Great picture, sound, and functions

Some of the remote features

I've had the 550D for a little over half a year now and it's working great. I haven't had any of the lip-synch problems everyone is complaining about (I haven't checked the number on the player because I'm just too damn lazy). The picture is very good, especially using the S-Video connection. I really enjoy the ability to change the video levels through the DVD player instead of having to change the television controls all the time. The sound is very good on my Yamaha receiver, and even though I already have a DD5.1 decoder on my receiver I'm glad that the player has a built in one. The sounds are very crisp and vivrant (but I guess that depends more on the receiver and speakers). There are also a lot of special functions on the 550D that make it better, such as the ability to save titles of DVDs, the jog button using the rotary wheel on the remote, the virtual surround, the DTS out (which I'm very glad it has), and the sound settings on the player. The only quips I have about the 550D is that certain remote functions can be annoying. Like someone said earlier about using the wheel on the remote to rewind the movie you have to keep turning the remote a few times instead of just once. I would have also liked a remote that was more universal instead of just being able to control the TV. A backlit remote would have been better than glowing buttons since they don't tend to glow for very long unless you have it held up to bright light (and I tend to keep my remote in dark areas under all my audio/video equipment). Other than that this is a great DVD player with everything you would need. I've been getting antsy with it lately though since the 200 disc changer has come out. They just keep coming out with new stuff to make us lazier and lazier and it's great!

- Fantastic layout: buttons, display, etc. well designed/ergonomics
-Picture and sound are awesome.
-tray and dvd mechanism are super quiet.
-I/O ports are plentiful.
-On screen menu is intuitive and offers much

-Price is a bit high, but it's all relative - what you pay is what you get.
-The enter key within the shuttle jog on the remote feels cheap.

I haven't experienced any lip sync problems yet (I'll need to check the version) after playing 15 movies. I think this unit has an amazing display - sharp picture, colors are vibrant, but then again, that's component out on the 32XBR Wega (The Thing and the Matrix look amazing!). The unit has pretty good control settings, so you can adjust the performance settings to your own likings. I haven't tested the CD audio quality but because I got so many other CD drives in my place, I see myself not using this feature on the 550D ever.

Though the price is pretty high, you won't be disappointed with it's qualities: solid build, exceptional picture, great audio and a large variety of control settings.

I highy recommend the Sony 550D if you are able to spend $400US or more on a player. It's a great unit for anyone experienced with DVD or switching over from LD like myself. Otherwise, if you can't justify the price, you might just be happy with the Pioneer 525 which has good performance, several unrefined unit designs, but all at a superb price (+$200US).

Similar Products Used:

Sony 530, Pioneer 525

picture quality, component out, DTS out, DD processor

lip synch problem

Overall, I've been happy with this product. The lip synch issue is fixed by either pausing or stopping the disc momentarily, which bothers some more than others-if not for this, I would give it a 5 star rating. The picture quality is extremely good which helps offset this flaw.

Incredible picture and sound quality, solidly built, easy menu system, packed with bonus features.

Haven't seen any yet.

I traded in the JVC XV-511, partly to get a built-in 5.1 decoder, and partly to maximize the sound and video quality. The JVC was a wonderful unit, no doubt, and it left me amazed. But the Sony S550D is absolutely stunning. First impression out of the box was how solidly built it is -- it is obviously the product of intelligent, elegant engineering. The set up was easy. Picture quality is fantastic -- edges and fine detail which shimmered a little on the JVC appear perfectly crisp on the Sony. Colors are vibrant, and the quality of color contrast above VHS still astounds me. Though I don't have earth-shaking speakers, the 5.1 surround is impressive with my Sony 435 receiver and Sony cinema speakers.

I don't know if the price difference over the S530D is worth the additional features (text memo input, video noise reduction, jog shuttle dial on the remote), but I have to admit, it's fun to have them available.

The sales rep said that these units were moving quickly, so mine is very likely built after September. Actually, the serial number is outside the "problem" range posted here earlier. So I haven't seen any lip sync issues. If Sony has indeed resolved this issue (and all manufacturers have their "issues" at this point), then, apart from wanting to spend twice as much on the reference model, I can think of no reason not to go with this player. It's excellent.

Similar Products Used:

JVC XV-511BK

Great menu layout. I love the virtual 3D surround.

I am afraid my unit falls under the 'need upgrade category." I havent experienced the lip sync problem as mentioned here. But I did notice the unit is quite warm when it's in use. Can anyone confirm this?

How can I locate a Sony service center near me?

Loads of features, excellent picture.

No zoom, instructions unclear in parts, some options only through on-screen menu instead of buttons.

An excellent player with loads of features and high quality. The remote is one of the most featured I have seen and the menu selector is the most responsive I've used.
I haven't noticed any lip-sync issues, and the firmware version on mine is 2.30.
However, its list price is a little more than I feel it should be so I took off one star on the value.

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic A-310, JVC XV-501, Pioneer DV-626D.

I contacted SONY today and they released this information on units to avoid:
SONY S550D SN# 80000 thru 8750000
SONY S530D SN# 10001 thru 119840 and 800001 thru 9530000.

Anything greater should have the new firmware update to fix the problems, hope this helps.

