Build quality, color stream, built in 5.1 decoder, plenty of output connections.

Yes, The lip sync problem . . .

This player delivers an excellent picture to my Toshiba 50" TV via the color stream connections. The built in DD Decoder worked fine with my old DD ready amp. I recently upgraded to the Outlaw 1050 DD-DTS 6.1 reciver, Audio playback of DTS-DD movies is excellent.

Nice features:
1.) Pre-amp Bass management. You can use this DVD to compensate for front, center and rear speaker size.
2.) Front-Rear-Center adjustable delay determined by distance from your listening sweet spot
3.) Adjustment for Left / Right balance font ch & rear ch
4.) 16:9 to 4:3 aspect ratio conversion mode. This can give a stretched look to the image, but I would rather maximize the image of 2.35 ratio movies to look more like movies formated in the 1.85 aspect ratio.
5.) DTS mode. It must be turned on manualy through the on screen displays, It would be nice to have a button on the remote to toggle between DD & DTS audio modes.

Overall I am very pleased with this DVD & would recomend it for the performance and options in this price range.

My unit did suffer with the Lip sync problem. I did not notice it untill 6 moths of use. I thought it was the DVDs I was playing untill I read the reviews on this site. I contacted Sony @ 1-800-222-SONY. I asked "NICELY" if they were familiar with this defect on these units & all they asked for was the serial # to verify that it was a unit in need of a firmware upgrade. It was still under 1 year P/L warranty so all I had to do was drop it of at a local SONY repair center or ship it to the closest one. The local shop checked SONY service bullitens to verify that it was a Mfr's defect for this model & had to order the firmware chip to make the fix. It took about 2 weeks, but they did calibrate the color signal levels, etc. at no additional charge. My repair cost was $0.00
It is working flawlessly now.

If you can find & purchase this unit on closeout through a SONY dealer were the warranty will be honored they are now in the $200 & lower price range. At this price . . .
I'd buy it again / test it / have SONY fix it / enjoy !

5 star value @ $200 / 4 stars @ $300+
Overall 4.5 stars Good pic, options, price
( -.5 for need of repair to start )

Two disks that I know had obvious Lip sync problems . . .
1.) Saving Private Ryan / close up of Tom Hanks talking in the church.
2.) Seems like the entire second layer of Son of Sam.

Similar Products Used:

First DVD

optical out bit rate

bad firm ware; long pauses between layer switch; has problems running dual layers after about 9 months

I loved it at first other than a noisy drive. then started having problems on certain dvd's. It would say "no disc" or c13:00 errors. I read a few posts on here and called Sony tonight. The tech Said they have had "no problems" with these but even though it is 2 months out of warranty i can fax him the reciept and he will issue a work order for it. Kind of fishy to me. So after a 23 min. wait i was happy that they are going to fix it, but still disapointed that they wont own up to the fact that they but out a faulty product. I have found that most players do not come with optical out anymore so this is a bonus since i am running a pioneer vsx 35 elite reciever with assignable optical in's. At any rate i am half satisfied.

Similar Products Used:

