Sony DVPCX995V 400-Disc DVD Mega Changer/Player (2009 Model)
Excellent!!
I just got starting hooking up the Mega Changer so this is a preliminary review. <br /> <br />** Positives <br /> <br />I literally had DVD's and CD's scattered everywhere. I have one of those huge DVD racks. It was full and I even had DVD's stacked on top of that, plus hidden in my book shelves on top of books. <br /> <br />I would tend to grab a DVD to watch, and leave it out in the living room, go grab another, etc. Eventually I would have 5 or 6 stacking up in the living room until my fiance put them back into my rack. Sometimes I would even leave them outside of the case. Then I would misplace the case and have a bare DVD sitting around. You get the picture, I am lazy when it comes to instant gratification!! <br /> <br />I read the reviews before getting this device. I basically wanted to create a state of the art home theater at my house. I purchased a BenQ projector, ceiling mounted it. I built a 9' wide by 6' high screen. I purchased a Yamaha 7.1 HTR5860 receiver with a full 7.1 speaker setup. After going to the store and looking at this device which was retailing for $399.99 plus California Sales tax, I purchased it from Amazon for $319.00 with free shipping. <br /> <br />Before the device came, I ordered a digital optical cable for the connection to my Receiver, and I am using component connection through the reciever to the BenQ projector, with a seperate switching setup for RCA to a standard TV if for some reason the bulb blows out on the projector and I have to wait a few days for a new bulb. <br /> <br />Anyway getting to the Mega Changer. After reading the reviews, I created an Excel Spreadsheet and put each and every DVD, home made DVD, and CD into the spread sheet. This took many hours, however the upside is that I now have a catalog of all of my media. Heck, I found stuff that I forgot I had!! <br /> <br />The hookups to my media center were a snap. I am not running HDMI but the research I have done on the subject lead me to the conclusion that Component was just as good as HDMI. My projector takes 1080i and my receiver will upconvert S-Video and Composite to 1080i anyway so I do not need HDMI. <br /> <br />The video out of this unit is awesome. The sound running through the optical link through my Yamaha is mind blowing. <br /> <br />I purchased one of those DVD cleaning devices. I inspected each DVD and cleaned them when necessary before putting them into the changer. As I inserted each DVD into the changer, I wrote down the slot number. After doing 50 at a time, I would go back to the computer and update the spreadsheet with the slot number and then print out that revision of the spreadsheet and to the next 50. I am glad I did it this way because after a while I made a few mistakes on the slot numbers. <br /> <br />I now have all of my DVD's catagorized in my excel spreadsheet and printed out and put into the changer. (I am purchasing another changer because I have already run out of room.) <br /> <br />I literally have stacks of empty DVD cases piled up in my room right now. I am going to put them into boxes, and put them into the garage!! <br /> <br />It is awesome to be able to have my entire collection put into one device. <br /> <br />The benefit of being able to have your entire collection in one device, and not get lost, scratched, damaged, or broken, substantially outweighs having to wait a few extra seconds for the changer to load your DVD!! <br /> <br />A couple of the other positives I have seen is that you can put a parental lock on each and every DVD if you want. Now my children are all grown up and not living with me, but there are certain DVD's that I might now want my fiance to see if you know what I mean!! This device will allow you to put a passcode into the DVD's you do not want others to see. <br /> <br />Secondly, there is a lock for the front of the unit that cannot be disabled by powering the unit down. You must enter the right key sequence to unlock it so that it opens. This is another huge plus. <br /> <br />** Negatives <br /> <br />I am going to buy a battery back-up system because there is no way I am going to want to re-program this thing once it's programmed!! They should have put a simple battery in the device to retain the config in ram just like in your computer. <br /> <br />They should have put in a USB 2 port and provided a simple PC program to download and upload configs!! Kind of like the iPod! <br /> <br />My first impression is that this unit has so many bells and whistles that it is going to take a while to figure them all out. <br /> <br />If you are like me, you are going to want to know all of the in's and out's of the unit. I know I am not going to want my fiance messing with it!  <br /> <br />I am going to use my X10 system to create macros on an X10 learning remote so that she can easily load up whatever DVD she wants with a couple of pushes of a button. This will take some time to program. <br /> <br />One of my big concerns is; what if someone breaks into my home and steals the thing? The cost of the device is nothing compared to the $8,000.00 worth of DVD's in it!!  <br /> <br />I am probably going to create backups of all of my DVD's that are in the system just in case. <br /> <br />I am contemplating building a hidden and locked area to place these mega changers in just like you do in your car. I would then use an X10 IR repeater to bounce the remote signal to the hidden and locked area where the changer is located. It does not make sense to have something like this out in the open for burglars to rip off. It will be a top priority for me to get these devices hidden. <br /> <br />Anyway, I am just getting to learn this device. I am sorry for the long post. I will supplement this review if anything of significance comes up! <br />