price,picture,sound

none so far

After an exhaustive search of on-line reviews I decided to go with the 525.I got it at Best Buy for $212 with $90 rebates and 5 free DVDs. The first movie I tried was Three Kings and to tell the truth I was somewhat disappointed in the grainy picture and I assumed it was because my 32" Sony only has composite video.But the next movie I played was Life is Beautiful and the clarity and colors were amazing.Even my wife was impressed.Perhaps picture quality varies among DVDs.I have it hooked up to my Aiwa Av-DV95 with a Monster digital coaxial and the sound blew me away.I have observed slight disc noise before the movie begins but after that its indiscernable.My only concern is after I brought it home I noticed it is made in China.The country of origin is printed on the box and I thought I read here that some are made in Japan so if you can check first.I'm no expert but I love what I see and hear.Go for it!

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first DVD

Super picture quality and audio sound. Useful having both coaxial and optical digital output options

noisy tray and remote control rather small (need glasses to read the functions)

A great little unit - doesn't look or feel quite as good as Yamaha's equivalent, but the option of PAL/NTCS output is a bonus.
My unit was modified to allow multiregion DVDs, and it works really well, and I'd recommend it to anyone

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Yamaha

Plays CD-R, CD-RW, excellent picture and sound quality, easy menu system.

A little noisy on start up.

I work for a retailer so I am able to test out all the different models listed above. And after putting them all thru the same tests I chose the Pioneer as my DVD player of choice for under $250. The Toshiba seems to be just as good but I like the fact the Pioneer can play CD-R's and the Toshiba can't. I agree the start up is a little noisy but not bad really, You ought to hear the new Sony 360, It sounds like your burning the cd rather then playing it. I have never had any problems playing any kind of dvd or cd in this unit, it plays them all flawlessly. The front panel is simple to use and it has that great amber Pioneer display window. I agree the remote button's are a little small but easy enough to use. I recomend this model to any one who is looking to purchase a new DVD player and spend less than $250.

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Sony, Panasonic, Phillips, Toshiba, Fisher, Samsung and Zenith.

Above average video qaulity, great sound via digital outputs with minimal compression, audio/video section is separated well on the back panel for better performance(rare at this price point). CD repeat feature, and a great price!!!

Remote but it's not as bad as the Toshiba 1200, creeky transport when it closes(1K DV-05 did the same thing), stock feet/dampers are weak but this is an easy upgrade. A slight disc spinning noise but it didn't seem that bad to me.

This player shocked me with it sound via digital outs. It was very similar to the DV-05 - I've owned both players. It's video qaulity is even with the Panasonic, and a notch below the Toshiba but it sounded much less compressed on D.D/dts soundtracks compared to the Toshiba.

The DV-05 has better DAC's so it sounded better as a CD player via analog outputs. The DV-05 is smooth as a CD player and competes with stand-alone CD players in the $500 range. The 525 sounds a little bright and edgy at high volumes through the analog outs, but the video performance and audio via digital outputs are VERY SIMILAR!!!

If you need a DVD player that has to double as your only CD player, then the DV-05 is probably worth the extra dough. Otherwise, I can't think of any reason to spend more money unless you want to spice up your rack to a little more since the DV-05 has a sleeker look to it. Keep in mind that both players weigh about the same anyway, and their build qaulity is practically the same, hence the Urishi(gloss) finish on the DV-05. 5 stars at this price point for the 525, no doubt!

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Panasonic A120U, Pioneer Elite DV-05, and a Toshiba SD-1200

Picture, Sound, Memory Recall

Remote buttons are very small, wish it was lighted.

