New Pioneer DV 676a DVD player any opinions?

[kudeta]

I am in Australia and looking for a reasonable DVD player that has progressive scan, great sound on DVD and a crisp clear picture. Have just seen newly released Pioneer DV 676a which has superseded the 667a. Confusing hey!!!. 667 was originally $699AUD then $329. new model is $245AUD with same specs as far as DVD audio and SACD but has specs of the pioneer 676:

The features for new model are;
Video
* 108MHz/12-bit D/A converter
*Dual PureCinema Progressive Scan(PAL/NTSC)
* Twin-Wave Laser pickup
* Video Adjust function
*Photo Viewer (JPEGplayback)
* Divx Playback
* PAL/NTSC Dual System with PAL-NTSC video converter.

Audio
* 192kHz/24-bit D/A converter (6 channels)
* DVD Audio Decoder
* SACD Multi Decoder
* DTS/Dolby Digital decoder (5.1 ch audio outputs)
* WMA/MP3 playback

Does anyone know if this is a good machine?
Is the old model better?
What else would you recommend in its price range?
I am using only for DVD?
Have Rotel RCD-1072 and Rotel RSX-1055 with B&W 600 series speakers.
TV at the moment is Sony Wega 100hz, not HD, Yet!!!.

Will be getting a Plasma within 12 months.

Look forward to the replies!!!!!!! :T :lol:

[tedium]

pioneer dv-676

This player is exactly the same as the 667 but has the addition of Dual progressive scan ,divx play back and it's smaller than the 667. I've tried both and I've gone for the 676, $245 as opposed to $329 , the answer is clear to me.
I've also tried the Okyo 550 (I think it's the right model #) and it's basiclly the same as the Pioneer DV-466. The only other one I suggest is the new Yamaha same as the 676 except no sacd and DVD-A features , can't remeber the model # but it goes for $299.

[brendon]

Damn!!
I just bought the 677a a couple of months ago for $329 and the only misgiving I had was no pal progressive scan!I have not had a chance to use mine other than directly into a tele so far as the receiver and speakers are still on the back burner.$245 is pretty amazing value especially if like Me you suspect DVD-A or SACD my not be a long term survivor in the format wars(which would be a shame).
Brendon

[myki]

I bought the 676A last week and here are my findings:

- Video is wonderfully sharp and detailed although the HUE is a bit off. Using my AVIA calibration DVD, I cannot fine tune using progressive out. It's either a bit yellow, or a bit red.
- JPEG viewing is fast
- Track searching is a lot faster than my Pioneer DV-633A. No pause between DVD-A tracks like before.
- SACD sound is so-so. For my hybrid discs, I even prefer listening to the CD layer with my NAD cd player, rather than the SACD layer with this 676A
- DVD-A sound is great. But if you set all your center and surround to SMALL and set your front to LARGE, you will get lots of disturbing distortion when listening to highly-sampled DVD-Audios (96khz multi-channel, 192khz)
- DivX is a great bonus. Quality is similar to the VCD, maybe a little better
- Great remote! It's very easy to use unlike other Pioneer remotes
- Spindle is a bit noisy. In a very quiet room, if you turn down the volume, you will hear the disc spinning.
- At this price, this is still a best buy. I can live with the minor shortcomings.