Excellent DVD picture Quality, decent remote controls unit, TV and amplifier

Has lip synch problems, won't read CD-R, Strict VCD specs

Overall, the Sony DVP550S is a pretty good DVD player. It looks good, has good quality picture and a decent array of setup options to customize the experience. It will play all production DVD, CD and VCD's with no apparent issues and good in fact replacve ones CD player.

I noticed the lip synch problems almost right away. Occasionally the video frames appear to get ahead of the audio tracks and an obvious synch problem can be observed. It seems to be cured by stopping the player and restarting (it restarts exactly where you left off). Kinda a pain in thew butt, but this is a reliable fix. Also, this only happens on certain DVD's, but not all.

It plays all my production stuff just fine. DVD's, CD's and VCD's all chug along pretty good. But the player WON'T play any of my CD-R's. Not a one. I've tried about 6 different brands, with no success.

This unit WILL however play most CD-RW disks that i've used. Brands that I have have had success with are:
Sony 1X2X4X CD-RW
Memorex Platinum 2X4X
Hi-Val 1X2X4X

This unit also plays VCD's with no apparent issues. However, its not very robust in that it will not play any VCD's that are not VCD2.0 compliant. All of my homemade VCD's have to meet whitebook spec's EXACTLY or the DVD player will just lock up on the first track it tries to play. From what I've seen, this unit will not play SVCD.

Overall this DVD player is ok. If all you plan to do is buy stuff from the store and play it, it will work out great. It has great picture and lots of setup options. If however you're the type who wants to make their own CD's or VCD's, this is not the unit for you (unless you like having your hands tied). Do more research and get a DVD player thats really robust and flexible to get the most enjoyment out of your unit. I'll probably sell this unit soon and do exactly that here in the near future.

Similar Products Used:

first DVD player for entertainment center

Crystal clear picture. Many outputs. No lyp sync problems with version 2300.

Sometimes I can't change the AUDIO on some disks from 2.1 to 5.1. I can't do it when running the dvd or when not running the dvd.

Crystal clear picture. Many outputs so the monitor you are using can be anything. THis has S-video output and input. THis has analoug(RCA) output. THis has component output. This also has the built in 5.1 channel outs. They have RCA out from the DVD and then you'll have to have RCA in on your speakers. MEMO of the disks is great. THe adjustability is great. Angle viewer, I have not had any lipsync problems, I have version 2300.

Similar Products Used:

First DVD player.

Good A/V quality when sticking to mainstream stuff

No CD-R, few buttons missing from front panel, impossible to remove macrovision

I bought this player well over a year ago. It has served me well this whole time. The picture is the still best I've ever seen on a DVD player. When I originally bought it I only had a Pro Logic stereo, and its downmixed sound quality was quite good, though I've since upgraded to a dolby digital capable system (so all of the sound quality issues are really up to the stereo at this point).

I have the old 1.5 firmware, and I've only noticed a lipsync problem twice - once while playing a VCD (the Hong Kong release of 'Tron') and once while playing a bargain-bin DVD (Spies Like Us). It hasn't been a major enough problem for me to be bothered to get it fixed.

I'm annoyed that it doesn't do CD-Rs. I'm even more annoyed that there is absolutely no way (modchip or otherwise) to disable the macrovision output; my current LCD projector system has trouble with it (the image fades in and out somewhat), and this is less annoying than pumping it through a $50 macrovision filter I got at Best Buy (Sima), since this causes horrible desynchronization between the chroma and luma channels on s-video, and on composite it adds a lot of munginess to the top few scanlines of the image (yuck). But these are technically problems with the MPAA and with the hardware the player is hooked up to and isn't really Sony's fault.

This player has come down in price, but not really enough to be competitive with other players. However, it *does* have the built-in AC-3 decoder, which makes it hard to compare price-wise with other players. Considering that it can be bought for around $300 now and an AC-3 decoder costs $100 (if you can even find one anymore), that means that this player is basically $200 now, so its overall price is quite competitive with other players, considering the legacy of the built-in decoder. (It's actually quite annoying that you can't get external decoders anymore - I want to build my own 6-channel discrete amp in the near future.) So value is still a 5.

Overall, I do need to take off two points - one for the lack of CD-R playback (this wouldn't be an issue were it not for the fact that I'm trying to preserve a lot of my older videotapes on VCD), and one on principle for the whole Macrovision thing, because apparently Sony went out of their way to make this player difficult/impossible to modchip (the only modchips I've seen are well over US$80), and of course they make it sound like it's your equipment's fault for not being able to handle an obsolete copy protection standard which does nothing to prevent commercial piracy and only ends up hurting consumers, in the end. Oh, the second star is also taken off because it really needs a way to access the 'display' menu from the console (one time I accidentally forgot my remote when I was bringing my unit to my parents' house, and so I had no way to select audio tracks - which is a real bummer since about 80% of my DVDs are anime).

If I were to buy a DVD player now, I'd probably go for the Pioneer 5-disc changer. It does CD-Rs and CD-RWs, and is apparently relatively easy to modchip to disable Macrovision. However, I've yet to see it in action, so I have to go based on other peoples' reviews. Knowing the way that everyone here rates everything either a 5 ("I just got this and I don't know what I'm talking about!") or a 1 ("My unit had a little tiny problem! Wah!"), I don't know how much trust I can put into those. Oh well.