will not pick up dvds, can not opperate DTS, and skips

I have had this unit for about 2 years. first year of operation only problems were occasional skipping and not getting surround sound. Then about 12-14 months ago started to signal C 13:00 on the screen and did not pick up any of dvds... new or old. Once I had to unplug it for a while, which may reset the unit, but still after plugging it back in, it caused similar problem. 2 month ago I had taken this unit to Tweeters, where I bought the unit and they took 1 month to actually examine the unit. They told me that the laser unit, e-promp (?), and alignment has to be done to fix the problem, and it would cost me $230. Because of the warranties.. which is only 1 year that it would not be covered. I read in other sites that firmware needs to be changed, but Sony denies any problem with this unit... if you have any problems with this unit please e-mail (Custserv ) to let them know. thanks.

yoon choi

appearance, features, remote

Cd-R/RW non playing, pause at layer change, any related lip synching problem, if in fact player associated.

My favorite stand alone DVD player, and the third one in my collection.
I have heard of the problems, but most have been exagerated from those new to DVD format, I feel, as the player is not entirely resposible for it's handling of software. I have tried offending DVDs in multiple players to see if in fact, Sony was the only one to exhibit problems. So far the Panasonic's A series, early models, along with Toshiba's first gen players have had major problems handling double layer DVD-9 and DVD-18 discs. The format was introduced to a healthy demand for the technology, and like U.S. cars, it was sent out early with many development issues still be sorted out. DVD has come along way since 1997, but this player is still handling just about any disc I put in it even now! I initially wanted to upgrade every year, but this player impressed me so much, I decided to keep it...if just for the bit rate audio meter and jacket sleeve display features only! (that's just the tip of the iceburg)

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba SD series, now Panasonic A310, and JVC XV-D723GD, DVD ROM computer drive (Samsung)

Plenty of clean power with lots of overhead. Crystal clear sound with very easy to use controls. HDTV ready with component outs. Very clean and attractive appearance.

Can't manually select recording source. Even though it does it automatically I'd rather be in control to be sure. Remote control is intuitive but old fashion in layout and appearance. Needs balance and level for rear speakers on remote without having to go through the on screen setup like my old Elite did. Would prefer to have smaller door over the front audio/video inputs. Large door could be easily damaged if a wire gets tripped over or accidentally pulled.

Overall I am throroughly satisfied with this receiver. The cons are very minor and are heavily outweighed by the pros. It's the perfect priced amp for the power and features available and simply blew away the Yamaha AV receiver the salesman was trying to push on me. I like clean clear sound with boomy bass ONLY when boomy bass is warranted. The Yamaha "Natural Sound" AV receiver was boomy no matter what. This is my second "serious" receiver for my home theater and it has transformed it into nothing short of miraculous sounding. I'll easily be able to use this for 10 years or more.

Get one.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer VSX 95 ProLogic AV receiver
Optimus Surround Sound receiver (many moons ago)

Great picture, easy to use remote, plays all DVD's without a hitch

No CDR support

I've owned this player for three years and have never had any technical problems with it. It's worked fine, and i watch movies everyday on it. I guess some folks got stuck with lemons. It has great picture, very fluid. Also i have found the player to be highly compatible with all kinds of DVD's, even universal region discs. It doesn't work as well on VCD's though, the foward shuttle is very choppy on VCD's but very smooth and precise on DVD's. My nitpick has to be that it doesn't play/offer support for Audio CDR's...this just stinks in my opinion. Otherwise it has been a solid unit for me, oh one more thing: i have one of the units with the lip sync problems. When this occurs, i just hit stop and play again and it goes back to normal. I recommend the player, maybe you guys/gals should look at the Samsung model i picked up!

George

Similar Products Used:

Samsung DVD M301

Sharp picture, rich color, multiple jacks, DTS, on-sreen menus & displays & brilliant auido.

Layer transfer skip, doesn't like CDRs or R/Ws.

This is a good basic DVD player. I use it almost as a reference player. I've had very few problems with it handling DVDs, but it prefers clean (unscratched) disks. Of course it won't play most burned disks (CDR, CDRW) but that's not its fault (designed to reject such). It will, however, play CD audio burned to CD R/W disks. I've got a collection of over 100 dvds, and it will play all of them just fine. As for the for the 5.1 surround imaging, it's a beautiful!

Similar Products Used:

RCA, Toshiba, Pioneer, Panasonic brands.

It worked before the warranty ran out.

It sucks!

Yep.
It's safe to say that this model, as well as what appears to be basically every Sony DVD players is a piece of CRAP!
It won't play disks thanks to the "NO DISK" error message. Before it died completely, it had lip-synching problems that was really annoying. I own tons of Sony products, but it is clear to me that they cannot make a quality DVD player to save their life. Most people associate the name Sony with high quality products, but I urge you to reconsider when purchasing a new DVD player.

picture

Does not always power up (a new problem only occuring within the last 3 months)

I have enjoyed my Sony DVD player for the most part. However recently I have experienced problems of it not powering up. It seems to be intermitent. Not sure if it a faulty power supply or not. Other than that, I have not noticed any lip-synch problems. I have had only one problem playing a Sopranos disc. It does not like one of the scenes for some reason and skips it repeatedly. Would be 4 or 5 stars if not for the power problem.

Nice layout - fair functionality - decent features.

Poorly constructed - weakly warranted - problem prone.

I assumed one of these as I am in the service business and a customer who was fed up after constant failures for the year and a half that he owned the machine surrendered the unit in trade for a new Dennon.

I found the major shortfall of the unit to be the system control PCB or I/O board poorly constucted and soldered. VERY POOR ventilation for this unit was a major oversight on Sony's part I believe also. I took and resoldered the dip chips on the I/O board, added heat sink compound to the two hottest chips for stability, and added ventillation holes for cross-ventilation. The unit now seems ultra stable and as dependable as it should have been when it was built. I believe the Sony "firmware" discussed in previous posts may very well be an entire replacemant board for the one I repaired.

Good luck to all owners and I hope this helps some of you.

Great picture, easy to use and set, great output selection for video and audio, looks nice with all my other Sony equipment.

Alittle pricey but worth it

I have had absolutly zero problems with this dvd player, as of yet. I am a very loyal Sony owner and will never buy anything else. All other brand DVD players I have owned fail after the warrenty is up, hopefully this one won't do that either. I bought an extended warrenty just incase though.

Similar Products Used:

JVC DVD XV-501BK
Apex DVD AD-500A

When it works, it's great

The dreaded "no disk" and "c 13" errors

I cannot believe how many people are out there who have experienced the same problems as me. I purchased a surround sound system, of which this was a component. Soon after purchasing it began flashing the "c 13" error message. I thought it was what the guide said- a dirty disk, and that it was Blockbuster's fault. Within the last few months it gradually went downhill, to the point where it no longer works. I knew I was out of luck when I took "snow white" ,which I had bought my daughter, out of the box, put it in and it would not work.

No disks work now, I am back with videos.

How can they get away with this? I have checked multiple review sites and viewed many, many comments such as mine-this seems to be epidemic. Of course, Sony has never heard of the problem.

Should I go to Best Buy or the Sony service center. Should I even bother? Is there a lawsuit in the works?

Any advice would be helpful...