Customer Reviews

Pioneer DV-333 DVD Player

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I've owned the Pioneer dv-333 for about a month now and I researched it for months prior to that; basically I came down to it and the Toshiba 1600 which is $25-30 cheaper. Both have excellent reviews and there are only a few differences worth noting in making a decision between the two.

Most people agree that the remote for both the pioneer and the toshiba 'sucks' and having used many remotes in-store demonstrations I can say they arent that bad. My friends Rca dvd player remote was universal but the remote stank. I actually prefer the pioneer remote and even if you hit the wrong button, which will happen on badly spaced remotes, its unlikely to eject the disc or stop it as those buttons arent in confusing areas. You can buy a nice universal rem0te at radio shack but I prefer to use the original because of its simplicity.

I decided to go with the pioneer because of the optical and coaxial digital outputs(toshiba 1600 has only coaxial). I already had an optical cable (go with accoustics research, excellent and not as expensive as monster) and I used it many times when I borrowed my friends Rca dvd player. I went out and bought a coaxial cable anyway to compare the difference in sound. Though you may not have a digital reciever yet or do and dont care which output you use I think it is best to be able to chose which one you want to use instead of being forced to use the coaxial. Its all about personal preference.

A couple of other differences worth noting are the 'zoom' feature in the toshiba and the ability to play CD-R and CD-RW on the pioneer. I havent seen the zoom feature and even on my 32 inch tv it is annoying to watch movies in widescreen. My understanding is that the zoom feature, while cool enough, is more of a gimick and it is unlikely you will reguarly use it. It reminds me of my old zenith tv which has a zoom feature(that tv is older than I am).

The CD-r and RW playback wasnt a must for me even though I regularly burn cds and now love playing them on the pioneer. I found that the cd-r brand 'Cursor" worked on many dvd players that did not support cd-r playback so it is possible this could work on the toshiba, this is common so check it out before hand by testing it out at the stores if possible.

This player is definately quieter than people give it credit for. Although in a wall unit (glass encased) even with the glass door open the player is relatively quiet. I have a small room so I sit less than 6 feet away and I simply cant notice any noise even during lower volume scenes during a film. Also the advertised feature of faster loading and resume is very much true. A few seconds doesnt matter much to me but it is convenient none the less. I used to like it when I would put the disc in on the rca and be able to sit down and get comfortable before it loaded but now on the pioneer it loads so fast I have to press stop so I can go sit down first.

Dv-333 also plays Vcd's (whatever they are!) but really I think most people care about dvd and cd playback and this player delivers. The only difference between this and say a high end model would be progressive scan ,which, if you dont know what it is you likely cant take advantage of it (ie you need a High definition tv). I have a decent home theatre with a subwoofer and I cant complain about this players compatibility with my setup. I even like how you can hookup the analog stereo jacks to your tv while still getting Dolby digital/dts out of your reciever. This is nice if your center speaker sounds bad or if you dont have one and are watching dvds with just two speakers.

Really, I dont think you can go wrong with either the toshiba 1600 or the Pioneer dv-333 so I wouldnt feel any apprehension about your purchase afterwards no matter what you go with. This player simply has more useful extras that you may need soon enough and I believe its best to have that option.

Also I recommend you buy a good s-video cable and even if your tv is 7-8 years old it should have the input for this. I recommend Accoustics Research but they were sold out here and I had to go with a higher end Rca because Monster was simply way overpriced for what it delivers.

Also when you first use this player there is a switch on the back to select either s-video or the regular analog (yellow color coded cable) and I know of a few people who were frustrated because they didnt read the manual (like me) and thought there was a problem with the player when they could not get any picture.

Have fun with whatever you decide to purchase!

This was the first player I had ever bought. I was looking for a nice entry-level unit that had good picture and sound, and people seemed to like this one. I especially liked how it had component video out, and was, of course, affordable.

The problem I found, however, was not so much with the player, but with its compatibility with my system. I've got a Sony WEGA (flat screen) TV. It's a great set, but for this player, too good. With all the DVD's I tried, there was a lot of video noise (pixelization) on the screen. It had problems rendering, especially, greyish areas. While this wasn't interolerable (depending on your P.O.V.), it didn't let me appreciate the DVD's as much as I knew I could. On 2001: Space Oddysey, it did a horrible job rendering many of the images. As I said, I attribute this to my system entirely. For those with mid-range to high-end systems, you should spring for a better player. (I got a Marantz DV-7000).

