I have been pretty happy with the abilities of the DVD-414 as far as $400 equipment goes but occasionally I have a lockup also.I dont recall what movie caused this and it has only happened 2 times. The 2 times I noticed this problem was after roughly 3 hours of use.At this point I cant decide if the problem is time or movie related.I still think the unit works and sounds pretty good with DVD's. Regular CD's however are a different story.I am using a Denon2700 and have used Toslink,Coax,and composite outputs from the DVD414.I understand this is a DVD player that will play cd's but the sound quality
sucks for music.As far as cd's go,I will have to purchase a CD player because
no matter what outputs I use,the musical quality just is not there.I wish I had not sold my cheapo JVC 6disc changer because music sounded so much better.
As an inexpensive DVD player I will give it a 4.5.
As a cd player I give it a 1.5.

This is, sort of, a reply to the comments below about contacting Pioneer regarding audiosync problems and then going to Toshiba to avoid these problems. The issue is not with the player but with the lack of adherence to the various standards. Take a look at a few of the reviews of Toshiba products where this is acknowledged also. I have played 30 DVDs in my player with not even the slightest indication of a sync problem. The sound is not as full and bass is weak (the same can be said for all <$1,000 DVD players, I am talking from a very high standard though) as it could be with one of the several fine inexpensive 24/96K processors out there (Parts Connection, Musical Fidelity, etc). 3 stars on absolute basis 5 stars for value. This stuff is really fun. I have a $20K system and really love great recordings but this DVD movement is exciting!

The DV-414 is the best player available for the price ($299). I have over 130 discs and the only disc I noticed a "sync" problem with, is Lost in Space. Fortunately, this is not the players problem. I also have the Toshiba 3006...and it exhibits the same problem, that is that "penny's" voice lags behind her mouth movement. Not only that, but the theatrical version exhibits the same problem. The video is top notch on this player. The audio is also excellent. This is one of the few players were all the audio outputs can be made active simultaneously (i.e DD,DTS and analog). Unlike the Toshiba were you have to change the outputs from the menu... analog to DD etc, you can compare directly between outputs to compare audio quality with the 414. This is especially useful whe comparing CD music quality. It is also the only player (in this price range) that has a true 24/96 output directly from the digital outputs. According to one of Toshiba's white papers, it only has 20/96 processing (2109). Internet rumors say it downconverts the signal and yet another says it only outputs 24/96 through the analog outs. If anyone has any conclusive knowledge please post it. Since I have compared the two models directly, I have to give the nod to the Pioneer. It has both optical and coaxial outputs and the picture quality is a little better. As long as you don't get one with "sync" problems, you got a great deal. It can still be had for $299 as well

I recently purchased this unit to replace the now infamous Toshiba SD-2008. I originally intended to buy the Toshiba SD-2109 but that unit was sold out. So after some thought I decided to give Pioneer a try. For the features you get at that low price it seemed like an excellent idea. The video is right up there with the best and also has the ability to produce a blacker-than black image. I can't say much for the osd but thats not important, and the remote is average. This unit also has the 96/24 DAC so the sound is pretty good also and it's an overall attractive unit to look at. I have yet to hear dts through this machine so I cannot comment on that but overall normally I'd say this unit is an excellent buy for the price. That is untill I started reading reports of some kind of audio problems, I myself have not experienced any sort of problems but I started to worry about all the reports of audio sync problems. So after browsing numerous bullitin boards I decided to find out some facts. I called pioneer and spoke with a customer sevice agent and started asking questions. The poor woman I ended up speaking with didn't know what the hell I was talking about so she sent me to one of the tech guys. So after asking him what he knew of this problem, I was amazed at what he said, "Every unit with the 414 model number has that problem, but only on certain discs" !. I was shocked to say the least that they still sell this machine! He told me that for some reason unknown to pioneer every single 414 ever sold and to ever be sold has and will have that problem. He couldn't elaborate on the problem any further than saying that it only happens on some titles and only those titles. So I guess pioneer feels that a few problems with a few discs is a.o.k., and plan to keep on selling them. If you would like to call pioneer and confirm this for yourselves here's the toll free number (800-421-1404). Well at least I was happy with this unit for a while, but it looks like I'll be returning it later this week to hopefully get that toshiba. If not for the audio problems I would give this unit a straight 5, but in light of this problem I have to give it a 1. There is no excuse for having sync problems in a 4th generation DVD player.

