This player puts out sound & video comparable to players twice its price. When compared to the similarly priced Panasonic A110, I've noticed that the Pioneer has much more reliable video. We have both the 414 and the 110 in our house, and the 110 has noticeable video problems (such as tearing or freezing) on certain discs when compared to the seamless presentation offered by the 414. However, the 110 is all over the 414 in terms of refinement. The 414's fast forwarding is jerky, the on screen displays look like a 1st generation vcr's, and the internal mechanisms sound unlubricated. The remote is also impossible to use (except in bright sunlight) since it doesn't glow and the font size is more appropriate for microfiche. However, for $300, it plays DVD's flawlessly & that's good enough for me!

I compared this player to the Toshiba SD-3108. The picture had no discernible differences but the sound was more clear and better bass with a fuller sound on the Toshiba player. I hooked both of the players through the Yamaha DDP-2 processor and used the component video connection.I was also dissapointed with the disc changer mechanism. The remote was intolerable and although some may think this is a minor problem, when I consider how critical the remote is in day to day use, I believe that this is a big enough problem to cause me to buy another player.
The price is the best thing going for this player and you do get a lot of features for the money.

I have a 414 on back-order for $298 [the price I was looking for on a quality 'entry-level' player].
In reading reviews, owner reviews here, emails to owners I know, and posts on the dvd news groups... the lip-synch problem was a concern of mine.

It's my personal assessment that the lip-synch problem arises when owners are using the coax or optical audio outputs to their DD 5.1 or DTS receivers on some discs. Some discs worse than others...

Lost in Space, Austin Powers, The Stones Bridges to Babylon, Fogerty's Premonition, Urban Legend, Mars Attacks, One Flew Over the Coocko's Nest, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, Blues Brothers.

I asked people what the manufacturing date was near the UPC code of the
player and some said Oct 98, Nov 98, Jan 99.

Everyone else is excited that there are such outputs, but does not look as though they actually *use* them to go to a digital receiver. They use the analog RCA audio out. At best it goes to a Dolby Pro Logic receiver.

In those cases with DPL or just the RCA analog audio out, it seems as though there's only been one report of the synch problem on Austin Powers. Otherwise, no synch problem.

Pioneer should leave the digtal audio out off the player but it is a marketing device to compete with the other players next to it on the store shelf, IMHO, and not a usable feature.

In conclusion, I *do* think it *is* a good entry-level player packed with video features, and a so-so ergonomically but functional remote, for the price from the majority of people who have told me they love it, and from the 414's I have demo'd. But once I get mine off back-order, I won't plan on using it with a DD receiver anytime soon.

So I'll prematurely give it 4 stars for everything but the digital audio out.

Regards. Feel free to email any comments concerning the 414: bpesti@earthlink.net

I got the 414 from Best Buy after I had them match Circuit City's $299.99 price. (Wouldn't shop at CC if they were giving stuff away). For the price it is a great unit. It was easy to set-up and so far has played with out a problem. the only thing that I have yet to get used to is the remote. Like another poster noted, the buttons are difficult to use in the dark. Despite the remote, I would not hesitate to recomend this to anyone. I'll give it four stars, subtracting 1/2 for the remote and 1/2 for the build quality which seems a little cheap, but hey it's $300.

For pure value this is a great player. It doesn't offer useless gimics or features that you will never use. Using the svhs output the picture is very crisp and so far have seen no color bleeding. Sharpness of picture is great is great too. Compared to the Pioneer Elite LD player I have the picture quality is noticably better, both in color accuracy and more notably in sharpness. Am using the digital output to an adcom GDA 600, the sound is great. Compared to the pioneer's digital out there is more air in the soundstage and you get more of a spacious feeling when listening to music. Haven't even tried the analog out so can't comment on that. The only real gripe I have against the player is the remote; the buttons are entirely too small. When the lights are out trying to maneuver this remote is a nightmare. If possible I use the buttons on the front of the player as the remote is really that inconvenient (that is if you have the lights out).

I have had the DV-414 for about a week now. This picture is excellent, very crisp and clean, especially using the S-Video hookup. And the sound, well, what can I say? It makes VHS sound flacid, to say the least. I too found the unit to be very light, but a DVD player is only a disc reader and an MPEG-2 decoder card with audio and video outputs. It should not weigh 20 pounds. I do have one problem, although a minor one. The blue light on the front panel does not work on my DV-414. Cosmetic, but still, it would be nice to have it working. Overall, it is a great player and I recommend it to anyone considering making the plunge to DVD. I give the Pioneer 4 stars. Yes, the lack of a blue light keeps it from 5 stars in my book!

While I can't echo the zealotry of others in this space, I must say this is one heck of a DVD player for the money. I wasn't looking to spend a lot on a DVD (under 1000$) hence, I compared this unit to other players ranging from 300-900 dollars. The build of the unit isn't the best, but no other player in the 300-900 dollar range came close in terms of image quality, and especially sound quality. I thought it was a great deal for the money, and a darn good player at any price. It's no use to project what will happen to it in a few years due to its admittedly light-weight build. It does come with a warranty. It's probably reasonably sturdy, just has a low parts count. For the money, I really can't complain. Great purchase if your DVD is not going to be the focal point of your system, or if you want to upgrade to a second-generation DVD player without breaking your bank.

This unit has a lot to offer for one of the cheapest DVD players out there. The picture is very good although not the best I've seen. Not sure about the audio when playing audio CD's. I think it is somewhat harsh but it may be my receiver or speakers but I don't think so. Here is a list of my positives and negatives:
Positives:

1. DTS compatible
2. component video
3. WILL play CD-R's
4. easy to setup
5. display can show how much time remaining in movie

Negatives:

1. My BIGGEST complaint has to be the fact when you push stop or turn it off it won't go back to where you were. Other players do this well. This one has a feature called 'last memo' and only works with very few of my DVD's. I absolutely hate this!

2. No smooth scan fast forward but I can live with it

3. Remote is not great and can't see in dark

Can't beat it for the price tho. I bought this one as an entry level machine thinking that there will be much better ones in a couple years and the prices will drop.

I have to give it 5 stars for value, 4 stars for overall.

price

everything else

i bought this unit at bestbuy for 299.00 and noticed lip sync right away,i figured i would live with it being i payed only 300.dollars for it,until the piece of monkey dung started pixelizing at the layer changes and the ends of certain movies,this makes me sick! i just took it to bestbuy today for warranty work and almost had to punch the as*hole at the counter in the mouth(didnt know anything about electronics and was a "service technician"),anyway i left it there and when it comes back it will be sold! i then went to my local denon dealer and bought the denon DVD 1500,the price was higher but when i hooked it up, guess what...no lip sync,or pixelization! i hope im happy with it in a year,but out of the box it really kicked the 414's tail in sound and video,the guy at best buy helped my rating of 1 star!

Similar Products Used:

denon dvd 1500

Price

CD sound

For the money, the Pioneer DVD-414 is great. I have it hooked up to my Toshiba 27V51 TV through component video, and I am very pleased. Some friends complain of artifacts in their low-priced DVD players, but I've never seen any in mine! I am quite pleased.