Customer Reviews

Pioneer DV-343 DVD Player

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

After extensive research on Pioneer DV525, DV535, DV333 and DV343, and giving a thought to a multiregion models of the above mentioned, I decided to go with the region 1 DV343.

First, let me get the model sequence straight : 343 replaces 333, 333 replaces 525. 535 is the European equivalent of 333.

I went with the 343 because 1) I am not interested in a progressive scan model (DV434) - I still love my two-year-old Sony TV 2) I am not interested in a multi-disk model 3) all of 343's predecessors had great reviews and 4) 343 was the newest model of the bunch.

Now the player review. Setup was a breeze. It supports all kinds of hookup combinations available today. Unfortunately for me, my seven-year-old receiver only allows the basic hookup that can be done with the cable that comes with the 343. The picture and audio are great nonetheless. I tried another combination (optical, composite, etc.) with my friend's receiver. The picture and audio are even greater.

The player is not picky at all. I backup my DVDs on SVCDs just in case. 343 plays my backup VCDs and SVCDs burned on CD-Rs and CD-RW with no problem, not to mention DVDs. :)

The unit was manufactured in Malaysia. The light weight can be a shock, but then again my made-in-China Sony VCR weighs about the same. Has no built-in decoder, but supports Dolby Digital and DTS if the receiver has the capabilities. The only bummer is the remote - buttons are small, layout is not quite intuitive, but don't we all use on universal remote anyway these days.

Overall, a great versatile player for the price tag. I have no complaints.

Having heard the horror stories about some entrylevel DVD players, I decided to go with a name I knew well and never had any problems with. Pioneer.

Recently bought their DV-343 and VSX-D510 combo, and no regrets whatsoever.

Setup is a breeze, with simple on screen menu's. The remote however is a bit on the small side. One of the things I was looking for in a DVD player was the ability to play CDR/RW also. This player hasnt rejected one CDR yet, regardless of reflection color(silver, blue etc etc).

Color's are bright and well projected, watching Rules of Engagement as I type this review and this machine keeps amazing me, sound is very nice(connected coaxially to the receiver).

The player handles DD and DTS

All in all I am very happy with this purchase, seen players that cost more perform less. Pioneer once again lives up to their names promise.

Kuiper

I originally bought an Apex AD-3201 and returned it because the audio and video stuttered a few times per DVD. I decided to go with this Pioneer since the DVD-ROM I use on my computer is a Pioneer and works flawlessly.

This player is an excellent buy for the money. It may not have MP3 feedback (the AD-3201 does), but all my DVDs play flawlessly. Has no problems with music CDs or CD-Rs either.

It also has every jack known to audiophiles on the back. SVIDEO, Coax, Optical, Component Video: they're all there.

The buttons on the remote are little small, but I can live with that. The only thing I really dislike is the search feature. The Apex player (or PowerDVD on my computer) has a very smooth search feature, but this Pioneer player does not. It can be very hard to find a specific part of a DVD because it jumps around in fairly large increments. It's like watching a fast slideshow rather than watching the movie play back very fast.

I believe Panasonic's RV31 has "High Speed Smooth Motion", which undoubtedly solves this problem. Of course, that player costs more.

Bottom line: if you want a low priced, name brand DVD player that gives great sound and video, this is a fine buy. And don't forget that DVD of The Phantom Menace as well: the Pod Race scene in Digital 5.1 is killer.

What can I say? ... It works great and it comes with cables. You can open the box, have a DVD in the tray and be watching it within 10 minutes.

Dogs bark in a movie and my Jack Russell ter...rer... OK! ah... er... We can't atribute that to the DVD player. :-) I'll try again: Dogs bark in a movie and the 14 year old corgi wakes up and sniffs! :-) Yea!

If you are going to use this DVD player in the bedroom with just a stereo tv, it will work just fine....

If you have a home theater set-up with 5 speakers, a Dolby Digital decoder is needed separate the sound and send it to 5 speakers: left & right, front & back and center. This model does not have a Dolby Digital decoder. I'd sort of consider that a moot point. If you have 5 speakers, most probably you'll have a Dolby Digital stereo receiver sitting there with the speakers.

If possible, I'd recommend running any DVD player through your stereo receiver. Unless you have a real high-end tv, there is a good chance your stereo speakers are much better quality than any TV speakers.

I have 4 foot high speakers (front, back and sideways) and a Harmon Kardon receiver. Apollo 13 took off in my living room. Just as a test of what it would sound like on an old cheap stereo... I plugged in into an old Panasonic ... yard-sale-stereo and... Apollo 13 still took off in my living room!

I have a 13" TV. I don't plan to upgrade until I get an HDTV. I refuse to spend $1000 on a TV set unless it cooks dinner. :-) So why get a DVD player now? Even with the great sound...

I wanted to buy movies... VHS tape is magnetic and "drops out" in a few years. DVD's (and CD's) won't change unless you leave them on the dash of the car in July.

There is tons of information on DVD's in addition to movies. A narration of Apollo 13 by Jim Lovell and his wife. How Carl Sagan's "Contact" was made. (Jodie Foster saying "OK to go" billions and billions of times.) Why Meg Ryan wore red in "Sleepless...." Tibits, gossip, computer animation and special effects techiques. Did you like this movie? Indexes. Other films by the stars and director. Complete documentaries about the subject: On the "Saving Private Ryan" DVD -- what was the real story about D-day?

I haven't had any problems with the Pioneer remote mentioned by others. I am glad it is not the size of a bass. It is the size of a trout. Brown trout. Native.

