After keeping my power dry for quite some time, I took the plunge with the DVD-525. For the price, it seems to offer an unbeatable combination of features: component vide out, DTS, *and* Dolby Digital.
DVD picture quality is pristine, and it's CD transport performance is at least as good as my old Pioneer LD player. I also auditioned the internal DACs and was pleasantly surprised. (I'll still stick with my outboard Audio Alchemy DAC, however.)

Some of the remote buttons are a bit smaller and and more difficult to manipulate than on other remotes I have used, but overall I am satisfied.

The DVD-525 is a terrific component, and a must-see for those interested in an entry-level player.

CD-R, Video Quality

Lack of Zoom, dull interface, noisy rotor

I was search for an entry-level DVD player that can reliably play DVD, V-CD as well as CD-R at a reasonable price. After two months of research it came down to Panasonic A120 and Pioneer 525. Spent sometime to go through all the reviews that people submitted to this discussion group I made up my mind and purchased a Pioneer 525 last week.

This is the first DVD player that I have ever owned (aside from the DVD-ROM that I have on my laptop) so I don't really have any reference that I can use to compare against this DVD player. However, I am glad to report that this unit has been serving me extremely well.

The picture quality is exceptionally clear and crisp, I have played 10+ DVDs for the past few days and none of the losing audio or lip-sync problems happened to me. I had slight problem with Blade Runner but after a good wiped down everything went well.

Currently I do not own a DD/DTS receiver, the audio signal pass to my Pioneer DPL receiver so I have little thing to say about the sound quality. However, base on the quality of video this unit is giving me, I have reasons to believe the sound quality will be just as good.

One of the reasons I did not go for the Panasonic is because of the lack of the CD-R playback support. I am glad to report that this unit can play MAXELL, SONY, TDK and even BASF CD-R without a glitch.

I read from the group that a lot of people complain about the remote control, but I found it very easy to use, even in the dark! Within a couple of hours I can use the remote control in total darkness. I do notice that the rotor (?) is very noise when playing some quiet music pieces, but since I put the unit in a cabinet the noise immediately muffed by the glass door, perfect solution!

The rest of the complains are the lack of zoom feature and the dull interface, but then how often do you zoom and the dull interface does not affect the quality of the movies or the functionality of the machine so what do I care.

All in all, I give this unit 5 stars for its value, feature and quality. Maybe I will do another review after a month and see if this Pioneer 525 is reliable.

So long.

Similar Products Used:

None

Easy to connect, easy to use, Menu Interface is Excellent. Well laid out remote.

Bright display; the typical Orange colour for Pioneer products is too bright.

This unit is easy to use and runs flawlessly. It's easy to use and the Menu for setup and sound is easy to use. The remote is easily understandable and easy to cruise through if watching a movie in the dark. It's ability to expand movies that are widescreen to Letter Box with ease and not distorting the movie are a great Wife factor.

Durable and plays many formats.

Nothing major.

I bought this player after reading the reviews here in November of 1999. I've watched hundreds of movies and it's only locked up a few times. It plays CD-R and even some CD-RW's. They must be good players because they are still going for around a $150 used on e-bay. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.

Picture Quality, Optical Outputs, CD-R Playback, Audio Quality, Component Out

Noisy Tray, Noisy Spindle

Just a quick summary. I have now had this unit for close to 2 years and I use it every single day since I have a child with plenty of Disney movies. Over and above the Disney movies, I have tried just about every block buster plus a lot of special edition DVDs with Dual Layer as well as DTS encoded DVDs.

Other than the noisy drawer and spindle, the unit has worked flawlessly! Yes there is a brief millisecond pause between layer changes, no big deal.

Frankly, who cares about the noisy drawer? And for the spindle, I did not buy a mega Yamaha receiver with DTS decoder and high end speakers for nothing. I don't notice the spindle noise.

I am surprised at the negative feedback about this unit. I am the envy of all my DVD player owner/buddies of whom many have more serious problems like sync, artifacting, etc.

This player is no longer available, but if you come across one, it is certainly a nice one!

Similar Products Used:

Sonys, Hitachi, Samsung

Good video quality, can play "homemade" CD-R's. Component video output.

Noisy, cheap build quality.

