Sony SLV-D550P DVD/VCR Combo

Posted in VCR Product | February 26th, 2010

Manufacturer: Sony
Customer Rating:
List Price: $189.99
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Product Description

Enjoy DVDs, VHS videos, and your CD-based digital media files right in the comfort of your living room or bedroom with the Sony SLV-D550P DVD/VCR combo unit, which handles almost any conceivable media format, from VHS and S-VHS tapes (which it renders at standard VHS resolution) to DVD-Video, DVD-R/RW, and DVD+R/RW discs. It also offers playback for CDs, Video CDs, CD-R/RWs, and MP3s, while also displaying JPEG images onscreen through the included image viewer.

The SLV-D550P fulfills the full potential of your DVDs thanks to its progressive scan function. Referred to as 480p for the number of horizontal lines that compose the video image, progressive scanning creates a picture with twice the scan lines of a conventional DVD picture, giving owners of high-definition TVs higher resolution and sharper images while eliminating nearly all motion artifacts. Audiophiles will appreciate the multiple sound options, including audio output for PCM, Dolby Digital, and DTS, and a virtual surround option that simulates surround sound effects from a traditional two-speaker stereo setup. Viewers can also choose from several aspect ratios that optimize the image to the TV's dimensions. 4:3 letterbox, for instance, displays the entire movie image on a traditional 4:3 TV with black bands along the top and bottom, while 16:9 is the ideal setting for a widescreen TV. Additional DVD features include disc bookmarking, a handy zoom feature for closer looks at scenes, multi-angle playback, parental lock, and slow-motion frame advance.

Meanwhile, the VCR component is easy to program and set up, with a Quickset timer dial for setting the recording date, start time, stop time, and channel. A quick turn of the wrist is all it takes to activate the record function. In addition, the VCR's four-head design ensures smooth slow-motion play (forward and reverse) and clear still-frame images, and its hi-fi sound records and plays back stereo audio tracks. The unit's state-of-the-art 19-micron video heads deliver the clearest possible picture when recording or viewing in EP (extended play) mode, while the VCR Plus+ setting simplifies the advance one-month, eight-event programming timer. The VCR also offers commercial skip for zipping past commercials and previews, 60-second Flash Rewind, auto tracking, and an auto head cleaner.

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 TV 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 component video (either interlaced or progressive-scan), you will need to use two inputs, however, 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 AV 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/DVD 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 player VCR combo, Cinema Illumination remote control, 75 ohm coaxial video cable, RCA-type AV cord, two AA batteries, user's manual.

Sony SLV-D550P DVD/VCR Combo Details

DVD/VCR combo unit with progressive scan and 4-head hi-fi VHS playback
Plays DVD-Video, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW, CD, VCD, CD-R/RW, VHS, MP3, and JPEG image CD formats
480p progressive scan output delivers seamless, flicker-free images on compatible TVs
1-month, 8-event VCR Plus+ programming with commercial skip and Quickset dial
DVD bookmarking, picture zoom, and multi-angle playback; 16.93 x 3.35 x 11.29 inches (W x H x D)

Video Reviews

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Customer Reviews For Sony SLV-D550P DVD/VCR Combo

Why a DVD/VCR Combo?

Review Date: July 4, 2004

Reviewer: G. Ware Cornell Jr., Weston FL

In years to come, we will look back at VHS tapes much as we do 8 tracks today. Big, clumsy and slow by today's standards, in twenty years we have gone from seeing them as miracles to third rate technologies.

But here is the problem. We have lots and lots of those third rate technologies in our houses with everything from the kid's first birthday party to that Alaska trip for which you even haven't finished paying. And there is still no easy, cheap transfer medium.

So that means the old VCR needs to be around, but the stack of TiVOs, Satellite receivers, digital cable boxes, and DVD players fill up the space under the TV with bulk and wires. A combination makes perfect sense.

And if you get one, get a good one, because the reality is the good ones don't cost that much more than the cheap ones. Progressive scan is a must, and so is 5.1 Dolby. Remember that the main thing you will watch on this is DVDs.

As to the VCR side, you may want VCR+ which this model has, but who do you know that actually uses it? If the problem is that VCRs are too hard to program, how does a feature that takes half a day to program for the technically savvy help the VCR illiterate?

not bad

Review Date: October 11, 2004

Reviewer: Ramu Poonjolai, Albany, Newyork USA

This piece is working fine. But it does not have much features particularly PICTURE MODES.

Not a good buy

Review Date: September 22, 2004

Reviewer: JR, New york, NY USA

I purchased this DVD/VCR combo and for a few months it worked fine. After this it became a nightmare, first the picture would break up, then it would just stop working and turn itself off. After a couple of days of this, I called for service to Sony. Getting it serviced under warranty was even worse. This is why if you want to buy a DVD/VCR combo I suggest you find another brand that will make itself responsible for it's product.
Good Luck

2 stars for the time period it actually worked

Review Date: August 31, 2006

Reviewer: BlackWebDiva, Portland, OR USA

Now, after what appears to be a standard 9 month life expectancy, every DVD I put in the player now results in the message "Error". Actually, the VCR player still works great. I guess now I'm expected to be ghetto and buy a new DVD player and stack it on top of the broken one, so I still have a VCR player! I guess you can't even trust a name that has a proven track record of quality products. I know it will be more trouble than it's worth to try to fix it!

Sony combo

Review Date: May 23, 2007

Reviewer: 00charger,

This is the first Sony product that I've ever owned that I was truely disappointed with. Its DVD player makes a high pitched whirring noise when playing, and stops frequently during chapter changes. Also, if there is the tiniest of scratches or smudge on the DVD, it will skip, stop, or simply not play it. On the bright side, the VCR works perfectly. One other major gripe, if the power shuts off for half of a second, you'll need to reset the time which is a pain in the butt. I'm a Sony fan, but this one is a dud.

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