...Video Jukebox...
Written: Jan 08 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: ...Convenient Storage, Electrophiles will love it...
Cons: ... Poor interface, Complicated to use at first...
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| Raag's Full Review: Sony DVP-CX850D Multi-disc DVD Player |
... The Sony DVP-CX850D is a great DVD player, once you can figure out how to use it. I pride myself on being technologically savvy... I never read the instruction manuals to figure out how to use things. I definitely met my match and then some with this DVD player. I must admit though, once I learned how to use it, it's a great machine.
The biggest draw for me buying this was that it stores 200 discs. I know that most people don't own 200 DVD's, but this also recognized VCD's and CD's. (VCD's never took off in the U.S. but they are basically an half-step up from DVD's. Each movie comes on 2-3 discs, so they add up pretty quickly.) If you have your TV hooked up to a nice sound system, then you can store and play regular CD's from the machine and you'll end up filling up most of the slots.
When I got this machine, the first thing I noticed that the machine itself was very tall. The discs fit vertically, so it takes up much more room than a standard DVD or VCR player. Still, it's a relatively handsome unit with an easy-to-read display. You can see inside the player (like a jukebox) and it has a nice blue light on the front letting you know that's it's on. This thing will definitely catch people's eyes as it sits on your TV.
Setting up this DVD player really require you to study the manual. It is hooked up as easily as any other DVD player. The trouble comes when you are inputting your DVD's/CD's. There was no intuitive way I found to get the discs to advance using the remote control. Additionally, the player wouldn't recognize the discs until I hit the "load" button. Unfortunately, this button loads every DVD, meaning that adding discs 100-105 requires that it loads discs 1-100 as well. Luckily I realized this fairly early on, and loaded all my discs together, so I wouldn't waste time later on. Adding a single disc at a time is not a problem as the new disc automatically starts playing, and therefore "loads." Still, I don't want to wear down the mechanism before watching a single movie. After loading the discs, writing in the names and adding categories is the next time-consuming process. The first few take some time to get used to, but thanks to the keyboard input, the rest go fairly quickly.
Inputting the names and categories is somewhat limited. You don't always have enough space to write the entire name of the movie. Additionally, there is no space available to write in actors or any other extraneous information. The genres are basically pre-determined, so you'll have to choose from those. Furthermore, each movie can only be assigned to one genre, so you're "action" may be someone else's "thriller."
Until this point, I was cursing myself for getting this DVD player. However, once all the DVD's are basically entered, the fun begins. By the time I was finished inputting all my movies, I got a sense for how the operations work, so I got to really play around with it. I could sort the discs based on CD's (including VCD's) or DVD's, location, genre, or alphabetical listing. I was finally happy that all my discs were stored in one central location. Setting up the DVD for the specifics are just as easy/complicated as any other DVD player. Both the picture and the sound were great. The remote control is good for basic needs (TV, VCR, DVD), but don't expect for it to expand to more "nontraditional" items. I couldn't get it to control our Sony
receivers/speakers. Still, it's like any average Sony remote control. The DVD functions and button take some getting used to, but the TV and volume functions are very clear.
Although I'm glad that I got this player, Sony has definite room for improvement. They need to make the machine more intuitive to use. For example, a random stranger would have difficulty playing any DVD in my machine. Additionally, Sony needs to expand the memory. I should have be able to change or add in my own categories. Additionally, the Sony won't remember read the saved information if the disc is another location. (If an alternate disc is put into a location with saved info, the saved information is lost as well.) Lastly, this machine would be much better if they had a 200+1 format, so renting a DVD and playing is it hassle free and saves the rotary mechanism. (I'm afraid that constant use will cause something to break rendering the machine useless.)
I'm glad that we purchased this DVD as it is convenient (once everything is entered), and it turns heads. Additionally, it was not outrageously expensive. This DVD player has all the toys that you could desire at a reasonable cost. If you are in the market for a DVD player, then definitely consider this machine. However, I'm sure that better products that resolve many of the issues that I've stated above are sure to be around the corner. In the meantime, this DVD player will turn heads and you'll have a blast showing it off to all your friends when they come over wanting to play a CD or DVD.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Raag
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Reviews written: 46
Trusted by: 3 members
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