I bought this unit primarily because of it's ability to play music I'd burned to CD-R. My 2nd generation Toshiba player couldn't play CD-R's and had problems recognizing some DVD's too. But this Pioneer played everything I put in it. It has excellent video quality through the S-Video output (I never tried the component outputs). Also features both coaxial and optical digital audio outputs which is nice. Does'nt play MP3-encoded discs however.

Now to the negatives. This unit is relatively loud when playing discs, and the disc tray is also noisy when opening and closing, if this sort of thing bothers you. Also, it does not do smooth layer transitions on dual-layered discs. There is almost always a slight pause, which can be distracting. My new Sampo DVE-620 is much smoother in this regard. Another thing, and this is a biggie -- my unit started to develop the dreaded "sync" problem. The actor's voices would sometimes not match their lips on-screen. I had this problem with a number of discs. Anyone else experience this? Anyway, I have since sold the Pioneer in favor of the Sampo, which has great features...

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba, Sampo

Good video quality, can play "homemade" CD-R's. Component video output.

Noisy, cheap build quality.

I bought this unit primarily because of it's ability to play music I'd burned to CD-R. My 2nd generation Toshiba player couldn't play CD-R's and had problems recognizing some DVD's too. But this Pioneer played everything I put in it. It has excellent video quality through the S-Video output (I never tried the component outputs). Also features both coaxial and optical digital audio outputs which is nice. Does'nt play MP3-encoded discs however.

Now to the negatives. This unit is relatively loud when playing discs, and the disc tray is also noisy when opening and closing, if this sort of thing bothers you. Also, it does not do smooth layer transitions on dual-layered discs. There is almost always a slight pause, which can be distracting. My new Sampo DVE-620 is much smoother in this regard. Another thing, and this is a biggie -- my unit started to develop the dreaded "sync" problem. The actor's voices would sometimes not match their lips on-screen. I had this problem with a number of discs. Anyone else experience this? Anyway, I have since sold the Pioneer in favor of the Sampo, which has great features...

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba, Sampo

Has Played every movie I have put in it.

Other then it looks like the first DVD ever made with the cheesey LED display nothing :p

Just for a little back ground the first DVD I had ever bought was a basic Samsung from best buy I didn't look into it at all not like this DVD. The first DVD Matrix well guess what that samsung would play ever movie except for the Matrix. I was fumbling around the internet and found this site which I proceed to look at all the reviews this was not that highest rate but then again there were 200 reviews at the time and it was only a few .10 off from being the best which had about 30 reviews. I bought it on those reviews and have not been disappointed it passed the Matrix Test) with ease and has played ever DVD movie that I own (which at this time is 60+). The sound from it is great and picture is flawless all in all the best piece of eq that I own in my whole home theater setup would highly recomend.

Similar Products Used:

Samsung DVD don't know the model (wouldn't play the Matrix)

it plays everything (CDR, CDRW, etc).

the fast foward button could be a little bit better

I was looking for a DVD player that can play everything. I brought two DVD player. Samsung 709 and the 525. The 525 has been able to play everything I throw at it, even things from overseas with no trouble at all.

the 709 on the other hand had trouble with some video format like PAL and the 525 had no problem with it. Since then I had change my 709 to the Tredex 8303. The 8303 is suppose to be able to be loaded with the works. I compare it to the 525 and the video and audio can not much the 525. And what's more surprising the tredex had trouble playing "Godzilla 2000" and to this date the 525 have not come across anything it can't handle.

Similar Products Used:

Samsung 709, Tredex 8303

Excellent picture quality, good sound quality.

Flimsy construction, loud mechanism, poor remote.

I've had this unit for a year and a half, and after scanning the reviews below I feel I have to toss in my 2 cents.

This is one of the best values on the market today. The picture quality is terrific for an entry-level player, and the audio quality is good enough to equal or best similarly-priced CD players. It has all the features you need to be the centerpiece of a decent home theater.

Yes, the mechanism can be loud. Yes, the construction is of lightweight plastic. Yes, there is the occassional playback glitch. The fact is, though, this is true of all the sub-$300 DVD players I looked at, and most of them didn't have comparable output quality.

If you want a unit that's built like a tank, has a zillion features including a submarine-quiet motor, and produces near-audiophile sound, buy the Sony 9000ES for $1300-$1500. If you want to enjoy DVDs for a more sane price, I'd strongly recommend this player.