Price Paid:  $100.00 from Friend upgraded his

Summary:
I am very lucky i already own a DEnon A1 dvd player, and when i was asked to take this DVD laser player, while i said yes...

I use it to play many of my laser discs and find the pioneer very easy to use and set-up.

Strengths:
When it came out it had 24bit 96Khz which with my dvd audio discs i can take advantage of this now.
Players both sides of the laser disc, with out me getting to play the B side.

Sound is very good and the AC3 will blow you away MUST to own for collectors, will be worth alot in time, just watch and see.

Weaknesses:
Only 1:..........
The picture output is out dated not the best picture in todays world and it is a shame that R & D could not develop a dvd player that can be improved via software, but that will be to easy...........

Similar Products Used:
Tried many Laser players, but none are any way as good as this one....

Price Paid:  $1000.00 from local retailer

Summary:
i bought this unit when it hit the streets, thus paid full retail... and so what?; it's a great player.

this unit is for those who have amassed a serious collection of laserdiscs... it is the only one of its kind insofar as it's a complete multiplayer with 24-bit decoding and current surround processing, a must if you don't have a receiver or pre/pro that does the decoding.

i got it with the intention of replacing the elderly LD3030, as the final ld player i'd ever have, but the big surprise was the musicality of the cd player... astonishingly better than my rotel RCD955AX... sweet, warm, detailed.

was at first underwhelmed with dvd in general, but in the last couple months, i finally added a newish digital surround receiver (rendering the good DAC's of the 919 moot) and proper component video cables, and can now confirm that the dvd section of the 919 is as topnotch as everything else... video quality of both dvd and ld is terrific.

it is a killer source component!

but it wasn't without problems... the first unit displayed some of the video jumpiness described elsewhere on this page... intermittent problem was difficult to trace; unfortunately this meant 3 trips to the hapless service center, some polite complaining, and finally a replacement unit and time spent scrutinizing it... but it was worth it.

i repeat... it is a killer source component!

perfect for those who own lots of laserdiscs... look for $6-700 pricing... otherwise, spend that kind of money on a prog-scan dvd player... or better yet, a dvd recorder can make that cumbersome laserdisc collection disappear!

Strengths:
DVD/CD/LD capability
quality sound and picture
24-bit processing, DD, DTS
complete connectivity, including AC3

Weaknesses:
looks like i paid too much...
had to replace first unit delivered

Similar Products Used:
pioneer LD3030

Price Paid:  $450.00

Summary:
Have had the machine a short while but really enjoying it.

The only problem i've experienced is some freezing and jumpiness in two of my DVD's - James Taylor (Beacon) and Green Mile (Tom Hanks). Green Mile actually locked up player and had to restart movie.... anyone have similiar experience?? is it the player? or the DVD??

Picture quality is great using Component Video cables into Sony Wega 32".... glad i got it since i can now still make use of my LD collection....

4 stars - only because of the two DVD problems i've had....

Strengths:
Laser Disc and DVD playback

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer LD player

Price Paid:  $699.00 from <a href="http://go.to/etronicsonline" target="_blank"><b><i>EtronicsOnline</i></b></a>

Summary:
I bought this unit online for only $699.99 and I love it! I have about 80 laserdiscs and I wanted to try out DVDs too and this unit fit the bill perfectly! I have an old Pioneer laserdisc player that I'm going to sell now that I have this great unit! It even plays both sides of laserdiscs! I've already placed my order for Star Wars Episode I on laserdisc and I can't wait to watch it on my DVL-919!

The unit is easy to setup and I haven't had any problems with any laserdiscs or DVDs (including "The Matrix"). I'm COMPLETELY satisfied with this unit and I'm glad I was able to find it! About the only thing I need to mention is the AC-3 (Dolby Digital 5.1) output is an RF output that will require an RF-Digital demodulator unless you already have a receiver with an RF input directly built in. Laserdiscs with AC-3 encoding require use of the AC-3 RF output in order to utilize the AC-3 encoding. Laserdiscs will play and sound great even without this demodulator, but I didn't learn about this until after I had purchased this unit and upgraded my receiver to the Pioneer VSX-24TX. Click Here to
get yours for only $699.99!

I highly recommend this unit for laserdisc enthusiast who also want to benefit from the DVD experience as well!

Strengths:
Plays Laserdiscs and DVDs,500 lines Horisontal Resolution, Video Noise Reduction. Both Side Play.

Price Paid:  $599.00 from AAFES

Summary:
I bought this to replace my CLD-D503 which did not support Dolby Digital or DTS formatted movies and did not play DVDs. I am very disappointed with the 919 thus far. It displays a dark picture. If you play a movie that is filmed in a dark setting like The Matrix, be prepared to lose a lot of detail. This happens with both laser discs and DVDs. I plugged my 503 back in for a quick comparison and there was no contest. The 503 had a much better picture. The troubleshooting section of the manual says this darkness is normal for discs that have encoding to prevent disc copying. This is completely unacceptable to me. I'm sending mine back to the manufacturer under warrantee to find out if there is something wrong with my player.

Other than the above probem, this is a great product. However, until this issue is resolved by Pioneer, I cannot recommend it to anyone.

Strengths:
-Media versatility
-Compatible with all current formats (ie. DD and DTS)

Weaknesses:
-Dark picture
-No jog shuttle

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer CLD-D503