Brand name, component video out, price

remote.....I guess. everyone else seems to think so.

I have been really happy with this DVD player. I was originally looking at the Sony 530 (or 550...not sure what the model number is) But after reading all the reviews of the lip sync problem, I got worried. I called Sony to ask them about it. They said that the particular serial numbers that have been published on the review sites are correct to which units have had the problems. But they did tell me that even those units not within those serial number may have (and some already have) problems doen the line with the lip sync. So, I went with my gut to stay away from that model. I also toyed with the idea of a 5-disc changer, but since so many players claim not to play CD-R and CR-RW, I felt I would leave the multi-disc convenience to a designated CD player that will for sure play these formats.
Anyway, back to the Onkyo. I have always been impressed with the brand name of the company. I have a friend with the higher-end Onkyo DVD player and he has been really happy with it. I figure this one would be good to. I purchased it from Onecall for $380. They have really good customer service, and I felt good about buying from them.
The picture is great. The sound is great. I have a Yamaha 995 receiver and the two match up well. I have noticed a "jump" on two movies, but only one time on each movie (and at the same location each time) I assume this is the layer change. From what I have read, the technology all together has not perfected this transition. (at least with the lower priced units)
All-in-all, I am happy with this player.

Good looks (gold version), nice built, picture resolution, sound quality for music

no gold plated RCA (reduces corrosion), can't play CDR

I bought this player for 2 reasons: 1st it complemented the looks of my Onkyo 777 receiver; 2nd for it's sound quality. The second reason was more critical in my decision to buy this player as I could get products from other manufacturers, such as Toshiba, which can equal the performance of the 525 in terms of picture quality (the 525 is after all based on the Tosh transport). And in the latter respect, the 525 performs very well, giving good saturated colours and a sharp picture. I've yet to try it through it's component outputs but it was an obvious leap forward from the Pioneer DVL9 combi-player which of course is a bit long in it's tooth considering the product is more than 2 years old. But it is in the area of music playback through it's analogue outputs that the 525 stands out. I've heard Toshiba products, which although have recent sound quality, still have a slight brightness to the top end. The 525 on the other hand has a sweet top end, excellent midrange and very good bass. The player does not make a lot of noise as reported by some reviewers here and in fact is very quiet and ergonomically well laid out. I would have liked the memory feature of Pioneer players which allows you to memorise the audio / aspect ratio set-up of up to 10 dvds. I would also have liked the 525 to have CDR playback capabilities but the 525 could not read the one R disc that I tried. Overall this is an excellent product and if music quality is an important consideration for you, this should be on your shortlist of dvd players to check out. But if picture definition is what you're after, check out the Toshiba SD3000, which visibly produced better picture quality than the same manufacturers' lower end products (2109). Is it better than the 525? Can't say as I didn't compare the two but I'm very happy with the 525, thank you very much.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer DVL9

Sound and Picture

Remote

I am indeed very pleased with this Player. I had no intention at first in buying a new DVD player because I had a Pionner 515 at home. But after watching a demo on a 40 inch TV in a Video Store I was hooked! The salesman compared it to the Pioneer and I clearly saw the difference! The resolution and picture quality is outstanding. Thus, I bought the player and brought it home thinking how much I should sell off my Pioneer 515. After setting the Onkyo up and placing an audio CD in, I knew right then and there that I would have to sell off my old Sony CD player! The sound also was right on the money. Being a skeptical person I tried the same audio CD on my old CD player. And I could just sum up it's performance compared to the Onkyo in one word . . . "muddled". My only gripe about the Onkyo DV-S525 is now I have to sell off two of my "previous" prized posessions. At least I still get to keep my Denon 3200 AC3 amplifier and Tannoy speakers!

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer DVD 525

Picture/sound

Remote/slow

the other reviewers have allready said whats it all about.

I just want to say that this player has a better picture than my old 7700. DVP-S7700 was more digitelised.
I live in Denmark and we use land code 2, then it is a good thing that it just need a EPROM burning. and the waranty still works.

