This radio is like the big brother to the Uniden BCD536HP and is easier to use. The display is very good and readable, color clearly makes a large number of fields understandable. Using Radio Reference online database and Sentinel software (free) you arrange your channels into any arrangements that makes sense to you. This takes some planning, but helps you organize your favorite services and then, using "Quick Keys", you can enable/disable Systems, Departments, and channels in a heirarchical manner. Alternatively, the whole US frequency Database is available to listen to based on what is near you, using the GPS receiver. This feature enables local channels as you drive through different areas. Choose what kind of services to hear - Police, Fire, Utility, Business, and so forth in MANY possible service types. Set the range (10, 20, 40 miles, etc) you want to enable based on your current location.
Drawbacks - somebody needs to write a decent manual! The manual throws everything at you without organizing and explaining features in natural groups. If you are used to the older style scanners with "Channels" and "Banks" then there is a way to do this. The "Systems" and "Departments" and "Favorites Lists" are analogous to Banks and Channels but much more. The digital nature of modern radio systems (Trunked, etc) is well supported in this radio, and that (I presume) is why it is organized the way it is, but it may take a bit of study at first.
The receiver is sensitive and decodes modulation better than previous receivers in the Uniden lineup. Additional premium modulation types are optional for purchase.
This radio covers all the usual radio bands and modes, and can be enabled to receive hundreds (or thousands?) of channels. Therefore if you enable too much, it will not get back to visit each channel very often, so you may miss transmissions if you have too much enabled. Restrain youself, and it will easily scan several dozen channels without missing much - but every scanning radio has this drawback, it's just physics.
Receiver seems clean with little Intermod or birdies. Cannot receive encrypted channels, of course, so check with your local departments' radio systems so you are not disappointed to find that no radio can pick them up.

Overall: I am very pleased with this radio. It is pricey, but head and shoulders above anything else on the consumer radio market.

The network interface on this device is 2/3 garbage as of right now. Setting up for DHCP apparently turns on an internal DHCP server and doesn't instead search the network for a DHCP server to hand out an ip address. The RTSP audio server frequently crashes and becomes unresponsive and the g711u codec isn't widely supported so if you want to restream you will be forced to do some creative audio piping, I couldn't get the swiss army knife of ffmpeg to do it by itself. People have claimed in order to control it you need a separate set of paid for software and that appears to be partially true. There is a set of software you can buy for about 50 bucks that offers turn key for windows users and its workable but not great. They do have their controls fully documented on their wiki allowing you to code against it. It took me less than an hour to have a fully functional control system setup where I could read the status and send commands without issue this part of the network usage seemed pretty reliable.

If you plan on connecting it to a pc and using the mic in it works great though and if you like to tinker they use a UDP based protocol that seems derived from an older serial control protocol. It allows you to see what the scanner is doing at any given time and control it as well. I spent about two days getting it working so I could have an old mac mini control the device and stream the audio to an ice cast server so I can listen to it on multiple devices and when I'm not at home.

That's not horrible but it really could use some software polish as the screen provides an amazing array of useful information in full color and is amazingly customizable. The scanning features themselves seemed to work flawlessly and they rest of the device meets to exceeds my expectations. Overall seems like a great device but if like me you are wanting it for it's networking abilities jus the aware of the drawbacks as they exist at the time of this review.

My local agencies use P-25 Phase II Simulcast. This unit is the best at receiving that system. Voice clarity is studio-like with total silence in the background during broadcasts. My range, using a PCTEL 800mhz mobile antenna as an indoor base antenna, is excellent. I live at the very northern end of the D.C. Metro area and I can hear for at least a 70 mile range clearly.

I downloaded the free Sentinel Software several days before the radio arrived and practiced programming the system I wanted for the unit. There are several "how to" videos on Youtube. I recommend watching several of them. Each give a slightly different insight. I have very little experience programming these complicated scanners but was able to correctly program the SDS200 on my first try. On the initial download of this software it may appear to you that this software is only for the BCD436HP & BCD536HP. This IS, in fact, the correct software. When you choose your scanner during programming, the SDS100 & SDS200 are options that can be chosen. Sentinel simply hasn't renamed the updated software.

