Extreme versatility Plays MP3 files DVD AUDIO SACD PROGRESSIVE SCAN WITH 2:3 PULLDOWN

NONE SO FAR

I just saved up enough pennies to finally buy a really good DVD player. I've only had the player for about a week but I am already extremely impressed by the picture quality just through the S-video output. My old player also a Pioneer was quite nice when I bought it in 98, but as you all know it doesnt take very long for your new player packed with new state of the art features to become obsolete. I'm sure this player will give me a lot more years of service before I have to eventually upgrade again. The sound quality so far sounds very good and I notice that the small amount of DVD audio disks I own are not very high resolution. For some reason only 48khz in 5.1. I would recommend this player to anyone who enjoys movies or music.

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NOT THAT MANY ON THE MARKET YET!

MULTI-format (you know the list)

Somewhat light and therefore on may think it is "cheaply" built, but I don't necessarily agree. I would NOT put another component on top of it though.

I'm giving this DVD player 5's all around because I don't know of anything else in it's price range that can do everything it does, and also look great on video. The picture on this DVD player blows away my old Toshiba SD4700, and I thought that was a pretty good unit. I too made the decision to buy this unit because of my love of surround-sound music and wanted a universal DVD-A and SACD player (The Tosh only did DVD-A, and Dark Side of the Moon is coming to SACD in March!!). I'm quite pleased. Highly recommended in my book and I would love to see someone point out a better unit in it's price range.

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Toshiba SD4700

Video play back,the abillity to hear new formats(dvd-a,sacd,etc)progressive scan, a video off button

DVD-A,SACD for a so called Elite name, just so-so performance

I have just purchased this player and Have listened to DVD-A,SACD, through this player. As the other reviewer 2 reviews before has mentioned, The sound seems to fall off when using analog outputs. I had to change my recievers 6 channel inputs to 2 channel and it boosted the sound level back to normal. It sounds better in stereo. The good point on this unit is its video play back. I don't know how to evaulate the Dvd-a and sacd section. As the DD, and DTS play back through its digital connection sounds better and much easier to get sound levels up to par. My Rotel rcd-975 player sounds just as good as the stereo sacd's, and I think it strange that a 8 year old cd player can hold it's own with a new DVD-A,SACD player.

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Rotel, Sony, Jvc

Price on internet. DVD-A and SACD compatibility and performance. Overall usability.

Bass Management Chroma Bug

So far this is the only player at this price point that appears to do it all. Both DVD-A and SACD performance are above average. Video performance is a little on the soft side in both de-interlaced and progressive modes. Set-up is user friendly and the manual is written well. Now for the down side. The bass management does work for both DVD-A and SACD, however, is limited. If you set the fronts to large you will only get LFE info in the subwoofer. What does this mean..for releases that don't have an LFE track..you will get nothing in the subwoofer! The crossover is set at 100hz..and the slope is such that you will localize the sub and overall bass impact is lacking. Also a problem that has been discussed on other forums involves the speculation that the internal DD/DTS decoders do not add back in the 10dB boost to the LFE that most A/V receivers and preamps do "automatically". To understand this concept go here:(http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_7_2/feature-article-misunderstood-lfe-channel-april-2000.html) This player appears not to do this so overall sub output is down around 10dB (this is only when using analog outputs...digital output no probs). Most that take there audio seriously have opted to bypass the bass management in the DV-45A and use the Outlaw ICBM to handle this (www.outlawaudio.com). I have done this and have achieved spectacular results...much better than using the players internal decoders. One other negative I have discovered is the Chroma Upsampling Error (CUE) that is noticable when using the Component Video Out in Progressive mode. For an eye opening experience on player performance on this topic (and others)go here:(http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_7_3/dvd-benchmark-introduction-9-2000.html). Sorry to bring all this up but you should be aware that this player, along with a slew of others, have issues. I will keep my 45A...but will upgrade when time, and especially money, become more available!

audio and video playback. Performance for the price is high

Like everybody else the weight issue is annoying until you hear it play.

I got this to replace my Toshiba 2109 which was still working fine but I wanted to try DVD-AUDIO. I had read several reviews of this player and thought it would fit my needs. It is a terrific video and audio player, DVD AUDIO is a great way to listen to music and video playback is outstanding to my eyes. I got the Allman Brothers at the Fillmore East 5.1 disc and it just rocks on surround sound. Other disc's are more laid back in there surround effects, its all in the mixing. I have noticed that DVD-AUDIO and SACD eats up power. I really have to turn up the volume to a level I never do on a CD. I don't know if this is the nature of the medium or my equipment. I'm running a 70 watt Denon reciever which is a little lite on wattage but the area I'm using it is only 12x12. On movies the progressive picture on my Sony 51" hdtv is superb. Crstal clear with very sharp detail. I would highly recommend this player as a all around performer for anybody's system. It will deliver everything you need in a high performance DVD player at a fair price.

