Customer Reviews

Sony VAIO VGP-XL1B3 Digital Living Systems Media Changer

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I purchased the VGP-XL1B3 about a month ago. Got it home and started loading DVD's into it. Started having problems with the carousel right away. It would not line up with the opening correctly all the time, and when you loaded a disc, it would jam halfway in. I would pull it out with tweezers, turn it off and on, and it seemed to be OK. Then About 2 weeks later and 150 DVD's into it, the DVD player wouldn't play the disc loaded into it. I then couldn't eject ANY of the 150 DVD's already in it or play them. So, resorted to cracking the unit open and removing them manually (it opens like a pc case).Amazon graciously swapped out with a new one, which has had none of the above problems. To give Sony credit, I seriously think UPS dropped the box, the way it showed up on my doorstep all beat up. Now I have been using MCE 2005 which automatically downloads cover art and descriptions, allows you to browse by genre, etc. I love not having to worry about the kids losing DVD's, or where to store them all. I also downloaded "MY MOVIES" freeware, which adds more functionality to MCE. I have a universal remote which I downloaded MCE remote IR data, and now don't even have to get off the couch to browse or watch up to 200 movies! Life is great!

Initially I had problems with this but it turns out it was a broken product, Sony replaced it and now it works seamlessly with my Media Center PC. It keeps my DVDs organized and dust free, which was all I was looking for when I bought it. I actually bought a second and daisy chain them together to increase capacity.

This product performs exactly as advertised, very versatile and simple to use. The CD database is not the best, but it gets it right most of the time. Also the software could be more intelligent about the way it handles multi disc sets.

The only con is that the changer motor is a little noisy when changing discs, but the fast change time more than makes up for this.

I've been using an HTPC in some form with Media Center from Microsoft for over 5 years now. My main movie storage was a group of high capacity hard drives and ripping movies to either xvid or MKV formats. I loose alot of added sound tracks and special features, which I enjoy.

After loosing more than a few hard drives from use and age, I decided to look into a changer. This changer, although buggy, solves my problem. In windows Vista, the dvd library feature is lacking alot of added titles and data, plus if you have episodic dvds like south park or Gundam Wing, the library names every dvd the same; making searching for one episode a hassle.

A MCE plug-in called My Movies works with this changer to remove all the sony and microsoft bugs...for the most part. After a few days of experimenting, this changer works great with my HTPC. I actually just ordered a second one because I ran out of space in the first one.

I've only used it for movies and not music cds, so I cannot comment on its use as a jukebox accessory.

Its a welcomed, albeit monstrously huge edition to my A/V collection. It does make a loud noise when changing discs, but in the closet, it's not noticible any more.

If you have a large collection of movies and are tired of the task of ripping your movies to a hard drive and with the constant worry of loosing drives...this is 200 bux well spent..

Only flaw is the software. Its sub-par at best, but third-party software does mend most of this units flaws...

As for the XL1B1-XL1B3 numbering... its the same unit, just repackaged by sony. Flawed..but a very decent alternative..plus you got bragging rights

I've had this unit for about 2 months. I got it in order to rip my whole CD collection to disk, to burn multiple copies of my own CDs and to serve up a DVD library. Although the initial setup experience was frustrating even for an expert, once installed properly it works like a charm. So, I really hated it for a couple days and was almost ready to give up on it, but now, I absolutely love this changer and I think it is wonderful. My setup includes an HP Media Center PC and an HP Media NAS with 1TB.

Set up with Vista Ultimate:
The Vista installation disk that shipped did not work at first (even though I am running Vista Ultimate it kept abending, telling me to update my system to Vista Premium or Ultimate), also the included instructions are horrible, and Sony tech support had me install an erroneous old Media Center patch that thankfully did no damage to my PC and later then told me that Vista was not supported at all(!), but I did find out how to install it properly in Vista Ultimate, No thanks to Sony:
(1) use the Vista installation disk that ships with the changer, but do not let it autorun.
(2) instead, find the Setup.EXE file on the disk and right click Properties, then click Compatibility, then check the box for Run As Administrator (even if you are installing from the primary admin account on the PC this is necessary!). Then run the setup from there and it should install normally and properly.
(3) Note: DO NOT run any other media programs while installing, nor while initially using the changer functions, this includes Nero, etc., if you want it to run perfectly. Use these other programs only after initially using it with supplied software under Media Center "My Changer."

