Sony SLV-D300P Progressive-Scan DVD-VCR Combo
Picky, picky, picky!  (the reviews, not the player)
I have read the reviews for this product, and I have been horrified by how nit-picking and petty some of them are. One star simply because it does not play a Sony disc? Just how many of those does the buyer have in proportion to discs from other manufacturers? And one star simply because it does not do every single thing you demand of it? Isn't that more than a little extreme?    Perhaps I betray the fact that I'm not an electronics expert, since I am not familiar with all the electronic terms I found in the other user comments, but what I expect the DVD player to do - specifically to play DVD's - it does pretty well, and in the three years since I bought it, it has worked fine. The parental control has never malfunctioned. And it plays VHS tapes just as well.    Those who complain about some DVD's not playing on this machine after a while should perhaps ask yourselves, \\"How well do I treat my discs?\\" If you leave them lying around, if you don't put them back in the case, if you spill something on them - OF COURSE they will not play well! But if you treat them like precious gold, they will work.    Some discs, I admit, have not loaded up when I wanted them to (that is, the menu didn't come up). I discovered a solution, however. Without taking the DVD out, I inserted a videocassette into the VHS slot, switched over to video, and pressed \\"Play\\" on the remote control (there's nothing wrong with that item either, BTW). The videocassette then began playing, so I switched the control back to DVD mode. Lo and behold, the menu on the DVD had loaded up, and the DVD began working beautifully.    Update: (Jan. 9, 2007): I have read the two most recent reviews of this player, and I can safely say that while some of my DVD's have frozen up during play, I have managed to overcome that, and I *certainly* have not had the problems outlined by the last two reviewers. My guess is that they either bought a model in used or poor condition, or they did not read the instruction book. Theinstruction book clearly states, on the third page, why the player might occasionally not function, and gives tips on overcoming that.