Looks, dimensions and overall sound, specially with the new multichannel music formats. A reliable brand (I have a Pioneer 9 years old LD player and it never had failed).

Lightweight cheap construction but, hey, I will not use it as a freezbee!

The price was too high but it was for shipping and handling overseas plus my damn country´s local taxes...well, now I have it. And I am really happy for it, as it is an excellent DVD player. On the SACD side, Diana Krall´s The Girl in the Other Room an E. Power Biggs´The Four Great Toccatas and Fugues sounded amazing. Diana´s voice was natural all the way, and the acoustics instruments detailed and vivid; the four organs on the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, on the other hand, where thunderous and full, making this 1974 version a must-have in SACD format. The only thing I noted is that my receiver´s Dolby Digital processor (NAD T743) performed much better than the Pioneer´s processor, so I think that almost every body will prefer to use the Pioneer just as a transport unit with an external processor. But the sound that came from the Pioneer 5.1 analog outputs was clean, clear and right in tone, just what you need for SACD and DVD-audio. Not so good for CD unless you use an external processor.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz DR6000 CD recorder, NAD C521 and C521i CD players, Sony DVPS330 DVD plater, Panasonic DVDRV32 DVD player.

Video picture quality is on par or better than $2000 Denon.

Analog audio out is weak.

Giant killer of a DVD player. I have comped this played against Philips machines costing twice as much and Denon machines costing more than 10X as much. The 563 consistently produced a better picture on my Sony 60" LCD/RPTV. Wish I had bought another one and kept it for when this one breaks. With any luck it will last me until Blu-Ray. Hopefully those machines will be backwards compatible with DVD format. Can't really comment on the sound of the 563. I send DVD audio info via digital coax out to a pre/pro. Analog out of the Sony is reportedly not so hot. Don't know, don't care. Hey this machine isn't even made anymore and I would not buy one used. It's replacement is supposedly much inferior.

Similar Products Used:

Sony 363, Denon 1600, 2200, 2900, Philips 763, 963, 795

DVD Video Quality is excellent Audio quality is amazing SACD's and DVD-audio are excellent Ability to play any recordable format

Slight pause(1/2 sec)on layer change in DVD movies.

A fantastic DVD and Universal player that outperforms every dvd player in its class, and even outperforms most dvd players twice the cost. I bought this DVD player because of the excellent value it offered. It had received a large number of positive reveiws and this was of particular interest to me because nothing speaks louder than a satisfied owner. I needed a dvd player that would also have the ability to play SACD's and DVD-audio discs, as well as CD-R's and DVD-R's. The picture quality is very good and the audio quality is where this palyer shines. The high resolution formats are encoded perfectly with balance, clarity, and detail throughout the entire frequency response. DVD movie soundtracks sound incredible and really come alive in my room. I recommend this player to anyone who needs a rock solid DVD/Universal Player on a tight budget.

Similar Products Used:

APex, Onkyo, Sony

Price. Retails for $250 but sells for $150-$180. Compatability. Plays pretty much everything you can throw at it except for DVD-RAM. Looks. It isn't ugly. Only wish they offered it in black. Quality. Pioneer is a good brand. I haver never had any problems with any of their products. Price. Did I mention that it is only $150? That is only $20 more than the top Sony DVD player but the Pioneer offers DVD-Audio (in high resolution) and SACD compatability with 5.1 channel outputs. Electric Bill. It is actually Energy Star qualified. Help save on unecessary wasted electricity.

None worth mentioning... OK maybe one. The remote isn't backlight.

This is the BEST combo unit for the money... period. It can play almost everything, including high resolution DVD-Audio discs and SACDs as well as RW discs. It has all the necesary outputs (including compent video for progressive scanning) and the menus are very easy to navigate and program. It only has a 10 bit 54MHz Video DAC but I cannot tell a difference between it and a Sony that uses a 12 bit 108MHz DAC. The edges are clean and crisp and color is very vibrant. The sound is also excellent- especially on SACD's. This is the perfect unit for anyone looking for a Multi-Format Disc player that is reasonably priced. You are not going to find a better unit unless you spend twice the money, and even then you are hard pressed.