It insisted once on replaying the same segment of special effects footage on "Contact" -- no matter what I selected off the special effects menu. I think it was a problem with the programming on the DVD -- not a problem with the Pioneer player. It happened again in the same place when I tried again another day. Both times, I went to main menu and was able to start the special effects menu over. I go through all the bonus materials and that was the only "funny" -- and I have probably watched 60 DVD's with this player.

One goodie -- this DVD player will remember where you were at the last time you turned off the movie. If you stop 1/2 way through, a week and 3 movies later it will remember this. My player remembered this even after a 5 hour power outage.

Want a spare DVD player for the bedroom or den... Want to justify that HDTV and go digital a few years earlier than planned? Buy this DVD player now and just look at those pretty pictures! Even on a 13" TV, I am

Happy watching! Cynthia

PS What kind of cables? There are RCA jacks and cables for the audio. Most stereos and stereo TV's have RCA plugs. (2-3 1/4" round metal ring, color coded: red, yellow and/or white.)

There is a S-video jacks and cable for the picture. Newer TV's and VCR players have s-video jacks. If you have an older TV with just a coaxial plug (round ring, screws on), you'll need to buy an "RF Modulator" black box. ... Mine came from the mall. A bonus -- the black box acts as a switch between your DVD and your VCR. i.e. you don't have to swap cables on the back of your TV set to go from one player to another.

There is a coaxial optical jack on the Pioneer if you have newer equipment. Optical cables are not included -- but, if you have optical, you'd probably want higher-end cables anyway. (And you probably haven't read this far in my review either. :-) Ta! c.

Player worked fine for the first 3 months then kept getting "stuck" every few minutes. Took it to authorized Pioneer service facility for warranty repairs where it has remained for the last 7 weeks. Still don't have it back! Pioneer refuses to provide a replacement unit. With this kind of service, I suggest taking a pass on the Pioneer.

I bought this DVD player mainly to play SVCDs that I burn on my computer. I had an Apex 600A, but I had all sorts of trouble with it recognizing SVCDs (Sometimes it would, sometimes it wouldn't). The Pioneer unit recognizes them consistantly and plays them with better quality. It also plays DVDs great. This is a really great player for the price. The only negative I can find (and it is minor) is the size of the buttons on the remote. The buttons are very small and it is easy to hit more than one at a time. But the quality of the rest of the unit clearly out-weighs this small problem.

This is a great player for any non-HDTV display. I would highly recommend it for any tube TV owner. It covers all the connections - composite, S-Video, and component for video, and stereo analog, coaxial and optical S/PDIF for audio. Other players in this price range often leave out one of the S/PDIF connectors and some don't have component outputs. Setup was easy and intuitive, and no complaints about the remote. The picture looks fantastic on my Panasonic 27" (through component connections); I did not notice any shimmering, color bleeding or any artifacts. The DV343 has read every disc without a problem, even some with minor scratching. I have not had problems with it playing CDs or burned media either. No problems with sound using optical S/PDIF. Another major plus is its ability to play SVCD, which is somewhat rare in DVD players.

My only complaint is that it seems to have louder than average spin-up noise. My [...] Apex player was dead-quiet, but you can hear the disc spin on the Pioneer while its operating, especially during the title. It's not especially noisy, but you can hear it during the quieter sequences of the movie.

Overall, I think it is one of the better values in DVD players.

I bought this player after reading rave reviews from (...). And so far, I like it a lot... with a few caveats. Firstly, Pioneer caved in to the evil MPAA and disabled the 343's region-code changing functionality, the primary reason I bought it. Thus, I removed 2 stars from my rating because of Pioneer's asinine decision to make their player incompatible with over half the world's DVDs. Secondly, it does not have fast-forward or reverse capability, something present on a lot of cheaper players - and flipping through random scenes in the "forward seek" mode is disorienting and imprecise. Thirdly, a minor annoyance occurs when a new DVD is inserted: the intro sequence plays, and cannot be paused. And lastly, it's not slimline. I have little enough space with all the other stuff stacked in my TV cabinet; why on Earth must Pioneer expand their player to 10 times the size of its internal electronics? If I cut a hole in the side, I could probably store a couple dozen DVDs, with their cases, in the empty space in the box.

It does get some minor bonus points, though, for having a relatively dim display (so the unit's faceplate doesn't distract you from the movie) that turns off completely when the power is off. So unlike my VCRs, it doesn't light up a dark room with an eerie glow when not in use.

If you put in a region 1 DVD and press play, the 343 works well. I have had no problems with scratched rental DVDs, and the layer transitions are completely seamless, as they should be. The motor is also very quiet; silent at 3 feet, to my ear. So, apart from some stupid design decisions, the general operation of the player seems to be excellent. My conclusion is that Pioneer's engineers are top-notch, but their product designers are either (...), or worse - marketing department personnel.

This is a great DVD player. It has everything you want (even comes with DTS) at a price you can't beat. I'm sooo glad I bought this player. It's easy to set up and easy to use. A great first DVD player for anyone who is thinking of getting a DVD player. I wouldn't use it on my HDTV, home theater, but if you just want something simple that looks great, this is the one. Haven't had any problems with it, what can I say I love it. It was cool.

Big Truck

I have the same problem as Gary up there. It worked fine for about 3 or 4 months and now it gets stuck and I have to press fast forward to get it going again. Sometimes it gets stuck in the Menu mode and I have to stop it all together. I've cleaned it and it still messes up. Unfortunately Im stationed overseas and don't even have a Pioneer Repair shop to take it too. I would defintely pass on this DVD player.