Customer Reviews

Pioneer DV-610AV-K Black Multi Region Code Zone Free DVD Player with HDMI 1080p Output. Play all region 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 PAL or NTSC DVDs.

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

DVD was invented in 1995 & it's taken more than 10yrs to perfect the DVD player. The early DVD players all suffered from the same problems that plague Bluray players of today. They were plagued with slow loading times & they came locked - region coded. Even today, there are a lot of DVD players out there that are region coded & they need to be hacked, if U intend to play international DVDs.

The Pioneer DV-610AV is a true universal DVD player because of the following reasons:

1) Out of the box, this player comes unlocked. It plays DVDs from all 6 DVD regions.

2) Universal power supply, it works on both 110V - 220V. It comes with two power chords, one with the N. American flat pin & the other one has the Asian (Chinese) round pin. It can be plugged anywhere in the world with the help of the right pin / plug adaptor.

3) It plays almost all formats other than High Definition formats such as Bluray. It even plays DVDA & SACD.

4) Available in both black & silver. This sure adds up to the universal appeal that many other DVD players lack.

5) All the video / audio connections U'd ever want - HDMI, Component video, Composite video, S-Video, Coaxial audio, Optical audio & 5.1 channel analogue outs.

Design, features & performance:

I bought a Pioneer DV-610AV('S' - Silver) from B&H, NYC in Jan 2009 for USD120. After using it for over an year, I'm truly impressed with its capabilities. I have the Pioneer DV-610AV connected to an Onkyo TX-SR604 AVR Onkyo TX-SR604 7.1 Channel A/V Receiver (Black) with Mediabridge HDMI Mediabridge Ultra Series - High Speed HDMI Cable With Ethernet - Category 2 Certified - Supports 3D & Audio Return Channel - (3 Feet). The DVD upconversion to 1080p over HDMI to a Panasonic 42in G10 plasma Panasonic VIERA G10 Series TC-P42G10 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV is as good as anything I've ever seen on an upconverting DVD player. The video upconversion of the Pioneer DV-610AV is much better than that of the Panasonic G10 plasma TV. I found that a lil' hard to digest, especially when the DVD player cost just 1/8th the price of the HDTV. It's a very simple test. U'll output the DVD player at both 480i & 1080p. If 480i looks better than 1080p, then the video upscaling of the HDTV is better than that of the DVD player, if 1080p is better than 480i, then it's the other way around.

A unique selling point of the Pioneer DV-610AV is its capability of playing home made / burned DVDs without a hiccup. This function is important to me as I make a lot of Windows Media Videos (WMV). This DVD player is especially very good at playing WMVs & DVDs that contain it. There are far & few DVD players that can boast this capability.

The Pioneer DV-610AV has a 24bit/192khz DAC due to its ability to playback DVDA & SACD. The budget DAC in the Pioneer DV-610AV sounds a lil' warmer than the budget DAC used in Onkyo TX-SR604 receiver. Most budget / cheap DACs sound almost the same, but I did enjoy listening to 2 channel music in my Zone 2 setup consisting of Mordaunt Short 902i bookshelf speakers. I had the analogue out of the Pioneer DV-610AV connected to Zone 2 in the Onkyo TX-SR604 receiver. I was happy with this 2 channel setup till I upgraded to a Musical Fidelity V-DAC Musical Fidelity V-DAC Upsampling Digital to Analog Audio Converter. Of course, the MF V-DAC sounds richer, warmer, wider & deeper than the budget DAC used in the Pioneer DV-610AV. It gets more evident when used / tested with better amplifiers & speakers.

This DVD player comes with the 'auto turn off' function, it's especially good if this player is ever to be used as a CD player / source for Zone 2. When activated, this function turns off the DVD player, 30mins after the CD has stopped playback. This is surely an option to have when U do not have a 12V external trigger. The 12V trigger is an impressive function & one that I really like a lot. It may be used in sync with other devices, such as an a/v receiver that has a 12V external trigger and a sleep timer, to auto turn on / off all devices that are connected to the 12V trigger. It is not to be expected in devices at this price point.