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Toshiba 2109. Plays clunky compared to this unit.

Menu's SACD 2ch & multi playback DVDA playback MP3cd playback CDR & CDRW playback DVDR playback that glossy black face-plate!

I replaced my Onkyo DVD player with this one. I was getting tierd of onkyo's inabilitys to play different media (CDR's, CDRW's, MP3's VCD's) & i knew pioneer is usually really good with different formats. and it is. it also has much better picture & sound quality than any DVD player I've used yet.

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Sony Onkyo HK Panasonic toshiba

Excellent picture quality Fast DVD loading and queue up Plays everything I throw at it, all formats, etc. Pretty good manual Nice adjustments for the audio only features

Basic features (won't remember multiple DVD resume) Resume for existing disc being played is too easy to cancel Cryptic front display Remote is debatably lame (joystick / combination button setup for navigation) The remote has very limited lateral range. My Pronto solved that problem, so it's not the sensitivity of the DVD player itself (good thing)

I long debated what to purchase for the next DVD player, but wanted DVD-Audio, SACD and Burr Brown DA quality in one affordable unit. This player delivers that. Aside from good audio media compatibility, I wanted a player that would do away with the square-ish pixels I was getting from my Philips, and I no longer have any picture degradation. The video is beautiful on my 61" rear projection TV with RGB inputs. I'm even bypassing my first generation DVDO line doubler as the built in progressive scan picture looks better to me. The player is annyoingly light weight, so don't judge its quality on heft. Considering the DV-47a is almost twice the price, I just ignored it. I think it would be hard to beat this player for the price.

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Mainstream low end DVD players

The sound!

Awfully light.

Bought this because it totally blew away my Arcam CD72 for standard CD's. Unbelieveable! Even better with SACD and DVDA. You gotta hear this to believe it. I'm sure that there's better out there but not at this price and this versatility.

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Panasonic 91, Arcam CD72, Marantz 6000

Plays almost all formats available on disc. Price. Burr-Brown DAC's.

Large remote. (Good thing I have a pronto).

After being on the DVD-A bandwagon for over a year, I seriously listened to SACD on a good system. I was amazed (It could have been the system I was listening to: Marantz SA-1, McIntosh C42 & MC202, and Eggleston Works Savoys). I needed to get an SACD player, but didn't want to give up my DVD-A's or keep switching over expensive interconnects. I was not disappointed when I put the DV45A into my system. The SACD's sound amazingly detailed and smooth. The DVD-A's even sound better than on the previous player (JVC XV-FA95GD) mainly due to the bass management system built in. I find I'm using the on-board dts & dd decoders instead of my receiver. The video is much clearer as well. I have also noticed that the DV-45A is much quicker at changing layers on DVD's. It is also very quiet. It also plays MP3's. While I don't think it's the best format around, it is very useful for background music at parties (don't have to worry about changing discs). This is a great product for the price. If it's on a disc, this player will play it (except for HDCD). I recommend this player for anyone who is looking to get into both SACDs/DVD-As on a budget. My system: Pioneer Elite DV-45A Pioneer Elite VSX-27TX (A/V Receiver) Citation 7.1 (Power for Front/Center) Behringer DSP8024 UltraCurve Pro (Room Correction) Magnepan 1.6QR (front) Magnepan CC1 (center) Magnepan MMG (rear) Sunfire True Subwoofer Jr. DHLabs Silver Sonic Bi-Wire (speaker wire) Audioquest interconnects

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JVC XV-FA95GD, DV-C505

Ability to play numerous formats, progressive scan, ease of connection and legibility of display.

None that I've found. It meets all my needs. As far as build quality is concerned, I don't really understand or believe there is some positive correlation between build quality i.e. weight and performance. It doesn't take much to make a DVD player nowadays, what do people want them to weigh?

Bought this unit to upgrade from my Toshiba 2109 to get progressive scan. The bonus was that it played SACD's and DVDA's. I've been very pleased with the picture the player puts out in Progressive and DVDA has been incredible with the Outlaw 950/770 combo I hooked it up to. It operates very smoothly and quietly unlike my Toshiba 2109 which kinda grunted and groned when navagting a DVD. Great player for the price and great versatility. I'm happy.

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Toshiba 2109