Price, plays all disks well, easy to use

None for my use

I read all the other reviews before purchasing and had some concerns about the reported drive noise during play. I don't have room for my DVD to go behind glass doors but I really haven't noticed any noise from the unit, even during really quiet scenes. Yes, it is light weight (so what) and yes, the disk tray is noisy going in and out (not a problem when viewing movies so not an issue for me). Plays all 20 disks I have and have only seen one glitch (1/4 sec pause) on a rental disk out of maybe 25 rented. I got mine with a really nice discount from Publisher's Clearing House ($189 + SH) and am tickled pink after about 3 months use. I thought the 96Khz sampling frequency was a nice added feature, along with the Dolby Digital, DTS, and MPEG audio formats being available too.

Similar Products Used:

None

Sound, Video, connection types.......DTS

Tray noise

You can't get a better DVD player under $350.00.....PERIOD!!

I have had this unit for over a year and NEVER had a problem.

The tray makes a little noise........so what....my brand new 36" sony makes noise when you turn it to very low levels.......who listens to this stuff at low levels...

Lets not kid ourselves......we spent the dough to have a mini theater in our homes.......it's supposed to be loud...

Great value for a center piece DVD

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic

Plays just about any format, Ease of Use, Value for Money, Multi Region

Not Many - Remote Control but not dramatic

This product was recommended by the company that installed my Bose Lifestyle 12. They said you may spend twice as much on DVD players that either don't have the functionality or have so many extras that you wouldn't use them anyway.

Having read reviews and seen players in operation I decided to go with the flow and buy the DV-525.

The only benchmark I have is what I have read in reviews like this. To my mortal VHS eyes and ears it is unbelievable.

It will play any format even VCD burnt on to rewritable CDs.

I might be one of the lucky ones, but as for the noise issues;

The tray does not make any more noise than an average cd player and was nowhere near as loud as I expected.

The disc noise in my player is absolutely non-existant and I have to almost lay my ear against it to hear it.

Guess I lucked out!!


I tend to agree about the remote. But I am used to it and I can remember where most buttons are at this stage, so operating it in the dark is not that bad.

I guess with the quality of the rest of this product it is easy to rationalise a relatively small problem like this.


Extremely recommended!!!!

Similar Products Used:

First Player, but researched Sony 725 and Toshiba Equivalent

Great Picture Quality, Sound, reads badly scratched disks, reads CD-R disks.

Remote, noisy drive mechanism

This DVD player has all the basic features you need plus a few like memory to store last view point for DVDs and very easy to setup. It only lacks the zoom function, selectable fast forward speed and a nicer remote. Picture quality is great and sound is fantastic. Plays the Matrix, Amagadden, Antz and many other CDs without skiping. Reads very badly scratched disks without complaining. Takes CD-R music disks and home made Video-CD as well. I have made comparison in a store and this is the verdict: Toshiba SD-2200, Hitachi DVP-305U and JVC701 can't even play the Matrix movie while Sony and Pioneer plays the movie flawlessly but all of them, EXCEPT the Pioneer DV-525, cannot read CD-R disks at all. The new model this year, the DV-333, has some additional features and it is also a good candidate. Got my at a local store for $130 as an open box item but it is in very good shape. Slightly noisy drive mechanism but not on all disks. No regrets...I highly recommend it for an entry-level player.

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba SD-2200 & 1200, Hitachi DVP-305U, JVC 701, Sony 360 & 560

Picture / Audio quality / Plays most media (CD-R, CD-RW etc).

Remote control, noisy transport, no SCART

I've had a couple of other dvd players and my friend has a far more expensive Sony player. The Pioneer was cheap and factory multiregion, it's played everything I've thrown at it perfectly with no lip sync problems or anything. People have said on here the layer change is bad but if you compare to some other players (i.e. the more expensive sony) it's not even noticable (on mine anyway). The only bad points are the remote - all the buttons are the same and difficult to locate - especially in the dark. Also the transport can be slightly noisy at the start of films - just turn up your amp! All in all great value for money for a basic dvd player.

Similar Products Used:

Shinco 2120, X-Wave, Sony 715

video and audio output analog

clicking when playing dvd cd cdr

the best dvd for the cash on the planet
no other dvd can handle it
video is the best no matter the price
the audio output is hi end
i have the kimber silver steek cable rca's
feeding the 2092 yammy and the
sound is on real on this dvd i was shock
i am used to listing to hi end gear
like arc wadia cal labs vtl, cd players
that cost $5000 and this little player
came the closes that i have ever herd
it is a good transport too. dont waist your
cash on nothing else oh and it plays cdr cdwr
i think i will keep it {ten stars man easy}
its rear a product keeps me up all night anymore fun!!!