G.E. and toshiba dvd players

I have owned the Sony 530 model since August. I compared various players and thought it was the best in the price range. Got it for $299 delivered from 800.com. I've played lots of disks (bought and rented) and I have seen the lip sync problem only 2 or 3 times. However, when that happened, I stopped and started the disk and cleared the problem. Took maybe 3 seconds. (The Sony resumes at exactly the same point as long as you don't eject the disk, not at the beginning of the disk or chapter like some other players.) I have to wonder at some of the sky is falling comments concerning the lip sync problem. Sure, I'd like perfection, but unlike some of the people complaining about this, to me it doesn't rank up there as a BIG problem. Also, if you read comments about other brands, it seems that they ALL have had a few reviewers complaining about lip sync and other problems. I’m not sure there is a completely “safe haven” out there.
After playing The Matrix last night, I had to finally write in. I was worried because I’ve read that some DVD players were having trouble with it (won’t play the movie, video locks up, lip sync problems, and/or trouble with the menu). I didn’t have a single problem, zilch, nada. So as far as I'm concerned, the verdict is in... the benefits of having the 530 far outweigh any minuses: Great picture and great sound. (Connected to a Denon 3200.) The remote works well and it’s a nice convenience that it can control the receiver’s volume as well as some basic TV functions. The setup menus work well – more intuitive than some of the other brands I looked at. Handy instruction messages pop up on screen if you hit the wrong button. Also, I’ve never seen pixialization problems. The player didn’t come with an optical cable, so I had to buy one. (The cable I would have liked to be included, but for $299 I could deal with it.) By the way, don’t let anyone tell you that Monster Cable’s $45 6’ cable is “better” than a generic $20 cable: the DD processor doesn’t care! Normally, I’d give the 530 a 4 rating, but to counteract some of the dubious comments, it gets a 5.

From reading this board I knew that the lip synch problem was a possibility. I purchased it anyway and half expected the lip synch problem to rear its ugly head. It did. So far my player does it very consistently with Blade Runner (2 for 2 now!). It has handled all other discs flawlessly though (looks awesome on my 32" XBR250).
For those of you who experience the problem: Sony should help you. Right now as I type this my player is on its merry way to the Irvine, CA service center to have the lip synch problem fixed (hopefully). This problem could be classified as a factory defect and I would recommend contacting Sony if yours is experiencing the problem. The phone number is: 1.800.222.7669 - or 1.800.222.SONY.

I patiently await my players return. The said it would be 10 days before I see it again. At least I had the chance to watch the Matrix before boxing 'er up!

So far I have been happy with the player though. No real complaints to report. All I need now is a really nice home theater sound system to hook it up to... just add money.

I have owned this player since July. I have played many movies on it, including A Simple Plan, and some others mentioned. I have not had the dreaded lip sync problem once. Just watch, now it'll happen tomorrow!!! Any way, after a lot of shopping and comparing, I'm very happy with this little unit. I got a super deal on it ($270.00) from Vann's.com, but I don't think they have any more at that price. The picture quality and sound, on DVD, is incredible. Yellow Submarine rocks!!! Overall, very happy.

Great Picture & Sound

Non Lit Remote, Have to push eject twice sometimes.

Lip/Sync Problem solved with Firmware revision 2.010

Similar Products Used:

None

Great sound, attractive faceplate.

Soft downconversion, slow eject button.

I bought this player after returning my excellent ProScan DVD player, which had an interference problem with my other equipment :(. The Sony 530D is a great player, and I particularly like the strong sound coming out of my Polks, but I was a little disappointed with the softness of the picture in downconverted 16x9 material. My ProScan handled this perfectly, but we can't have it all? The sound on the Sony 530D far outperforms the ProScan player, so I'm happy.

No lip-synch problem on Baseketball, Excalibur, or Heat yet. My only complaint is the annoying eject button.

Similar Products Used:

ProScan PS8680Z, Toshiba SD-2006

audio and video quality, ease of use, sleek look.

none at this time.

just checked firmware version, it read that it was a 1.80. had about 100 hrs use to it but never really notice any lip sync problems. i take it that sony upgrades for free. i will get this serviced asap. thanks the heads-up on this model.

I just got my new 530D back from the Sony repair shop. I had sent it there to have the firmware upgraded to the newest version. They did it for free and the latest firmware currently is version 2.21. I have seen earlier posts from people saying they have version 2.3, but I don't think that can be possible, or if it was, Sony must have found a problem with 2.3 because they are now installing version 2.21.

Picture Quality

Fear if Lip Sync Problem

I just got this for Christmas and am concerned about the lip sync problem. I checked the firmware version and it is 2.300 not the 2.21 version. SInce I got it at Best Buy should I return it and get the next version "I think its a 550 or should I see if they have a 530d instock with the updated version?? Is Sony making the 2.21 version on newer models. My serial # is 0095300.

Thanks