These days, almost all manufacturers are turning to 'Black' as their choice of color, possibly due to cost cutting. Not that silver color costs more, it's just that making a product in multiple color options adds cost. Gone are the good old days when most equipment was available in Silver, Gold & even Champaign. As much as black looks cool, it's sad to see that customers are now being forced with no color choice. Brushed Aluminium (Silver) used by Onkyo remains my all time favorite finish for an audio equipment. It's got a vintage & nostalgic feel to it. I'm glad that Pioneer at least gave a choice of both black & silver colors for this DVD player. Sadly, even Pioneer has taken the 'Black' route & now offers all its Bluray players only in black. As of this writing, the only budget Bluray available in silver color is the Onkyo BD-SP807 & that too in Europe. Europe is the only market that still demands & has a taste for silver colored audio / video equipment. It really looks classy & that's what sells there. Only the very high end brands like Lexicon, Mcintosh, Krell etc still sell silver colored gear in the U.S.

Before buying this player, I had considered the following players:

1) Onkyo DV-SP506: This player came region locked & at the time, there were no known hacks for this machine. This player had the best build quality of all the budget DVD players I had considered. Brushed Aluminium (Silver) looks stunning. Onkyo DV-SP506 1080p Upscaling Super Audio CD/DVD Audio/Video Player - Silver.

2) Oppo DV-980H: This player is easy to hack. It was available only in black color & I wanted it in silver color. It had lots of issues with home made / burned DVDs, especially the one consisting of WMVs. It also lacks auto off which is found even in the most basic DVD players. They don't have this function even in the Bluray players they are selling currently. C'mon Oppo, wake up. OPPO DV-980H 1080p Up-Converting Universal DVD Player with HDMI and 7.1CH Audio.

3) Cambridge Audio Azur 540D V2: Very identical to the Oppo DV-980H, except that it is available in black & silver colors. The silver here looks more like raw aluminium. All other short comings of the Oppo DV-980H is applicable here. Cambridge - 540D v2 - HDMI DVD Player - Silver.

4) Denon DVD 1940CI: It looked like a product with great potential but there were lots of issues with home made / burned DVDs. Denon DVD 1940CI - DVD player - upscaling.

5) Marantz DV6001: Very identical to the Denon DVD 1940CI & it had the same short comings too.

6) I w'd never consider any of Sony's products that are almost always plagued with company made proprietary hiccups. So why buy from a brand that's always so non flexible?

7) LG, Samsung etc were never up to my taste for a DVD player.

I finally settled for the Pioneer DV-610AV which was cheaper than the above mentioned DVD players, & yet it had all the functions, features & performance that I was looking for in a budget DVD player.

The Pioneer DV-610 c'd have improved on the following:

1) The build quality of this DVD player is nothing to boast about. I really wish the build quality of this DVD player was at least close to Pioneer's own Elite DVD players. And may be a lil' more quiet operation w'd have made this a hell of a DVD player.

2) Random play is good but shuffle play w'd have been better for CD playback. Almost all universal Bluray / DVD players suffer from this. This is where a dedicated CD player still has an advantage.

3) It w'd have been great if we c'd change the player menu settings without stopping the DVD / CD, a la (in the style of) Oppo.

4) I don't have SACDs or DVDAs but I do have HDCDs. If this format w'd have been included, this w'd have been the universal DVD player to beat.

5) Auto turn off is good, but a 12V external trigger w'd have been a dream come true.

Conclusion:

I know I'm expecting too much from a USD120 budget DVD player, but that's just me. With the DV-610AV Pioneer has managed to make a superb universal DVD player at a decent price point & goes on to prove that it does not have to be expensive to really perform well. This is a great DVD player regardless of price. Unfortunately Pioneer c'd not perform a similar trick with their Bluray players which severely lags behind in the competition. Anyone who is not ready for a Bluray player yet & is still looking for a truly capable universal DVD player, sh'd put this player right on top of their list.

