Very crisp picture quality, ease of use, great price.

None so far.

I did a lot of looking around for an entry level dvd player sub $250range and this was the best product having the most options and the best price. i have found no sacrifice in quality in the product at all. the digital signal is crisp and if you are a general audio enthusiast who appreciates home theater this product will do it for you. i am sure there are some faults in it for an audio/video phile, but none that i can discern and as this is a subjective medium to some degree, just try this product and see for yourself.
The only one slight drawback i would give it, is the tray loaded seems to be flimsy and wouldn't stand any type of impact at all. And while, generally DVD players don't take part in contact sports, it could be a hassle in the event of accidents.
While i purchased it at Liquidprice.com, the retailer who delivered it to me was www.victor-s.com and they did a good job of calling to confirm the order, confirm shipment, assign and tell me about tracking numbers and insure delivery.

Similar Products Used:

None, first dvd purchased. (used to own LD player, marantz-LV520).

easy machine to set up; better audio quality out of coax output than previous models, good menu.

It could be just this unit but contrast did not seem as good as on previous models

My brother actually bought the machine; you could not beat the price. I tested it on my own home theater system and then on his. I found the picture to seem to have a lack of contrast on my RCA Colortrack monitor(s-vhs mode) although it was sharp with good color. Picture was briter them prev. pion. models above in std mode a plus. Very clean high end on DVD giving better diction of dialogue than Zen. 2300. Previous Pion. models worked better on Toshlink, this unit worked well on both digital connections but better on the coax. Excellent audio detail and imaging; tight bass; natural in sound like prev. pioneer units. Imaging better than previous models. Also tried this unit on his HTR set-up with Yam 2095, NHT Sup. Twos, Super Zeros and Sony 35 inch FD trinitron. Previous pioneers would only play well in cinema mode, this played quite well on std mode. Nice sound and imaging on some kind of Monster digital cable. Did not try CD's for audio, past pioneers and prob. this one would play music CD's a little brite. I did not try DTS sound on this unit; past pioneers have been fine on DTS, I believe the same would be for this unit. Scanning is not Pioneers cup of tea; same as previous models; but I found it adequate on all models. The contrast of the picture bothered me the most which did not seem typical of pioneer products. As with any electronics product, buy where you can get an exchange or even better a money back gurantee. Some DVD players seem to work better on one brand of set over another. I am not sure what causes this variable. I would have given this unit 5 stars had the picture contrast level been better.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer 414,525; Apex AD500; Toshiba 2109, Phillips 815, Zenith 2300

Cheap
Plays everything I throw at it
CDR/CDRW support

kind of looks ugly

This player is a godsend compared to the Samsung I used to have. It plays all of the problem discs I had with the samsung, even the badly scratched ones, flawlessly. I don't notice the tray noise as others state; it's probably because I play my movies very loud so I can "feel" it. But really I can't hear it when I'm watching the movie. I just went and checked: I can only hear it if I turn off all the noise in the room, and get to within one to two feet of the player. The remote's not that hot either, but it don't matter too much since I have a universal remote. It's beautiful and sounds great, but I cannot comment on if it's better than the other less expensive players that I have worked with, since I honestly can't tell the difference. Especially the oritron I got for my parents...I'm amazed how good that one is, especially for the price ($64).

Similar Products Used:

Samsung DVD511
Oritron DVD200
APEX 600A

Digital Optical Out, Component Video Out, Disc comes up quick, plays CD-R's and CD-RW's, Low Price.

None

After much research, I went with this DVD and I'm so happy I did. It plays all of the top DVD's such as the Matrix with no hesitation. I've never been a Pioneer fan, however, this DVD's performance won me over. I'm holding onto it for a year or less and then I will upgrade to a progressive-scan DVD, when I get a digital TV. It's great that it plays all audio CD's (CD-R's and CD-RW's) too.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo TX-DS787, Paradigm Speakers (Left, Right, Center)and Sub, NHT's for the rear, Kimber Kable.

Excellent video quality with S-video connector. Component video outs. Fast loading and navigation of CDRs as well as DVDs.

Cheap remote - not a big weakness.

I did quite a bit of research before I decided to buy this unit. I bought this player for $199 at the Good Guys. I then went to Costco and found it there for $179. I went back to the good guys and they paid me double the difference so it was a net cost of $159.

I think this is the best standalone dvd player in the up to $250 price range. It has all the inputs and outputs you need, all the major features (except for zoom), plus excellent CDR/CDRW support.

It is a very light unit, feels almost empty. The buttons on the drive feel a little cheap when pressed, but overall the unit is good looking. I'm using S-video outputs to my Sony Trinitron tv and the video quality is very sharp and the colors are vivid and well defined.

If you need a really high quality dvd player at an affordable price the Pioneer DV-333 is probably your best bet as of this writing.