Excellent LD picture, plays all media

somewhat pricey

I was purchasing my first DVD player, while upgrading my LD player. This is an excellent compromise. Although you can purchase better seperates (this is based on the 414 dvd player and the 704 LD player I believe, this is a great product if you have limited space.

DVD/CD/LD capability
quality sound and picture
24-bit processing, DD, DTS
complete connectivity, including AC3

looks like i paid too much...
had to replace first unit delivered

i bought this unit when it hit the streets, thus paid full retail... and so what?; it's a great player.

this unit is for those who have amassed a serious collection of laserdiscs... it is the only one of its kind insofar as it's a complete multiplayer with 24-bit decoding and current surround processing, a must if you don't have a receiver or pre/pro that does the decoding.

i got it with the intention of replacing the elderly LD3030, as the final ld player i'd ever have, but the big surprise was the musicality of the cd player... astonishingly better than my rotel RCD955AX... sweet, warm, detailed.

was at first underwhelmed with dvd in general, but in the last couple months, i finally added a newish digital surround receiver (rendering the good DAC's of the 919 moot) and proper component video cables, and can now confirm that the dvd section of the 919 is as topnotch as everything else... video quality of both dvd and ld is terrific.

it is a killer source component!

but it wasn't without problems... the first unit displayed some of the video jumpiness described elsewhere on this page... intermittent problem was difficult to trace; unfortunately this meant 3 trips to the hapless service center, some polite complaining, and finally a replacement unit and time spent scrutinizing it... but it was worth it.

i repeat... it is a killer source component!

perfect for those who own lots of laserdiscs... look for $6-700 pricing... otherwise, spend that kind of money on a prog-scan dvd player... or better yet, a dvd recorder can make that cumbersome laserdisc collection disappear!

Similar Products Used:

pioneer LD3030

The DVL919 makes a great transport. I bought one recently for videopurposes and out of curiosity, connected it to my DAC, to try out the
capability of the transport mechanism. Let me put it this way, I am now putting up my dedicated transport for sale. The DVL919 beats many of the so-called
dedicated CD transports out there hands down in almost all aspects. Try it.
If you don't like it, you can still utilise the video functions.

I am really happy with this player. Due to it is combo, I can watch for new movie that on LD but yet on DVD.
This player is a successor of DVL-909. It has component video output, DTS output, backlit jog shuttle remote (golden series only) and 4 dimmed setting.

Full audio selection are available. Dolby digital, DTS, MPEG and PCM stereo. But I am not sure for MPEG playback. And good also as audio CD player.


- Jacob

Just picked up this machine couple of days ago. I was actually going to purchase a DV-S5, but that machine was temporarily out of stock at the store that I was well acquainted. So, I was persuaded to get the 919 instead. I was surprised that the video quality isn't that far off from the DV-S5 and the Onkyo DVS-717 (I was also considering to purchase this machine).
On the audio side, the built in DAC isn't quite audiophile quaility, it is comparable to a low end cd-player. I was also surprised to see the virtual suround sound system works on CD as well, some might find that the sound stage would be widen when SRS was on.

The sound quality was greatly improved after I hooked up the 919 to my MF X-24K DAC and Alchemy DTI. I found this DAC was targeted for users who liked to use a DVD player as a CD transport as well. The reason for the having a DTI in between the 919 and the X-24k was that, the DVD was found to have a high jitter rate when compare to cd players. With this set up, the sound was cleaner and more details could be heard.

I would give it a 4 stars for overall performance, but considering the performance/dollar factor, I would give it a 5.

Here is the rest of my system for reference:

DVD player: DVL-919
De-Jitter device: Alchemy DTI
DAC: MF X-24K
Amplifier : Audio Space AS-8i (Tube amp made in HK)
Speakers: ProAC Tablette 50 Signature
Digital Coax cable: Monarchy Audio Digital Reference 2 (from 919 to DTI)
Aural Symphonics Digital Statement (from DTI to X-24k)
Interconnect: XLO Reference 1.1 (X-24k to Amp.)
Speakers Cable: (Audioquest Midnight 3 and Audioquest Crystal bi-wired)

I have owned this player for about 2 1/2 months now and am impressed with its performance. The only problem I have had is that once I did not place a DVD in the tray properly and it jammed inside the machine. It damaged the DVD to the point that it would not play. I attribute this to operator error and not a machine fault and it has not happened again. I have played about 15 rental discs through it, above and beyond the ones I own, and every one has played flawlessly. Haven't really used the laser disc that much, but when I have, it too has worked without problem. If you're in the market for a combo player, don't see how you could go wrong with this baby! Since the buttons on the remote are small and it doesn't have "smooth scan," I can only give it 4 stars, but I'm the type that doesn't rate ANYTHING as perfect.

After spending a couple days checking it out w/Video Essentials ld and dvd, I had not actually watched a complete ld. I wanted to check out the video noise in Star Wars but when side B began to play the machine began to skip from one spot to another, it would "wink" off, like a television would, and resume playing a few seconds or a minute or two, either forward or back, all at random. This was a new experience for me. The dvd element looked very nice although the machine itself emits a fair amount of chirping and scatching sounds. Too bad, brand new and it slid past quality control. Sorry, Pioneer, you get 1 star from me. What good is a nice image if you have to watch it on a noisy machine that looses track of itself.

Just recently got this machine. I have primarily used it with my Laserdisc collection. I can't completely comment on the sound quality yet, I am on a waiting list to get the Sony DA555ES when it is released. Currently I only have it hooked up to about an 8 year old Dolby Surround reciever.
It has a nice combination of features, and beautiful video on my Mitsubishi 32" television. I got this mail order for about $750, for the price it is an excellent purchase. I will comment more when I have the proper audio equipment to put it through its paces.

Purchased the Pioneer DVL-919 a couple of months ago and I have happy with it's performance both audio and picture. Haven't tried the DTS sound yet but based from some from friends, they say it's equally good. For the price, you get all the necessary fuctions including DTS out. Recommended to all who are looking for a player that plays all formats. Only one minor stuff, that is when playing LD's and it switches sides, it's noisy even when the disc has finished playing. Other then that, it's fine.

This is an all-in-one player and capable of reading CDR discs and pirated copies of VCD. My complaints are its noisy mechanism during power on and off and takes a long time to turn on and shut off. I'll give it a 4-star rating for its DTS and AC3 RF features.