During the programming, you have the option to edit the display and choose from "simple display" or "detail display". I very much prefer the simple display. The detail display is just far to "busy" for me and makes it more difficult to identify the agency broadcasting. The simple display is very clear to read while still having all of the information you need for programming including Talk Group I.D. numbers you can use to match from Radio Reference.

I also have a much older Whistler WS1080 which does a pretty good job on the same systems (all P-25 Phase II Simulcast) but the SDS200 does a better job not dropping transmissions and the voice clarity is noticeably better. One of the talk groups on both radios is "decoded" on the SDS200 on every transmission while the vocal is dropped on the Whistler about two-thirds of the time. Is it worth twice the cost "¦ hmmm? I believe I'll listen to it enough to justify the extra cost.

I've seen a review that complained that the volume on individual talkgroups varies greatly with some coming in very loud and others that can barely be heard and there is not way to tweak the individual talkgroups in the programming process. I don't believe that is actually the issue. The voice clarity is so clear on this unit that the individual voice inflections (including loud vs. quiet voice users) are simply much more noticeable.

COST:
I completely realize that there are fewer and fewer radio enthusiasts purchasing these units and therefore prices cannot be brought down through mass sales. Only a select few people will buy this radio so there is very little room for Uniden to make a profit from those few sales. That being said, the price still seems too high when you consider that you can buy a high end cell phone for that same amount of money.

RECOMMEND?
If you enjoy this hobby enough, and want the very best equipment to listen to sophisticated P-25 Phase II Simulcast, then I recommend this radio.

Ownership of this amazing piece of equipment seems to bring out the best and worst in people. I was hesitant to purchase this unit because of cost and sporadic low reviews. I use to use broadcastify to monitor my local activity for well over a year, but then the stream provider just vanished one day, causing the loss of five or six local streams leaving me out in the cold. They just went dark with no explanation or warning. Since my location uses P25 Phase 1 trunking, my analog scanners were useless. I took the plunge and bought this unit because I didn't want to get caught again depending on 3rd party's for a feed.

After setting the receiver up, I realized it was not just an old fashioned scanner, but a complex sophisticated piece of equipment. There are quick setups available, but I wanted to learn how to set up this radio manually. After several days of studying and exploring this equipment, I can say with total confidence, this radio "blew me away". Its options from filter settings, to search and find abilities blew away my expectations. There are massive "Easter eggs" inside the software and hardware that make this a fantastic investment. Channel activity alerts, filter settings, individual channel volume fine tuning, custom display changes INCLUDING redefining display definitions, digital noise and error variables you can display, etc. If you don't want to mess it the complex options on your own, you can quickly set up a complete channel programming by entering your zip code, or using the optional GPS system.

Some of the major complaints I've seen causing low reviews seem to be due to the complexity of the unit. Its not going to be something you can master in a day, but many of the complaints I see do have adjustments within the unit (one channel being too loud or quiet, etc). If you have a problem with reception, there is probably a setting to help, you just have to learn how to use it.

With that said, I was so impressed with the device that I upgraded the unit with all options, taught myself the functions of the unit, and have become a massive fan of the sds200! The price of the unit is well worth the cost in my opinion, just beware of sellers inflating it beyond the manufacturers recommended price. You can buy the upgrades from other vendors, but its less expensive to purchase them directly from uniden.

This is not your fathers police scanner. Its a complex scanning beast. You just have to get to know it. I give it an A+, and have absolutely zero regrets. In my opinion, the best trunk scanning receiver on the market.

Sound quality very good, pre programming is good. As others have said there is a STEEP learning curve with this. One think I do not like, is the obsolete software. (Sentinel) When you try to downloaded it on a PC, you get a error message regarding NET framework 2.0 needs to be installed. The available links only allow you to download NET 6 or 7, so the software is old. I am working on a workaround for this. If I cannot figure out how to get the software downloaded, so I can update firmware etc, I will have to return the scanner. Good quality, works well, but if you just want to plug and play. Get something less expensive and easier to use. I would suggest the HomePatrol 2 but the software issue will be a issue with that as well.

I was able to download the necessary framework, there are YouTube tutorials that will assist. I have been playing with this all weekend. Great scanner! I have only scratched the surface on what this is capable of. If you like to tinker, and play with the tech, this is the scanner for you!