Sony DVP-CX860 301-Disc DVD Player

Product Review

Bulky, powerful, and full featured, the Sony DVP-CX860 DVD player holds up to 301 of your favorite CDs or DVDs in one place, letting you easily switch between Mozart and Moulin Rouge without even leaving the couch. The unit employs Sony's Disc Explorer management system to make order out of the chaos, organizing discs by genre, title, or other method via an onscreen interface. The system even offers separate folders for each family member to make things easier. An added bonus is the disc-flip mechanism, which automatically corrects for CDs and DVDs that were inserted backwards, while also accessing both sides of a two-sided DVD.

The player is compatible with audio CDs, Video CDs, and DVDs, and is also equipped for connection to an A/V receiver with built-in Dolby Digital and DTS decoders for rich 5.1-channel surround sound. Other features include Sony's exclusive Digital Cinema Sound modes, which provide customized audio for everything from dialogue-driven films to big-budget action spectacles, along with SmoothScan high-speed forward and reverse and SmoothSlow slow-motion forward and reverse.

The system also offers a 10-bit/27 MHz video digital-to-analog converter for superior signal transfer, along with 24-bit/96 kHz linear PCM audio decoding. To ensure better connectivity, the player includes a component-video output, two S-video outputs, and two A/V outputs, along with two digital outputs (one optical and one coaxial).

What's in the Box
DVD player, A/V cord, S-video cord, remote control, two AA batteries, user's manual.

Product Features

301-disc CD/DVD changer with Disc Explorer navigation system
Compatible with Audio CDs, Video CDs, and DVDs
SmoothScan high-speed forward and reverse and SmoothSlow slow motion
Component-video output, 2 S-video outputs, 2 A/V outputs, and 2 digital outputs (1 optical and 1 coaxial)
Digital Dolby and DTS audio compatibility for rich 5.1-channel surround sound

Accessories

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review

(7 customer reviews)

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

Never had a problem in 2.5 years, July 18, 2002

J. Peterman - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony DVP-CX860 301-Disc DVD Player (Electronics)

Contrary to what others have said, my experience with this DVD mega-changer has been excelent.I think some of the problems mentioned stem from the user not understanding how the machine works. For example, a person in one of the previous reviews said, "It also likes to drop the one you had in the easy slot (the 'plus one' slot) into other available slots, and I have to go looking for it"This only happens if you turn the player off physically at the machine (also, if there is a power failure during,say, a thunder storm) instead of a power down with the remote. Powering down with the remote allows the disk to be removed from the dvd drive and placed back on the carosel.Picture and sound are excellent on my 53" Sony rear prujection tv.The only complaint i have is with the disk explorer feature. But then i bought a good number of my dvd's years ago before title info was included on dvd's, anyway.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

jeffreyp14 is right ... I think ..., July 22, 2002

Mary Glynn "iMary" (Coral Springs, Florida USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony DVP-CX860 301-Disc DVD Player (Electronics)

... but I hate to admit it. Today, I removed all my disks from the player for the 5th time in the year I owned the sony. I had it in the authorized service center 3 times and sony even replaced my unit once and was about to again for the same problem, putting the disks back wherever it felt like instead of where they belong. Not just the EZ play disk, but anything I watched. One of the times I had it repaired, the service guy told me he had 7 other units currently in for the same thing. Trouble is my unit is hooked up to my whole system and when the movie was over, we turned the whole system off. With all those repairs and replacements no one ever asked how we were turning the unit off! It might have been in the manual -- which I did read, but I don't think I realized the difference between powering off from the remote and via the a/v system. After reading Jeffreys post I tried it a few times and it did put it back correctly when I powered off from the remote and did put it...Read more

22 of 29 people found the following review helpful

I Can't Believe How Bad This Is, September 22, 2001

Curtis L. Waln (Albuquerque, NM United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony DVP-CX860 301-Disc DVD Player (Electronics)

I am so aggravated with this machine, I hardly know where to begin.
When I first brought it home, at least it didn't fail mechanically, so I'll start with my initial impressions. The programming of this machine is really amateurish. The disc management software is slow. The device insists on loading a disc when you first turn it on, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. Anytime you make any selection, the carousel spins, seemingly pointlessly, in both directions before finally homing in on the disc you want.
Since I brought this machine home, it has had worsening mechanical problems. It has trouble picking discs up out of the carousel, and trouble putting them back. The machine jams, then turns itself off, and every time it does this, it takes at least five minutes to get it going again.
In summary, this is a badly designed product and is flimsily constructed. I will be wary of buying Sony again.