This classy, versatile combination deck offers the convenience of VHS recording and playback alongside high-end progressive-scan DVD performance, all in a single, WEGA-styled silver chassis standing under four inches tall. Sony's SLV-D300P handles just about any conceivable media format, from VHS and S-VHS tapes (which it renders at standard VHS resolution) to DVD-Video, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, MP3 CD, and JPEG picture CD. From your library of VHS videos to digital music files and digital photos, the SLV-D300P lets you enjoy them all in the comfort of a living room or bedroom.
Whether your living room is currently home to an HDTV or you're merely thinking of "someday," the SLV-D300P can deliver the full potential of DVDs. Progressive scanning, referred to as 480p for the number of horizontal lines that compose the video image, creates a picture using twice the scan lines of a conventional DVD picture, providing higher resolution and sharper images while eliminating nearly all motion artifacts. Other DVD functions include bookmarking, one-disc resume play (which picks up where you left off after stopping), picture zoom, parental lock, and a screen saver.
The VCR section offers one-month, eight-event advance programming to commercial skip. Your camcorder or gaming console plugs right into the front panel for hassle-free connections. Its four-head design ensures smooth slow-motion play (forward and reverse) and clear still-frame images, and with hi-fi sound the unit records and plays back stereo audio tracks. Its 19-micron heads deliver the clearest possible picture when recording or viewing in EP (extended-play) mode.
The VCR automatically marks the tape with an index signal at the point where each recording begins so you can easily scan back to the start of a recording using these signals as a reference. Commercial skip makes it easier than ever to zip past commercials and unwanted "coming attractions."
Connections with combo units are often inconvenient, forcing you to use separate video hookups for each section (DVD, VCR), a problem for some TVs. This player has it figured out: a single RF or composite-video connection to a television will display either the DVD or the VCR signal, depending on which format you're viewing. If you want to view DVDs in S-video or in component-video (either interlaced or progressive-scan), you will need to use two inputs, as the device will not upconvert the signal from the VCR to either of those higher-resolution formats.
It's a different deal for audio: you can listen through a single set of stereo analog-audio cables for each component (one is supplied), or--if you want to enjoy DVDs in discrete 5.1-channel surround sound--you can send the DVD's audio to a compatible audio/video receiver and a multichannel speaker system through a digital-audio interconnect (either optical or coaxial, not supplied). The unit also comes with an RF cable that will transmit VHS audio and video to your TV, a multi-lingual onscreen display (English, Spanish, French), and a multi-brand TV/DVD/VCR remote control.
What's in the Box
DVD/VCR combo, remote control, remote batteries (two AA), user's manual, stereo analog audio interconnect/composite-video cable, coaxial video cable, and warranty information.
1 haven't had a spot of trouble
Granted, this is my upstairs unit, and I run my downstairs unit (different Sony dvd player) much more, but I haven't had any problems with this unit. The picture appears fine, though I haven't tried hooking it up to any different sound systems. I am currently running my cable and my Playstation 2 through it, and I am completely satisfied.
2 Crappy
Very crappy combo from a reputed name. I got the home theater system about 10 months ago. Hooking up was no problem. The DVD worked fine initially, though as noted by some other authours, with a lag at times. Since past four months, the DVD just slowly fizzed to being nonfunctional since two months. Initially same DVD (forget the music CD's or other formats!!!) would either play or not play depending on the whim of the player.
I called CS last week, and am told that if I pay ~$40, + the shipping to the california based company then they may (?) think about replacing it with another "refurbished" unit...got scammed.
So think before you put in your precious dollars...
3 A GREAT COMBO DVD VCR!
What the hell are you people talking about? For those of us who are not super geeks who obsess about every little quirk with our electronic items then this is the regular persons best buy. I just wanted something that lasted, worked well, and was easy to operate. This item fits the bill. This is a great combo DVD/VCR! Compact, easy to use controls, great Sony quality, and a very reasonable cost! I have had NO problems with this unit and love it! If you want a system that plays both VHS tapes and DVDs then look no further!
4 its ok...
I got this unit thinking that it would be great since it is a Sony. It was easy to hook up and at basic testing seems fine. The unit does have mp3 cd and jpg cd playback which is nice. I personally haven't had any dvd playback issues as others have but I have been disappointed with the quality. When hooked up to a 100 watt amplifier with the volume at less then 1/4 this unit even when off produces an noticeable annoying electronic whinny noise. I also found that it failed to do well in hi-fi recording. The unit would act oddly and many times record in the old style with the audio on the side of the tape, and in this case made a disgusting warping sound. I also am disappointed that this player does not have options for random or programmable playback. I wish I did not buy this and I had bought a single dvd player and used my old hi-fi vcr.
5 DVD stops all the time
I got this thinking that Sony always makes quality. Up until this point it has been fairly true. After bringing this home and plugging it into my Plasma TV, I was glad that is worked the way it should. Everything looked great. Then, after about 45 minutes of watching, the picture froze. I assumed that the neighbors had a Sony remote for their TV and had it pointed in my direction. This happened time and time again. Night after night. I closed the blinds and it still stopped in the middle of a movie. This became VERY, VERY irritating. Only after realizing that there is no way a remote could be doing this, I found other people with the same problem.
Thanks but no thanks Sony. You blew it on this one. Learn your lesson and never start mass-producing a product that doesn't work.