I think this player is the best on the market for the price. I only paid $299.99 at Circuit City. It also comes with one free DVD and 12 free DVD rentals. The down converted anamorphic images are displayed clearer than the Panasonic DVD-A310 that I returned because of chapter skipping at the layer change. The unit also has many useful features that are found in other players that cost over $100 more. I haven't had any layer change problems yet. I have tried the Dusk till Dawn DVD on chapter 5. I did not see any audio synch problems. If I come across any glitches in the future, I will adjust my rating with another review, stating the problem. I can't believe how much performance and features this player has. Right now, it is the cheapest player on the market that isn't discontinued. It is also rating pretty high in performance from many magazines.

Excellent, but needs some adjustments (see below)

Light how to deal with it see below

I purchased it from an authorized dealer duringin the first monthhen they appeared for sale, back about, I think, 3 years ago. So far, no problems whatsoever with any material, including all the ``problem discs'' mentioned by others below. One weakness (for this price) - it is way too light. I think this affects soubd, especially when you don't have a proper viobration control - make it a fuzzy kind. However, I have my HT system in the basement with concrete floor. Then I put it on the vibropods ($6x4) on two cinder blocks ($1.45x2) and put two heavy MDF boards ($10) painted black on top of it. I think in stereo it added a good $1000 to the quality of sound. Highly recommend to try this with these or other lightweghts. No plans to change to a higher-end so far, better wait when a new generation all dvd-a, sacd, etc. + cheaper HDTV become available. Other attached equipment: SONY 27inch, Angstrom 100, Musical Fidelity HT600, Castle Acoustics Howards, Keep, Richmonds, TMC, 2 TN1220 Hsu research subs.

Excellent audio, video picture quality, both digital coax and optical outputs, good look

reliability

Let me first say that at the price I paid I was happy with the overall quality of the unit. Although it has a good audio sound, I used it primarily as a transport - LINK DAC III for audio sound and NAD T770 for surround decoding. In this setup, with decent cables and PSB speakers, I was happy. The video picture was sharp and the colors were true and vivid - probably more precise than the softer picture from the NAD T550. I also like the cosmetic look of it and the fact that you can turn off the illumination while it is running. As a stand alone unit, this player would be fine in a lot of systems. It is amazing that for $300.00 or less, CD sound has come so far in a fairly short time.

I wish I could leave it at that. However, after about a year, I began having problems where the unit would have a hard time reading CD's - not DVD's. Interestingly, I never had a problem with it reading DVD's other than the occasional momentary freeze-up about halfway through the movie that I have read other people notice with other machines (I had this problem even worse on my NAD T550). This problem got worse over time to where I just recently took it back to BestBuy (THANK GOODNESS I BOUGHT THE EXTENDED WARRANTY!). At the end, it would not read any CD's at all - I would put the disc in and it would spin once or twice, then eject the disc without reading it. The tech at BestBuy just called tonight and said they will replace it. Anyone have any suggestions for a replacement at BestBuy?

I would recommend this unit only with a nice long extended warranty and a forewarning as to its reliability.