Operating the changer
The included software works well with Media Center in Vista Ultimate for all functions including playing CDs and DVDs, ripping, burning, etc. It is easier to use the Media Center functions most of the time. The changer does not always work perfectly when controlled over the network from a device other than the PC on which it is installed, but Sony never said it was supposed to, so this is not a complaint. When installing a large number of disks such as for ripping your CD collection to a media server, it is a little slow to recognize disks initially, and if there is any interruption on the primary PC or the changer (from other programs running, or from misfeeding a disk by operator error, etc.) then I recommend starting over at the "manage disks" menu in Media Center under My Changer to check that all disks were recognized correctly. Look for errors in the changer disk library menu like duplicte disk listings to catch this before starting a long automated operation. If you take a little care in feeding the disks in the first place and make sure it reads them all correctly, then the automated functions like ripping CDs works perfectly for a large number of disks.

This thing is really big. It does what it suppose to do. Usefull if you have a media center PC. Otherwise it is not useful stand alone.

Disc changing is noisy. Operations need to be controlled by a PC, as a consequnce not as smooth as most dedicated DVD players.

This was not an easy purchase. The first unit from Amazon was an older model(VGP-XL1B). It was returned for the VGP-XL1B3...Amazon sent a VGP-XL1B2 (close enough as it apparently only needs a firmware update). Sony's website says Vista support....turns out it's only 32-bit Vista. I use 64-bit Vista. Luckily I found some controller software on the web that works (but not all the features of the MCE controller software). I have 2 of Sony's 400 DVD changers which are huge. This thing only holds 200 DVDs and is even larger. While it is not too user friendly, it is possible to rip CDs and DVDs with the unit on a 64-bit Vista system. I just wish there were better integration into the non-MCE part of 64-bit Vista (a sort of pricey 3rd party utility exists for 32-bit Vista and XP).

Note that the unit is automatically recognized when connected and powered on....it just isn't controlled by the operating system. Still if you are willing to improvise and go the long way around about doing things, you will find this can be made to work under 64-bit Vista.

It's OK for the money. I got it for $199.
It only works within media center. Not in windows by itself.
I've got MCE 2005 and had some problems with the install but it worked fine after that.
The only problem I have is the unit has to be turned on after the computer is booted.
I don't know if that's my pc or not. After I reboot, I have to turn it off, then back on, to be recognized.
I like it though.

This DVD changer is too flimsy and by its very nature unwieldy. You are out off luck if UPS does not handle it properly. In a few days of use I found that it did not read about 2 out of 10 DVDs from about 25 I tried.

When it works, it is a perfect addition to Media Center. I tried it with WindowsXP MCE, LinuxMCE and Vista Premium. Vista Premium works best and supports it with the default installation. Even though LinuxMCE also has default support for this DVD changer, the OS configuration itself is a nightmare (it is long before LinuxMCE becomes a main stream media center). A nice feature of LinuxMCE is that it can share CDs/DVDs from this changer across many Media Directors (MDs are disk-less computers functionally similar to Media Extenders). Obviously, only one MD can use the DVD changer at a time.

I had high hopes for this unit, but it let me down. Loaded approximately 12 DVDs in it to test Vista's ability to read/download the title info. First disc seemed to go ok but took a while, got up and left. Came back, it was on one of the last disc, I hear CRUNCH!!!!! when it was kicking it out of the actual player to get the next disc. I immediately stop the process (well, only as fast as windows would let me) - pulled up the disc manager, it only managed to catalog a couple of the disc, I double click the front button to eject all - here come all 12 disc, **10 OF THEM WERE RUINED - HUGE SCRATCHES ON THE PLAYING SURFACE**** I believe it was scratching them during the reading inside the player since they were circular scratched - HUGE scratches. I'm returning it for a replacement, but at this rate, I won't have any DVD's to load/play!!!!

***EDIT*** My replacement unit works fine (although it had a big scratch on the side of it), works great actually. I am now please except for the ruined disc - kudos to Amazon for shipping me out a replacement ASAP