6 Piece of Junk
This unit started out working poorly and went downhill from there. Sony's warranty is awful at 90 days, I don't know another manufacturer that offers such a short warranty on their products. After a series of poor quality products from Sony I am done purchasing from them. What is amazing to me besides the very poor quality design of the unit is the poor logic that went into the programming of it. There are just little logic flaws in its operation make it a much less satisfying unit to use. My 4 year old Toshiba DVD player was much better designed and a much higher quality machine, this was suppose to be an upgrade. I will be replacing this most likely with another Toshiba unit. We got this as a gift but save your money and purchse another brand.
7 Poor quality, lousy customer support
Don't waste your money. I bought this product 6 months ago. Yesterday it stopped working. Completely dead. Customer support will trade me for a refurbished unit for $85. Any complaints about this are ignored and a stock answer ("your unit appears to need repair") email is sent. Sony used to mean quality, but not for at least this product, based on many other customers experiences.
8 Warning do not buy this product!
I purchased this combo. After 10 days the DVD player did not work. I had to send it from NY to Laredo TX for an exchange at my expense. The second one did not work properly either. The VCR part did not bring in the UHF stations. I again had to send it back to Laredo. They did pay for the FedEx to Laredo, TX this time. Now they cannot seem to find this second one that I had sent back.
Their service is abominable. They do not seem to know what they are doing. It has been over six weeks since I sent back the first defective product.
9 Bad News
When shopping for a dvd/vhs combination player, I compared the various makes and models out there. Ultimately, I chose to pay a little more to get a Sony, based on my past great experiences with Sony products.
The unit worked fine until, as fate would have it, it suddenly stopped working, right after the labor warranty expired (90 days). It won't even turn on - it just died. In contrast, a Toshiba provided a few years of heavy use before it gave up the ghost.
This was a real disappointment. Now, I can chose to ship it to Sony and pay the labor charges to fix the unit (which will likely be more than buying a new unit) or I can throw it away and buy something with proven reliability. I should have done my homework. Unlike a lot of Sony products, this unit is made in China. I can only surmise that based on most everyone else's experiences, Sony has a serious problem with their factory there. I have a feeling we'll all get some class action lawsuit paperwork in the mail down the road.
10 Won't play CD-R copies of my CDs, and hangs on every DVD.
Since 80% of the other reviewers have noted the hangs when playing DVDs, I won't add much except to say that it DOES happen with brand new pristine DVDs. Almost every time.
My biggest complaint is with this unit's inability to play CD-R copies of my music collection. Now that I finally have a home theater system, I want to take advantage of it, so I'm keeping some CDs next to the DVD player. Unfortunately, my kids think it's cool to pick up my CDs. To preserve my investment, I've started making copies of my CDs to play in the family room. This unit won't play them. I get an "Error" on the screen after about 30 seconds - 1 minute of action. I've tried multiple brands of CD-R, I've tried other options for recording, and as the manual says, I've made sure the CDs are "finalized". It's interesting that these CDs play EVERYWHERE else. Both auto CD players, my boom box, every computer around, my old Toshiba DVD player, and my really old Sony CD player (about 1989!). Bottom line - either this is some funky copy protection, or the unit is a piece of CRAP! Either way, I'm never buying another Sony product again. I' always loved them, but between this player and my Trinitron TV that died after 8 years, I'm done!
11 Avoid this unit
I'm forced to give this unit at least 1 star--it deserves none. I should have listened to the reviewers who posted the problems they've had with their units, but I thought, "No, way--it's a Sony." But the bad reviews are well deserved for this piece of junk. I'm very disappointed with Sony and this player. Played great for about the first two months, then little things began to happen that I thought was my fault: the DVD's would stop playing without warning; the progressive scan never worked--I kept getting a split, black and white screen whenever I tried using it and then it wouldn't turn off right away; the DVD eject wouldn't work; the opening menu wouldn't appear even though I'd hear the movie's intro playing, and the list of quirks goes on. Of course, the unit totally gives up the ghost right after the warranty expires. My advice - don't waste your time and money on this player.
12 Crapped out too soon
VCR part stopped working after 2 months. Call to Sony's 800 number got a snotty arogant droid that refused to help.
13 I can't believe I was so stupid.
We thought about buying the cheapest and we said no -- let's get a Sony so we don't have to worry about it.
WRONG!
DO NOT BUY THIS UNIT.
Everything that everyone else says is true, plus now my DVD screen is divided in half with a line, mirror images on both sides, only plays black and white and there's no sound. (It's three months old.) I have to dig out the paperwork, but from what I'm reading I'm afraid there's no hope of a warrantee left.
14 Sony Disappointment
Sony is a name that I always thought I could count on, but this DVD/VHS combo has me afraid to buy another Sony product. It stops on every DVD it plays - brand new, used, slightly scratched, totally unscratched, whatever. It happens sometimes early on in the movie, more often an hour into it. When the player was still under warranty, I took it in to get fixed. I should have known it was not a good sign when I explained the problem and the guy said "yeah, it happens all the time." I waited a week; they said they replaced the "DVD assembly". Well it worked for about a month and then the same problem started again. The picture freezes for 20-30 seconds on every DVD. Too bad for Sony. The good reputation it built up has now been destroyed with one bad machine.
