Sony DVP-S550D DVD Player
Good picture -- when it works...
Let me get right to the point.  When this DVD player was working, it worked well.  Good picture quality, reliable service, reasonable remote.  WHEN it worked...<br />Unfortunately, this particular generation of Sony products falls victim to Sony's perplexing high failure rate and infant mortality problems.  After only six months of very moderate use, suddenly the unit refused to play newer DVDs (instead, displaying an &quot;Insert Disc&quot; message).  Soon thereafter, we got the dreaded &quot;C:13&quot; error on the screen and front panel of the player, indicating that the unit had essentially failed.  Now, I can play a few older, single-layer DVDs, but not newer dual-layer DVDs.  In researching the C:13 error via Google, it appears that Sony refuses to recognize the MASSIVE number of people experiencing this problem.  Now, it appears that some class-action lawsuits may be headed Sony's way from some very upset customers.  I am certainly one of them.<br />So, caveat emptor.  Sony certainly is an innovative company, but their quality control and longevity engineering is woeful as evidenced by the huge number of failures experienced by this product.  Thus, I offer a resounding one star for poor performance by Sony.