Inexpensive DVD player to do me for a while`

[GregoriusM]

Hey peeps!

My Sony 360 - bless its soul - is starting to read less discs and is having problems on some discs in areas just out of the blue nowhere near the layer change.

So, since DVD players are so cheap these days, and my Sony was virtually a 2nd generation player, I'm looking for an inexpensive DVD player until I can afford one that has SACD and DVD-A on it.

I don't need progressive scan since I don't have an HD TV and won't be getting one for a few years.

I just need a decent menu for setup, component outs, not worried about dual lasers since this won't be my CD player, and I don't need to worry about whether the remote is any good either.

Aspect ratio control would be nice and pic zoom would be a bonus, though not really needed.

I don't want to spend much but this will probably have to do me for a couple of years.

Any ideas? Any players to stay away from.

Remember, I just need something half decent to play my DVD's until I can afford a proper one with Sage, no chroma, SACD, DVD-A, yada yada.

Thanks peeps!

Greg

Edit: Although I don't want to pay this much, what do you think of the new Denon 910. I can get it for $388 at Advance. But then, there are other players that I can get for about $200, but are they going to stand up?

[Burke Strickland]

Remember, I just need something half decent to play my DVD's until I can afford a proper one with Sage, no chroma, SACD, DVD-A, yada yada.

Actually you can get one for less than $200 USD that has no chroma bug (I assume you do want color) :>) and also has "SACD, DVD-A, yada, yada" including a decent menu for setup, component outs and zoom. That is the Pioneer DV-563A. You can set it to output to a 4:3 TV (Letter Box), 4:3 (Pan & Scan) or 16:9 (Wide).

I've seen it in operation in a couple of HTs where the associated equipment is higher end than it is, and it performs admirably well. It plays virtually any 4 3/4 inch digital disc out there -- DVD-Video, SACD, DVD-A, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R and DVD+RW (the last two are not documented by Pioneer, but they do play in the machine) plus a host of others including VCD, CD, et al.

The Pioneer DV-563A's performance on DVD-A and SACD is far better than it deserves to be for its rock bottom price (for a "universal" player) - it uses the same Burr Brown DACS found in several far more expensive models. It does do progressive scan, but its interlaced picture is quite pleasing. It is not going to look quite as good as a $2,500 player, but you weren't planning to spend that much anyway.

Good luck!

Burke

[Lex]

Even 89.00 US$ DVD players today have progressive scan. So, that's a forward compatible feature that won't cost you extra. Burke sounds like made a good suggestion, if you want to spend that much, but if not, well, most any of the entry players will be about the same quality wise guessing. Not sure if anyone's done that much comparison on those. Maybe.

Lex




Cable Guy DVD Collection

[GregoriusM]

That Pioneer sounds great. It would probably cost me around the same amount as the Denon.

The retailer I normally use doesn't carry Pioneer. Is there anything in the Panasonic, Toshiba, Sony - dang, I can't remember all of the lines they carry - Yamaha...... ummm..... that would work like the Pioneer?

Other than that, Lex is no doubt right that the lower end stuff performs pretty well much the same. I am just hoping someone might steer me toward something that might be a little above the rest, or point out one to stay away from.

Thanks Burke and Lex!

I will definitely check out that Pioneer though. It sounds like a beauty!

Greg

[GregoriusM]

Wo! That Pioneer looks just great!

Aside from it being silver, it would fit into my system pretty well. I have a decent sytem, but not a realy high end one, so this player would do me for quite a while.

I'm going to see who sells it in the city here and have a listen and look tomorrow.

$349 MSRP in Canada. I might be able to get that down a bit too.

Thanks!

[Mike Webb]

Just the other day, I saw the Pioneer at BestBuy (Edmonton) for $250 .

Mike

[aud19]

I think the Pioneer is your best bet if you want DVD-A and SACD at that price it's pretty much the only kid on the block.

Jason




Need a new display? Questions about new display technologies? Visit RPTVs, plasmas, and other monitors @ HTguide

[Chris D]

I'll jump on the bandwagon for the 563A... lots of features and capability for the price. Best Buy has been selling it in the states on sale for $149 lately.




CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"

[Eduardo]

Ok - you guys talked me into it. I'm going to go get on next week. Actually I've been looking into the Pioneer. Home Theater magazine gave it some good reviews.

The only down-side that I've read was the Bass Management. Crossover point for SACD is 100 Htz and DVD-Audio is 120 Htz when speaker set to small. I will verify those numbers tonight.

Still a winner from everything I've read.

http://home.nc.rr.com/ejimenez

[aud19]

Do I get a commision?

Jason




Need a new display? Questions about new display technologies? Visit RPTVs, plasmas, and other monitors @ HTguide

[Andrew Pratt]

Hi Greg long time no hear :lurk:

If you're looking for something below $100 I happen to know someone that might be selling his Panasonic player...not sure on the model number but its a couple of years old but works fine.

[Chris D]

Don't get me wrong, Eduardo. The 563A isn't the end-all of universal players. On the contrary, it's at the very bottom of the short list of universals right now as far as price goes, and may be at the bottom as far as performance as well. That's I'm not sure about. Going with the 563A, you'll compromise on audio and visual quality, bass management capability, D/A hardware, and features. But, a universal for $150 USD right now is pretty cool. I'm waffling right now too, actually, whether I should just pick up one and satisfy my needs for the time being, and hold off on buying a reference player until HDMI becomes more standard and/or HD-DVD comes out.




CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"

[Burke Strickland]

Going with the 563A, you'll compromise on audio and visual quality, bass management capability, D/A hardware, and features.

The performance "compromise" is relative to much more expensive players. In its price bracket (for DVD players in general, not just "universal" players, considering that there really are no other "universal" players worth considering at its price level), the Pioneer DV-563A holds its own pretty well.

Compared to even "high end" players from just a few years ago, it is "just as good" or better -- it's just that the state of the art has advanced so much in the mean time. If you are willing to pay a lot more and have related equipment that can take advantage of more advanced facilities such as digital connections, then of course there are "better" options out there.

Burke

[gd]

I'll give the 563A a thumbs up as well... I only bought it because it dipped to $160, and that made it a reasonable excuse to experiment with hi-res.

I don't believe hi-res will survive in its current state... maybe at a later time in a better economy, a single idiot-proof hi-res format can have some impact and staying power (and thus create an environment that will support MANY titles, like DVD did)... so I can't justify any but the cheapest hi-res investment for now.

That said, the new formats are of discernibly better quality as promised... hi-res works!... and the difference can be experienced on even a $160 Pioneer... but at that price point, you can't expect sophisticated fine-tuning (BM, TA).

However, for a further modest investment, an Outlaw ICBM bass management unit - the only product of its kind - goes a long way toward having credible hi-res on a budget.

[Michael Mohrmann]

We are in the same boat Greg, other than we are willing to spend a bit more, say to $500, for a new DVD player. Our 4+ year-old DVD player (Onkyo Integra DPS-5) has been having issues reading disks for some time, and even a laser cleaning hasn't helped its performance. Any suggestions for a quality DVD player costing up to $500? And no, it doesn't have to do SACD and DVD-a, but I would like it to be usable on DVD-Rs and DVD-RWs.

Thanks.

Michael

[Chris D]

Michael- The next step up from the 563A that I would consider as far as universal players is the Denon DVD-2200. Retail is $599, but you can find it for less if you look. If you really don't care about universal players, though, there are other options. Check out the Denon line for traditionally quality players, and you'll find something to fit your needs.

http://www.denon.com

CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"

[Michael Mohrmann]

Michael- The next step up from the 563A that I would consider as far as universal players is the Denon DVD-2200. Retail is $599, but you can find it for less if you look. If you really don't care about universal players, though, there are other options. Check out the Denon line for traditionally quality players, and you'll find something to fit your needs.
http://www.denon.com

Chris,

Thanks for the suggestion. I see that Denon sells the DVD-910 and DVD-1200 single disk players. From a video standpoint, how do these two players compare to the DVD-2200?

Michael

[Chris D]

Michael, I'm not sure, but I'm guessing that you'd find the 2200 to have better video than the other two, with the added advantage of being a universal player.

