Bought this for my gran and so far very pleased with the playback. Loses a star for the slightly flimsy buttons.
The device itself has only four buttons: Power, Eject, Stop and Play. These are on the top (the Power to the far left, the other three to the right-hand side of the display) and do not have a very satisfactory feel, seeming distinctly cheap. I'm not entirely sure they are as responsive as could be--you may have to be sure to press firmly for it to register. The remote duplicates all except the Eject button (so far as I can see) but provides a wealth of other features, including a volume control immediately compatible with my Gran's Sony Bravia. The remote is of the usual Sony quality.
The first disc I played back (two post-setup test DVDs from a certain tabloid newspaper aside) was a rented copy of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix". I was thoroughly impressed with the picture (this is over RGB), and this was on a 32" TV, so artifacts would have been noticeable. In fact, I've very little to say about the picture quality--no complaints at all. Even the darker sections (such as at the end in the Ministry) were well reproduced. Equally the audio was nice and clear, with the orchestral score, sound effects and dialogue coming through excellently.
I guess the only problem I have with the operation of this machine is the slight delay there is following the pressing of the Power button, as it doesn't immediately indicate it's been turned on. Other than that, however, I think my Gran's going to be very happy with her new DVD player!