This DVD player was especially made for the Asian & European markets. The ones sold in the U.S. come without a warranty. Now that's a risk U'll have to consider before buying the Pioneer DV-610AV universal DVD player. And it's almost the same risk U'll be facing, when U plan to buy an unlocked universal Bluray player.

Just my $0.02.

Brgds.

This player is quite amazing. I use HDMI output for video, and 2-channel analog output for audio (with digital audio turned off). The audio is connected to a tube pre-amp and MOSFET amp. SACDs (stereo layer) sound sublime on this player, and CDs are very crisp. Note that it down-samples 5.1 digital audio to stereo. One great feature is that it remembers where you stopped the DVD after turning it off. The picture quality up-sampled to 1080p is fantastic. The on-screen menus are well laid out. The player has buttons to do whatever you want without a remote. I was deciding between this and a blu-ray player, and decided on the 610 since most blu-ray players apparently do not up-sample DVDs very well. Unlike the 610, they also do not play SACDs or Audio-DVDs (unless you're willing to pay hundreds of dollars for one that does). Even if I end up buying a blu-ray player, this one won't be put away. This model is one of the latest Eurepean models (check on pioneer's .eu site).

Fantastic value for money, easily the best bargain i've bought in years. The audio quality via H.D.M.I is first class the video was very good but not top quality when upscaling from DVD. However as an all-rounder for SACD / CD / DVD Audio it is impossible to beat!

I have owned this product for a couple of weeks now and it has performed v. well. I have played region 1, region 2 and region 5 dvds in it. Some were music DVDs, while all the others were films. I have not yet tried the SACD or DivX capabilities of the player. I think this DVD player is excellent in both sound and picture quality. It is as sharp as my more expensive Sony DVD player and it has better sound. The LPCM option is the one I use most often when it is available and it really improves the sound of my music DVDs and some of my file DVDs as well.

The remote is fine and the build quality is also better than most of the recent DVD player models. I do accidentally press the DVD/USB switch and have to switch back to DVD mode, but that is no biggie. Unlike a lot of other recent players, there are plenty of buttons/controls on the front of the unit that allow you to control everything without the remote. Some 'old school' electronics junkies will appreciate this.

This player doesn't have internet connectivity and it doesn't play blue-rays, but it up-converts better any player I have owned (Oppo, Sony, and Samsung).

The code-free all region capability is what I wanted in addition to the HDMI connectivity/1080i capability and I am a very happy camper in these areas.

Pioneer quality at a v. reasonable price too.

Highly recommended.

I've been looking for a PAL system for quite sometime and couldn't make up my mind which was best. After reading the reviews (thanks guys)I went with the Pioneer. It's perfect. I've had it a couple of weeks now playing USA and UK DVD's. Not a skip, glitch, nothing. If I had any complaints: the manual on all of the different ways to hook it up was confusing. Come on guys...not everyone is a geek when it comes to this stuff! After two hours of plugging it everywhere, I'll make it simple for everyone else.

Take the cord that comes with it with the 3 different colors, white, red, yellow, plug into back of DVD from output. Plug the other end, white, red, yellow and plug into the input of your TV. Take the TELEVISION remote (not cable)hit, TV/Video and Pioneer should pop right on, hit play and your ready to go.

I'm planning on buying another one for the upstairs. Enjoy.

MY MULTI-REGION PLAYER QUIT ON ME AND I REPLACED IT WITH THIS ONE. I HAVE WATCHED 3 FOREIGN FILMS ON IT THAT THE OLD PLAYER HAD DIFFICULTY WITH. AND ITS UP-SCALING , OR WHATEVER ITS CALLED TO 1080 IS THE BEST OF ANY PLAYER IVE OWNED. THE REMOTE HAS ALL THE FEATURES YOU WILL NEED AND THE DISPLAY BUTTON BRINGS UP ALL THE INFO ANY NORMAL MOVIE WATCHER CAN ASK FOR. BEST $115 IVE SPENT IN A LONG WHILE. 1000% SATISFIED.