Similar Products Used:

Harman Kardon, Sony, Samsung, Toshiba

Thin, unremarkable sound from anything but SACD, which is quite natural. SACD still is not true SACD, but converted to PCM before D/A conversion. Good zoom and MP3 management, though. The DV-655A PX has much better Dolby Digital, DTS, and DVD-A performance, though.

Plays it all Quiet while playing Easy set up Great picture

Multi ch. music suffers with poor bass management

First off let me discribe my system.I use three B&K ST-140's for my six ch. amplification.I use two Adcom GFA 555 mkII's bridged in mono for each of my custom Adire Audio Tumult 15" subs in separate cabinets.I have an EAD ovation-8 and a Dwin Transcanner.Overhead front projector is an NEC 6PGXTRA(hidef compatable).Paradigm mini MK3's across the front three and as a rear center.Paradigm ADP-150's for dipole sides.A Behringer 1124p parametric removes all the room modes of the subs. I was looking for a player that did it all.The pioneer did.After selling a bunch of gear for a friend he payed me off by purchasing the 563 (free-be). I found the setup a breeze.I first set the unit to interlaced as my Dwin will do all the scaling.Then the digital outputs and set the 5.1 music to all Large and subwoofer to On.After all the setup stuff I gave it a run. I found the video output wonderful.My last unit was a Marantz DVD930 with interlace output only.After going through a bunch of my favorites like fifth element and Nemo then Armageden.I felt the color looked great and artifacts were absent.I then threw in a CDV of some video trailers off of the web.The image was ok and the speed of which it played after loaded was fast.My last unit had a clicking sound when playing.This unit was very quiet once the unit cued up and began playing. I then threw in a SACD version of PinkFloyd Dark Side Of The Moon.I was not happy with how thin the sound was.I had read about this and purchased a Outlaw Audio ICBM bass management unit at the same time of the 563 purchase(274.00 shipped).I then hooked up the ICBM and continued.I xover all the speakers at 80hz,mono sub output and we were off again.I could not believe the improvement the sound was so blended.The highs were clear as a bell and the bass was all there now.I then threw in Yes Fragile.This is one of my favorite cd's.I found it as complete as the Floyd disc. I made a bunch of interconnects with some kimber kable pbj wire I had on hand. Size up my system and chose for your self.I only had to dish out 274.00 for the ICBM.So combine that with 162.00 incuding tax.So 436.00 later and I'm really trying hard to find a combo like this that can do it all.With my equipment list this unit fits like a glove!

Similar Products Used:

none

Affordable

Audio is very poor and video is lackluster.

Best Buy had these on sale and I figured for the money I'd try one out. Audio and video quality was no better and actually a little worse than my Sony DVPNS715P. Playing SACD was pointless as it sounded like any normal cd but just mixed to all 5 channels. The only difference in how it sounded was how it was mixed as oppose to using DPLII. Also maybe because of no bass managment, the drop of bass listening to SACD was huge. I had to get up and make sure my subwoofer was even on. I tryed boosting the bass using audio menu on the player and it wasn't even noticable. Video performance wasn't very good either. I had artifacts and tearing of images sometimes. I also noticed jitter and pixelations on text and credit edges in movies. I took it back to Best Buy the next day after spending 3-4 hours trying to tweak what ever I could to make it better. All in all it worked I guess, but it is by no means worth purchasing if you want audiophile or videophile performance. I tryed it just for something to try. The universal player I really want won't be released for a few more months so I figured why not give this a shot just for sh*ts and grins.

Similar Products Used:

Sony DVPNS715P, some other Sony's and some Pioneer Elites, Denon's, Marantz.

Good picture. Takes everything you throw at it. I like the menues.

The sound is horrible, the worst I have heard from a player in year 2003. Looks plastic, hate to look at it. Slow to operate when you press open/close You have to go in the menu and stop the player to switch 2-ch multi-ch

I bought this player because it had it all. SACD, DVDAudio ect. I don't know what to expect from the new formats, but was not very impressed. It might be the player, on CD the sound is horrible. I don't use it as a CD player, it would destroy my great system. On my Panasonic 32" 100 hz the picture is great, a lot bether than any other DVD-player I have owned. The sound is also nice on movies, as long as I don't use the converters on the player. I use coax cable to the reciver. You can't have it all for this kind of money. Buy at least a model over this one. Pioneer can make great DVD-players and they do, for a little, or a lot more =) Can't wait to buy my next DVD-player.