Similar Products Used:

NAD T550, Pioneer DV-333, NAD T531

excellent video, great dts, dd, acceptably robust pcm

confused remote

I have enjoyed the **** out of this unit since 98. There is no lip-synching error. Dvd performance is better than all other mass market players I've seen, only surpassed by flagship units and high end makes. Audio in dvd 5.1 formats is exceptional, with an immense soundstage and serious impact from the coax out; Dolby digital is quite smooth and glitzy given the limitations of the ac3 format, and dts is like moving to 70mm from 35mm, highly resolved, fast, and liquid, depending on the program content (the 1509 kbps bit rate is better, but most dvd's are at 754kbps, though Saving Private Ryan, The Haunting, and Gladiator simply sound magnificent)--it's more like seamless imaging all around vs Dolby's sonic shower stall approach to holosonic imaging. I do not recommend using the analog 2 channel audio outs for cd playback-- I use the coax out. 2 channel pcm playback for CDs is again quite good. In deferrence to the criticism I've read it does have a bright, forward, etched quality but it retains a sense of detail and seems sharp rather than brittle; additionally think of a wide, shiny lateral soundstage with acceptable longitudinal depth (it's like in flat stages, maybe not subtle shadings) to better the mass market cd players I've heard, and perform to my ears better than my NAD cd unit, but then I maybe have a taste for sharper, analytical sounding components (I like the Sony ES sound, particularly the flagship loudspeaker design). Dynamics have an intensity and impact that I simply enjoy and look forward to dealing with. Softness, and warmth are good too, but this unit is far from the flatly synthetic. I read a recommendation of the 414 in The Absolute Sound which suggested this machine for its "robust" cd playback as a reasonable holdover til newer technology established itself. I agree totally. If you can afford it bypass the bargains and go for Marantz and Sony high end SACD, and CD playback by Wadia or the Ayre D-1, go for the best and quit beating up on yourself! For good cheapskate CD get a used California Audio Labs, but the 414 is still damned good--The lip-synching problem could just be an anomaly specific to the way Dolby Digital content is authored, as this was a common issue in the laserdisc era, blame falls somewhere in the chain from content to decoding, but I have not seen this on my player unless it was an early disc (Ronin, Air Force One) in which case the authoring method would have been cruder.

Similar Products Used:

nad cd player

Execptional Video and Sound Reproduction

Unreliable CD playback; Noisy

I purchased this unit about three and a half years ago. Although this is no reference player, the DV-414 was a very good player for a decent price at the time. I have experienced no lip-sync problems as some have stated earlier, and until recently, have had no problems with the unit at all. It even played the occasional CD-R and CD-RW. Now the player is gradually ending its playing of conventional CD's. Initially, it would spin up a CD and quickly spit it out or turn itself off; only after a little coaxing would it play. Now it is becoming increasingly frustrating to load a CD because the unit is taking increasingly more iterations of inserting and ejecting the CD in order to work properly. Usually it takes twenty or so iterations with plenty of expletives to get the CD portion of the unit to work. DVD playback is still exceptional, so all is not lost. This player is over three years old, and has been installed in a dust free enclosure. I did not know that CD non-playback was a common problem until reading similar reviews here. Overall a very good DVD player - even by today's standards. Even though it has limited extra features, it does offer DTS playback and component video output, features not commonly found on other DVD players of its day. I think that it is not fair to compare this player to those of today; DVD technology was just becoming accepted when this unit was introduced. Since this is a DVD player and not a dedicated CD player, I think that it deserves four stars for value and overall rating. With that said, the unit's days spent on my component shelf are numbered; I will be replacing it soon.

Reliability, Dolby & DTS outs, beautiful picture, (and it looks cool too)

Make small whirring noise during playback. Confusing remote and menu makes changing options, such as aspect ratio or digital out, a little difficult at first.

A great entry-level, budget DVD player. Had it for over 2 years now and NEVER had a problem with skipping, freezing, or lip-sync. I played on average 3 DVDs per week (on weekends). Musical performances such as Sarah Brightman's La Luna or Eagles' Hell Freeze Over (in DTS) were beautifully renditioned. Even in these live performances, the pictures were vivid and life-like. Dolby & DTS digital outputs work great for both coax and Toslink(optical). The pyramid and opera scenes from Fifth Element just looks and sounds awesome. You better hold on to your chair when that Panzer tank is coming in Savings Private Ryan.

I only use it for DVDs, so I can't really comment on CD or VCD playbacks.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for an good, quality, entry DVD player.