bass. I would suggest using an equalizer if you were to use this for playing regular audio-CD's. I have not tried using CD-R's yet, so I can not tell if they work with the unit or not.

Overall, I like the player as it has two seperate lenses for CD and DVD. Sony could have put more features on the unit for the price they were asking. However, this was last years model anyway and the 550D has many more features.

5 Stars all the way!

Over the last year and change, this player has performed flawlessly. The picture quality through the component outputs is beautiful.

One small quibble ... there is no single speed reverse play, only two slow speeds, double speed and the two fast speeds (10x & 30x). Not a big deal, but ...

Excellent picture quality. Awesome sound. Great remote.

This is an awesome player. The anamorphic downconversion is among the best and the sound quality through the built-in AC3 decoder is top-notch.

I was disappointed that the Sony 7000 was a little out of my price range for a first DVD player, but I don't feel like I'm missing anything with the DVP-S500D. I've been using this player for about 18 months now and I haven't had the first problem with it.

I make a lot of CD-R music CD's at home and this player plays all of them flawlessly.

Overall, an awesome player.

Great picture. Flawless operation. Excellent sound. Lots of features. Easy operation and good remote.

Picture & sound

NONE

I have owned this DVD player since 10/98. I have experienced no problems with this player. I currently have 85 DVD's and have watched a lot of them more than once. Unfortunately Sony replaced this model with a new one this year. It did not get that great of reviews. If you can find a DVP-S500D get it, you will not be dissapointed.

DUAL DISCRETE LASER PICK-UPS! Aduio quality both in Dolby Digital and especially in CD playback is phenomenal. Picture Quality.

CD-R PLAYBACK PROBLEMS! (See Below) and a blue Dolby Digital light that is as bright as the sun.

This DVD player is quite a nifty piece of equipment. I use this player in conjunction with: Hitachi Ultravision taking up the video (component video transfer provided by Monster Cables,and on the Audio we have optical digital signals being decoded and amplified by the Sony STR-DA50ES then sent to Paradigm Speakers with Monitor 3's (L&R), CC-350 (Center), Mini Monitors (Rear) and PS-1000 (Sub). When listening just to CD's I recomend using the analogue outputs on the DVP-S500D for listening instead of having the PCM signal decoded in another piece of equipment. The D/A converters in the player itself are more ambiant than the ones in the receiver (for me anyways). This CD player is definitely the one of choice. Movies are unreal. The reds are sweet and very defined.
THE PROBLEMS... In video playback there seems to be a bit of a haze running through the blues. I haven't really determined if this is the TV or the DVD but it is very apparent in various scenes of "Varsity Blues." The missing DTS decoding is a bit of a bummer but is made up for in the dual discrete pcikups.
THE BIGGEST PROBLEM.... CD-R's. I have spent the past 24 hours of my existence trying to figure out why I could not get this player to read my audio CD-R's. I finally resolved my problem just a few minutes ago, coming to the following conclusions. Imation Discs do not get along with Sony products (possibly the laser being too vibrant and actually passing through the disc?). I made the switch to Sony CD-R's and life has been able to be summed up in the phrase "hakuna matata." Also HP CD-R's work just as well. I think the laser was just so bright tha is actually shines past the plasma in the CD-R. Solution? Better discs! Happy listening and viewing!!!