Having just purchased a Sony LCD TV, I thought I couldn't go wrong with a matching Sony DVD/VCR player. The DVD player appears to be stable and dependable, which has got to be worth something (try finding on Amazon a DVD player with decent consumer ratings from reviewers). But for a consumer leader like Sony, the instructions are depressingly convoluted and reader-unfriendly, packed in a reduced-format manual that doesn't provide full illustrations (front, back, remote) and labels for all the jacks and controls (whatever happened to thin manuals with big pictures and "quick set-up and operation" instructions up front?). I'm not even planning on using the VCR for recording, but I'm still searching the manual to find out why VCR playback isn't registering on the monitor.

A few other minor complaints: the VCR does not accept an S-Video connector (common, I guess); the included Sony remote will operate all the TV sets in the house with the exception of my new Sony(!);... Read more

This is a great DVD/VHS player combo unit. Its interface is easy to use and programming is a snap. It has the ability to use progressive OR interlaced scan when using component outputs which is a big plus if you have a TV like mine that has component inputs that don't accept a progressive scan signal. However, on the downside, the unit can't up-convert VHS video. Hence, the component outputs only work for the DVD half of the unit. If you use them, you still have to plug in the VCR using a standard coaxial cable or RCA composite AV cables.

Also, although the manual says that composite AV cables deliver a better picture than using a coaxial cable, I just didn't see a improvment on my TV. The standard cable line provided a much deeper and cleaner picture than the RCA cables did.

Oh, and to the reviewer who asked the difference between this player and the SLVD560, I think the main difference is that the SLVD560 has VCR +.

Within a week of getting this, it started taking forever to load movie DVDs that work fine on my PC, and the movies would stop and suddenly claim to be 'unreadable disks'. They work fine in other players.

It has some nice features, but I can't say much for its reliability.