15 perspective buyer
I am thankful for all the reviews (the good, the bad, and the ugly). A few minutes ago, I WAS a perspective buyer-emphasis on WAS. After reading the reviews, I came to the conclusion that the good reviews were the exception rather than the norm.
Prior to reading these reviews, I went to my.sony.com and looked up DVD players. This one interested me because it's a combo (unfortunately, the only combo that SONY makes thus far). It's only by chance that I'm here. I am the thriftiest person that I know, so when I saw it for $145 at my.sony.com, my initial reaction was to compare prices with some of my favorite electronic stores. Not only did my jaw drop when I read the very first review, but I couldn't believe how much some people paid for this equipment! I am not dismissing the good or even the great reviews but the awful ones were hard to ignore. I am sorry that ANYONE had to shell out a dime and be treated with such disrespect. Is it possible that ALL OF YOU who purchased this product and got burned to take up complaint with the BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU? It's just an idea. Thanks for the insight.
16 Not usual Sony quality
I brought one of these in August 03. It is really picky about playing DVDs. Frequently will not play ones that look perfect to me. Now the remote control has stopped working and Sony want $55 +tax and shipping for a new one. I am very dissapointed with it. PS If your remote goes out, don't buy a Sony Universal remote, they don't control this combo unit.
17 Solid performer, mostly - but won't transfer
Solid picture & audio quality from both DVD and VHS side - but if you're looking to make a DVD from your videotape, this won't do it for you. You can make your wedding videotape into an IWeD at anchordigital.com - they do elegant wedding DVDs. Once you get your IWeD, the Sony SLV-D300P will play it beautifully - you can even compare with your original videotape in the same unit to see the difference!
18 my review
i think this is the best combo iv'e had yet!!who thinks it is 1 star?BIG SONY FAN!!
19 DVD Player Works Poorly
I bought this about a week ago and the DVD player works poorly. On a very regular basis the image skips or stops or jumps forward a few chapters. I've experienced this issue on every DVD I've tried including brand new DVDs that don't have a scratch or smudge. It looks like this problem exisits with a number of SOny DVD players.
I am going to return it tomorrow.
20 DVD Fails after several weeks
Simply do not buy this one! Played great for several weeks then the DVD player just stopped working. Returned it and the replacement unit had the same problem after 5 weeks. Unfortunately the 30 days has passed so Circuit City doesn't want to know about it. Now I'm stuck with this piece of garbage. Should have read the reviews here before i purchased. There are so many complaints about this product it seems wrong for any retailer to carry it.
21 Great machine!
This Sony is a winner! Here's the story. Started out replacing an old JVC VCR with Samsung V3500 combo ($100 on sale at Best Buy). This Samsung was a piece of junk out of the box because the VCR eject button would not work and neither did the rewind button in VCR mode. Took it back and got a Philips 750VR combo($130 at Best Buy). Mechanically a good machine but there was no thought put into this machine in terms of ergonomic design. The display on the machine itself was lilliputian in size and the remote control was a joke. No way anyone could know what button they were pressing without looking at the remote. Also, the remote was not universal and it did not play all DVD formats only +R/RW. No rew/fast forward/pause buttons on machine itself either. Bottom line on this machine is that it is user unfriendly. Took that back and bought this Sony ($180 at Best Buy). Have had it for a few weeks now. Mechanically excellent. Plays all DVD formats, good ergonomic universal remote and the machine itself has all the bells and whistles and buttons to be able to run a home theater setup, play Picture CD's, etc. Two words of advice about the Samsung and Philips machines - caveat emptor. As for this Sony - It's a Winner!
22 Practical and worth it
Like many others before me, I found it a bit troubling that it seems like the only thing people do is 'write a review' with the sole intention of giving something a bad name. I think a lot of the reviews for this item display just that.
The DVD/VCR Came in about 2 or 3 days, and it was easy to plug in with the setup I have, which suprised me because I thought i'd have to get a new TV. One zap from the remote and it was setup, and the clock auto set! If I went another couple of steps, certain TVs(especially sonys, no special code input needed) can also be easily setup to use this as the sole remote which is a great bonus! I was very amazed by features on the DVD player like the pause and zoom feature, 7 seperate rewind and fast foward speeds in addition to chapter skip foward and reverse. This was definetly a step up from the touchy playstation 2 I was using before. The VCR worked marvelously, so great in fact, I do not believe i've ever seen VHS tapes displayed in that great picture and sound ever!
So before you go and read all the bad reviews, just remember it's easy to read an instruction manual and this is a great player.
23 Great Product! The best combo out there
If you are looking for a combo, this is the one to get.
I had a strict set of requirements when I set out to buy a combo player:
- Play DVD+R/RW and DVD-R/RW
- Play MP3
- View JPEGS burnt on cds
- Progressive Scan/Component Video output
- Playback S-VHS
- Picture zoom
This one has it all! It has worked great for about a month now. Highly recomended!
24 FREEZES on almost every DVD I play!
I got this unit to replace both my old DVD player and old VCR. Went with the Sony because it touted being compatible with all the DVD-RW/+RW formats (which is the only good thing about it). From day one, I had problems with it freezing about halfway through each DVD I watched. I think it's probably at the layer switch as it is constantly around the hour mark. In any event, to fix it, you must hit STOP then PLAY on the remote. It plays the rest of the movie fine after that. It also does many other annoying things that it shouldn't do, but there's to much to list here. It's like a college student's senior design gone wrong. I'm going to try and send it back for warranty work, but from what I've been seeing, I'm not going to hold my breath. Terrible Sony.... terrible.