Similar Products Used:

none

No problem with "problem discs" like The Matrix and Bug's Life.

Audio cutoff on certain discs as mentioned by others here.

I haven't really noticed any tray noise during playback, and I'm in a small Hong Kong apartment right now so I'm sitting pretty close to the tv and player. As others have mentioned here, Double Jeopardy freaks out and the sound cuts off at around the 72 minute mark, and recently I've found that it does the same on Sleepy Hollow. I agree about the remote, I guess you can say it's only a remote but next time someone phones you in the middle of a movie and you're trying to find the pause button... Anyway, I purchased this unit along with a Denon AVR-1600 w/dolby digital and a set up Sony Surround speakers with subwoofer here in HK so I can't really compare it to my old equipment. The acoustics in this apartment are terrible. I can't wait to get this stuff home to the states and set it up properly. My only concern is the audio cutoff I mentioned above, but from what I've read, most players will give you one problem or another, so...Picture quality is excellent on dvd's known to have a great transfer such as The Mummy.

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba 2109

Component out, DD and DTS, Great picture quality

Drive noise

Overall, this is a very good player. Not a great player, but a good player. The sound and picture quality are excellent. Very good downconversion of anamorphic DVD's. Poor remote layout is overstated. It's a remote, get over it.

I did want to comment on the drive noise this player has while watching certain movies. Several examples that you might want to check out include: the very 1st chapter of Saving Private Ryan(DTS) as the old man is walking down the path to the gravesite. Also, check out the end of the Alamo chapter at the end of the movie when the explosion occurs and Tom Hanks goes deaf for a few seconds, the player is very noisy at that point. Also, try the beginning of Pink Floyd The Wall, the first 5 minutes of the movie are almost unbearable. One thing that I have not determined is whether this problem is disc related. I rented The Piano last night with Holly Hunter, and couldn't hear the drive except for a few minor places. For those of you who will say that I must have a lemon, I have traded the player in three times. The reason I have stayed with the 525 is because of the sound and picture quality.

Like I said, as far as bang for your buck, you really can't go wrong with the 525.

Similar Products Used:

Tosh 2109, Sony 330, Sony 530

cheap, DTS out, PAL+SECAM, component video out, optical audio out

sound glitches, remote

I wanted a second DVD player to play DTS movies, and foreign films as well, since my SONY 600 5-disc player doesn't.

So I got a code-free version from dvdcity.com which allows me to play all regions. I've only had one problem so far with the sound on the menus of the DVD, The Haunting. The menu buttons make a horribly loud clicking noise as you move from menu to menu. Otherwise it plays the film fine. Also the PAL films that I have look and sound great as well.

Of course the remote is cheap but it does the job, although I much prefer the SONY one with the jog control disc dial.It's definitely worth it as a no frills but powerful player for many applications.

Similar Products Used:

SONY 600 5-disc

Price, Plays CD-Rs

lip synch problems, Loud drive tray, terrible scanning, awful remote,

1) I returned my Pioneer 525 after getting fed up with lip synch problems. Many here say that they have not had lip synch problems with this player, but I did. The lip synch problems were prevalant on every disk I played (about 20).
It was unbearable. I called Pioneer and they wouldn't admit to the problem let alone offer any way to fix it.

2) The noise of the disk spinning in the drive is very loud and distracting, there is no good reason why it should be so loud. I'm sure they will improve this in the 626 (?) but it is unacceptable. Forget about using it to play a quite classical music CD.

3) The fast forward and reverse scan is frustratingly bad too. It scans too quickly and is too jerky. The last image you see on the screen after you stop scanning is not where the movie resumes. It resumes even further back (when rewinding) so it is very difficult to replay the last few seconds of any particular scene. Also you have to hold down the already hard to push button on the remote while scanning.

4) All buttons on the remote are very hard to push.

One plus is that it does play CD-Rs.

I got the Sony 530 to replace it.
1) It had the latest rev 2.3 and I have had no lip synch problems except on disks with known problems (Clerks).
2) The Sony is quite as a mouse, you simlpy cannot hear the disk spinning until you are 6 inches away.
3) The remote is great. You can scan with a single push of a button and control the volume of the receiver with it too. The buttons are easy to push.
4) It doesn't play CD-Rs. You put one it and after a long pause it says no disc. However, my Pioneer Laserdisc player plays CD-Rs no no sweat

SAVE YOUR TIME AND MONEY AVOID THE 525 !!!

Similar Products Used:

Sony 530