Motokichi's Full Review: Sony DVP-S530D DVD Player
The Sony DVP S530D is my first DVD player. I bought it in 1999 from Best Buy. At the time, the price for non-decoder versions at most outlets were this price, and I felt that I got the decoder for free. The rest of my system consists of a Nakamichi AV-500 receiver, Paradigm Reference Bookshelf mains, Paradigm CC-450 center, and a DPR-12 sub. I use a pair of speakers from a Sanyo boombox for rears. My TV is a 27" Panasonic.
The Sony comes with most features you'd expect in a DVD player. As with other Sony products, the black player is nicely styled. On panel operation is simple and most basic features can be accessed without the remote. The Decoder is somewhat limited with no adjustments offered for the 5.1 channels. Media loading is noisier and rougher than expected.
One thing you must remember to do is to go through the setup for DVD playback. The default setup assumes a stereo setup, not 5.1. You have to use the screen assisted setup to turn on the outputs for the rears and subs. (This is embarassing, but I only just discovered this feature. Before I had a Sub, it didn't bother me.)
The Remote controller is typical Sony, stylish, compact and mostly easy to use. One problem is that it looks too much like my Video remote (also a Sony) and sometimes I grab the wrong one.
Picture reproduction is clear and accurate, no adjustments to the TV are necessary. I think tracking is only average, and the slightest scratch will cause it to skip.
The biggest problem I have had is with the picture not matching the sound. It doesn't happen every time or on all DVD's. And no, these are not dubbed foreign flicks I'm watching. Some comedian used to do a gag on chinese martial arts flicks, where he would stop talking and continue to move his mouth. And that's what I'm experiencing with this player.
The Sony also doubles as my CD player. Generally, the sound is every bit as good as the old CD player, but I have had problems with the CD being recognized on loading. Using a CD lens cleaner kit seems to have had positive effect on correcting that problem. I am still concerned about this being a problem and will probably take it to my Sony Service center.
Another gripe I have when I use it as a CD is that the program menu is not intuitive. It took several tries for me to program tracks in the perfect order, and I will probably have to relearn this again next time. I consider myself to be pretty good with these things, so technophobiacs will probably have to resort to the manual.
Overall, my experience with this player has been good, but nothing spectacular. I hope the next generation of players will be better.
Component-, composite-, and S-video outputs Plays DVD-video, CD digital audio, and video CD; offers CD and DVD Text Dolby Digital decoder with 5.1-cha...More at Amazon Marketplace
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