25 generally good but have a major design flaw
I got this combo on December and I returned it and bought 4 times and I kept it at the end but I got the 2 years service plan from best buy. I never had any of the problems that were mentioned here, probably because I got it recently and that sony took care of the software bugs that were causing that. My problem though is different. First of all, if you use the RF (Coax) output, you will notice annoying digonal waves across the screen. This is caused by poor RF output-stage design that causes too much reflections and that shows up as those diagonal waves. It is a shame that sony would approve a poor design like that. Also I tested the sound you get from the RF output and it is mono not stereo, which is also so strange, there is nothing mono these days. While probably people wouldn't care any more about RF outputs, but RF cables are very practical if you want to wire the output of your player to your computer- which is usually more than 25 feet away- so that you can record/convert TV programs to DVDs through your computer. Obviously you loose quality if you use RF, therefore it's worthless.
Second of all, The RCA output significantly degrades the picture quality if that picture is introduced to the system through one of the RCA inputs it has. So basically if I run the signal from my satelite receiver to my DVD then use the RCA output of my DVD to run the signal to my computer, I loose a significant picture quality than if I was to run the signal directly from the receiver to the computer.
Third of all, the quality of the S-video output is less than the RCA output, which is just so strange. So basically everytime I want to do something, I need to change the wiring so that I can get the maximum picture quality, which is very annoying. I exchanged the unit 5 times to make sure it was not something specific to the unit, but it looks like it is a design issue. Why did I keep it? well They are the only ones out there that can read plus and minus R/RW discs, so no matter what format your DVD burner use, you can play it using that DVD player.
26 problems I had with the SLV-D300P
I purchased the dvd-vhs combo at best buy and did not take the extended warranty started having problems from the start. A movie would stop while watching it took it in and it had a bad laser, got it back in about a week then my daughter got done watching a vhs tape went to eject it the door would not open by itself. took it back in got it back a week later again.Watched another dvd and it would stop at around 50 minutes to 1hr 20 min.had to send it in again it has been gone for about 3 weeks this time I guess they are waiting for parts as they say. I would say that Sonys warranty is not the best being a big name as they are. Best buy said if I would have taken the extended warranty from them they would have given me a new one. I hope if you plan on buying one that you don't have the problems I had
27 Don't buy this crappy product
I had a terrible experience with this product. There was a problem with the switch between vcr & DVD. I can't play tapes or record programs and spent too much time on the phone with customer service... I'm bringing it back to Circut City =(
28 Great If you have the origional remote that works
This unit would have recieved 5 stars if the remote did not stop working after 1 month. Keep in mind that I also tried to set up using a ONE FOR ALL Universal Remote and found out there are no codes for a DVD/VCR combo. Great unit otherwise. Anyone else having this problem.
29 Sadder but wiser-what a POS!!!
Same problems as many others. Many brand new DVDs, right out of the package, won't play. Those that DO play randomly freeze, and we have to press Stop and Play to get them going again.INCREDIBLY annoying. I paid $200 for this piece of junk.
I am going to Walmart to get a $40 DVD player, just so I can watch the DVDs I got for Christmas. I guess I now have a very expensive VCR. (It works fine with VHS tapes, ironically enough.)
30 be afraid, be very afraid!
what a piece of junk! every dvd played pauses for any length of time, 5 seconds to 1 minute! i've bought 3 machined from 3 different stores, and guess what? they all freeze! heres the best part, sony refuses to aknowledge ANY problem! when i call them, they all play stupid!I was even told by a customer service rep that the problem may be with my halogen lights 30 feet away in the kitchen. Like the other two before it, this ones going back. TRUST ME, go with the panasonic model, the remote is a little combersome, but it sure beats movies pausing EVERY TIME!.............shame on you, sony for failing (refusing) to do any thing about this HUGE problem!OPEN YOUR EYES,THIS MACHINE IS AWFULL!
31 Works Pretty Good
Wow! Was I ever surprised that there are so many negative reviews of this unit. Of course, did I read the reviews before buying one at Circuit City yesterday? No. We bought a new dvd with the player to get an accurate evaluation. It worked just fine. Our only question is why doesn't the film show on the whole screen? Since we have a recorder in our satellite receiver, we probably won't record on the vcr except on very rare occaisions. We are new to dvd players and we bought the Sony because of the reputation. We knew that it didn't record dvd's so are unclear about the confusion one reviewer had over that. We rate ourselves as being techno-minus so if we can operate the stuff and get it to work right, we think that it must be user-friendly. So far no problems or complaints except for the limited screen display--that could be due to our older tv set?
32 Patrick Walker's comments
You are wrong Patrick Walker.
For this price (about $179) you should NOT expect it to record onto DVD. Your acting like you've been tricked by the manufacturer/retailer when you simply haven't done your homework. I believe DVD recorders are $300+.
I just bought the unit and I've been happy so far.
33 Watch What You Buy CLOSELY
Watch What You Buy CLOSELY. We bought this in the store with the DVD-RW on the box. Turns out that it only plays DVD-RW. We wanted one that records. At this price, it should record. We will try to return without a sales reciept.
