The DVD player search comes down to two players - the Pioneer Elite DV-05 and the Sony 7700. The Pioneer DV-09 is not in the running any more because the DV-05 is a good player and makes the DV-09 not worth the extra money. The DV-05 loses out to the Sony 7700 for one reason - the Sony remote control is far better than the DV-05. I owned a DV-05 for one month and then had a chance to play with a 7700 and I immediately returned the DV-05 and bought the Sony 7700. Disc management is a hassle with the DV-05. The buttons on the remote are not backlit - its impossible to read in the dark. The Pause button is right next to the Stop button making it very easy to Stop the movie by mistake. The buttons are very small. Also, playing a dvd disc in slow or frame-by-frame mode requires using different buttons and controls from regular play mode. The Sony remote on the other hand is a dream. Most all disc management functions are handled on the wheel. It even has a reverse mode. Once you have had a dvd player for watching even one or two movies you quickly begin to appreciate the ease or lack of ease of the remote control. There is such a difference in this area between the 7700 and the DV-05 that I would pick the 7700 even if its picture quality was not as good as the DV-05 - and to my knowledge there is really no difference. As to picture quality I think they both do a great job. This is why I rate the DV-05 four stars.
One thing that the 7700 does not do is pass the blacker-than-black test on the pluge pattern. My first reaction was "what the #%!@#@ does that mean?" Then I found out that just means its easy for the video tech to calibrate the picture. But this should make no difference once the job is done. Nobody seems to know why the 7700 doesn't do this since the Sony 7000 did. Anyway, I decided this issue wasn't as important as disc management and overall ease of use.

You won't necessarily make a mistake buying a DV-05 but you won't be buying the best that the market offers today and you might regret your purchase when you see the ease and superior functionality of the 7700.

I got my DVD player last week ,its model is DV-S5 ,a product sales for Japanese mainland .I played kinds of software on it ,DVD VCD CD and CD-R, at the price its performance is excellent.I paid only $410 for it.

Exceptionally good product. This player has taken everything I've thrown at it. The picture is sharp, sound is excellent. Where some DVD players fail is CD audio recreation. The DV-05 doesn't have that problem. In fact, this Pioneer excels at it.
This player handles, CD-Rs, CDs, VCDs, and DVDs.

The only downside is the resume function. The Pioneer allows you to save up to 5 different spots on different discs. However, sometimes you are unable to save a spot on certain discs. My previous player was able to resume on EVERY disc. I'm not sure why this is. So be prepared to remember the chapter you are on if the player indicates you can't save your spot.

Despite its minor problem, the Pioneer DV-05 is definately worth a look (if not a purchase).

I just got this player and IT ROCKS! Love the pic + sound!I got it DIRT CHEAP from UNCLESTEREO.COM , Ask for Andrew Kent, He'll give you the best deal on the net!!

Once I have the player for a month or so I'll give an in depth up-close and personal review, but so far it's 5 speakers!

Picked up this fine machine about 3 weeks ago, and I've been in dvd heaven ever since. It's now been about two weeks since I last left my apartment, I just can't leave my house now that I have this player!! First of all I'm not an audiophile or anything so this review will be somewhat limited. The build quality is rock solid, when the Extra wide dvd tray comes out you know it's all good cause it's built like a Mack truck. The urishi finish is drop dead gorgeous and the remote is fantastic, although some back lighting could have made things a tad bit better. Setup was a breeze and the manual was a joy to read. It has all the outputs you'll ever need & their all GOLD plated too! Right away I could see that this player meant business. The rich saturated colors and the deep blacks gave my Trinitron a real workout. I know this player would even perform better if I had a bigger/better screen. I noticed much more detail in my dvd's that I never noticed before! This player has THE BEST DOWNCONVERSION I have ever seen!! I felt as if I had just discovered DVD! I'm just beginning to see how the digital noise reduction and the m-peg block filter work, without them some of my dvd's would not look as good. The one thing I really like is that it lets you adjust the sharpness even further than you normally could. the menu system is simple and to the point(whew!). I'm not going to talk shit about anyone's dvd player but I've owned Toshiba, Phil/magn, multiple Sony's and even an earlier Pioneer model and this machine BLOWS THEM OUT OF THE WATER!!! This is the first time I've ever bought a piece of home theater gear and loved everything about it!! Way to go pioneer! This is one top notch player!

I've had the worst time buying DVD players lately. In the last 6 months I've gone throught about 7 different players, for all different reasons they didn't satisfy me. My last purchase was the DV-05, and let me tell you, my journey is over! I love this player! This player has the clear crisp picture that I desired, and the color palatte is very acurate and rich. I looked at the DV-09 and the Sony 7700 as well, the DV-09 is something of a DVD icon, and has been widely acclaimed, but, I was told that it has gone the way of the dinosaur. The 7700 was what I was going to buy, but, after direct comparison, and a price of $700 dollars for the DV-05 my mind was made up. People worry so much about the darn remotes, don't you people own recievers or preamp/processors, they tend to have better remotes anyhow, so, get over it!! The Pioneer has great sound, even better than my old Toshiba, which could decode HDCD!! Just go have a look, you'll agree that this is a special player, and well worth the money!

Please don't post a review unless you own or have owned the item your reviewing.
Lets keep it real people!

To Audiophile,
Reviews may be posted on this site for products that have been "tried", not just currently or previously owned. I'm very interested in the reasons people chose not to buy a product, in addition to the reasons of those who chose to buy a product.

I recieved my first DV-05 4 weeks ago. It was defective right out of the box. No matter what I tried (3 different monitors, 3 separate s-video cables, a dozen rca cables, through my receiver, directly to the TV, etc.) I could get no video from the player. Audio was great, but there was no picture, no menu, set-up screen, nothing. I returned the player to the retailer and received my new player yesterday, and guess what......SAME PROBLEM.
The new machine was just manufactured three weeks ago. I called Pioneer, and the guy I spoke with was very nice, but he was very unhelpful. Sounds like the player is defective AGAIN, and they had never heard of this problem. Well, if you read down you will find the same problem from Rod who just got his player this week also. Now I have to either wait another 4 weeks to get a replacement, or drive 150 miles to drop off my player to be "repaired" and wait 1-3 weeks. Either way it seems to me that I am getting the short end of the stick.

So, is it just bad luck, or poor quality control? Probably both, but it seems inexcusable that Pioneer would let so many defective players from their "Elite" line get to the public. I know that this product has received great reviews (both here and elsewhere), but I would be wary of purchasing this player. I know I will think twice about buying any Pioneer product in the future.

Excellent colour range,very crisp pictures,better than average sound quality,very attractive compare to Sonys,Tosihba,Panasonics. Remote controls are the only negative,but over all the best sub $1000 player available.Money well spent