Componenet outputs, DTS, reads CD-R's and CD-RW's, dual laser, price

Remote buttons too small, No zoom feature

I bought this player because my 1 year old panacrap 110 died just after 1 year of use. Lot's of company here! Also I have always had good luck with Pioneer products. I resisted posting a review here for this long because the last product I gave a review to turned out to be ... see above.

After 6 months of use, I really like the Pioneer 525. It sends a terrific picture and highest quality sound. I haven't had any layer switch problems or picture glitches at all. The only problem I have had is a minor, I repeat MINOR, lip-synch issue on Austin Powers I. It lasted for the opening credits and smoothed right out never to be seen again.

Is the unit noisy? Yes, a little. Does it bother me? No, nobody even notices from more than 3 feet away.

If you are thinking about buying this player as either your low budget primary player or as a bedroom unit, you can't go wrong. Best picture and sound in its price class, does DTS, all the outputs you need. It's a great player for the money.

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic a110 (sigh)

Great video quality
great sound quality

slow to spin dvds up
(I'm spoiled by pcs)

Fantastic deal. Especially with the mail in rebate. I was looking for a DVD player, but I didn't want to spend a lot. Great video quality, great audio quality. Audio level is a little low, but good quality none the less. It's only drawback is that it seems to take a while to spin up a dvd.

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I checked out sony and toshiba and they couldn't tough this bang for my dollar

Features, performance

Remote, aesthetics

Update: I have experienced lip sync problems with this unit on the "Bound" CD. However, it is only minor, and only happens when switching between audio tracks while playing. Is cured instantly by pausing and starting again. Anyway, I'm still in love with this player, it's completely awesome for the $$. My girlfriend is getting jealous of it. Maybe I shouldn't have bought it that Valentine's card... :)

Great sound and video quality, plays CDRs

low volume through RCA audio out, no S-Video in, rewind and fast forward don't work too well

This DVD player is great. It has played every DVD I've tried (around 20). The only problem with it is searching does not work too well. It is much easier for me to search around on a DVD with my PC-DVD setup. I got this player for $199, but even at $250, this player is a great deal.

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Hitachi PC-DVD drive with Hollywood+ decoder card

Excellent picture and sound quality.

Noisy transport, Noisy playback of DVDs(motor sound).

I bought this player but had to return it due the noise that was coming from the motor of the player. It has excellent picture and sound quality but when watching movies with quiet passages I could hear the DVD player. It was annoying to me but might not bother some people especially if you have it behind a glass door. Too bad for the noise. I really liked the player.

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic A110

Ability to play VCD & CDR
High Quality Picture and Sound

Loud Tray, Cheap Looking Display

I thought the box was empty when I received the unit. The plain design of the front panel actually goes well with my other components. The colors used for the display look rather dated (amber), but it does provide ample information regarding the media and settings used.

The unit setup is straightforward. Picture quality is excellent. It's nice that Pioneer includes the display mode setting feature to tweak the diplay based upon the type of DVD played. I've tried several VCDs and DVDs on this unit and it has performed flawlessly.

The drawer of the unit is loud and seems flimsy. The remote control does leave a lot to be desired, but where it really counts, this unit shines.

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic DVD A-300

None

Everything,auio is horible,plays too fast,laser has gone poop three times in the year and a half ive had it

It sucks not worth the 300 i paid,audio plays too fast,video is average,and the lasr on it is weak,freezes on laerchanges,and burns out all the time,i dont reccomned thisto anyone

96 Khz digital out (without downsampling); ease of use; picture quality

Noisy tray; tinny construction feel

Pioneer seems to offer the only affordable DVD players with an uncompromised 96khz digital output, which is why I bought this. I wanted a high sampling rate for for what few audio DVDs exist in the 24-bit/96khz range. Since the bar will be raised when new 196khz DVD Audio comes along soon, I figured for now I'd buy the cheapest thing that can handle the interim audio standard (I have outboard HDCD). I've A-B'd its audio output against my Denon DCD 660, which seems mellower, but lacks the extended range. (I should say I'm planning to utilize the digital out to the full with an MSB Link DAC, which hasn't arrived yet.) Movies are just fine, I don't notice skipping or out-of-sync sound, and picture quality is excellent on my 32" JVC. It works like a champ, and since it's built in a place with low low labor costs, it's cheap--perhaps too cheap for those who equate $$ with performance. Who cares if it's not carved out of solid aluminum blocks or if it's not as hefty as a tank? The electronics are what count for me. If you buy according to good performance at a reasonable price, and your ego doesn't need a high-end label, this is the one.

Crisp clear picture, easy to use funtions, great remote, easy hook-up

I haven't run into any

FANTASTIC! I bought this DVD for the family for Christmas...but we couldn't wait. Boy am I glad we didn't!! We have a DVD on the computer but watching the movies all huddled around the 19" screen wasn't any fun. Now with it connected to our 32" TV it is FABULOUS! We love watching "Matrix" and "Armegeddon". Since we don't have one of the expensive HDTV's yet we are just amazed at the quality of the picture! Crisp clean picture that looks better than the theaters! Hook it up to your stereo and the sound even rivals the theater. I love the memory feature. If you are too tired to watch all of it or something comes up no problem. Just use the memory feature and you can take out the DVD and turn it off. Come back put it back in hit the memory button and your exactly where you left off! And if you rent DVD's guess what?? No more rewinding!! About the only thing that I found was that some DVD discs are 2 sided. So in the middle of the movie you have to flip it...but that is my only gripe! So if you are considering DVD...GO FOR IT!! And this is one FANTASTIC player!!

Price, component video outputs, ability to read CD-R and CD-RW, 24/96 output

Only one set of outputs, lightweight build

There are already many reviews on this product, so I will keep mine short. I am amazed at the picture and sound quality available at this price, and if the ability to read CD-R's is not important to you, the entry-level Panasonic seems to be an excellent model as well. I do not understand the complaints about transport noise or the remote. I have no problem with either, and I tend to be a very picky person.