34 THIS COMBO WORKS FOR ME
We purchased this DVD/VCR combo with a little hesitation due to some negative reviews here and on other sites but have found that, for the money ($179) it is a very decent DVD player/VCR player-recorder. Setup was a breeze -- less than 5 minutes with only a glance at the instructions.
Since buying this unit last week, I've played about 10 DVDs on it. All played flawlessly with a beautiful picture. Last night we watched a DVD from the library and near the end, the picture began to break up as some other have complained about the unit. When we examined the borrowed DVD, we saw that it contained several severe scratches near the end and this is why the picture was breaking up -- not the fault of the player.
The VCR works flawlessly -- mostly we just record the news and Comedy Central and we use our tapes over and over. Even old tapes that had been recorded on many times played back beautifully on this player. (...)
I can't quite give the unit a rating of 5 because the response time on some of the commands is a little slow. Also, I have had one incidence of having no response when I pressed the eject button the DVD player. I had to switch the power off and on and press the button a couple more times before it worked. That was the second time I used the DVD, but it has worked every time since then. We have not yet completely read the manual nor learned to use all of the controls on the remote, but we are quite satisfied with the performance of this unit.
35 SONY Still Makes a Good Combination Unit
The Sony SLV-D300P Progressive-Scan Combination VCR and DVD Player is excellent. The DVD playback is very good. It is interesting that the DVD image can be output by means of Component Video Output, S-Video Output, Composite Video Output and even RF Output. The VCR component is good. It plays and records standard VHS and can playback S-VHS recordings with S-VHS Quasi Playback. Pre-recorded tapes and recordings made on my other Sony and JVC recorders look good on this unit. The VHS recordings made on the SLV-D300P are acceptable. It does have Tuner & Clock, a 1 Month/8 Event Recording Timer and Auto or manual Tracking. The Remote is small and takes some time to get used to. However, every function is described in detail in the manual. In all I am very pleased with the SLV-D300P. Besides being a space-saver I find its performance remarkable and exceeded my expectations. It not only performs well but contains so many extra features that I did not expect. This is a good unit. In find that the VCR component is better than the other stand alone VCRs from Sony.
36 I've gotta say pass on this one.
After debating, I must say to others to pass on this unit. While not enough for me to return my item to the store, if I knew what I know now, I'd pass on getting it.
I've not had most of the problems posted in previous reviews. No problems with the VHS deck, no blue lines, no physical damage done to tapes. My only real VCR concern was an odd entry in the options setup where you tell the tape size, 120, 160, etc. Why? Shouldn't the unit ONLY care about the tape size when it detects the clear leader tape at the beginning and the ending? If not, then, it appears to me this option is for some kind of fast rewind, which I've always hated in VCR's. They did nothing but tear up my tapes because they never recognized the leader tape.
Main points that stick out that potential buyers should know. First is the included remote. Unfortunately, should you need a replacement, you probably won't be able to ever control the unit again. The buttons on the console itself are few. The remote commands are too numerous, meaning a universal remote probably will be useless on this, though I've not tested this. The remote buttons are fairly small, and, you will need a full light source to see what buttons are where and what they do.
Next, the manual is surprisingly lacking. Several set up options weren't covered anywhere in the manual I could see and key areas that should have been included in the Index at the back were not listed.
Finally, the main reason I believe people should not buy this unit. It does accept DVD writable discs, however, it is WAY too picky! Within the manual itself, it warns the unit may not be able to play discs that have label stickers on the label surface. While it is not recommended to use labels as they may peel off in the drive, to have the drive somehow detect labels or the drive bay have so little space for a margin of error that it physically prevents the disc from playing is simply outrageous to accept! The manual also warns that scratches on a disc may prevent playback. While this is certainly acceptible, IF scratches are what were causing my discs not to playback, then, this unit is too sensitive to them. When I read here of the DVD being picky, I loaded all of my library, disc by disc, to see the results. 11 discs simply refused to play with the drive's "THIS DISC CANNOT BE PLAYED! CHECK THE DISC!" error. No other explanation. Just a generic error that blames you for it. Were there more detailed error messages, it might be tolerable.
No, the laser within the disc reader is simply too picky. Using rewritable DVD discs, I was able to rebuild these 11 discs into a format the drive liked. However, all 11 of these discs played before, and I tested them again, STILL played fine in four other test players that they had passed in before! A Panasonic DVR, 2 PC drives (One of the the Sony DRU-500, amazingly!) and the Playstation 2. (Another Sony reader!)
Bottom line, 2 other Sony drives played them fine, but, this unit didn't even want to read them. The DVD drive is just too picky here. Not enough for me to return it because it has yet to fail on any DVD pressed discs, just writable ones. Granted, there are a lot of miracles involved, more than people realized, in getting a writable DVD disc to work. But, for discs that worked before in drives that still work, including 2 from the same manufacturer as this combo unit, that's simply something a buyer shouldn't have to accept.
A few annoyances that can be lived with, but, were I someone else knowing what I know now, I'd pass on the drive. Again, not enough for me to return it yet, but, I also cannot recommend anyone else getting it.
37 good - if you dont use it
I bought this combo for my brother-in-laws birthday. He now thinks I know nothing about electronics. When we played a dvd I was shocked--SHOCKED to see one of the worst dvd pictures I have ever seen. Sony is a leader in dvd players. Thier players are always recommended but, they must have threw this together at the last minute with thier two cheapest units cause both were bad. I really dont know what to say.. I just dont...
