I guess I got lucky
I have had this product for a year now and haven't noticed many of the problems that some of the other reviewers have mentoned.

Pro's
plays normal store bought DVD's and some high quality DVD+R's well
Very inexpensive
Decent sound (not great though)
5 disc changer
Sound options easy to change even while playing

Con's
Yes it is very slow. (loading, switching discs, functions etc.)
No Audio output except for built in speakers
Remote is very weak and only works standing right in front of the player at no greater than about 10 feet away
Has difficulty playing burned discs. I use only Verbatim Digital Movie DVD+R and it still has trouble sometimes
I did hear a grinding sound but only with one particular DVD.

Summary
It is a small step up from a cheap single DVD player without 5.1 surround, and works decent for the price. I would recommend spending at least twice the money for something better if you are really serious about getting a decent system. If you don't have the money, this might work okay for you.

Quick Pro's and Cons
Pro's
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-Delivers a pretty good suround sound effect for the price.
-Holds 5 CD's of any type (not mini cd's)
-Modern look, and slim design
-Easy to set up
-HDMI
-USB hook up
-Easy to change speaker settings during playback.
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Cons
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-Minor hiss sound when on but not when playing media.
-CD/DVD deck is a little noisy when playing or switching.
-Difficult to use controller to switch CD/DVD's
-Turning off the device sometimes makes a static sound.
-USB Media Bridge is a little slow.
-No sound output (like to TV)
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Personal expiriance with product=
Hooked up to a LG 42 Inch LCD TV.

The HDMI port does not work on mine.
Though HDMI is useless because the port is for video only.
You cannot use your tv speakers with this device.

Overall it's an ok system, but I would get something else.

RCA Should Be Avoided
My husband bought this as a surprise.
It was the highest end at the store
he shopped at. I would not have purchased
another RCA product as the prior two were
returned for being defective.

This product has a fan that moans and
groans real loud for about five minutes
until it warms up. Some of the features
just come and go. The first night it was
just great - but give it a week. It was the
same way with the last two, they should last
longer than a month!? But they don't. Never
again I say.

RCA RTD258Theatre system
We bought this item less than 6 months ago and it has caused problems from the 2nd month, only after throwing away the receipt! The trays are flimsy and cheap and it takes a long time to change through the features. It stopped reading 90% of all our DVDs even after cleaning and taking it apart for a spray down. Save your money and buy something better

DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY
This system is so bad, that just looking at it now puts me in a bad mood. The speakers are average, but the DVD player has the strangest balance. The system has scratched more DVDs than I can remember. If you feel like having a $200 dust collector that produces poor sound and destroys your stuff, then this is for you. I will never own anything by RCA again, nor will I wish this poor product on anyone.