Nice Picture

The first DV-C501 I bought was defective. It would play a movie then overheat and not be able to recognize any CD's or DVD's. I went back and had it exchanged, and this one works fine now.

As far as people complaining that this player won't read CD-R's. Thats partially true. However I've found that the Sony CD-Rs (700 MB/comes in a blue and yellow colored box) will work in this DVD player..

Although they are a little more expensive at about $1/disc, compared to other brands of CD-Rs.

oh..and compared to my old JVC 5-disc carosel..this players tray is labeled backwards...(i.e starts at 1 and goes clockwise 2, 3, 4, and 5.)

Very good sound,build, and quite. also some good features.

Hideous remote, Picture quality(From reviews i've seen i think i got a dud)

I've been reading reviews on this site for about 2 months now, trying to decide on which player to get.
The first player i tried was the panny rv 80. This was a very good player, a picture to die for. I"ve been using Private Ryan and the matrix as my references. The colors and detail that jumped out of my (modest by industry standards) tv was amazing. I was running up the Omaha bank (P Ryan) and through the corridors(matrix), but i was'nt really hearing the bullets zip by. So I returned it.
Went back to the wiz and picked up the Onkyo for the same price. I figured i was getting a great deal, since i was getting a carousel, zoom and hey an onkyo! Well as we all expect i was in audio extacy. Popped in five DVD's, starting with my references. From the beggining i was disappointed with the picture, i tweeked and tweeked and tweeked, to get little or no change. Maybe i was expecting too much after seeing the panny, or maybe i just got a dud.
From reviews on this and many other sites i think it's the latter.
Audio on the other hand, let me say it this way, i was on omaha beach and shooting those cops with Neo! It was great, i've heard a few HT setups, some modest some not so, but the sound was on par or better than what i've ever heard from a DVD player.
For this very reason, when i return my DV-C501, i'm trying another Onkyo this time the single disk DV-S535, which is the upgrade to the much talked about 525.
If not, back to the panny.

** Good S-Video and Digital cables improves sound and picture quality dramatically.

My Setup:
Kenwood vr 3080
DVD ???
Sony Save 505 HT speaker package
Zenith ....? 36"

I'm giving 4 stars regardless of my disappointments, as i am putting my faith in previous reviews and attributing the bad performance to getting a dud!

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic Rv 80

No-frills, high performance.

Regularly refuses to read discs (CD or DVD) after two warranty repairs. No random play of CDs. Poor remote design.

Great picture, nice sound - TERRIBLE RELIABILITY.

Sound and Video quality
Appearance

One cannot turn the display all the way off while watching a movie, or otherwise. Is a little touchy.

I am updating my review, as some people have had problems with their machines. I have now had my 501 for 15 months. Recently, I had a slight scare when I tried to watch a movie and there was a grinding noise coming from the player and the display read "mechanical error." I freaked out. I don't have much patience, so I decided to grab a screw driver and have a go at it. Well, what had happened was that I had just carried the thing up to my bedroom from downstairs. While carrying it, I apparently was not holding it level, or was not terribly gentle, and a disc slid out of its tray and back into the mechanical bit, blocking the tray from spinning or discs adequately being read. I got the disc out and the thing worked just fine again. So I would only suggest taking the discs out before you move it. The disc, Monty Python's search for the Holy Grail, was slightly scrathed, but still works.

Recently, I bought a cheap $9 digital coaxial cable to connect the 501 to my Marantz SR7000. I popped in Gladiator and nearly had a stroke. Never before, while watching a movie, have I heard such brilliant sound, not even at the theater. I am still amazed and have watched each of my movies in both their DD and DTS tracks since just after Christmas, when I bought the cable. I have 23 movies; it has not been easy fitting it in with school.

I have connected the player through the supplied S-Video cable to a Sony FV-16 flatscreen Wega television, and the picture was amazing. I have not tried the component outs, yet.

The only thing that has become slightly annoying is the display. I like to have my room completely dark when watching a movie. While you can dim the display, it is still a bit bright, so I end up putting a sock over it, or whatever is handy.