38 Great but lousy remote
As a DVD player it plays great. As a VCR player it also plays great, and plays videos better than two other VCRs I owned. Worn tapes play almost as new on this Sony, and I have been very pleased with the overall performance. I also like the nice touch of the machine automatically switching to the front inputs when you plug something in (in my case a camcorder).
BUT: The remote is absolutely awful, and the deck doesn't automatically set itself to play on the TV.
The remote is awful becuase the button groupings are not intuitive, the buttons are small, the labels are small, and they are not lit. So it is impossible to use in the dark. Further, unless you own a Sony TV, you can only use limited buttons to control the TV (no direct channel change buttons, for example, only channel up, channel down and volume).
The deck doesn't set itself to play through when you switch it on as did every other VCR I have ever owned, and there is no way to do it from the front panel. Additionally, you cannot control the DVD without the remote (OK, play only but no start menus)... So if you want to watch a DVD without the remote ... you can't.
Simple things that SHOULD have been done in the original design. Typical Sony, I suppose. But they should have done better.
39 Excellent combo
I don't know a lot about VCR-DVD combo's, but this one does exactly what I want. It plays an excellent picture, both with DVD and VHS. The rewind time is great. You can switch to VHS to DVD to TV with one push of the button on the remote or on the combo itself. It was extremely easy to hookup and start, and I am a woman who does little of this. The instructions and booklet tell you exactly what to do. It even tells you what to do if you have an older TV (which requires a separate cord). I couldn't ask for anything that works better. I like it much better than my Phillips VHS player and the DVD is also much better. I would highly recommend it. My TV is Sony and it has been wonderful, so I trust the Sony name completely and they haven't disappointed me. Great unit.
40 Not what I expected from Sony
New or Rented DVDs would freeze, requiring to press "stop" and "play" again.
Not what I expected from Sony. Returned within 2 days.
41 Impressive tracking on VHS taped in EP speed
I tried five different DVD/VCR combos and this one is the best for
playing tapes taped on another machine in EP.
Since I have a drawer full of taped movies yet to be watched, this
was important to me.
42 Problems? What problems?
I liked the features of this product, but almost got scared away by the rash of bad reviews on Amazon. If there were problems with this product, they no longer exist. I have not experienced problems playing either DVD's or Videos, or with recording and playback of videotapes.
Don't be scared away. This unit does a great job.
43 Good but flawed product
The VCR part works great, we've never had a playback problem of either a new or rented tape, and the rewind speed is awesome!
The DVD part plays back fine, both video and audio, but does have the irritating problem, mentioned by many other reviewers, of occassionally pausing for some 20 seconds and sporadically freezing altogether requiring the stop button to be pressed followed by the play button. I take one star off for this annoying habit.
As at least one other reviewer mentioned, there is a design flaw in the video outputs: only the standard RCA outputs share the VCR and DVD signal, the SVHS and component outputs are DVD only. If you want to use a single video cable for the VCR and DVD signals, it therefore has to be the standard RCA output. Our TV won't display the standard RCA signal if a SVHS cable is plugged in, so unless we want to connect/disconnect everytime we switch from VCR to DVD mode and back, we can only use the standard RCA signal for both VCR and DVD playback. I take a second star off for this design flaw.
44 Absolute Disaster
With a name like Sony behind it, it is embarrassing that this DVD player performs as mediocrily as it does. Every single DVD movie that we have attempted to watch tends to pixelate and/or freeze completely (forcing us to turn the machine off an back on in order to continue watching). The quality is beyond poor and very disappointing. We did play one VHS movie and it worked fine, but that's only one half of the combo, and most movie owners prefer the DVD format these days. Recording was not that good though (a blue line appears a few inches from the top of the screen).
Overall, this is an absolue disaster of a player. No wonder every other reviewer has given it such poor ratings: it is not the cheapest in the market, and yet it is probably the worst DVD player that exists (and, hopefully, the only bad product in the sony catalogue). I am returning this piece of rubbish after all of our attempts to make it work. Do not waste time or money with it. It truly stinks :(
45 Junk product from Sony
This is worst piece of technology I have ever bought. And I’m surprised its from Sony. I returned this item in an hour after purchasing because, it never ejected the very first tape I put into it. The old Panasonic I have, already 10 years, never had any mechanical problems. Shame on Sony
46 Good product
I purchased my dvd/vcr combo(Sony SLV-D300P) from Best buy in June 2003, and had it runing myself. I have had no problems with the machine thus and far and I do have a 2 year warrenty with it as well.I can change from Vcr to DVD and back again without removing tapes or discs, and i can record as well(on the VCR part).In all it was a good buy
47 My remote died without apparent cause
First be aware that only the manufacturer's remote will operate this unit and there are few on-unit controls so without the remote you have a fairly useless piece of equipment. For me, out of the blue the remote just dies. I've done all Sony suggested, still nothing. Called the Sony warrenty people and they want me to send the remote off, and it will be weeks before I get it back. So, I figure I'll purchase a new remote, send the one that doesn't work off and then I'll have two. I'll need two I figure becuase they don't work. So, I call to purchase a remote and they tell me the cost is greater than 30% of what I paid for the unit and get this - they are backordered without a known shipping date and I'm told 60 to 90 days - at least! So, I sit with a useless unit. I purchase at Target, don't have the packaging and have had the unit 112 days so they won't take it back. I'm screwed!
