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(More customer reviews)I purchased Pioneer DV-410V dvd player to replace a low-end Sony model that I have been using for a year. The Sony DVD player does not have a HDMI port, so I have been relegated to watching my Panasonic LCD TV via component video cable. I narrowed my choice between Pioneer and LG DN898 players. They are the two top rated DVD players according to Consumer Reports. Pioneer, with the score of 86, tops LG player (which gets 82). I saw no reviews for LG DN898 on the Amazon web site; Pioneer (Amazon's second bestselling upconverting DVD player; LG was #7) got 15 mostly positive reviews. So I went for the Pioneer player.
Pioneer DV-410V has a very handsome form factor. There are more controls in the front panel of the player than most other DVD players (even though I probably would not use any of them). Disc tray is very solidly made. The display is easy to read. Pioneer comes with plenty of connection options. Composite A/V, S-video, component video, HDMI, plus coaxial digial audio out. The notable omission is the optical digital output (fortunately I do not need it), which is available in Pioneer's higher-end models. The set up was very easy. Connect the HDMI cable, went through various settings in the Home Menu, and I was ready to watch my first DVD.
The Home Menu is a model of efficiency. It is divided into five major sections: Audio Settings, Video Adjust, Play Mode, Disk Navigator, and Initial Settings. It is very easy to navigate through each section using cursor buttons. I especially like the Video Adjust Menu, which give you control over such settings as Sharpness, Brightness, Contrast, Gamma, Hue, and Chroma Level. This may be redundant with many TVs, but my Panasonic LCD display has minimal picture settings, so some of those settings are still useful.
The picture quality is much better than what I have been used to with the Sony, at least due to using HDMI instead of component video cable. The picture is more lively and rich than what I have been used to. The picture quality difference was most evident when viewing JPEG photo files. They were like viewing them on my computer display, except on very large scale. I gave up watching JPEG files with the Sony because the images were so pixelated and the resolution was so terrible.
Audio was very rich and clear, although this only happened when I disabled surround and other special audio features. Sometimes less is more. Too many special settings actually have opposite effect. The player remembers last five discs, and it resumes the play automatically. When I stop a DVD and then press play there is no delay; on my old Sony there was a considerable delay
So why only four stars. Any man-made product has at least a bit of imperfection, so this DVD player is no exception. My major gripe is that Pioneer is noisy. It is not a problem when I am watching a DVD, but when I first turn on the unit or when I pause or stop the noise level is perceptible. Next, the display in front of the unit is fixed at displaying chapter and elapsed time (for DVDs). I rather have the flexibility to change it to the remaining time, which is more useful to me. I can view the remaining time and other informations by pressing Display button on the remote (and I have to press the button two more times to get rid of the onscreen display), but that's not as convenient as just looking at the unit's display. Time format is in minutes and seconds, so 1 hour 25 minutes will show up as 85:00, instead of 01:25:00 which I am accustomed to viewing. The remote control is not a universal remote, so I cannot control my TV with it. It does not even have volume or mute buttons. This is no problem for me because I use Sony RM-VL600 8-Device Universal Learning Remote, which I would recommend very highly. Lastly, it only comes in black, if anyone cares.
My next venture into this field will be for a Blue ray player. I wanted to wait purchasing it until blue ray becomes the de facto standard. I would not mind if I wait a year or two until prices of blue ray players come down to around $100 level. Until then, Pioneer DV-410V will serve as a useful bridge. It's picture and audio qualities (the two most important factors) are very impressive. Pioneer has a long history of making quality audio-video products. As I mentioned earlier, it tops all DVD players in the Consumer Reports ratings. The negative aspects of this DVD player are very minor and in no way diminish the appeal of owning this fine product. Therefore, I would highly recommend Pioneer DV-410V to anyone who's shopping for a DVD player.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Pioneer DV-410V-K Multi-Format 1080p Upscaling DVD Player Featuring HDMI
Enter a world dedicated to the pursuit of a technological evolution. Enter the world of the Pioneer DV-410V-K. Never before have innovation, style and technology been packed into such a dynamic machine. Designed with HDMI Upscaling to 1080p and a USB Input for viewing compressed video and JPEG images - watching movies and entertainment at home will never cease to amaze you.
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