Ease of use, reliable

Confusing menu, Not DTS compatible

After 18 months of moderate to heavy use I haven't
found anything to complain about. The picture quality
is better than any VHS or Laserdisc player I have seen or used. The audio side of things is at least equal to a moderately priced home theatre setup. No problems playing
The Matrix. A solid, inexpensive, no-frills player.

Cheap, region selectable

Has developed an annoying problem

I have had this player for nearly 18 months and up until November last year was very happy with it. In November I was playing a movie when the screen started to break up and a crackling sound came out of the speakers, this continued for 20 secconds than the drawer opened. The last image was still on the screen and still had lines travelling across it. When the disk was loaded again, the player waited 5 seconds then opened the drawer again. Turning the player off and on had no effect and we had to abandon the movie night.

I sent the player to a local retailer who passed it onto a pioneer repair center. They could find nothing wrong with it. When I got the player back and hooked it up it seemed to play disks without any problems. But 2 weeks later it happened again. This time I contacted the shop I purchased it from (Internet site based in Brisbane) and sent it to them. They used it in their shop for 3 days and could not find anything wrong either.

When I received the player back it failed on the second disk I tried to play. Thinking to was interference from my amp I moved to out of the entertainment unit and this seemed to fixed the problem, UNTIL NOW. In the last week it has not accepted any disk I have put into it. It starts ok but then, as before, broken picture, crackles and drawer opens. I am now facing the the fact that I will have to purchase another player and donate this one to a worthy cause. If anyone has had this problem before and been able to fix it please send me an e-mail and let me know how. I was very pleased with the player up to this point but this problem prevents me giving a 5.

Cheap

Sound synchronization, reliability, confusing remote.

Failed to track several DVD rental movies during the firt months of ownership. Finally took it back. After repair(?), it seemed to work better. Now, after warranty is out, it is dead.

Voice/video synchronization frequently did not match.

Not a good experience. I probably got to watch about 10 movies total. Counting rental, $35 cost per title?

Plays everything. It even plays some cdrw`s I`ve tried though the manual said that it couldn`t. Very easy to make regionfree.

The set-up menu. You can`t get access to it without having a dvd inside the player.

I have never had any trouble with this player, and I have used it for over 18 months. It delievers crystalclear pictures through the s-video, where I have a monstercable connected to my Panasonic 32" Widescreen Tv 100 hertz.
Another monstercable ( Coax ) connects the player to my Sony DB925 receiver. The sound comes out of 5 Jamospeakers and a Proson 15. active Subwoofer and shakes my house.
A very good Dvdplayer that will continue to play in my house for years to come.