Hi all.

I'm thinking about replacing my rather old Pioneer 717 for a newer model. I'm not worried about HD just yet I just want a universal player that will also play any region (inc protected discs) without the bother of a handset hack, a chipped player would be ok though!

Budget around £600.00

Sarah,

Save yourself £500 and get down to Richer Sounds to buy a Pioneer DV-575a (multi-region) for £99.99 - like i did recently.

Not only is it multi-region 'out of the box' but it plays RCE (ie 'protected') disks with no bother at all - like my RCE version of Spiderman for instance.

Its a superb machine and 'punches' way above its weight - though you do have to take the time to tweak its video settings to get the very best out of it. They are very easy to do though - and give excellent results.

You also get DivX, DVD-A and SACD playback thrown in - along with progressive scan (PAL and NTSC) and component outputs to name but a few. Its great on RGB scart too. Sound quality is noticably better than anything i've heard at anywhere near the price.

With HD-DVD and Blue Ray technology not too far away its worth holding off buying an expensive player to see what happens with these new HD formats over the next year or so.
In the mean time the 575a will do the job nicely.

[thekingbeyond]

I have the pioneer 575 and the pioneer 757 and for the money the 575 is a bargain at £99, it comes very close to the 757 for picture quality.

Thanks I'll consider that, I mean at that price I can't go wrong if I don't like it my lil sister can always have it

Just been looking the player up, it seems to do an awful lot for the money does anyone know if any corners have been cut to pack so much in?

[zAndy1]

Yes the audio reproduction leaves a lot to be desired and I found mine quite noisy but apart from that it's a great machine with a lot of features for the money. What display will you be hooking it up to? What about the Oppo DV971H http://www.oppodigital.com/opdv971h.html , it's a cracking dvd player, the PQ is awesome, plays divx stuff as well. If you have a display that can take the upscaled 720p or 1080i signal from the Oppo (i.e. it's got a DVI or HDMI input) I'd get that over the Pioneer to be honest.

Cheers,
Andy.

In this case does anyone have the new 585 if so does it better the 575???

Thanks I will take a looky at that, I'm only using a CRT Loewe Articos so I'm not too worried about HDMI sockets and the like just yet, mainly looking for very good picture quality and decent 5.1 sound playback.

The main reason I wanted a new player was for the DVD audio formats playback and if possible multiregion without a handset hack as I'm getting lazy in my old age and can't be bothered to do it everytime I swap regions!

[zAndy1]

Most dvd players that you make multi region using a handset hack you only have to do it once, i.e. you set it to region 0 (i.e. multi region) and it plays any region discs you put in without you having to do anything. I think the main benefit with the Oppo is it's DVI output and upscaling so perhaps it's not ideal for use with your Loewe tv i.e. you won't get the best out of it. It does do dvd-audio though and if you do get a plasma or LCD display it will have some extra performance in reserve for it!

Cheers,
Andy

[mikeoxsmall]

keep what u have and wait for hd dvd, most dvd players have the same picture ,i have an old 717 and a new 868i and to me there is no difference at all even trhough i-link into a 3 grand ax10i, to much hype out there and people being taken for mugs

That would be cool, I seem to be the only person who has a DVD player that you have to change every time >,<

[mikeoxsmall]

up scaling is no good either ,to much distortion on the picture we really need high def dvd players now into these high performance displays, i am giving up on it all untill we have high def tv(about 4 months time here in sweden) and high def dvd ,and real high def plasmas wich should be coming out soon hopefully, we need full 1250 lines resolution on hd tvs not 760, come on manufacurers get a move on

[mikeoxsmall]

i have spent over 10 grand on my system and i wish i hadn't just b patient and wait a year or 2

Originally Posted by mikeoxsmall

keep what u have and wait for hd dvd, most dvd players have the same picture ,i have an old 717 and a new 868i and to me there is no difference at all even trhough i-link into a 3 grand ax10i, to much hype out there and people being taken for mugs

Thats reassuring to hear you've tried the same player I have and there is little difference, it is indeed a well built tank but I just wanted the option to play back audio DVDs etc as I probably won't be bothering with Hi Definition stuff until its a better established.

Thanks for all the advice people!

[mikeoxsmall]

dvd-a sounds aweful so does sacd, far to bright

[mikeoxsmall]

the 717 is a great dvd player.

Originally Posted by mikeoxsmall

dvd-a sounds aweful so does sacd, far to bright

Lovely. Just confuse my mind even more, I'm already bad enough at making choices!

[Drew2]

Doesn't DVD-A need 5.1 output via an internal decoder and not optical/co-axial?
There are cheap Chinese players (35 quid)supporting DVD-A and SACD (HDCD) but only have digital outputs. The signal being output will only be 2Ch DD or so I am led to believe.

As for upgrading/changing your DVD player - save your cash and wait if your actually happy with what you've got. Changes are on their way so hold off - the "upgrade" bug is so addictive, believe me - I know!!

Upgrade your 'block connecter' and interconnects just now - you can always use them later on!

[mikeoxsmall]

i have mine connected to an ax10i trhough i-link and sacd is aweful. u are right drew2 wait for a year or 2. surround sound in general is crap, stereo is far better.

I think I may just not bother changing the player at all if this is the case!

[Drew2]

Good " Choice"

[mikeoxsmall]

listen to drew2 he is japan and he should know a thing or 2 about this subject

[mikeoxsmall]

drew what should i do .i have a 868avi into ax10i, that part is ok, the picture via component is not so hot, should i buy a so called high def plasma yet or wait

[mikeoxsmall]

tha hdmi into dvi-d wont work on my samsung plasma

[mikeoxsmall]

i am thinking of waiting for a while for the next generation plasmas

Originally Posted by zAndy1

Yes the audio reproduction leaves a lot to be desired and I found mine quite noisy

Not true.

The Dv-575's audio reproduction on movies is awesome for the price. And before you ask i play it through best part of £4k worth of 5.1 amps/speakers - so i know good sound when i hear it.

Unlike most budget DVD players the 575 has a dedicated processor for each of its audio formats. If you check the tech spec's i think you will be very impressed. It even has Burr Brown DACS in it (for 2 channel CD sound) - which is unbelievable at this price.

I assume you mean 'noisy' in operation only...which could be a rogue unit...though it obviously varies from player to player. My old Tosh SD100e is alot noisier than my new 575a - and the almost non-existent layer change on the Pioneer makes the Tosh look like its faulty (which it isnt).

All round the 575a is a great buy to tide you over till the HD fiasco settles down. Try to listen to people who actually own the player - rather than those 'experts' who have just read about it.

Be quick if you want one though - as there can't be many left.

[mikeoxsmall]

wait for hd dvd as i said i have an 868avi running through 3 grands worth of amp and it is no different to the 717 in anyway at all believe me i am very critical about sound, it's all hype

Thanks, you lot have probably saved me cash. I will stick with mine for the time being.

Thanks again!