Niles

Similar Products Used:

Sony DVP-S7700

awesome sound! Crystal clear video! Easy setup and use!

none

I was looking at this particular DVD player for a while now mainly because I have the 676 receiver and I wanted my components to match. I actually got a great deal on it at onecall.com for $270.00. It was an open box deal. This dvd player performs great it satisfies my h/t desires to the fullest! It's very smooth and a little more discrete from the other onkyo dvd players!

Similar Products Used:

none

Sound, features

A bit pricey, layer change

Overall pretty impressed. Features are smooth. The remote is difficult to use in the dark. Image quality and sound quality is crystal. I chose this one because of the list of features. Have watched several movies(including the Matrix) without a hitch. Slight jump on the layer change. Paid $360 at Onecall for it. Pretty pleased.

Similar Products Used:

first dvd player

Great audio, easy set-up

None yet

I bought this dvd player a little while ago and I am very satisfied with it. I've been making lots of testing with it and there is not a single dvd it couldnt play. What makes it even nicer it the superb sound quality. I've listened to some other player and they can't compare to the awesome sound of this one. The only thing that is quite plain is the remote, it's not frill but it still does the job. Anyway for the price you can't have a better deal. It's a solid offering from a reputed maker and it has a lot of nifty features.

Superb sound, smooth tracking, crisp and bright picture

Doesn't play CD-R's, V-CD's (burned movies), and yes, the hideously ugly remote

The onkyo was a much more reliable and smooth operating machine than the marantz I had been using, which was in the same price range. The marantz chunked up the picture and occasionaly paused, never had that problem with onkyo. Disappointed it didn't play my burned copies of movies on cd, a feature many cheap dvd players offer. Go figure. Overall very satisfied with the quality of craftsmanship, design and performance. MSRP seems a little high, but since I didn't pay that much who cares. Other than that nothing more to add that hasn't already been said.

Similar Products Used:

marantz

Quiet running, smooth loading, fantastic sound, quality feel at under $500.

Remote, but not that big of a deal if you have a universal (I use a Pronto). It won't read CD-RWs and some CD-R's, but I don't need that capability, and neither do you if your CD player can do this as mine can.

A lot of people try to qualify their reviews with their expertise. Well, I'm a moron when it comes to this stuff. Here is what I have found:

Wow. This is a great unit, I'll keep it until I get evicted by my neighbors in my apt building. I looked for about 3-4 months before buying and this was the most capable unit for the money that I have seen. It doesn't have all of the bells and whistles that a lot of other units have, but if you are like me, most of these are features that can be adjusted through a quality receiver (or amp and preamp) or through the TV. The picture is extraordinarily crisp. This unit features fantastic sound and has performed flawlessly while running anything I've tried, including all of the classic and newer test discs (eg Matrix etc as well as diagnostic discs). A nice contrast to the Pioneer is the ability to search at slow speeds smoothly, instead of the jerky view you get if you try that with the Pioneer 525. I have not had the need to contact customer support, but if you do, I have heard that they are actually pretty good.

The remote is lacking somewhat, but I never use individual remotes after they are programmed into the universal remote anyway, but if you use it, you may be irritated by the small buttons and lack of easy use in a dark room. The box contains the unit, the remote, and and s-video cable, but no optical digital cable. (I ended up ordering an extra S-video cable b/c I didn't know the unit came with one. Oh well, never can have too many cables around!)

Highly recommended.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer DVD-525

you name it: sound,picture,quality,features

gets very hot

This is the mercedes under $500. Although it is my first Onkyo product (along with the 777 receiver),I am no stranger
to their products. The only thing is that the machine gets really hot and I'm not sure if it happens with dvd's in general. I also admit to not having an open space for it - but the unit still has ample space above and from the back!
As for the remote, I use the receiver remote so that works out just fine. Used the zoom feature to rid of the annoying
wide screen 16:9 ratio since i don't have the proper TV, and
did not notice loss of quality, esp if you are on zoom 1!
Overall - this is the dvd to have in this price range.