I bought this unit(Sept. 2010)mainly for the advanced sonic capability. I am using both the HDMI out and the 6 discrete audio outs. All plugged into a Yamaha 7chan recvr, the 6 audio lines sound the most accurate for SACD and DVD-Audio. If anyone knows any source unit that sounds better (for less than 2Kilobucks)tell us in the comment section please. Thanks

The box is covered with lively announcements, "All-region!" "PAL"!

But when you try to insert a Region 2 DVD and it doesn't work, and you go to the instructions for playing Region 2 or other region discs, the manual says "Except Taiwanese model." Well, VCT sent me the Taiwanese model (packed upside-down in the box, for good measure) and the Taiwanese model will not play other regions.

Avoid this seller like grim death. Even if your order is fulfilled by Amazon, avoid VCT. You are sure to get something defective. I have ordered three DVD players from them and all were defective.

When you see "VCT," run for the hills.

Incientally, in response to my letter of complaint Pioneer responded with a disingenuous, self-serving letter saying that they never claimed the player could play all-region, much less blu-ray, in overt contradiction to the claims made on the box and the reviews on Amazon. They say the manual makes no reference to blu-ray or to all-region. Well, I have eyesight. The box and the manual were covered with claims that the blu-ray player would play all-region.

So Pioneer is as bad as VCT. They make deceptive claims about their products, and lie to the disappointed customer.

There is one little downside to this unit....the door open button is quite small

BUT...you can do that with the remote! Plus once you get it in your head just where that button is, it's not bad.

If you pause a movie, it stops the movie and goes to a screen saver pretty fast. Then when you want to play the movie, you have to hit PLAY 2x...with a slight pause between.

The picture quality you get is outstanding! DVDs that used to appear darker are much better now. The biggest change we noticed was sound. With our other DVD players in the past, you always had to turn up the sound to say a 30 on our TV...

now, 95% of them play at 18-20. There's an occasional one that ha to be turned up.

The best part is being able to play DVD's from ALL regions. This rocks. Plus, some foreign movies that said they were made for our region....didn't always play so well. Now they are just awesome. This increased the selection of DVD's we could now get and watch. Also, I had some martial arts training videos I couldn't watch but had held onto for the day when I could play all regions. It's great.

Movies like Come Drink with Me which are full of vibrant colors look almost like a real HD experience. Red CLiff and others that are quite visual and SciFi movies with their special effects are now a better experience on our high end plasma HD tv.

Also, all the players we've owned in the past would get a lot warmer than this one does. The remote also works better with this unit than previous players we've had. You know where you push the right button and nothing happens...This one has been a pleasant experience.

For the price and fast delivery and the quality of our DVD viewing experience, we couldn't have done better even though we could've spent more as we've done in the past and been less satisfied.

My friend recently moved to the US from Germany and missed being able to play some of her favorite DVDs. I did a lot of research and eventually decided to order this region free DVD player. This player shows European discs and converts from PAL format to American TVs with no problem. It even up-converts to play DVDs on a HD tv without problems. The picture is on par with my previous up-converting DVD player.

A few things that I learned while researching region free DVD players:

1) all DVD players CAN play other regions if you can unlock them with a code. I decided against unlocking my old DVD player because it required both the original remote (long gone) and a pretty involved set of key presses / restarting the DVD player etc. Buying one already unlocked was easier.

2) all the region free DVD players on amazon are sold by third party merchants (even if they are fulfilled by amazon, they are not "new" from the factory players. It matters which seller you select. Some sellers include instructions on how to unlock the player, others unlock it for you. I bought mine from New Era Products (fulfilled by amazon). The player was already unlocked, all I had to do was plug it in a play movies.

3) unlocking DVD players is a software thing and does not involve altering the hardware; however, no manufacturers will help unlock their device nor will they offer support if something is not working. If you tell a manufacturer you have a region free player, you may have voided any factory warranty. So be sure to try out the player when you get it.

At the end of the day I am very happy with my region free player from New Era Products and fulfilled by amazon. We are happy to be able to order discs from Germany and watch them as well as our American DVDs. Do your homework before buying, but I can recommend this model from New Era without hesitation.