Sony DVP-CX985V Multi-disc DVD Player

I'll bypass all the wonders as described by the other exceptional spec reviews previously posted and cut right to the chase. All pure video and audio needs of the average Home Theater Enthusiast are more than met in this hefty little $400 unit. BUT...if you're with me this far you obviously want more than the expected viewing and audio quality and clarity...you want time-saving organizational CONTROL of your massive DVD/CD collection, period. Let's face it, you can purchase a mid-line single disc player and get all the same eye and ear candy from Sony or countless other quality manufacturers at a fraction of the price, you'll just have to get up off the sofa a little more often to enjoy it. But we want to zap the remote, maybe type in a keyword or two, and "presto-magico" be impressing our friends and family by picking and playing a movie in 30 seconds or less. Ahh, no...Thinking ala MusicMatch DVD style?...Keep hoping and shopping, it's on the horizon but not on the market in this particular unit.

Let's talk about how our friendly Sony programmers designed their "Disc Explorer" database to sort and organize media based on ??? rather than our need...Okay, our demand (I mean for $400 we can be a little choosy!).

Upon loading all your DVD/SACD/CD's (give your patience and back about two hours total to slip each of up to 400 out of their original case and into it's proper slot) then press LOAD so the unit can maybe recognize the titles and perhaps a title graphic...ooh-ahh (another hour plus exercise). Out of the 375 various discs I added it recognized as other reviewers have stated maybe 10% and of that half of them with graphic but no title and vice versa...HUH...go figure, if it found the picture why can't it find the name? Oh, did I mention that in Sony's notes in the instruction manual it says that even if the disc has them, Disc Explorer may not recognize/display them...this is already not looking so good.

Titles discovered by the system are "locked in" and text can't be edited (16 character max displayed on-screen)...I.E. "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" becomes "The Adventures O". In my collection this movie would be in the A's...in the CX-985V it sorts to the T's. Given only 16 characters of type to work with I would (had I been given the option) change it to "Advs Of Baron M" but with Disc Explorer you cannot edit disc titles once found by the player. So of course, you have no control of viewing the media text truly the way you want it. Another example, one disc loaded as "Adrian Lyne's Lol"...what do I care who directed it when doing a title search (as if I can possibly remember each discs' subtle title nuances!)...it should be "Lolita" in the L's...I'm sure you get my point.

Once you've loaded all your discs and have entered all your information/graphics (no, I quit typing after about the eighth aborted attempt to override and sort...another hour plus lost) you are ultimately facing a file access system that would truly take you longer to sort/find/play a given disc (did I mention no more than 5 discs appearing in the list on-screen at one time and no intelligent keyword search options available) than if you just pulled the disc off of your alphabetically arranged DVD bookcase...even if they're in another room!!

Now if the jukebox design has more appeal than being able to view on demand (using form over function consumer logic) just resign yourself to the fact that it's yet another case of "digital convergence gone awry" (Anyone still trying to get an Audiotron to work?...sorry, couldn't resist!) and set aside part of your weekend to whip up an Excel spreadsheet of all your titles and slot positions, print, 3-ring bind and keep it near your remote and favorite viewing position. Naahh...I'm not liking that idea, period. Back to Best Buy (once I "uninstall" all of my beloved discs into their proper shelved cases) and we'll try again in a year or two...Oh, but the next time I'll read ALL the Epinion reviews FIRST!!