Well, crap. All this talk about universals makes me want to stop waiting and just buy one. I was at Best Buy today, and almost picked up that 563A. My military base store has a Pioneer 667A, also a cheap universal, but not for USA-only sales, for $149, and I could get that one tax-free since it's on base. I'm wondering if I should just pick up either one of those bad boys, and then when I get the projector maybe pick up a new Bravo D2 player as well for the DVI reference video.




CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"

[GregoriusM]

Hi Greg long time no hear :lurk:

If you're looking for something below $100 I happen to know someone that might be selling his Panasonic player...not sure on the model number but its a couple of years old but works fine.

Thanks, but no thanks, Andrew!

And, yes, long time no hear!

Hey, when am I coming over for a look-see (and hear) at your current HT room et al ????

I think that Pioneer is going to be the bad boy for me if I decide to go with DVD-A and SACD. If not, then it's going to be the Denon 910 for me.

Thanks for all your opinions, peeps!

Also, I wonder why the "email me when someone replies" is not working for me???

Ciao!

Greg

[Chris D]

Hi, Greg. Yeah, Mats fixed the E-mail feature a while back, and i got something like 100 E-mails all in one day, but I don't think it's working again.

Well, a little checking on those Pioneer players, and I found that the DVD-667A is the global version of the North American 563A model, so I guess for me the 667A would be the better choice, with both NTSC and PAL capability, etc.

However, I got on the Secrets shootout from December 2003, and the 563A only received an 82 out of 100. Fair performance, but not anything great. Again, you have to consider the price level. It failed the layer change and the important "Bad Edit" tests, which are significant.

Hmmmmm...... decisions, decisions.




CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"

[Burke Strickland]

It failed the layer change ...

By "failed" they mean it took 2 seconds to do it -- not that it failed to actually execute the layer change. You might notice a slight delay at the layer change, but the machine will play the entire disc. How "significant" is that? A minor annoyance, perhaps, but nothing like the 20 to 30 second side changes we endured with laser disc. (Talk about interupting the continuity of a show!) :>)

Using our full bitrate layer change test, the player was a bit sluggish at two seconds.

The report on the DV 563A concludes:

The audio section is what I expected out of a player in this range. While most will probably be satisfied, it doesn’t come near the performance and detail of higher end offerings. ... While it is hard to compare this player to some of the others in this shootout, given its price point, it is a decent option for those not looking to break the bank.

Full shootout text and test results including other models

Also, the "bad edit" test only applies to progressive scan mode. "Significant" if you are interested in progressive scan, of course, but not a concern at all if you won't be using progressive scan. Once again, "failing" the test doesn't necessarily mean the disc is unwatchable, just that a "bad edit" in the disc's data stream can fool the player into switching to, or staying in, the wrong mode (video vs film) in 3:2 pulldown, which will degrade the image. They point out in their general discussion about video tests that in some cases the degradation may not even be noticable, while in other cases it renders a prolonged overall softening of the image, which runs counter to why we want progressive scan, but doesn't stop the show.

There are other more expensive players that fail the "bad edit" test too. (The Denons all seem to be pretty good in this area and are certainly worth considering for other reasons, too.) Which is why it is important for each of us to read and understand the results in context of what we want in a player overall, and how much we are willing to spend to get the results that are meaningful to us.

Burke

[GregoriusM]

Which is why it is important for each of us to read and understand the results in context of what we want in a player overall, and how much we are willing to spend to get the results that are meaningful to us.

Burke

YEAH, BABY! YEAH! :dance:

[GregoriusM]

Which is why it is important for each of us to read and understand the results in context of what we want in a player overall, and how much we are willing to spend to get the results that are meaningful to us.

Burke

YEAH, BABY! YEAH! :dance:

[Chris D]

True, true, Burke. I'm only reporting what has been posted, man. Don't feel like I'm bagging on a piece of equipment. I'm still considering that unit for myself. People can always read the full review for themselves and judge their personal needs.




CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"

[GregoriusM]

And I appreciate all comments because I learn from them all!

Thanks!