This is a follow up to about six months ago, when I first purchased it. My first DVD player was DOA. Needless to say, I was very pissed because I had to get the Matrix rush out of my system (One reason I purchased DVD to begin with). In any case, I got another one delivered, from OneCall. I am using Audioquest component video cable, on a Mitsubishi Big screen. The contrasting is excellent. Sound is excellent as well. I particularly like the memory feature, and to be honest, I cannot hear any tray spinning. If you are like most people here and have a home theater system, you probably won't even notice it unless you are very close to it, or unless you are watching some slow crappy drama movie. For 200 bucks, a lot of people on here are damn picky. Beggars can't be choosers, although in this case, you may be able to. I bought mine for 200 bucks from Onecall.com, including the 5 free movies and 13 rentals. So how much are you really paying, somewhere around 100 bucks for the DVD player. Only complaint is I wish it would dim like my H/K components do so nicely, and wish the remote was better, but once the movie is playing, it is awesome. I reccomend using component cable, its expensive, but it works, and dont' go for the monster crap, get audioquest or comparable brands. BTW, its great for Asian/Hindi films if you're into that.

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Panasonic A120

price,picture and sound quality

none

After all the reveiws I read from this site I decided to purchase this unit and glad I did. The draw is a little noisy I guess but that doesn't bother me one bit. My unit is in a entertainment center so I hear no noise from it what so ever. The only problem is replacing all the VHS tapes because the picture and sound don't even compare.

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none

Ease of use (hook-up). Picture quality and sound

Might be a little sensitive to dirty DVD's.

Have had the 525 for a couple of weeks and have played about 25 discs including CD-R music CD's. Quality has been superb (I'm using the Monster Cable and S-Video support). Had trouble with the new James Bond movie. It would freeze on occasion for a second followed by "lip synch" problems. Took the disc out and cleaned it with a cloth. Seemed to get rid of most of these problems. For $199.00 at Curcuit City (out of box in store display), I'm very pleased with this unit. I do not notice any disc spining noise. The remote is fine with me (I wish it was illuminated though). I actually use this unit as my primary music CD player now. Because of problems with the James Bond movie, I'll rate at 4 stars. Note that disc was a rental, and may just of been soiled.

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Unknown

PLAY EVRYTHING CD-R, CD-RW, VCD and OF COURSE DVD. I AM TOLD NOT EVEY DVD PLAYER CAN PLAY THEM ALL. MY FRIEND HAS A TOSHIBA 2101 (I THINK) WHICH COSTS THE SAME AND CANNOT PLAY VCD.

SENSITIVE TO DIRTY DVD

QUITE SASTIFIED, NO PROBLEM SO FAR.

Pioneer's Laser Video Expertise..great picture, great audio

Could be constructed better

I've used this player for nearly 7 months now and it's performed admirably...except for one flaw. Sometimes (it's happened three times) the sound completely "drops out" and the display stops advancing. However, the video keeps right on playing. I'm not sure if it's happening during a layer change or not but I believe it doesn't really matter. I stop the player and start it back up and viola! The sound is back again! Other than that, the player has been great. The picture is smooth and colors are fantastic. There's been alot of folks mention the transport noise as a problem. I haven't noticed mine making any heinous noises recently so I believe this noise will subside as the player is used. If there is anyone out there that's experienced this "dropout" problem please send me an email at sartind@aol.com. And if you've purchased this player I'm sure you'll like it very much.

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None

Excellent in-player letterboxing; great picture, sound (even from CDs); plays CD-Rs; factory region mod

Can't dim display; awful remote; no menu controls on front panel; poor layer-changes

An excellent value player. RRP in Australia A$899 ($100 less without region mod), paid $780. Comes to the dealer already region-modified. Component video outputs for an awesome picture with 48-inch Sony RPTV (using quality cables). But it's my first DVD player so take this review with a grain of salt ;-)

Outstanding in-player letterboxing - really adds to the sharpness. Good audio side, it is better than my $500 Sony CD player.The remote is way below par for anything today, save for the cheapest of the cheap. It's vintage 1995. There are only basic transport controls on the player itself, and you can't put the player into standby - you must use the remote.

OSD is very good, highly legible and usable. I still can't work out how to access the multiple forward/reverse speeds - all I get is the jumpy 8X, which isn't smooth or intuitive. Plenty of slo-mo speeds though.

You can't dim the display which is annoying - I like absolute darkness in my listening/viewing room (other than the TV, of course). It's strange they omitted this - the DV-515 used to have an "FL Off" button.

All in all a good player for the money, great for first-time owners who want something more than a no-frills model, but don't want to pay the earth - especially bearing in mind DVD-audio players will be out shortly.

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First DVD player