48 SONY PIECE OF JUNK
Hello,
I am writing this review to warn other unsuspecting consumers that the SONY SLV-D300P is a poorly performing piece of electronics that set me back a hard earned $200. I blindly trusted the SONY brand name and quality and got burned.
Like many other victims of this piece of Japanese junk,I have to fight with the machine to get it to play or eject DVD's. The controls do not seem to respond properly. I absent mindedly threw away all the packaging which means TARGET won't let me return the piece of junk. Buyer beware. Do not purchase this piece of electronic junk. The SONY name no longer stands for quality electronics in my view.
49 Sony SLV-D300P
Right out of the box none of my front panel buttons worked eject channel,power,record, etc. What a shame my guess is tech at factory failed to connect a cable to front panel. The Time display worked fine and remote worked. Down side to universal remote is clunky switch to change between TV and VCR/DVD operation. Good Feature packed unit missing VCRPlus though it should have been included.
50 caveat emptor
The letter I wrote to Sony after returning the SLV-D300P says it all: On 24 July 03, I purchased a Sony DVD/VCR combo model # SLV-D300P, serial #0325864 3B. The DVD component works only intermittently, sometimes playing just as the directions say it should, sometimes not playing until after six or seven tries, following the directions precisely each time.
Even worse, the VCR leaves a horizontal blue line across the screen approximately five inches down from the top, which it goes right through the actor's eyes in most scenes. Not only do the programs I recorded from the TV have this blue line, but also when I played back a prerecorded video, it was permanently damaged with the same blue line. As a result I have an expensive, hard to find prerecorded video of the 1989 Tony-nominated production of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" that now has a horizontal blue line running through 2 ? acts of the 3 act play. When it dawned on me it was actually being damaged, I pulled it out half way through the last act. When played on a different VCR, the blue line stops at the point I pulled it out of the Sony.
When I called Sony customer service on 19 Aug 03, I was coldly informed by the female supervisor who would not give me her name that the fine print on the warranty card stated that Sony is not responsible for any damage done to media by its products. She actually whined that any other company that I might buy from would have the exact same policy.
What this tells me is that your customer service employees have been complained about so many times that they defensively do not give their names, that you do not have effective quality control because you don't have to, and that you neither believe in your own product, nor do you stand behind it. As I told your customer service employee, if I had bought some cheap brand, I would simply think, Well, that's what I get - but you're Sony! That's supposed to mean something! I can't believe you have so little value for your good reputation. I can't believe this is how you treat a return customer of over 25 years.
It is not my fault you let a lemon get out of your factory. There is no way I could have known a top of the line Sony would permanently damage my videotape. You are responsible for a $48.00 videotape being ruined.
Several years ago, I read a "Newsweek" article contrasting Japanese and American business ethics. It was noted that salespeople carefully look over merchandise in Japanese department stores, removing any damaged goods before the store opened because it would dishonor the store if they sold a cracked vase, for example, whereas in the U.S., a store owner would turn the crack in the vase to the back of the shelf and hope to unload it on a customer unaware of the defect. Clearly business ethics don't export as well as hardware - and it should make you ashamed.
I trusted you. You owe me $48.00 and an apology
51 did not work until unit repaired, under warranty
It would allow you to go from DVD to video thr the remote and would only sometimes let you set up through the Menu to let you record, etc.
It was not ever working correctly from the start. Finally when a tape stuck and could not be released, I was forced to go to a Sony repair center.
They fixed the entire problem, had to get a part from Sony...took about 10 days. And now it works just fine. But, I am not impressed..as it should have worked OK in the beginning. At least, Sony stood behind the product. Glad I had it fixed within the free warrantly period.
52 Nice Spacesaver does it all (well) at a reasonable price,,
I bought this combo unit to replace my recent new purchase of a similar Panasonic unit which had "seemingly poor" reviews such as this Sony unit has had here. (clumsy, unintuitive remote and user manual made the unit difficult to use as well) I like Sony products and have preferred them for many years and am one who returns products if they don't live up to my slightest expectations. I bought this unit 2 weeks ago and THEN read the few reviews here about DVDs pausing midplay and was concerned. The VCR portion seems acceptable (Timer TV recordings aren't as HQ as I would wish though) and the DVD player has worked flawlessly with burned CD's as well as movies from Blockbuster. It even does a nice job with the JPG images burned on a cd (which is a nice way to show your photos to a group) which the Panasonic choked on in random fashion. I'm wondering whether the few units which had the same DVD play problems was a MFG batch problem which has been taken care. (sounded like a firmware glitch) I like this unit! It has a nice remote which WILL also operate your TV (unlike the Panasonic) so one remote handles 3 of my ever expanding devices hooked up to the TV and Stereo. It has features such as up to 128 x fast forward on the DVD, as well as "zoom" to get a closer look at images from your digital camera or DVD movies. When you first plug it in, it automatically sets the clock AND Channels for you and retains this for 24 hours if the power goes out. The easy to read manual allows you to use the many extra features this unit comes with and the unit has done so for me without a hitch!