Similar Products Used:

NAD, Panasonic, Pioneer, Hitachi.

Compatability with SACD, DVD-Audio, DVD-R/RW, CD R/RW, MP3 CD, JPEG, VCD and more (see above) Unbeatable price

Loading time unreliability SACD and DVD sound quality Doesn't read MP3 tags, just filenames Color doesn't match my scheme and it isn't offered in any others

I originally purchased this product because I didn't want to have a computer sitting right next to my speakers (as digital coaxial cables in my house tend to be 3m max), and liked the idea of having an MP3-DVD player. The DVD-Audio and SACD playback were also important. The 563-A is a great entry level progressive scan DVD player. It offers the versatility of a SACD and DVD-Audio player in one. Previously, true SACD and DVD-Audio players have been pricey to low-end buyers, both costing in the hundreds. It's nice to see that Pioneer and Apex have released products with extensive compatability lists at a low price. I haven't had this player long, and already I see a few flaws in it, such as unreliability when it comes to loading burned media. I haven't experienced this problem with manufactured CDs, but the player has problems reading my MP3-DVDs and some burned CDs. The filenames aren't complete, but the player does support long filenames. Let's talk about the strengths though. The sound quality isn't superior by any means, and there's a lack of low end definition it seems at times, but nothing I'm going to complain about for 150 bucks. It reads almost everything I throw at it, including: CDs, CDRs, CDRWs, VCDs, SVCDs, XVCDs, SXVCDs, DVDVCDs, DVDRs, DVD+Rs, DVDRW, DVD+RW, MP3-DVDs (including all forms of recordable DVDs, and reads VBR MP3s), JPGs, SACDs, DVD-Audio... OK, maybe it's faster to tell you what it isn't compatible with: WMAs and MPEGs. As you can see, it's a great player if you want versatility. And as with far too many players, the remote is lacking. It's not horrible, and I programmed everything onto my Onkyo 460M anyway, but there aren't many buttons, and basic features require navigation through multiple menus (which are very easy to navigate, mind you). Overall, I highly reccomend this item to anyone looking for a single player that plays everything and doesn't cost a lot. Seems simple, but that's basically what it comes down to. Though it doesn't offer superior... well, anything... it's quite adequate in all areas and the compatability makes it worth twice as much as I paid.

Great Value for a universal player Good sound overall

Bass management is unacceptably bad reliability for loading discs is poor Only available in silver

The 563a is an awesome piece of equipment for the money but it is far from perfect. The biggest drawback is the bass management. For SACD it is very high with a 120Hz pass while the DVD-A is astoningly stupid at a 200Hz pass. This if fine for Home theater in a box types but anyone with a speaker bigger than their fist is going to be displeased. My subwoofer (and many others) have a maximum cutoff at 160Hz leaving a 40Hz wide hole in my sound from 160 to 200Hz playing DVD-A's. I can fix this as I have one of the few receivers that can do bass management on the 5.1 inputs (HK7200). If you don't have a really good receiver then you are either fried or have to buy an outboard BM box such as the Outlaw ICBM to handle bass management for you. I have the digital output from the player hooked up to bypass the DVD circuitry on the Pioneer and let my receiver do the job. The Pioneer has very good DAC's but not as good as my receiver. Picture Quality is average. The 480P progressive output is poor but the interlaced output works well. My projector has a Faroudja deinterlacer which is far superior to the Pioneer deinterlacer and the difference is very obvious with 480P on a 100" screen. Reliability has been poor for me. My SACD's aren't always recognized and even new DVD's and DVD-A's often take several attempts to load. I may send mine back. Overall this is a great buy for the money and a wonderful indtroduction into the world of hi-rez music. I still need reliability and decent bass management though.

Similar Products Used:

NAD Pioneer Elite