A few observations, currently progressive scan players have gone down in price a great deal. You may want to research them before buying a player that does not support the display. I can't explain some of the problems that others have had. A few times, it did freeze, but never while watching a movie. It would be while a disc was loading. I simply powered it down, and then up again and it worked fine. This hasn't happened in over a year adn I can only assume that I have been using the thing in a slightly different manner than before. Perhaps making sure to stop the play of a disc before turning it off? I really couldn't tell you what I am doing now that it works so well. Good luck with the repairs.

I would have no qualms about going with Onkyo again, and would suggest looking at their new DVD players if they have any. I don't plan on replacing my 501 for years though. I researched for months before coming to my decision in the first place.

Of late, the 5 disc functionality has come in very handy. I listen to CDs on it every day, and they sound fantastic. Random play would be nice, but I get by. I don't know what new stuff is on the market, but I can tell you that this 501 gives me no reason to look and find out.

Similar Products Used:

None

Very nice picture, easy to use and setup. All the necesary connections, and most important a multi disk unit...

Does not play all types of CD-R (Some do work - see below). Hard to see what disk drive you have just put your DVD / CD into... wish the drive numbers were illuminated!

Basically a nice, multi-disk DVD player (Multi disk is extemely important to me) that integrates well with my Onkyo Amp.

Some people have made comments that it does not play burnt CD-R's, well as already mentioned some actually work... The Sony 650/74min is good, but another brand is Princo... they come in 700/80 minute version... and cheap as well.

Love it - chrystal clear, rugged

Remote sux the sweat of a dead mans balls

Love it - bought is at uBid and have had no problem. Cant play burned disks, but I dont own any anyway. Remote at least came with batteries for my other stuff

Similar Products Used:

Sony, NAD

It plays DVD's very well in the wide screen format. I mostly listen to cd's on it and watch maybe a movie a week. It is a great cd player.

It will not play burned cd's. The remote is useless, but I knew all this before I bought it, so I can't complain.

It is good for my use. I have had no problems with it yet. Hopefully I won't (I better not)!

Similar Products Used:

I used a pioneer single disk dvd for a while but it did not compare as a cd player.

Picture and Sound Quality

The machine freezes often

I am an Onkyo loyalist. When I decided to buy DVD player, Onkyo DVD player was the natural choice to add to my Onkyo collection. However, this damn thing freezes so often. Can anyone tell me why? Your input on this regard will be highly appreciated. From the previous reviews, I am not the only one who has this problem.

By the ways,when it works, the picture and sound quality is superb.

Similar Products Used:

HK JVC

Excellent sound quality, crisp and clear.
Very good picture quality.
Elegant look.
Strong built.

Mechanical problem is huge (at least on mine)!!!
Can't read CD-Rs
Remote sux!!!

I was so elated about this dvd player even before I bought it, just reading the reviews and stuff. But when I got it and opened the box and set it up, and put a disc in there......it could not read the disc and gave a mechanical error message. I turned the power off and then back on.....it read the disk and started playing. From then on....... it would fail to read the disks every so often, that it's quite annoying. Frankly, the sound and picture is superb......without any doubt, but getting it to work is another thing.

I contacted Onkyo about the problem and after several phone calls and couple of days later, they could finally gave me the name of one dealer that can service it..... which is 200 miles away from where I live....... I'm hoping the servicing might take care of the problem. Right now only disc slot #1 is reading (but not always)!!!

Similar Products Used:

None.

none

I bought this player after my panasonic crapped out on me. I have to say that the picture quality and sound from this system are simply amazing. I have a Yamaha 5250 reciever, polk 25i front speakers, polk 245i center, polk 350 sub, and crappy old surround speakers. When I popped in T2 special edition dvd and listened to it in dts the sound and picture blew me away. I love this player. If you are considering buying a dvd player in the 250-350 range definitely pick this one up for an incredible movie experience.

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic and sony