Sony DVP-CX985V 400 Disc Progressive DVD / SACD Player
Flawed, but mostly awesome.
I've seen so many negative reviews of this machine that I feel the need to comment myself. The user interface is definitely it's biggest flaw. I, too, have resorted to using secondary lists to know where my discs are. At first I used a paper list, and now I have a file on my laptop for my CDs and use my IMDB account for my DVDs. (Just type the slot number in the URL section of your movie notes) Anyhow, it is a big area Sony can improve on. What I would ultimately like to see is an ethernet connection to get the info off CDDB, etc. I was one of the folks who bought this for CD's, opting for the DVD version because of the small price gap between the two. What I absolutely LOVE about this machine is having all (or most) of my CDs able to be played though randomly. Granted, a few minutes are spent setting up with the akward menu system, but once set, this thing will play forever until I stop it. I have to wonder why I have to scroll though a menu for such a common function as shuffle, though? Here is the exact procedure for starting the process. Turn on machine. Default folder is \\"ALL\\". Hit folder button once to show the \\"ALL\\" folder, again to move to \\"DVD\\" folder, and once again to move to \\"CD\\" folder. Now, you cannot access the menu that contains the shuffle function unless a disc is playing, so hit play. After disc loads, hit \\"display\\" button twice to get to correct menu. Scroll down 6 items, then hit right arrow to enter shuffle menu, then down once for random disc, or down twice for random tracks across all discs  [my preferred]. So yes, there is definitely truth in the poor menu design complaints. But, after doing this daily, I basically can do it with my eyes closed, and don't even need the TV on. As far as performance, I have had this nearly two years now and never had a single problem other. I often leave it playing CDs at random for hours, if not days at a time. Playback is flawless (I use the optical output). DVD,s too (via component)all play perfectly. I toowish more DVD manufacturers would include pictures and title info.  One last thing that bothers me...I had dreams of burning comp discs of MP3's to load and play randomly, but after trying the few I already had, the machine really doesn't like them much. It pretty much ignores MP3 discs in random mode. Also, MP3 discs cannot be put into folders. Additionally, VCDs are auto grouped with CD's which can get annoying on random. I stopped storing VCDs in my machine for this reason. Well, I'm not sure my review will come across much better than the others. It is harder to expand upon the reasons I love this machine, and easy to draw out the negatives with detailed descriptions of the problems. All in all, I think most people with a sizeable collection would appreciate all that this unit has to offer, and like myself, overlook even it's glaring flaws.