I've had this player for about a week now and am reasonably happy with it. I bought this player to replace my 3 year old Sony DVD player that couldn't read my burned DVD-R or DVD+R media.

Not a problem with this unit -- I've thrown DVD+R, DVD-R, and DVD+RW disks at it and it's had no issues whatsoever, nor has it had any problems reading the several Netflix rental DVDs I've thrown at it. So far, so good.

The picture on my 4:3 tube TV is excellent, as you'd expect, although it seems slightly darker than what I'm accustomed to, even after fiddling with the various cinema modes.

Startup time to read DVDs is definitely longer than with my 3 year old player although if it buys you the ability to read almost any disk format, it's not a big deal if you have to wait 10-15 seconds to get started.

The multi-disk memory is an excellent feature, allowing you to remove a disk and play others and when you put the disk back in, the player will take you... Read more

Let me start off by saying that I didn't buy this DVD player to play burnt DVDs or SVCD, I just wanted a good DVD player to play my regular DVDs when my old Sony died. The picture quality is very impressive and I DO NOT have mine hooked up progressive scan just S-video so I am sure that progressive scan would make it that much more impressive.

Pros

-Great Picture

-Great Sound

-No problems with any movies so far and plays Friends DVDs flawlessly (I had read some complaints about TV season DVDs but it hasn't happened to me.)

-Great, Easy to use remote

Cons

-No optical out (just digital coax)

Bottom Line is that if you want to play everything under the sun with progressive scan get a Phillips DVP642. If just want something to play your store bought DVDs with great picture and sound quality this model is for you.

I made the mistake of purchasing this unit without knowing that it contained a major design flaw. I own a 16:9 widescreen HDTV. Most people have 3 types of DVD's: Anamorphic Widescreen (Inhanced for 16;9 TV's, Widescreen DVD's (not set up for widescreen TV's), and 4:3 pan and scan (full screen) format. When playing the 3 different types on one DVD player you need to switch from Progressive to normal for proper playback. My last progressive scan (Philips) DVD player allowed me to do this via the onscreen menu using my remote. But this unit only has a progressive/normal switch at the back of the unit next to the cable connections. In short, when I need to switch from one to the other to accomodate the type of DVD I am using I have to pull the Sony NS575P out of my entertainment center to switch the button. I mean, it is not even on the front of the unit. Nobody buys a DVD player to have to flick buttons on the back of the machine. Nobody that is, but me. I made a big mistake in buying... Read more