53 S-Video output *ONLY* for DVD!
I had this device hooked up for 30 seconds and decided to return it because it lacks critical functionality essential for a multi-device: the S-Video output only works for the DVD video! WHY?????? The device must have been rushed to market because this is a major design flaw. The purpose main of a combo device is to treat the entire device as a single unit: one power source, one remote, and all the video inputs and outputs should handle all of the A/V that the device can handle. Without unified A/V output, the rest of my A/V equipment must continue treating DVD & VHS playback as seperate electronic devices! So then what's the advantage of a combo device over having the 2 as seperate components? Plus, the VCR which it was replacing had S-Video output so I'd be forced to trade down on my VHS quality. Ridiculous. Almost as ridiculous as the long delay in adding DVD-R/RW support to DVD players.
The second design flaw is a situation they are responsible for creating: no MP3 playback from DVD-R/RW discs. I didn't test but the booklet said this was only possible from CD-R/RW which is basically what the rest of the electronics industry imposes. A few years back settop device makers decided to be nice and throw us users a bone by unexpectedly giving us MP3 support from CD-R/RW. Now that we're used to that, it's only natural to expect the ability from DVD-R/RW discs. So why do they continue to refuse adding this feature?
While the missing S-Video output might seem trivial to some people, it is a major drawback for me and is the reason the device was returned. People shouldn't tolerate bad design like this and the only way companies will knock it off is if the public stops accepting it.
54 Me too...
The first unit I got would not play some DVDs and would freeze playing others. I replaced it and had the same ploblem. There is clearly a design flaw here.
55 Sony is not what it used to be
I had the same problem as everyone else.
About 40 minutes into playing a DVD (every DVD)- it would stop for about 20-30 seconds then continue.
From reading the reviews - looks like this is NOT a unique problem!
But when I called Sony about it - they said nothing about being familiar with this problem.
I had to return the unit.
The salesman told me that even though it is a Sony. It is made in Mexico with all the other DVD players...
So what's in a name - nothing probably...
56 VCR not adequate for watching pre-recorded TV programs
Two features convinced me to buy this:
1. Easy setup for recording tv programs -- which I was very satisfied with.
2. Has commercial skip (which was described to me by the salesman that it would know, from the increased volume level of the commercials, to stop fast forwarding when the regular program started to playback.) However, it DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY. By hitting the SKIP button, the VCR skips the tape for 30 seconds on the counter each time button is pressed (up to 4 times). The problem is that the COMMERCIALS last WELL OVER 2 minutes.
In addition, the FAST FORWARD has ONLY ONE SPEED -- you can't "double click it go faster (like the other 4 VCR's I've had do.)
I even called Sony customer service department and verified that it does not have two speeds.
In a nutshell, if you like to prerecord your favorite TV shows and be able to WATCH THEM LATER and FASTER, this machine IS NOT FOR YOU.
57 Stay Away from this Unit!
Just bought mine at Wal-Mart as part of Sony's pre-packaged home theater system. I should have checked the reviews here firat. I tried 3 different DVDs and it stumbles on all of them -- pauses and pixellation. Very disappointing. Everything goes back tomorrow!
58 Disappointing unit
As mentioned by other users, this unit experiences difficulty in playing DVDs. Not only does it pause on occasion, but the screen also gets pixelated in the process. Interestingly though, the unit does do a good job at playing back VCDs. The VCR unit also operates flawlessly.
59 sad for a Sony product
Same problems as everyone else, DVD stops playing even on a new DVD. Took it back and will buy a different brand.
60 do NOT buy this one!
I used be (and still am) a Sony fan, but this one disappoints me.
Like other reviewers already written, this player doesn't play DVD's properly. It pauses while playing DVD's, forcing me to push the stop and play buttons again. Note that this happens even with new DVD's.
I won't recommend this one to anyone.
61 Bad Buy
I just returned my Sony unit also. After 4 days. Every DVD I played,new as well as used had the problem of pausing. At least once, usually twice during playback. I now have a Toshiba which is working great.
62 Excellent out of the box-- no manual needed
If you have ever connected a VCR or DVD then this unit will offer no problems in setup; in fact, I did not have to use the manual at all. I bought this VCR/DVD combo mainly on the quality of Sony's name (having bought a Sony camcorder and laptop PC in the past), and the fact that I could replace an aging cheap VCR and DVD for less than both units together would cost. Since my family will use this system heavily (4 hours plus a day), I did not mind going for the quality.
I tried both old and new DVDs and tapes as I tested the unit and had no problems with pauses, skips, or picture quality. Some of the DVDs did have scratches (you can't have kids and DVDs in the house without scratches!) The remote control's basic functions are easy to learn, and the remote did control the channels and volume on my Sanyo TV. (If you own a Sony TV, you will get more functions.)
The setup funtions all worked well and "intuition" alone guided me through the menus. The automatic clock set and the channel learning were the only settings I had to use; everything else stayed at default with no problems.
If you want to stay cheaper, look to Emerson and Panasonic, but for me, once again, Sony has come through with another great product.
63 Buyer Beware
I just returned this unit because of the same problems people had with the earlier SLV-D100. The first line on the addendum says "DVD's with scratches may cause the disc to pause". Not a good sign. Scratches or not the machine paused on every dvd I played. New, used, played once or twice it didn't matter. They all froze at some point in time during playback. I tried eight dvd's and had trouble with them all. I called Sony and of course they had nothing to offer. I wanted to keep this item but I had to return it, it was useless. I'm going to look at Panasonic next, hope they are better. I really used to admire Sony products. I have an older Trinitron TV and the picture is still amazing, nothing like it today. But today's Sony equipment is price competing junk.