So how did the player fair on a regular set? Just fine. In fact, I gave it to my parents as an x-mas present, connected via composite cables on an old Trinitron set. The picture looks great, and they are very happy. Still, I must confess, there is some noise, but nothing worth complaining about if your not really into home theater anyway. And I'm pretty damn picky.

Here's a break down:

Pro's: (1)Dual-laser pickup (will play CD-R's); (2)great sound; (3)simple interface; (4)wide array of connection options; (5)good value

Con's: (1)slightly pixelated picture (varying by quality of TV set); (2)noisy transport (louder on some DVD's than others); (3)flimsy tray; (4)remote sucks (but what would you expect?)

If your comparing this to the Toshiba 1600 model, I'd say the main differences are that the Toshiba has a Zoom feature, while the Pioneer will play a wider range of media (because of the dual-laser pickups.)

Consider it!

First, the picture is amazing. It is hard to believe that this thing is so good for the money. IT PLAYS CD-R's! It has optical and digital outputs, and it is quiet as hell. I first played some DVD's that I have had problems with on other players, and this thing played them flawlessly. I cant reccomend this player enough! It is just awesome.

First DVD player. I come from the school of "read the directions if all else fails" and found I did not need to read the directions. Have a very simple set up, not home theatre, and found it soooo simple to plug-n-play. Watched first film with no problems. ; - ) The other reviews here helped me make up my mind. Couldn't afford the high-end models and did not need to settle for the lowest-end. This will serve me well for many years to come. Thank you. BTW the supplied video cable was perfect for my set up. No need to buy s-vid cable, so am returning it.

This DVD player is impressive for the price. When I first opened the box, I was shocked how light the unit was. Set up was pretty easy and I was watching my first DVD within 15 minutes of unpacking the unit!. The picture quality is awesome (I was especially impressed with the "pause" mode). However this DVD player is not perfect:

1/ the DVD drive itself is noisy: if you listen to TV at a normal volume level, you can actually hear a DVD drive "hiss" in the background (very annoying). 2/ the unit does not have a headphone jack (??!!??). 3/ the remote is not easy to use because of the tiny buttons

Overall however, I am very happy with purchase.

The Pioneer DV-333 is a player that succeeds on many different levels.

First and foremost it has excellent video reproduction, you would have to pay hundreds more and purchase a progressive scan player, use a widescreen projection television too see any distinct difference.

This player will pass both DTS and Digital audio through either a coax or optical out, as long as your receiver will decode the signal for you.

The Digital to Analog converter on this player will pass it's 24 Bit/96khz signal via the digital out which is truly a rarity with all but a few upper end models.

This player also will playback CD-R' and CD-RW's with no problem as well as DVD's from other regions.

The player also offers special effects like slow motion scan and the only feature it does not possess, is the zoom feature, which is a feature on a select few other manufacturers models.

The remote is small but functional,and my only complaint with it is the fact that it is not backlit, but nevertheless it functions admirably from different angles in relation to the player.

I have seen some comments in regards to the drive motor on this unit being a touch noisy, all I can say is if you are playing this baby back through anything other than your television speakers, thus utilizing the incredible sound reproduction, you will not even notice it.

In summation, if you are looking for an all-around performer and don't want to break the bank doing it, look no further than the Pioneer DV-333.

I bought this Pioneer DV-333 player in November 2000 and I am very happy with it.

Video:

The picture quality delivered is amazing, and I say that as I've seen it on my Sony Wega TV. This TV has a very clear definition and you would notice imperfections easily, but there were none on any of my discs. Anamorphic DVD's can be viewed in the 16:9 enhanced mode and for those the picture is quite life-like. Note that I am using component video cables to connect the DVD to the tv.

Audio:

Using a digital optical cable to a Pioneer receiver, the sound is excellent for Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS. I have previously used the Pioneer DV-525 which also delivered a great sound. make sure that you have a receiver with a DTS decoder for DTS movies.

Playback:

This DVD player plays everything. Here's what I tested on it: DVD (region 1 or all-region) CD, CD-R, CD-RW, VCD, and SVCD! If you have a CD burner on your computer this will come in very handy if you might want to burn downloaded mpeg-1 and mpeg-2 video-clips on CD media.

Value:

At this price you won't find a more complete or better quality unit. If you have more money to spend I recommend buying the 5-disc model, Pioneer DV-503.

