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Lip Sync problems, skips chapters, freezes, pixelates. C:13:00 error which then freezes. Called their customer service and they won't do anything once the warranty expires...cost to repair is $159.00.

This product sucks and I'm not buying Sony anymore. I was thinking about a future Sony HDTV purchase, but no more.

I have read most of what has been said for and against this DVD player. The pervading argument against purchasing this player almost always seems to be the "lip synch" problem. I have been considering the purchase of this player for some time now, so I was very concerned about getting one with the same problem. I called Sony today (1-800-222-SONY) and talked with a phone representative (I won't mention the name so as not to get this person in any kind of trouble). I was told by this representative that Sony has been able to determine the cause of the "lip synch" problem and that they have begun notifying individuals who called to complain about this problem. Sony will be paying for the Federal Express pick up of these units, and shipment to the closest authorized service center where repairs will take place.
I asked for particulars on the cause of this problem, but the individual politely declined to tell me, even though he said he had this information. The reason, he explained, was that Sony had not officially "gone public" with this information on their website, and he did not think Sony would like the particulars being "leaked" elsewhere. He was quite convincing, I thought, that Sony had found the fix.

My next question was "How do I know I am getting a 'good' unit?" I was told that any unit made after September 1, 1999 should not have this problem. However, there is one small problem in determining the date of manufacture. The information, per Sony representatives, appears on the back of the DVD player, but not on the box. I asked if there was some sort of correlation between the serial or batch number on the box, and the manufacture date. The individual did not have access to this, but after I insisted, said he would do his level best to try to get this information, and e-mail it to me. Like most of the rest of you posting here, I don't want to get a lemon either. Since I plan to buy this by mail order, I don't want to pay to ship back a defective unit to the retailer. I also don't want to wait weeks, or even days for that matter, to get a new unit fixed.

I thought you all would appreciate getting this information, so I posted it here first. Any other information I get will be posted in the discussion area, so check there for further posts. Please do not e-mail me for any additional information, because everything I know about this issue is in this posting.

Based upon what I have seen for this unit, and having it demonstrated at the retailer, I would rate it 5 stars. Its got just about every bell and whistle you can imagine along with great Digital Dolby and DTS performance. It may not be the greatest for pure audio CD's, but I don't expect that from a unit at this price. For my "blue collar" ears, its pretty decent. I'm keeping my old Denon DCD-1800, though. That cost me $800 back in 1984, and it is still a great player (no remote though). I'd suggest anybody who is considering buying this....and is very picky about the CD performance.....should consider the higher end units from Sony (DVP-7700) or the Elite Series from Pioneer, etc. You'll pay a lot more to get a unit of this caliber though.

I'm getting this unit mainly because I am setting up a home theater. The fact that it also plays audio CD's is a bonus.

Although the manufacturer states that this unit will not play CD-R's, the salesman at Best Buy said his would play CD-R's. He said the type he was using (blue colored disk?? - I think he said) worked fine. When I asked the Sony phone rep about this, he said that he was not surprised to hear this.....but that Sony could not say it was compatible with these disks, when many types form different manufacturers would not play on these machines. You might have to experiment with this to see if you can get a unit to play a CD-R. This is not important to me....and as I said, I am buying a unit mainly to play movies.

I hope this post will help alleviate some worry about purchasing this unit. I'm assuming Sony is giving it to me straight. If not, they will ultimately suffer from a bad reputation. No reason, I thought, to lie to me about this, since up until now, they have been telling everyone else that they were investigating the problem.

Good luck!!!

It seems that the serial numbers posted a few months ago about which 550Ds have the lip synch problem has a typo...it reads:
SONY S550D SN# 80000 thru 8750000

And it should read:
SONY S550D SN# 80000 thru 875000

There was an extra 0 at the end of the second number.

My DVD is 896750, and I thought I had gotten screwed eventhough I asked the place where I bought it from to send me one without the known problem. I was pissed when I found out it was within that dreadfull range. But I checked my firmware and it was 2.22 something (higher than 2.17)

Please correct me if the serial number range is wrong.

I have had no problems with this player, it seems to be of a pretty good quality. Picture is sharp and sound is good.

Bought it for $357 !!!! Good deal.

looks and price

everything !!!

it looks nice but the lip sink crap they all sound like puppets and look like puppets..and the color goes off all the time.. wake up sony this dvd player sucks !!!

Good all around. I really like the onboard Video controls. Onboard Dolby Digital decoder.

Remote jog dial is overrated. I would have preferred separate controls for step, slow and fast jogging.

I like the features offered by this machine. The onboard video controls are great for me because when I had the DVP-S530D, whenever I adjusted the colors on my TV for DVD watching, it affected the colors when I watched a VHS or regular TV and vice-versa.

This solves the problem pretty good.

Similar Products Used:

Sony DVP-S530D, Toshiba 3109.

Outstanding Picture, Tons of features

Remote

This is an excellent machine. I purchased my Sony 550 directly from Sony and was fortunate enough to get a firmware version of 2.3. The player is awesome! I have played several DVDs with it and have been looking extra hard for lip-synch problems. I have yet to see one. The quality of the build is also a big plus. It also has a ton of features that are actually very useful. Too many to go into detail. The only downfall is the remote control, I prefer the remote that comes with the 530. However, it is still better than the Toshiba remote control.

High Audio & Visual Quality, Great Featuresq

Occasional Lip-Synch Problems

I bought the 550D back in July as my first DVD player, and it's really spoiled me. The audio and video are great, but it's the features on it that make it really useful to me. I've also used the Tosh 3109, but the 550D seems to best it in Visuals, and Features.

I have experienced the lip-synch problems from time to time though, and while it is annoying, it doesn't really effect me too much.

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba 3109

Great picture and selection of outputs, no lip sync prob (yet)

Manual is a bit lacking in information and unclear...

I just got my 550D a week ago and have only watched a couple of movies, but so far no lip sync prob and I love the machine. I have a question and I am hoping someone can help me.

My serial number is in the 874,000's. How can I tell what version of firmware I have?

PLEASE POST RESPONSES SO OTHERS CAN FIND OUT, TOO.

Thanks.

Similar Products Used:

first DVD player

Great Video Quality

Watch the lipsynch problem

Great product but make sure you need all the bells and whistles. Otherwise stick to the 330 model.

I have had my 550d since June '99 and am now finding out about all the problems that people are having...surely, if I was aware of this in June, I would have definately jumped brands instantly. Hopefully, I am not jinxing myself by posting this but I have to say, so far my 550d has performed superbly, not a single glitch after 20+ movies. My system however is lacking a good overall receiver that has the capabilities to maximize what the 550d has to offer but I tell you what even with a decade old "what ever happened to SANSUI" receiver and a two speaker system, the sound quality is outstanding...I just can't wait until the ole' wife lets me upgrade to a Sony receiver that has all the perks that a fella' can want. I am still working on her.

anyhow, the picture quaility is just amazing too. For those who are having problems, sorry to hear that and hopefully, I won't join your ranks when I start maximizing the 550d's capabilities, if that indeed is the problem...so til' the ole' wife lets me splurge on a new reciever...til' then. For now..."KNOCK ON WOOD!!!!"
as far as the rating go, being that people are experiancing the problems I give it an overall rating of 4 but and overal value rating of 5 stars....you can't beat what you are getting for the price.