I believe that most of you buyers out there will not buy a DVD based on a customer review that only tells you it's a 'great' appliance or the picture an sound are 'great'. I've owned 4 DVD players and sadly the best way to know how it will perform is to test it on your system. So I will try to focus on issues that I think you should consider for your purchase.

Video: The clarity and sharpness of the picture will depend on your TV set. I've tested this DVD on a Panasonic Tau, a Sony Wega and a JVC regular set. The picture is just fine with a regular set, but with the Wega and Tau it presents rendering problems. My suggestion: if you'd already spent a couple of extra bucks in your TV set you should consider buying a better player because this one won't take full advantage of your TV. If this is not your case then this DVD is a perfect match for a regular TV set. (It has a picture quality enhancement and I've seen that it performs better if you turn it off).

Audio: No complaints here with the optical an coaxial outs. The signal to noise ratio is quite better compared to similar priced players. The transport is a little bit noisy on some DVD's and CDR's. This depends on the spinning speed of the disc. In other words, it will not be noisy through all the picture, just on some portions of it (mostly at the beginning and if the DVD has dual layer somewhere in the middle of it).

General: Although it has no zoom feature, it has a couple of extras that might interest you like the last memory function, condition memory and the access speed (this last one is amazing). The remote is not as intuitive as others (example: the play button is not between the REW and FF so you'll find yourself looking for the buttons in the dark). I've tested it with region 1 and 4 DVD's without any problems.

I have used many DVD players and have pretty much been disappointed! This one ended all of that!

First of all, DVD players have an annoying tendency to fade in and out IF you connect them to play THROUGH your VCR, this is an attempt to stop people from recording them, there is a quick fix for this at Radio Shack!

The BEST thing about this player is, you can actually PLAY VCD's on this player. They all say they can, but they dont mention to tell you that they will NOT play VCD's or SVCD'd that were created on CD-R's CD-RW's or any other of the media us computer nuts use to burn CD's, well this is just stupid, since VCD's are so simple to create by yourself at home (see vcdhelp.com).

After getting completely disgusted over the RCA so called "top of the line" DVD player I had, which was indeed better than most but still VCD non-compliant, I took a chance and purchased this unit which comes so highly recommened.

Besides the fact that it is about $200 cheaper than the other "top of the line" models, it is just a WONDERFUL unit! It played all of my DVD's without a hitch! Better yet? It played my VCD's even when I TRIED to make them incompatible! You could actually just burn the MPEGs to the CD's in complete non-compliance to VCD requirements and this unit played it WITHOUT even a stall. Popped it in, 3 seconds later, my family home video was playing! It was remarkable! One would think you could stick a rock in there and it would play it (not recommended :) )

This is a must have for those who digitize videos on their computer, edit them, then burn them to VCD to tape! This machine is a MUST HAVE!!!! A+++

The DVD player market is pretty crowded and now that single-disc players have dramatically fallen in price, there's no reason not to get one. The DV-333 by Pioneer should be at the top of your buying lists. At $200 or less, this player offers more than others costing hundreds more and has everything needed for superb performance. It has component video output, both coaxial and optical digital audio outputs, and can read CD-R, CD-RW, and Video CD. Combined with a 10-bit 27 Mhz Video DAC, the DV-333 offers stunning picture quality and no visible distortion. Crisp, clear, and rock steady images! It looks especially good on my large screen projection television, and even while sitting close it does not look fuzzy. The digital audio is superb as well, offering a high-res 96 khz 24-bit audio DAC, and Dolby Digital and DTS movies as well as regular CDs come alive in brillant sound. The player is also real fast at loading movies. Just pop one in and it gets going in about 6 seconds. In addition to the awesome audio and video performance, the DV-333 also offers conditional and last memory functions, which allow you to save where you last left off on a movie and store system preferences for multiple DVDs. The trick play features are good, with frame by frame advance and 4 slow motion playbacks. Although scanning forward and reverse isn't as smooth as Sony, you'll get to where you want in the movie with no problem. The unit itself is very light and compact but feels well-built, well-finished, and it isn't cluttered with buttons. The remote isn't bad either, though you have to be careful as to the angle you point it at the player. Overall, the Pioneer DV-333 offers first-rate video and audio performance, offers a wealth of connectivity (with component video and 2 diff. digital audio outputs), and can flawlessly read a wide availabilty of media. All of this for under $200.